Regional Factors in the Development of the ICT Sector in Russia

— The development of the information and communication technologies (ICT) sector is a priority of economic policy in many countries, including Russia. The ICT sector is the main source of technology creation that transforms all sectors of the economy, determining their competitiveness in a changing world. At present, the size and contribution of the ICT sector to the Russian economy is much less than in the world’s leading countries. The spatial structure of the sector is highly concentrated in a small group of regions, accompanied by an increase in the digital divide between regions. The three leading regions include Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Moscow oblast. These regions account for more than a third of the sector’s employment and almost two-thirds of ICT spending. An empirical assessment of regional factors influencing the dynamics of the number of people employed in the ICT sector was carried based on panel data using the Arellano–Bond estimator. The assessment showed that the factors significant for growth are population size, the share of university students, GRP per capita, and the share of high-tech industry in manufacturing. Large and wealthy regions with a developed education system and high-tech business are the most attractive for workers and companies in the ICT field, and their advantage is supported by the inflow of trained personnel from other regions. When elaborating state support measures for ICT development, it is necessary to take into account the significant differences between regions both in the potential for creating new technologies and the possibilities for their development, and to use a predominantly selective policy that takes into account the diversity of regional economic systems.