For citation:
Stepanenko, V. A., & Bazueva, E. V. (2026). Factors of Intellectual Inequality in Russian Regions. AlterEconomics, 23(3), 766–784. https://doi.org/10.31063/AlterEconomics/2026.23-3.12
Abstract:
Russian regions differ substantially in their levels of technological and socioeconomic development. As the knowledge economy develops, such differences may reinforce interregional intellectual inequality, creating a need to better understand its underlying factors and develop regional policies tailored to different types of socioeconomic systems. The study assesses these determinants across different types of regional socioeconomic systems by employing an integral index approach, the GeoDetector methodology, and econometric modeling, including linear regression models incorporating spatial data. The results reveal substantial differences in the factors associated with intellectual inequality across groups of regions at different stages of socioeconomic development. In agrarian regions, institutional characteristics of the R&D environment and demand for highly qualified personnel are particularly important. In agrarian-industrial and industrial regions, the greater complexity of economic structures is reflected in the stronger role of educational and technological factors. In post-industrial regions, the institutional environment supporting the creation of new knowledge and breakthrough technologies is the dominant factor. Two factors — the number of academic staff and intramural R&D expenditure — are significant across all regional groups, although their effects vary with the level of technological development. Their explanatory power increases progressively from agrarian to agrarian-industrial and industrial regions. These findings support differentiated regional policies that account for differences in technological development and institutional conditions and may help reduce disparities in the intellectual dimension of economic development.
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