Determinants of Export Diversification: The Case of Russian Regions

The hydrocarbon sector accounts for 50% of Russian exports, leading to high commodity price volatility risks for the economy. Prior literature emphasizes the role of export diversification in development and in hedging external shocks. We investigate factors affecting regional export diversification, applying method of moments quantile regression. We devise two export diversification measures, using Theil and Herfindahl indices. Our empirical findings demonstrate that innovations spur export diversification in industrial regions, while small and medium enterprises diversify exports in industrial and non-resource regions. Natural resource extraction enforces regional exports concentration. We develop policy implications for Russian regional policymakers considering the specialization of regional economies.