Revenues and social policy of the state. Income of the population and their sources. Social policy of the state Income from employment
The more difficult the economic situation in a country, the louder and louder the calls for social protection of the population. Such protection is urgently asked for and demanded from the government. The complexity of the situation lies in the fact that if a country experiences an economic recession, production declines, and the national product created decreases, then the ability of the government, state, and regions to allocate additional funds for social protection population is extremely limited. Stress on the state budget increases, the government is forced to resort to increasing taxes, which reduces the income of enterprises and workers. And this gives rise to new social tensions.
To correct this situation, people's desire to receive social protection from the hardships of a deteriorating life is not enough, just as the government's intentions and promises to improve life are not enough. The problem can be completely solved only when the economy goes up and begins to create the minimum benefits that people need. This is ultimately what salvation consists of.
It is necessary, first of all, to understand that if the production of goods and services in the country has decreased, and assistance from abroad is small and import purchases are not able to compensate for such a decrease, if, in addition, stocks and reserves are brought to a minimum, then to prevent a decrease in the standard of living and consumption almost impossible.
Therefore, both the government and the people must realize that universal social protection of the population from a decline in living standards in the absence of economic recovery is impossible. It is more correct and reasonable to talk about social support individual layers and groups of the population that are most in need of it. Such categories of the population are usually called socially vulnerable layers. TO socially vulnerable include, first of all, persons who are deprived of the opportunity to independently, through their own efforts, improve their well-being, maintain the minimum necessary conditions of life and existence.
In the broad sense of the word, people with incomes below the subsistence level are considered socially vulnerable. Strictly speaking, when classifying certain groups of people as socially vulnerable, one should take into account not only their current income, but also cash savings, accumulated wealth, the so-called property qualification. However, since it is difficult to obtain reliable information about the property status of people, it is necessary to use his official cash income.
In current practice, families with a low monetary income per family member (most often large families), families who have lost a breadwinner, mothers raising children alone, the disabled, the elderly, pensioners receiving insufficient benefits, students living on a scholarship, are considered socially vulnerable. unemployed, people affected by natural disasters, political and social conflicts, illegal persecution. In some cases, children are considered socially vulnerable groups. All these people need social support from society, authorities, and government.
Social support can be manifested in a wide variety of forms: in the form of monetary assistance, provision of material goods, free food, shelter, shelter, medical, legal, psychological assistance, patronage, guardianship, adoption.
The question of who, in what types and forms, and in what volume to provide social support is one of the most difficult in social economics. Since it is simply impossible to help everyone who wants to receive help and who needs it, a number of economists and sociologists give the following recipe: “help only those who are not able to help themselves.”
During the transition to a market economy, the problem of social protection of the population from rising prices (inflation) and unemployment is most acute. To ensure that rising prices for goods and services do not lead to a catastrophic decline in consumption and living standards, income indexation. It means that wage, pensions, scholarships, and other types of income increase as retail prices rise.
Unfortunately, with a sluggishly growing, declining economy and a low level of production, neither the government nor enterprises have the opportunity to increase incomes, wages, and pensions sufficiently to keep up with prices. If the number of goods created, produced, purchased abroad does not increase, then paying out an excessive amount of money will lead to a flood of the market money supply and, as a consequence, to rising prices, which will require an increase in income, etc. will arise inflationary spiral . Therefore, it is necessary to increase incomes to a somewhat lesser extent than prices rise.
Income of the population is the totality of cash and in-kind funds received or produced by households over a certain period. Types of income are divided into cash, natural, disposable and real.
Cash income of the population include the income of entrepreneurs and the so-called self-employed (farmers, lawyers, etc.), wages of employees, pensions, benefits, scholarships and other social transfers, income from property in the form of interest on deposits, securities, dividends and other income.
Income in kind– all receipts of agricultural products: agricultural products, livestock, various products, services and other products in kind, received from household plots, garden plots, households, self-procurement of gifts of nature intended for personal and family consumption.
Under disposable household income refers to household income minus taxes. It is disposable income that is the source for final consumption of goods and services and savings.
Of these incomes, their main part is distinguished - real disposable cash income, which are determined based on cash income of the current period minus mandatory payments and contributions, adjusted to the consumer price index.
Today, all developed countries of the world have created systems of social support for the poor.
