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Russia
Since the beginning of Gorbachev’s Perestroika through
the collapse of the Soviet Union and the building of the present-day Russian Federation,
profound social, economic, and political transformations have reshaped
individual and family lives in Russia.
For example, Perestroika and the transition to a market economy have
increased personal freedom and diversified the economy. However,
with privatization and the relaxation of government controls, the reach of Russia’s
system of social protection has likewise diminished. Inflation and
instability throughout the 1990s devalued the Russian currency and caused the
cost of living to soar. The economic crisis in 1998 exacerbated
pre-existing vulnerabilities, increasing poverty and inequality. [24] As the
government struggled with the pressures of financial crisis, social
assistance and pension allowances were not paid, [25] and social
supports such as subsidized child-care programs, [26] subsidized
education through the tertiary levels, [27] , and
subsidized health care [28] -
which were once available to all citizens - were reduced.
As Russia transitioned
to a market economy, the nation saw an increase in income inequality and a
marked decline in health conditions. While
estimates vary, 26 percent of the Russian population, 36.5 million people,
were living below the poverty line of 1,817 rubles ($57) in 2002. [29] From 1998 to 2001, reported cases of HIV/AIDS
nearly doubled [30] and
the incidence of tuberculosis [31] tripled
between 1991 and 2000. A nationwide survey of 30 million children
conducted by the Russian Ministry of Health has revealed that 60 percent of
children in Russia are
in poor physical or psychological health, with the most common illnesses
including digestive and motor system problems as well as behavioral and
nervous disorders. Additional findings from this same survey showed
that half of Russia’s
expectant mothers are malnourished and two-thirds of Russian babies are not
born healthy. [32]
Between 1987 and 1994 women’s life expectancy dropped from 74.3 to
71.2, and men’s life expectancy from 64.9 to 57.7. [33] This
rapid decline is likely attributable to a combination of factors including
economic and social instability, high rates of tobacco and alcohol
consumption, poor nutrition, depression, and the deterioration of Russian
health care system. [34]
Today, as the economy begins to recover, workers in Russia
still face a choice between very low paying, though relatively secure and
family-accommodating, jobs in government-run organizations and jobs in the
largely unregulated private sector which offer higher pay at the cost of
reduced job-security, longer hours and fewer workers’ benefits. [35]
Data source
The
data used for this study is the 1998/99 round of the Russian Longitudinal
Monitoring Survey of 3,466 households conducted by the Institute of Sociology,
Russian Academy of Sciences. [36] With a wide and
penetrating coverage of demographic, health, education, employment and
socioeconomic aspects of all household members, this survey offers a rich
array of measures of key factors that affect the complicated balancing of
work and caregiving burdens. The eighth round
(November 1998 - January 1999) of the survey was selected because it is the
latest round for which time-use data is also available. Of the survey’s 3,466 households, there were 421 households that had a child younger than five,
and 1215 households that had a child younger than fourteen.
See Table 5 for a description of the demographic characteristics
of the households surveyed.
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Table
5. Demographic Characteristics
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|
Russia
Longitudinal Monitoring Survey 1998/99
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Adults
|
Children
|
|
(18
and older)
|
(17
or younger)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Age (years)
|
|
|
|
Mean
|
47.1
|
10.3
|
|
Range
|
18-99
|
0-17
|
|
|
|
|
|
Highest education
level (%)
|
|
|
|
Basic
(9 years)
|
40
|
89.9
|
|
Secondary
(11 years)
|
38.3
|
8.1
|
|
College
and above
|
21.7
|
2
|
|
|
|
|
|
Number of under 18 children
in household (%)
|
|
|
|
0
|
48.8
|
|
|
1
|
30.5
|
40.1
|
|
2
|
16.7
|
44.3
|
|
3
|
3
|
10.4
|
|
4
or more
|
1
|
5.2
|
|
|
|
|
|
Marital status (%)
|
|
|
|
Never
married
|
11.7
|
|
|
Registered
Marriage
|
62.2
|
|
|
Living
Together (Not Registered)
|
5.6
|
|
|
Divorced
|
7.3
|
|
|
Widowed
|
13.2
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Per capita
household income (%)
|
|
|
|
Below
Median
|
53.8
|
64.2
|
|
Above
Median
|
46.2
|
35.8
|
Measures analyzed
In addition to the analyses described that were
conducted in all countries, we examined the survey’s detailed questions
on family illness burden. These included the occurrence and number of
household members with health problems in the thirty days immediately
preceding the survey, the occurrence and number of household members with
health problems for which professional assistance was sought in the thirty
days preceding the survey, the number of household members who missed work
due to illness in the previous thirty days, the time spent on travel for
medical care, and the incidence and duration of hospitalizations of members
in the preceding three months.
We also examined social and family supports (as
measured by the presence of a grandparent living in the household and hours
of care by both resident and non-resident relatives) and data on immunization
of children and frequency of common illnesses among children under age
5. We also analyzed unpaid work hours: hours spent on child care
and time spent commuting to work and examined children’s school and
early childhood program enrollment rates, their time spent in school, their
time spent studying outside of school, and their relationship to the work
status of the household.
One key component of the Russia
survey was the inclusion of a time-use module. The time-use specifies
a number of activities and asks whether the person had spent any time in the
previous seven days on that activity, and if so, how much? We examined time spent providing child care among
the household members, child care provided by non-household members, child
care provided by other children, and time spent
providing elderly care.
_________________________
[24] Rutkowski
M, Ed. Russia’s
social protection malaise: Key reform priorities as a response to the present
crisis. Washington,
DC: World Bank, 1999.
[25] Milanovic
B. The Role of Social Assistance in Addressing Poverty, Washington DC:
World Bank, 1998.
[26] Lokshin
M. Effects of child care prices on women’s labor force participation in
Russia.
Washington DC: World Bank, 2000.
[27] Bain O. The Cost of Higher Education to Students and Parents in Russia:
Tuition Policy Issues. International Higher Education 11, Center for
International Higher Education, Boston
College, 1998.
[28] Rozenfeld,
BA. The crisis of Russian health care and attempts at
reform. In Julie DaVanzo, Ed. Russia’s
Demographic Crisis, RAND Conference Report. Santa
Monica: RAND Center for Russia
and Eurasia, 1996.
[29] Bush, K. The Russian Economy in December 2002. Washington,
DC: Russia
and Eurasia Program, Center for Strategic
and International Studies (CSIS), 2002.
[31] Human Development Report 2001. Russian
Federation. Edited by Professor S.N. Bobylev. Moscow:
United Nations Development Program, 2002.
[33] ShkolnikovVM, Meslé F. The Russian Epidemiological
Crisis as Mirrored by Mortality Trends. In Julie DaVanzo,
Ed. Russia’s Demographic Crisis, RAND Conference Report. Santa Monica,
RAND Center
for Russia
and Eurasia, 1996.
[34] Notzon
FC, Komarov
YM, Ermakov SP, Sempos CT,
Marks JS, Sempos, EV. Causes
of Declining Life Expectancy in Russia.
JAMA 279(10); 1998, 793-800.
[35] Stillman, S. Labor Market Uncertainty and Private Sector Labor Supply in Russia.
Santa Monica:
RAND Labor and Population Program, 2000.
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