2072-64142411-1406

10.17059/ekon.reg.2026-2-9

Regional Disparities in the Levels and Dynamics of Child Well-Being in Russia

Региональная дифференциация уровня и динамики детского благополучия в России

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3958-6630

Kalabikhina

Irina E.

Калабихина

Ирина Евгеньевна

ikalabikhina@yandex.ru

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0386-857X

Kuchmaeva

Oksana V.

Кучмаева

Оксана Викторовна

kuchmaeva@yandex.ru

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7567-3184

Kazbekova

Zarina G.

Казбекова

Зарина Германовна

kazbekova.zarina@bk.ru

Lomonosov Moscow State UniversityМГУ имени М. В. Ломоносова

26062026

2223523660412202531032026

2026

Irina E. Kalabikhina, Oksana V. Kuchmaeva, Zarina G. Kazbekova

Ирина Евгеньевна Калабихина, Оксана Викторовна Кучмаева, Зарина Германовна Казбекова

CC BY 4.0

https://www.economyofregions.org/ojs/index.php/er/article/view/1442

https://www.economyofregions.org/ojs/index.php/er/article/download/1442/1513

The paper proposes a methodology for calculating the Statistical Index of Child Well-being, developed for Rosstat and tested with the support of the Timchenko Foundation using 2018–2022 data. Based on 27 Rosstat indicators, the index introduces a dual regional classification by domains of child well-being and by observed improvement outcomes. The aim of the study is to identify types of Russian regions according to the level and dynamics of child well-being in 2018–2022 using the integrated Child Well-being Index and its component sub-indices. Correlation analysis is conducted to examine the relationship between the Child Well-being Index (and its sub-indices) and regional socio-economic conditions, including gross regional product (GRP) per capita and income inequality. In addition, cluster analysis is applied to classify Russian regions based on child well-being indicators. The results reveal significant regional disparities in both the composite child well-being index and its sub-indices. Several stable regional groups are identified: regions with consistently high levels of child well-being, which may serve as benchmarks for effective policy practices; regions with persistently low levels; regions with a sustained decline in the index; regions demonstrating steady improvement; and regions characterized by unstable dynamics. The analysis shows that the dynamics of child well-being are associated with the level of regional economic development, with higher GRP per capita corresponding to higher index values and more favourable dynamics. Income inequality primarily affects sub-indices related to the financial well-being of families and public expenditure levels. Future research directions include identifying determinants of fluctuations in the Child Well-being Index and developing a reduced “mini-index” based on a smaller set of indicators to enable quarterly monitoring of child well-being dynamics.

Сложность и многоаспектность понятия «детское благополучие» обусловливает интерес к формированию методики и проведению сравнительной региональной оценки на основе интегральных показателей. Авторами предложена методика расчета Статистического индекса детского благополучия (СИДБ), разработанного по заказу Росстата и апробированного при поддержке Фонда Тимченко на данных за 2018–2022 гг. Индекс строится на основе официальных данных Росстата (27 показателей). Особенностью представленного подхода выступает классификация регионов по традиционным доменам благополучия детей, а также по типам достигнутых результатов в совершенствовании детского благополучия. Цель работы: выделить разные типы регионов по уровню и динамике детского благополучия в России в 2018–2022 гг., используя комплексный индекс детского благополучия и его составляющие. Позитивная динамика проявлялась в период до 2021 г., затем произошло ухудшение ситуации для большинства регионов. Результаты группировок и кластерного анализа подтвердили значительную дифференциацию регионов России по интегральному показателю детского благополучия, а также по субиндексам, учитывающим отдельные его характеристики. Сформированы группы регионов по уровню и динамике изменения СИДБ: с устойчиво высоким положением СИДБ; с устойчиво низким положением на фоне других регионов; проявляющие устойчивую тенденция к снижению индекса; с устойчивой тенденцией к увеличению индекса; с нестабильной динамикой. Корреляционный анализ показал наличие связи СИДБ и его субиндексов с экономическим положением региона (ВРП на душу населения): чем выше уровень ВРП на душу населения, тем выше и значение СИДБ, его динамика. Экономическое неравенство слабее связано с благополучием детей, оказывает влияние прежде всего на субиндексы, затрагивающие материальное благополучие семей и текущие бюджетные расходы. Перспективы исследования видятся в определении детерминант, влияющих на колебания СИДБ, а также в разработке мини-СИДБ, опирающегося на меньший набор индикаторов, который позволит отслеживать динамику детского благополучия с квартальной периодичностью.

