A Regional Perspective on the Economic Development of the late Russian Empire

Abstract

This paper analyzes the relative impacts of geographical and institutional factors on the economic development of the late Russian empire. I reconstruct gross regional products and labor productivity for all provinces of the empire around 1900 for the first time. My estimates highlight substantial heterogeneity within a middle-income country. I show that both natural advantages – sea access, mineral resources, land abundance – and institutions, in particular the legacy of serfdom, account for the observed variation. I also provide evidence that market potential and specialization externalities played a role.

Keywords: Russia, national accounting, economic development, geography, institutions

JEL Classification: N13, N15