Mareeva S.V. Non-monetary inequalities in modern Russia: Specifics and dynamics under the crisis of 2020. Terra Economicus. 2021. Vol. 19. No. 4. P. 77–91.

Текст статьи на сайте журнала URL: https://te.sfedu.ru/arkhiv-nomerov/2021/184-nomer-4/2765-prostranstvo-nemonetarnykh-neravenstv-v-rossijskom-obshchestve-sostoyanie-i-posledstviya-krizisa-2020-g.html (дата обращения 21.01.2022)

Abstract

Based on data from the all-Russian representative studies carried out by FCTAS RAS in 2018-2020, the system of non-monetary inequalities in modern Russian society and the changes that have occurred under the influence of the crisis caused by the first wave of the pandemic are analyzed. It is shown that the key axes of non-monetary inequalities that form the social space are characterized by a high degree of concentration - the presence of a “safety cushion”, favorable employment conditions, good health and education, and subjective well-being are typical of only a minority of the population. Along all these axes, the very nature of inequality is determined by the qualitative differences between the small “top” and the rest of the mass strata. In other words, the position in the system of non-monetary inequalities to a greater extent differentiates the most high-income strata from other Russians, rather than the low-income. Digital inequality in its basic meaning looks different - today the availability of digital opportunities is no longer concentrated in the upper strata, but their absence is characteristic of the lower strata. With regard to inequality in employment conditions, the differentiation of the working population occurs by degree of infringement of basic rights and alienation of labor, i.e. by deprivation, while the availability of additional benefits is characterized by their high availability only for a minority of working Russians. The last crisis has had a different impact on non-monetary inequalities, but these changes did not affect the general configuration of social space, because they did not reduce their concentration. The results have confirmed that inequality in the mass strata of the population in modern Russian society is associated not only with differences in the level of current income. Although the position of individuals in the system of monetary and non-monetary inequalities often does not coincide, non-monetary inequalities are superimposed on monetary inequalities and exacerbate them rather than smooth them out.