Voronin G. L., Evgrafova K. O, Kiseleva I. P.,Kozyreva P. M., Kosolapov M. S.,Nizamova A. E., Sivkova I. V., Smirnov A. I., Sokolova S. B., Tonis E. I. (2023) Russian Households: Dynamics of the Economic Situation (1994–2021). Vestnik of Russian Longitudinal monitoring survey HSE (RLMS-HSE). Issue 13. ...

Текст статьи/вестника на сайте НИУ ВШЭ URL: https://www.hse.ru/mirror/pubs/share/844175535.pdf (дата обращения 16.10.2023)

Abstract

This paper presents a comparative analysis of the data from 30 rounds of “Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey – Higher School of Economics” (RLMS‑HSE). The RLMS‑HSE data show that in 2021 there was an increase in real household income. After decreasing by almost a third in 2020, an average household income rose by 7.7% in 2021. However, while household income from government transfers grew by 14%, work‑related income rose slightly, by 3.9%. Income inequality declined as the average monthly income of the wealthiest households was 2.3 times that of the least wealthy in 2021, while in 2019 and 2020 the income of the wealthiest was 2.6 higher. After a sharp 30‑percent decrease in 2020, household monthly expenditures (on food and other nonfood items) increased by 3.9% in 2021. The spending gap between wealthy and low‑income households narrowed from 5.1 to 5 times. The unemployment rate among the economically active population fell from 3.4% in 2020 to 3.1% in 2021. In contrast, the labor force participation rate rose from 80.9% to 81.5%, returning to pre‑pandemic 2019 benchmark. The share of workers facing wage arrears fell and reached an all‑time low (0.6%). At the same time the share of retirees facing pension arrears continued to grow as 8.2% retired men and 6.7% retired women reported the arrears in 2021. In 2021 respondents were generally satisfied with their lives (50.6% satisfied), but not with their financial situation (55.2% dissatisfied). The subjective assessment of the material and financial prospects of households continued to slide. On the contrary, respondents felt slightly more optimistic about their prospects on the labor market. Compared to 2020, there was a decline in the share of employees who were laid‑off or retired, while poor health and enrolment became more prominent among the reasons why people wanted to quit a job in 2021.