The Stability of Inequality and Poverty in Russian in the First Period of Transition: Wage Arrears and Secondary Employment Cover Image

移行初期ロシアにおける不平等の固定化と貧困-賃金支払遅延と第2雇用-
The Stability of Inequality and Poverty in Russian in the First Period of Transition: Wage Arrears and Secondary Employment

Author(s): Yuka Takeda
Subject(s): Social Sciences
Published by: Slavic Research Center

Summary/Abstract: The main purpose of this paper is to explain inequality and poverty in Russia in the first period of transition and to get a clear idea of inequality and poverty in Russia. Poverty is closely associated with the stability of inequality. Therefore, examining the process of the stability of inequality will help to identify factors of poverty. Data on wages reported by Goskomstat is “wages due,” or contracted wages. However, “wages due” may deviate from “acquired wages.” In Russia, “wages due (+)” are frequently not paid in time and completely, which generates “wage arrears (-).” Meanwhile, workers may have “additional earnings from secondary employment (+).” Therefore, “acquired wages” can be defined as the sum of three factors: “wages due (+),” “wage arrears (-),” and “additional wages from secondary employment (+).” And two factors among them, that is, “wage arrears” and “secondary employment” should be considered in the analysis of income inequality and its increase, because they are the fluctuating factors of “acquired wages.” Taking these two factors into consideration, we discuss inequality of “opportunity of getting wages” and the stability of inequality. Through the concept of “opportunity of getting wages,” the following are examined; which groups are suffering from wage arrears and which ones have better access to secondary employment?

  • Issue Year: 2000
  • Issue No: 47
  • Page Range: 71-90
  • Page Count: 20
  • Language: Japanese