Analysis of the heterogeneity factors and assessment of the structural levels of inflation in Russian regions

The article analyzes the factors of deviation of regional rates of price growth from the national average and estimates the structural levels of inflation in Russian regions, which can be achieved if the Bank of Russia maintains inflation at 4%. The assessment of the structural levels of regional inflation was carried out using groupings of regions according to the degree of labor mobility, transport accessibility, sectoral specifics of the economy, the share of social transfers in the population's income, and the region's affiliation with the federal district. The greatest significance was shown by such factors of heterogeneity of regional inflation as the volume of lending to individuals, the level of price rigidity, inflationary expectations and the nominal effective exchange rate of the ruble. In addition, for each Russian region, an assessment of labor mobility was given through the Okun coefficient. It is concluded that the Balassa-Samuelson effect in the long-term period is a significant factor in inflation heterogeneity only in regions with high labor mobility. The results of assessing the structural levels of regional inflation can be taken into account in the development of monetary policy and in the implementation of the information policy of the Bank of Russia.