Economic complexity of regions and its interrelation with indicators of socio-economic development

Abstract

The aim of the research is to compare estimates of the economic complexity of the regions, obtained on the basis of different data. An approach to assessing the economic complexity of Russian regions by types of economic activity (TEA) is proposed. The approach is based on the standard method of assessing economic complexity. The question of choosing the RCA threshold value is considered. 0-1 matrices are constructed for sectors and TEA at different thresholds. Their structures correctly reflect the idea embedded in the economic complexity index. As a result of the correlation analysis, it is shown that at threshold 1 the index of economic complexity by sector and the index of economic complexity by TEA have greater resistance to changes in the threshold than at other threshold values. A comparative analysis of economic complexity indices constructed for 79 regions by 82 sectors and 24 TEA on the data of 2019 was carried out. Their significant statistical relationship with a number of indicators of socio-economic development characterizing the quality of life has been established. The results of this research can be used to help with building situational models of economic development of regions, as well as to coordinate decisions made by regions when choosing priority areas of their development related to increasing diversification.