Analysis and Modelling of the Structure of Consumer Expenditures of Rural Households in Russia

Nowadays all countries tend to become more and more socially oriented. The ultimate goal of any government state is to ensure the welfare of its population and maintain high standards of living. Unfortunately, rural households, being mostly the most deprived segments of the Russia’s nation, are particularly vulnerable to poverty. Thus, they are the most affected by various financial and economic crises. This fact, in turn, results in growing imbalance of income distribution between urban and rural areas, increasing the differentiation level of the population. The relevance of this study is that the consumer expenditure is a key indicator of the quality of life, thus it reflects the main feature of real socio-economic situation. The main aim of this paper is to analyze the structure of consumer expenditures of rural households in Russia. The distinctive feature of countryside of modern Russia is low level of socio-economic development. Using basic descriptive analysis tools, we analyzed the main trends in distribution of consumer spending. The classification of Russian rural regions was performed based on the share of different consumer expenses. Finally, using a panel regression model we analyzed the influence of socio-economic factors on the structure of consumer spending.