Belyaeva G.I., Khmeleva G.A. Assessment Improvement of Human-Centered Development of Regions of Volga Federal District

Galina  I.  Belyaeva
Samara State Technical University, Samara, Russian Federation
Galina A.  Khmeleva
Samara State University of Economics, Samara, Russian Federation

Abstract. In this paper, the concept of regional human-centered development is interpreted as a system-forming paradigm that determines the socio-economic development of the Volga Federal District regions through the priority of human capital and balanced spatial development of territories. The achievement of economic growth here is due to the implementation of balanced human-centered development and the creation of favorable conditions for the migration attractiveness of the territories. The article presents a comprehensive assessment of the development in the regions of the Volga Federal District through the human-centered approach. The purpose of the study is to calculate and analyze indicators that characterize the dynamics of human-centered development and the balance of regional economic systems. The empirical base was data of the Federal Service of State Statistics on 14 federal entities of the Volga Federal District for 2014–2023. The research methodology involves calculation of the author’s original coefficient of human-centered development (KHC), which integrally includes the dynamics of a composite human-centeredness index, labor productivity, and net migration rate, as well as a balance coefficient (KBHC) reflecting migration attractiveness. The key findings reveal that 52.4% of observations in the Volga Federal District over the study period demonstrate positive dynamics of human-centered development. Clear leaders with sustainable balanced growth (the Republic of Tatarstan and Nizhny Novgorod Oblast) and outsiders with a predominance of negative trends and migration outflow (the Chuvash Republic, Perm Krai, and Orenburg Oblast) were identified. It was established that unbalanced development, leading to migration loss, characterizes 74.5% of observations. The scientific novelty consists in the development and testing of a coefficient-based assessment toolkit that links social, economic, and migration indicators within the framework of the concept of human-centricity. The results obtained can be used to adjust regional policy aimed at life quality improvement and consolidating the population. Authors’ contribution. G.I. Belyaeva – development of a set of evaluation indicators, methodological approach, collection, processing, and analysis of data, and writing the review, methodology, research results, and article design; G.A. Khmeleva – general formulation of research goals and objectives, the introduction, conclusion, and article abstract.
Key words: regional development, concept of human-centricity, composite human-centeredness index, coefficient of regional development, coefficient of balanced development, migration attractiveness.
Citation. Belyaeva G.I., Khmeleva G.A., 2026. Assessment Improvement of Human-Centered Development of Regions of Volga Federal District. Regionalnaya ekonomika. Yug Rossii [Regional Economy. South of Russia], vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 85-96. (in Russian). DOI: https://doi.org/10.15688/re.volsu.2026.2.8

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