Factors, results and perspectives of digital economy development at the regional level

Abstract
The article is dedicated to identification and evaluation of the factors that contribute to the development of the digital economy in the regions of the Russian Federation. The research made it possible to assess the dependency of the indexes of distribution and use of digital technologies in the main sectors of economy – the business sector, households, public services segment – on regional characteristics. It is shown that the level of information and communication technologies (ICT) development in the business sector and in households is affected by the per capita GRP and the share of workforce with higher education. This conclusion confirms the tendencies outlined for developed countries: richer and more educated regions have long-term advantages in the development of the digital economy. The state’s efforts in the form of subsidies are significant, mainly, for the public services sector, and do not have a considerable effect on the digitalization of the other sectors of economy.

Keywords
information and communications technologies, regional development, business sector, households, public services