Content №4 от 2024
Purchasing Power of Workers by Sectors in Russian Regions
This paper aims to analyze the purchasing power coefficient of Russia’s working population, focusing on regional differences, sectors of economic activity, and decile groups. The study specifically examines workers with a relatively acceptable level of earnings-those not living in poverty but also not considered wealthy. This approach is uncommon and underexplored, but it offers valuable insights into the welfare of Russian workers, potentially benefiting both researchers and regional authorities.
The article introduces the concepts of minimum necessary and acceptable wage levels and examines the distribution of workers across decile groups based on purchasing power. It covers 85 constituent entities of the Russian Federation and 18 sectors of economic activity, classified according to OKVED 2, over the period from 2017 to 2022. The analysis reveals that workers’ ability to achieve minimum necessary and acceptable wage levels varies by employment sector. Over time, the disparity in meeting minimum wage levels decreases across most regions, while the gap in achieving acceptable wage levels widens. The study identifies the most and least favorable sectors for achieving acceptable earnings and draws conclusions on regions with pronounced sectoral specializations.
