A study of the uneven development of human capital in the regions of the Russian Federation

Subject. The article discusses the level of inequality of human capital development in the regions of the Russian Federation. Objectives. The focus is on measurement and identification of trends of divergence and convergence of human capital development in the subjects of the Russian Federation. Methods. The study employs the Human Development Index (HDI), calculated under a modified UN methodology, to measure human capital in the region. The degree of regional inequality was determined by the ?-convergence and ?-convergence method. Results. The paper unveiled significant differences in the level of human capital development in Russia's regions, identified leaders and outsiders among the regions, established the relationship between the index value and the level of gross regional product per capita in the region. In general, economically more successful regions have a higher HDI. The same dependence can be traced with the level of education. At the same time, life expectancy has little effect on the HDI. Conclusions. The coefficient of variation of the Human Development Index across the regions of Russia decreased by 16% over the three analyzed periods. The convergence trends of the HDI were revealed both in the Index as a whole and in its individual indicators.