PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS OF FINANCIAL SERVICES AVAILABILITY IMPROVENEBT IN RUSSIAN REGIONS

Abstract

The relevance of this study is related to the fact that every national financial system in the world has some degree of financially excluded population, and only the proportion of such population varies between countries or regions of a country. The importance of identifying the financially excluded population in Russia and its regions and developing a policy to reduce its proportion is an urgent task that will help develop the financial sector and address the most important social tasks outlined in presidential decrees. The purpose of the study is to develop a working definition of financial exclusion, conduct a study of financial inclusion in Russian regions and, based on its results, develop measures to increase the availability of financial services in constituent entities of the Russian Federation. The subject of this research is the quality of financial system of the Russian Federation. The research method or methodology is based on a comprehensive analysis of the systems for designing indicators of the availability of financial services developed by such international organizations as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion, the Alliance for Financial Inclusion, and their application, while taking into account the specifics and approaches to definition and measurement of the availability of financial services at the national level. As a result of the work carried out, the international practice of increasing availability of financial services was reviewed, a methodological approach to studying the availability of financial services at the national and federal levels was developed and tested, and recommendations on increasing the availability of financial services in regions of Russia were given. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the collection and analysis of unique data on the state of financial services availability in the Russian regions. The recommendations produced as a result of the study indicate the need for further improvement of the financial system in terms of its focus on young people, people with a low level of education and socially unprotected segments of the population (need for new products and services), increasing the level of financial literacy of population and ensuring its well-being. The project was carried out as part of research work by the Laboratory for Structural Research of the RANEPA Institute of Applied Economic Research in 2021.

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