Social transfers is a system of cash or in-kind payments to the population not related to their participation in economic activity currently or in the past. The purpose of social transfers is to humanize relations in society, prevent the growth of crime, and also maintain domestic demand. Examples of social transfers are pensions (for example, for disability or in connection with the loss of a breadwinner), scholarships, benefits (for children, for funerals, etc.).
The state, organizing the redistribution of income through the budget, solves the problem of increasing the incomes of the poor, creates conditions for the normal reproduction of the labor force, helps to ease social tension, etc. The degree of influence of the state on the process of income redistribution can be measured by the volume and dynamics of expenditures for social purposes through the central and local budgets, as well as the amount of income taxation. IN developed countries 40–50% of the budget expenditures are allocated for social purposes, in Russia only 15%.
The state directly intervenes in the primary distribution of monetary income and sets the minimum wage. Less commonly, an upper limit on the increase in nominal wages. Economic significance government regulation wages are determined by the fact that their changes affect aggregate demand and production costs. Income policy is used by the state to regulate wages in order to reduce production costs, increase the competitiveness of national products, encourage investment, and curb inflation. State, conducting anti-inflationary policy, can temporarily centrally set a long-term limit on wage growth, taking into account the overall needs of economic and social development.
Methods for implementing income policy in a market economy and a transition to a market economy may be different. Preference is usually given to methods of voluntary consent of employers and employees with the participation of the government, which does not exclude the use of administrative measures and state control over linking wage increases with the financial capabilities of the enterprise. In a number of Western European countries, there are so-called permissible limits for its increase, fixed in national social partnership programs.
Of particular importance is the problem of protecting cash income (wages, pensions, benefits) from inflation. For this purpose, indexing is used, i.e. a mechanism established by the state to increase the monetary income of the population, allowing it to partially or fully compensate for the rise in prices of consumer goods and services.
In Russia, indexation of cash income was established by law of October 24, 1991 and applies to wages of public sector employees, as well as pensions, scholarships and benefits.
An important direction in social policy when addressing issues of protecting personal income is supporting the poor.
Poverty- this is the economic state of a part of society in which there are no minimum means of subsistence, according to the norms of this society. The state of poverty is characterized quite long absence resources that cannot be compensated by either previous savings or temporary savings on the purchase of expensive goods and services. A developed system of cash and in-kind benefits is of decisive importance in the social protection of these segments of the population. Such a system exists in all countries with a market economy and serves as an important social shock absorber, mitigating many of the negative consequences of its development.
To classify certain categories of the population as eligible to receive social assistance, indicators that determine the level (threshold) of poverty are used.
Absolute poverty line- this is the minimum standard of living, determined on the basis of human physiological needs for food, clothing and housing, i.e. based on a set (“basket”) of goods and services sufficient to satisfy basic human needs. In Russia, the absolute poverty line coincides with the subsistence minimum.
Living wage (LM) is a natural set of food products that provide the minimum required amount of calories, as well as expenses for non-food goods and services, taxes and mandatory payments, corresponding in the structure of costs for these purposes to the budgets of low-income families. In Russia, food packages used in calculating the cost of living are differentiated by various socio-demographic groups (men and women of working age, pensioners, children under and after 6 years of age)
Relative poverty line shows how much the minimum consumer basket (poverty line) costs relative to the average level of income in a given country (region). Thus, in Russia, the relative poverty line is an income level that is less than 35% of the average income in a given region; in EU member countries it is below 70% of the average total household expenses in the country.
The criterion for absolute poverty in EU countries is the average per capita income for each family member below 7 euros per day.
The social policy of the state in Russia today is aimed at solving the following problems:
1) stabilization of living standards of the population and prevention of mass poverty;
2) curbing the growth of unemployment and material support for the unemployed, as well as training labor resources of a size and quality that meet the needs of social production;
3) maintaining a stable level of real income of the population through anti-inflationary measures and income indexation;
4) maintaining in normal condition and developing sectors of the social sphere (education, healthcare, housing sector, Culture and art).
Table 28.1. Structure of monetary income of the population of Russia in 1990-1996,% to total
The ratio of the share of wages and social transfers in the monetary income of the population plays an important role in work motivation. When wages predominate in the formation of total income, entrepreneurship and initiative usually develop, while when the role of social transfers increases, the psychology of dependency often increases.
