Impact of the transition to a digital economy on the sustainable development of Russian regions

Abstract

Nowadays Russia's regions are in the process of transition to a digital economy induced by both general global trends and the Russian federal policy, manifested in implementing the National Program "Digital Economy of the Russian Federation" or providing support to the development of 30 Technology Platforms. This study is of immediate interest to identify potential risks to the transition of Russia's regions to a digital economy. It makes its objective to determine the levels of preparedness and overall capability in regions that would allow for their transition to a digital economy in the course of establishing and developing the regional systems of sustainable production and consumption. Moreover, structuralizing the strengths and weaknesses of the region during its transition is another area of interest to the research. The paper relies on the content analysis of the statutes and regulations governing the transition of Russia's regions to a digital economy and on the study of their implementation to elicit the major consequences of such a transition for the regional systems of production and consumption in terms of their sustainability, to shed light on prospects for sustainable production and consumption in Russia's regions during their transition to a digital economy and to formulate recommendations for the development of sustainable production and consumption against this background. The analysis has revealed that despite the overall positive impact of the digitalization of Russia's regional economies on the sustainability of regional systems of production and consumption manifested in a reduction in the ecological footprint of consumption, the improved quality of management decisions, the enhanced environmental quality of public purchases, there are considerable risks associated with a decline in lifestyle sustainability, a change in the morphological waste composition of production and consumption as well as a slowdown in the decreasing trend in the energy intensity of the economy[24].