Scenario modelling of the impact of the dynamics of public debt on the gross regional product of Russian regions

The subject of this research is public debt and its impact on the dynamics of the gross regional product (GRP) of Russian regions. The aim of the paper is to study and scenario forecast the dynamics of changes in the internal public debt of Russian regions and model its impact on the gross regional product. The relevance of the study is due to the fact that most regions in Russia are forced to increase their internal public debt to cover the budget deficit and attract additional resources to solve important problems of socio-economic development and implement strategic projects and programs. The scientific novelty of the research consists in the development of a methodological approach to modelling and scenario forecasting of the level of GRP of different groups of regions, taking into account the dynamics of changes in their public debt using ARIMA modelling methods and panel regression analysis. The authors apply the methods of panel regression analysis and ARIMA modelling. The authors theoretically substantiated that public debt has a different effect on the GRP of Russian regions, grouped the regions according to the identified trends in the dynamics of public debt (the first group — regions with the dynamics of debt reduction over the period from 2005 to 2019, the second group — with the all-Russian trend of debt reduction since 2017, and the third group — with the dynamics of increasing debt over the period under review); developed a methodological approach to modelling and scenario forecasting of the GRP level of the Russian regions, taking into account the dynamics of changes in their public debt; carried out ARIMA forecasting of the dynamics of the public debt of different groups of regions and built regression models of the influence of the dynamics of the public debt on the GRP of Russian regions within the selected groups; formed forecast scenarios for changes of the GRP level of regions, taking into account the identified dynamics of transformation of their internal public debt. Conclusions : public debt has a negative impact on the dynamics of the GRP of Moscow and the Moscow region and a positive effect on the dynamics of the GRP of the regions of the second and third groups. The findings of the study may be used by the federal and regional executive authorities to find ways to reduce public debt and increase the level of socio-economic development of territories.