A Medium-Term Interindustry Econometric Model of the Moscow Economy

Abstract

As the largest Russian region with high socio-economic indicators, Moscow affects economic development of the whole country. Therefore, the present study aims to develop a model to forecast main indicators of the Moscow economy. To accomplish the task, it is necessary to: a) choose a suitable model and forecasting methods; b) transform available regional statistics into an appropriate form; c) select an algorithm for assessing the impact of detailed budget expenditures on the Moscow economy; d) combine the obtained results to construct a forecasting model. The proposed medium-term forecasting model of the Moscow economy includes both interindustry and econometric approaches. The study justified the use of cross-validation metrics for selecting optimal econometric forecasting models. An algorithm for converting budget expenditure data from detailed expenditure codes into economic activities and product data was developed. We assessed the impact of Moscow’s budget expenditures on the economy considering intra-city interindustry connections. According to the model calculations, two complex macroeconomic forecasts were used as scenarios: the base forecast of the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia (April 2023) and the lower-growth forecast of the Institute of Economic Forecasting of the Russian Academy of Sciences (March 2023). The scenario of the Ministry of Economic Development assumes that, in 2023–2025, the Russian gross domestic product (GDP) in constant prices will increase by 1.2, 2.0 and 2.6 %, respectively. The gross regional product (GRP) of Moscow is expected to increase by 0.5, 0.8 and 1.2 %, respectively. The calculations show that, depending on these scenarios, Moscow’s GRP in current prices will grow up to 30.9-31.7 trillion roubles by 2025. Moscow budget expenditure multiplier for GRP is estimated as 0.76-0.77 for 2023-2025.