Income Inequality in Russian Federation: a Cross-Temporal and Cross-Spatial Analysis

Abstract

Irina Gerasimova — Leading Research Fellow, Central Economics and Mathematics Institute, RAS (CEMI RAS). Address: 47, Nakhimovskii Ave., Moscow, 117418, Russian Federation. E-mail: irina.guerassimova@gmail.com.

Elena Gerasimova — Research Fellow, Central Economics and Mathematics Institute, RAS (CEMI RAS). Address: 47, Nakhimovskii Ave., Moscow, 117418, Russian Federation. E-mail: landar.sky@gmail.com.

We recognize three major dimensions of the inequality problem in Russia: the micro-dimension (the level of individuals, households and families), meso-dimension (the level of territories, i.e. districts and regions) and temporal dimension (i.e. the dynamics of inequality in the context of socioeconomic development in general). In this paper, we define inequality in terms of income distribution. Particularly, we investigate the major trends and changes in this distribution across 79 Russian regions using the above mentioned dimensions and drawing on data from official statistical sources (Rosstat) from 1995-2012.
This paper contains a detailed overview of changes in the following indicators: the gross volume of population income and its components (size of population and per capita population, expressed in current prices); the quintile distribution of population income in Russia (compared to several former Soviet republics and several OECD countries); and the distribution of income across Russian territories (i.e. federal districts). Our findings suggest that the recent growth in population income has been mostly inflational, and that Russia is still a highly unequal society in terms of individual wellbeing (with levels of inequality exceeding the levels of the more advanced countries).
Moreover, there is persisting inequality both between and within Russia’s territories (with the central federal district being remarkably unequal). However, in conducting our analysis we also note that official statistical data are still highly-insufficient and require improvement to account for intra- and inter-regional aspects of inequality. In the final part of the paper, we present ways of improving this research and extending it to study the factors maintaining the existing inequality.