Recessive Social Trends in the Coal-Mining Region (on Example of Kuzbass) as a Barrier for Sustainable Development

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of the dynamics of a number of development indicators of Kemerovo region, which reflect the quality of life of the population, for the period from 1999 to 2016, as well as their dependence on the state of the regional economy. The index of the volume of the gross regional product was chosen as a basic economic indicator. The correlation analysis has revealed a high degree of tightness of the direct linear connection between the growth rates of the gross regional product, on the one hand, and the positive environmental changes. The reverse linear dependence is fixed with the indicators of the level of offenses and emissions into the atmosphere. To determine the degree of impact of the economic downturn on the quality of life of the population, the authors' methodology for assessing “the subsidence” of social indicators during the crisis period was used. Its application in comparison with the all-Russian data made it possible to draw a number of conclusions: in Kemerovo region, the problems of unemployment and negative environmental trends are more acute than in the whole country.