child well-beingstatistical index of child well-beingindex methoddynamics of child well-beingtypes of outcomes in child well-being improvementsdomains of the child well-being indexregional differentiationcluster analysisGRP per capitaeconomic inequality

детское благополучиестатистический индекс детского благополучияиндексный методдинамика детского благополучиятипы результатов повышения благополучиядомены индекса детского благополучиярегиональная дифференциациякластерный анализВРПнеравенство

Akram, S., & Pervaiz, Z. (2025). Assessing Inequality of Opportunities for Child Well-Being in Pakistan. Child Indicators Research, 18, 525–542. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-024-10205-7

Andrews, A. B., & Kaufman, N. (1999). Implementing the U. N. Convention on the Rights of the Child: A Standard of Living Adequate for Development. Westport, CT: Praeger, 280.

Bradshaw, J. (Ed.). (2016). The Well-Being of Children in the UK (4th ed.). Bristol, United Kingdom: Policy Press. 448.

Casas, F., Bello, A., González, M., & Aligué, M. (2013). Children’s Subjective Well-Being Measured Using a Composite Index: What Impacts Spanish First-Year Secondary Education Students’ Subjective Well-Being? Child Indicators Research, 6, 433–460. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-013-9182-x

Conti, G., & Heckman, J. J. (2012). The Economics of Child Well-Being. NBER Working Paper (No. 18466). National Bureau of Economic Research. https://doi.org/10.3386/w18466

Dijkstra, T. K. (2009). Child Well-Being in Rich Countries: UNICEF’s Ranking Revisited, and New Symmetric Aggregating Operators Exemplifed. Child Indicators Research, 2 (3), 303–317. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-009-9036-8

Gurko, T. A. (2021). Children’s Well-Being in Various Family Structures: A Review of Foreign Research Results. Vestnik Nizhegorodskogo Universiteta Im. N. I. Lobachevskogo. Seriya: Sotsial’nye Nauki [Vestnik of Lobachevsky State University of Nizhni Novgorod. Series: Social Sciences], (1(61)), 45–53. https://doi.org/10.52452/18115942_2021_1_45 (In Russ.)

Heshmati, A., Tausch, A., & Bajalan, C. S. J. (2008). Measurement and Analysis of Child Well-Being in Middle and High Income Countries. The European Journal of Comparative Economics, 5 (2), 187–249. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1078897

Hur, Y., & Testerman, R. (2012). An Index of Child Well-Being at a Local Level in the US: The Case of North Carolina Counties. Child Indicators Research, 5, 29–53. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-010-9087-x

Kalabikhina, I. E. (2016). Sotsialnoe Byudzhetirovanie: Uchebnoe Posobie [Social Budgeting: A Textbook]. Moscow: Faculty of Economics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, 128. (In Russ.)

Kalabikhina, I. E. (Ed.). (2023). Kak Izmerit Blagopoluchie Detey v Rossiyskikh Regionakh: Metodicheskie Materialy [How to Measure the Well-Being of Children in Russian Regions: Methodological Materials]. Moscow: MAKS Press, 98. https://doi.org/10.29003/m3562.978-5-317-07054-0 (In Russ.)

Kalabikhina, I. E., Kuchmaeva, O. V., Kazbekova, Z. G., & Seredkina, E. A. (2024). Integral Assessments of Child Well-Being. Voprosy Statistiki, 31 (4), 34–55. https://doi.org/10.34023/2313-6383-2024-31-4-34-55 EDN: UARRNY (In Russ.)

Kalabikhina, I. E., & Seredkina, E. A. (2022). The Cost of a Newborn Set and a First-Grader Set as Indicators of the Families with Children Material Well-Being in the Russian Regions. Uroven’ Zhizni Naseleniya Regionov Rossii [Living Standards of the Population in the Regions of Russia], 18 (1), 60–71. https://doi.org/10.19181/lsprr.2022.18.1.5 (In Russ.)

