Does the investment climate rating influence the economic development of the region?

The paper examines the impact of improving the characteristics of the national investment climate rating of a subject of the Russian Federation on economic development. Based on the analysis of regional panel data for the period from 2014 to 2018, it was shown that an increase in the rating of a region is associated with an inflow of investments and an increase in GRP. One of the identified channels of this influence is associated with the market of highly skilled labor. It is demonstrated that, given the inaccessibility of detailed information about the results of the regions development to investors, the rating does not fully function as a signal to them. Based on the obtained results, the recommendations for improving the rating methodology were formulated.