Spatial Heterogeneity of «Green» Economy and Transaction Costs in Forestry

In this paper authors provide the further elaboration in a quantitative spatial analysis of the Russian regions in the context of the green economy concept. Two quantitative factors characterizing the population welfare are considered: the total wage fund and the regional public financial fund from own revenues per capita. As key environmental indicators, the authors chose eco-intensity indicators for regional economic systems. Our estimates show substantial heterogeneity of the Russian sub-federal units on socio-environmental characteristics. It is shown that the population of many regions not only lives under high anthropogenic pressure (overall and per capita), but they are also not provided with additional resources “collective welfare” at the expense of own budget revenues, despite the disadvantageous environmental conditions. It was noted that “carbon regulation”, directed at development a low-carbon economy, should not be based on quantitative indicators, which is the same for the whole country. Due to the heterogeneity it will require fine-tuning, taking into account regional specificity of the relationships between factors of well-being and anthropogenic pressures. The aim to decline of carbon-intensity in local economies in different regions of the country will require different timelines, and the relevant “road maps” need to be taken into account. In public policy to reduce carbon emissions, special attention should be paid to the differentiation of transaction costs for managing, protecting and restoring forest ecosystems. In state policy on carbon reduction issues, one of the focuses of special attention should be on differentiating the transaction costs of managing, protecting and restoring forest ecosystems.