Lawler, M. J., Newland, L. A., Giger, J. T., Roh, S., & Brockevelt, B. L. (2017). Ecological, Relationship-Based Model of Children’s Subjective Well-Being: Perspectives of 10-Year-Old Children in the United States and 10 Other Countries. Child Indicators Research, 10, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-016-9376-0

Main, G. (2019). Money Matters: A Nuanced Approach to Understanding the Relationship Between Household Income and Child Subjective Well-Being. Child Indicators Research, 12, 1125–1145. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-018-9574-z

McKee, D., & Todd, P. E. (2011). The Longer-Term Effects of Human Capital Enrichment Programs on Poverty and Inequality. Oportunidades in Mexico. Estudios De Economia, 38 (1), 67–100. https://doi.org/10.4067/s0718-52862011000100004

Moore, K. A. (2020). Developing an Indicator System to Measure Child Well-Being: Lessons Learned Over Time. Child Indicators Research, 13, 729–739. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-019-09644-4

Moore, K. A., Murphey, D., Bandy, T., & Lawner, E. (2014). Indices of Child Well-Being and Developmental Contexts.

In A. Ben-Arieh, F. Casas, I. Frønes, & J. E. Korbin (Eds.), Handbook of Child Well-Being (pp. 2807–2825). Dordrecht: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9063-8_139

Navidmanesh, S., Kadkhodaee, M., Ghadirinokabadi, L., & Emamifar, A. (2025). Resolving Conceptual and Practical Gaps in Current Child Well-Being Models Through the Holistic Well-Being Model for Children. Discover Psychology, 5, 52. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44202-025-00382-z

Natsun, L. N. (2022). Differentiation of the Formation Children’s Human Potential Depending on the Income Level of Families. Vestnik Nizhegorodskogo Universiteta Im. N. I. Lobachevskogo. Seriya: Sotsial’nye Nauki [Vestnik of Lobachevsky State University of Nizhni Novgorod. Series: Social Sciences], (4(68)), 126–134. https://doi.org/10.52452/18115942_2022_4_125 (In Russ.)

Newland, L. A., Lawler, M. J., Giger, J. T., Roh, S., & Carr, E. R. (2015). Predictors of Children’s Subjective Well-Being in Rural Communities of the United States. Child Indicators Research, 8 (1), 177–198. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-014-9287-x

O’Hare, W. P., Mather, M., Dupuis, G., Land, K. C., Lamb, V. L., & Fu, Q. (2013). Analyzing Differences in Child Well-Being Among U.S. States. Child Indicators Research, 6, 401–431. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-012-9173-3

Prada, A., & Sánchez-Fernández, P. (2021). World Child Well-Being Index: A Multidimensional Perspective. Child Indicators Research, 14 (6), 2119–2144. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-021-09848-7

Rees, G. (2017). Children’s Views on Their Lives and Well-Being: Findings from the Children’s Worlds Project (Children’s Well-Being: Indicators and Research, Vol. 18). Cham: Springer International Publishing, 184. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65196-5

Richardson, D., & Ali, N. (2014). An Evaluation of International Surveys of Children. OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers (No. 146). Paris: OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/5jxzmjrqvntf-en

Vaynshtok, A. P., Yurkov, E. F., Yudina, T. N., & Yakuba, V. I. (2021). Estimation of the Child Well-Being Index in the Administrative Subjects of the Russian Federation Based on the Threshold Aggregation Model. Informatsionnye Protsessy [Information Processes], 21 (1), 40–49. https://doi.org/10.53921/18195822_2021_21_1_40 (In Russ.)

Вайншток, А. П., Юрков, Е. Ф., Юдина, Т. Н., Якуба, В. И. (2021). Оценивание индекса благополучия детей в субъектах РФ на основе пороговой модели агрегирования. Информационные процессы, 21 (1), 40–49. https://doi.org/10.53921/18195822_2021_21_1_40

Гурко, Т. А. (2021). Благополучие детей в различных семейных структурах: обзор результатов зарубежных исследований. Вестник Нижегородского университета им. Н.И. Лобачевского. Серия: Социальные науки, (1(61)), 45–53. https://doi.org/10.52452/18115942_2021_1_45

Калабихина, И. Е. (2016). Социальное бюджетирование: Учебное пособие. Москва: Экономический факультет МГУ им. М. В. Ломоносова, 128.

