Content №3 от 2016
Human Development in the BRICS Countries: Similarities and Differences
Drawing on the UNDP report, the article examines the trends of human capital development and its national specificities in the BRICS countries for the period of 1980-2014. We introduce rankings for the BRICS countries according to human development indicators and compare the levels of social inequality and human development by country groups and socio-demographic groups of the population. The main indicators characterizing human development in the BRICS member states are the following: life expectancy, the length of upcoming education, and gross national income. The BRICS countries exhibit high and medium levels of human development; at the same time, there is a positive trend in human development. We conclude that the levels of human development and social inequality are inversely related; the current intense inequality of income distribution seems illegitimate for the majority of Russian citizens. We present an outline of social policy designed to mitigate social inequalities and elaborate promising measures for human capital development in the Russian Federation.
