Geographic mobility between the regions of the Russian Federation: barriers and economic costs

Nadezhda Tikhomirova

The level of human capital mobility is extremely low in Russia. This has been lately proved by numerous research works. In this research paper we focus on major macroeconomic factors that determine mobility intensity between the Russian regions. We point out such key barriers as low income, high prices for housing, institutional factor and direct moving costs. We also attempt to account for social and psychological determinants of mobility. Within this work we discover the four main regions - leaders in attracting migrants. These are the following: Moscow-city, St. Petersburg-city, Krasnodarsky kray and Tumenskaya oblast. This paper gives a rather determined analysis of moving possibilities and expediency towards the above listed migration centers. Summarizing, we present moving incentives for different regions' residents and factors that determine their migration behaviour. We get direct mobility costs and estimate in a way their elasticity to changes in key migration barriers.