Tikhînova N.E. Russian Professionals: Problems of Definition, Factors in the Quality of Human Capital, and Group Structure. Universe of Russia. 2025. Vol. 34. No. 1. Pp. 57–81.

Òåêñò ñòàòüè íà ñàéòå æóðíàëà URL: https://mirros.hse.ru/article/view/24723/20385 (äàòà îáðàùåíèÿ 25.04.2025)

Abstract

As  professionals  increasingly  become  a  key  social  group,  understanding  what  determines the  quality of their human capital and their socio-economic success is of particular importance. This  article uses RLMS HSE data from 2018–2022 to demonstrate that selecting professionals for socio-structural analysis cannot be effectively achieved using the standard ISCO-08 classification. This article justifies potential recoding principles for this classifier (e.g., including all employees whose work requires higher education, regardless of the employment sector; including only those whose work is non-physical; excluding individuals whose primary function is managing others) and describes the outcomes of the recoding.The study highlights the heterogeneity among professionals in terms of the quality of  their primary  rent-bearing  asset—human  capital—in  its  classical  and  extended  interpretations. The  analysis identifies seven distinct groups of professionals, each differing in the quality of their human capital and the extent to which they can apply their education in their work. The article characterizes  each  group’s  size,  specific  features,  and  the  factors  contributing  to  variations in  salary levels and the quality of human capital among its members.The  premium  for  a  willingness  to  acquire  new  specializations  exists  only  for  Russian professionals with high-quality human capital. For others, changing specializations often results in  lower  income  and  is  typically  driven  by  necessity,  reflecting  imbalances  in  the  economy’s structure and human resources in local labor markets.The article concludes that the relatively low socio-economic standing of many professionals is not primarily due to family issues or unreasonably low wages, but rather to the characteristics of their human capital, which significantly affects their position in the labor market and economic relations  overall.  Additionally,  the  specificities  of  local  labor  markets  influence  the  structure of  the   professional   group   in   a   given   location   and   either   encourage   or   discourage its representatives from enhancing their human capital.