STATE SUPPORT AND PROSPECTS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF AGRICULTURE IN RUSSIAN REGIONS

Purpose: The aim of this study is to investigate whether agricultural production increases due to state support in the programs and activities on development of agriculture in Russian regions. Design/methodology/approach: Authors have collected data on 85 Russian regions for the 2013-2017 years from Unified Interdepartmental Information and Statistical System (EMISS) of the Russian Federation. Panel regressions with fixed effects were employed to estimate the impact of state support funds amount on the increase in agricultural production using up to three years lag. Findings: The regression analysis confirmed statistically significant positive impact of state support on the agriculture production in Russian regions. The study showed that state support for agriculture is highly effective in the short term, however, its impact increases over time. Research/practical implications: The study results can be used to justify the increase in the budget funds expenditure to support agriculture, taking into account Russia's WTO commitments. Also, they can find practical implications in the formulation of state and regional programs for the development of agriculture and other industries for future periods. Originality/value: This study stands out from other studies on the effectiveness of state support for agriculture in the Russian Federation by the fact that there were no significant researches, which would confirm a strong positive effect of the support being implemented. The study proved that state support for agriculture in the Russian Federation has positive effects in short and medium term.