title: Spread of COVID-19 in the Russian regions in 2020: factors of excess mortality
abstract: The paper identifies major factors associated with the pandemic spread in the Russian regions, using econometric models and nonlinear «Random Forest» models to assess their significance. The study is based on data of the Russian regions for March-December 2020, a balanced panel sample included 780 observations. Prevalence of the pandemic was estimated based on the excess mortality rate. The study has identified a positive relationship between excess mortality and the share of migrants and a nega
journal: Population and Economics