Калабихина, И. Е., Середкина, Е. А. (2022). Стоимость наборов новорождённого и первоклассника как индикаторы материального благополучия семей с детьми в регионах России. Уровень жизни населения регионов России, 18 (1), 60–71. https://doi.org/10.19181/lsprr.2022.18.1.5

Калабихина, И. Е. (Ред.). (2023). Как измерить благополучие детей в российских регионах: Методические материалы. Москва: МАКС Пресс, 98. https://doi.org/10.29003/m3562.978-5-317-07054-0

Калабихина, И. Е., Кучмаева, О. В., Казбекова, З. Г., Середкина, Е. А. (2024). Интегральные оценки детского благополучия. Вопросы статистики, 31 (4), 34–55. https://doi.org/10.34023/2313-6383-2024-31-4-34-55 EDN: UARRNY

Нацун, Л. Н. (2022). Дифференциация сформированности человеческого потенциала детей в зависимости от уровня дохода семей. Вестник Нижегородского университета им. Н.И. Лобачевского. Серия: Социальные науки, (4(68)), 126–134. https://doi.org/10.52452/18115942_2022_4_125

Akram, S., & Pervaiz, Z. (2025). Assessing inequality of opportunities for child well-being in Pakistan. Child Indicators Research, 18, 525–542. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-024-10205-7

Andrews, A. B., & Kaufman, N. (1999). Implementing the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child: A standard of living adequate for development. Westport, CT: Praeger, 280.

Bradshaw, J. (Ed.). (2016). The well-being of children in the UK (4th ed.). Bristol, United Kingdom: Policy Press, 448.

Casas, F., Bello, A., González, M., & Aligué, M. (2013). Children’s subjective well-being measured using a composite index: What impacts Spanish first-year secondary education students’ subjective well-being? Child Indicators Research, 6, 433–460. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-013-9182-x

Conti, G., & Heckman, J. J. (2012). The economics of child well-being. NBER Working Paper (No. 18466). National Bureau of Economic Research. https://doi.org/10.3386/w18466

Dijkstra, T. K. (2009). Child well-being in rich countries: UNICEF’s ranking revisited, and new symmetric aggregating operators exemplifed. Child Indicators Research, 2 (3), 303–317. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-009-9036-8

Heshmati, A., Tausch, A., & Bajalan, C. S. J. (2008). Measurement and analysis of child well-being in middle and high income countries. The European Journal of Comparative Economics, 5 (2), 187–249. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1078897

Hur, Y., & Testerman, R. (2012). An index of child well-being at a local level in the US: The case of North Carolina counties. Child Indicators Research, 5, 29–53. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-010-9087-x

Lawler, M. J., Newland, L. A., Giger, J. T., Roh, S., & Brockevelt, B. L. (2017). Ecological, relationship-based model

of children’s subjective well-being: Perspectives of 10-year-old children in the United States and 10 other countries. Child Indicators Research, 10, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-016-9376-0

Main, G. (2019). Money matters: A nuanced approach to understanding the relationship between household income and child subjective well-being. Child Indicators Research, 12, 1125–1145. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-018-9574-z

McKee, D., & Todd, P. E. (2011). The longer-term effects of human capital enrichment programs on poverty and inequality. Oportunidades in Mexico. Estudios De Economia, 38 (1), 67–100. https://doi.org/10.4067/s0718-52862011000100004

Moore, K. A. (2020). Developing an indicator system to measure child well-being: Lessons learned over time. Child Indicators Research, 13, 729–739. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-019-09644-4

Moore, K. A., Murphey, D., Bandy, T., & Lawner, E. (2014). Indices of child well-being and developmental contexts. In A. Ben-Arieh, F. Casas, I. Frønes, & J. E. Korbin (Eds.), Handbook of child well-being (pp. 2807–2825). Dordrecht: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9063-8_139

Navidmanesh, S., Kadkhodaee, M., Ghadirinokabadi, L., & Emamifar, A. (2025). Resolving conceptual and practical gaps in current child well-being models through the holistic well-being model for children. Discover Psychology, 5, 52. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44202-025-00382-z

Newland, L. A., Lawler, M. J., Giger, J. T., Roh, S., & Carr, E. R. (2015). Predictors of children’s subjective well-being in rural communities of the United States. Child Indicators Research, 8 (1), 177–198. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-014-9287-x

O’Hare, W. P., Mather, M., Dupuis, G., Land, K. C., Lamb, V. L., & Fu, Q. (2013). Analyzing differences in child well-being among U.S. States. Child Indicators Research, 6, 401–431. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-012-9173-3

Prada, A., & Sánchez-Fernández, P. (2021). World child well-being index: A multidimensional perspective. Child indicators research, 14 (6), 2119–2144. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-021-09848-7

Rees, G. (2017). Children’s views on their lives and well-being: Findings from the Children’s Worlds project (Children’s Well-Being: Indicators and Research, Vol. 18). Cham: Springer International Publishing, 184. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65196-5

Richardson, D., & Ali, N. (2014). An evaluation of international surveys of children. OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers (No. 146). Paris: OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/5jxzmjrqvntf-en