Title: Assessment of interregional divides in digital development as a basis for the policy of overcoming Russia's digital lag

Authors: Evgeniya K. Karpunina; Olga V. Zabelina; Svetlana V. Lupacheva; Farida I. Mirzabalaeva; Patimat R. Alieva

Addresses: Department of Strategic Development and Economic Security, G.R. Derzhavin Tambov State University, Internationalnaya str., 33, Tambov, 392000, Russian Federation ' All-Russian Research Institute of Labor of Ministry of Labor of Russia, The Labor Market Department, 4-ya Parkovaya str., 29, Moscow, 105043, Russian Federation ' Department of Economics, Higher School of Economics, Management and Law, Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M. Lomonosov, Naberezhnaya Severnoy Dviny, 17, Arkhangelsk, 163002, Russian Federation ' Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, The Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Basic Department for Human Resource Management, Stremyanny Lane, 36, Moscow, 117997, Russian Federation; All-Russian Research Institute of Labor of Ministry of Labor of Russia, The Labor Market Department, 4-ya Parkovaya str., 29, Moscow, 105043, Russian Federation ' Department of Labor Economics and Personnel Management, Dagestan State University, Gadjieva St., 43a, 367000, Makhachkala, Russian Federation

Abstract: The purpose of the paper is the identification and assessment of divides in digital development between Russian regions as the reasons for the country's digital lag in the international space, as well as the formation of the conceptual foundations of the state policy of interregional digital alignment. A method for calculating the digitalisation coefficient allows authors to assess the level of digital development in Russian regions. It is proven that the level of regional digitalisation affects human potential realisation by almost 50%, while the link between the level of digitalisation and knowledge is weak. The digital divide, the knowledge divide, and the divide in human potential realisation between the regions of Russia are estimated using a decile scale. It is argued that the methodology for assessing existing divides between regions should be the basis for the policy of interregional digital alignment.

Keywords: digital lag; region; divide in digital development; digital divide; divide in human potential realisation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTPM.2023.131373

International Journal of Technology, Policy and Management, 2023 Vol.23 No.2, pp.148 - 169

Received: 21 May 2021
Accepted: 06 Dec 2021
Published online: 09 Jun 2023 *

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