Income differentiation
The main argument for equal income distribution is that it is necessary to maximize consumer satisfaction, or marginal utility. The main objection to income equality is that to achieve this goal, the government must tax some of the income of high-income families and transfer it to low-income families. This reduces the desire of both to maximize earnings. As a result, incentives for productive work are undermined, and consequently, the efficiency of the economy will decrease and the national economy (all other things being equal) risks entering a period of prolonged stagnation (which is what happened in the USSR in the 70s - the first half of the 80s).
The American economist A. Okun (Ouken) compared the redistribution of income from rich to poor to a “leaky bucket,” i.e. this process inevitably leads to a decrease in economic efficiency. The scale of the “leakage” from the “Okun bucket” is determined by the extent to which tax increases and the growth of social transfers reduce the volume of labor supply. If the wage elasticity of labor supply is high, raising taxes to increase social transfers leads to a significant reduction in labor supply in the legal sector of the economy and its flow into the shadow sector (where wages are not subject to government taxes).
Revenue regulation
The social policy of the state includes the harmonization of relations between participants market economy in the form of a social partnership, which involves the conclusion of a “social contract” in the field of economic and social policy by the government, the national association of employers and trade unions acting as equal partners.
In practice, this idea was embodied in Germany, where since the 60s. “Concerted actions” began to be carried out, within the framework of which, with the direct participation of the government, representatives of business associations and trade union leaders make decisions on issues of the country’s economic policy.
Social partnership is actively used in industrialized countries and countries transitioning to a market economy to develop and implement income policies. The instrument for such interaction is tripartite commissions with the participation of the government, employers and trade unions, which annually enter into agreements regulating the dynamics of wages and some social benefits. Social partnership agreements regulate the activities of employers (timely payment and indexation of wages, creation of new jobs, compliance with safety regulations) and employees (compliance with technological discipline, etc.).
conclusions
1. State income policy is to redistribute them through the state budget through differentiated taxation of different groups of recipients of income and social benefits. The most effective means of state regulation of wages is the establishment of a guaranteed minimum,
2. The subsistence minimum is the cost of goods and services recognized by the entity as necessary to maintain an acceptable standard of living.
3. The quintile (decile) coefficient is used to assess the degree of income differentiation and expresses the ratio between the average income of the 20% (10%) of the highest-paid segments of the population and the average income of the 20% (10%) of the least wealthy. The minimum consumer budget is a social minimum of goods and services in the amount necessary to ensure normal human life. A rational consumer budget is a set of goods and services that ensures the satisfaction of rational human needs.
4. The social orientation of the economy presupposes its subordination to the tasks of personal development. Social justice in the economic sphere is the conformity of the system of economic relations with the ideas that prevail in a given society.
5. Social policy is a system of government measures aimed at mitigating inequality in income distribution and resolving contradictions between participants in a market economy.
6. Poverty is an economic condition of a part of society in which certain segments of the population do not have the minimum means of subsistence according to the standards of a given society. There are absolute and relative poverty, deep and shallow (measured by the income deficit of the poor in relation to the subsistence level).
7. Social partnership is the coordination of economic and social policies (especially income and taxes) between the government, entrepreneurs and trade unions.
Terms and concepts
Income distribution
Total income
Nominal income
Cash income of the population
Disposable income
Real income
Real disposable income
Nominal and real wages
Social transfers
Social politics
Income Policy
Consumer price index
Income indexation
“Leaky Bucket” by A. Okun
Living wage (social and physiological)
Lorenz curve
Quintile (decile) coefficient
Population income concentration index (Gini coefficient)
Minimum wage
Social justice
Socially oriented economy
Poverty
Absolute poverty line
Relative poverty line
Income deficit
Self-test questions
1. What goals can income policy pursue in countries with market economies:
a) replenishment of state budget revenues,
b) countering inflation;
c) increasing the competitiveness of domestic goods;
d) mitigating income inequality?
2. How does the social subsistence minimum differ from the physiological minimum?
3. What are the main factors determining the differentiation of incomes and wages in Russia during the transition period?
4. What is the contradiction between social justice and economic efficiency?
5. Nominal incomes of the population increased by 20% over the year, and the consumer price index for the same period amounted to 16%. How have real incomes changed?
6. How is poverty characterized in Russia and what is its scale?
7. What is income indexation and what is its social role?
The lecture covers:
Income of the population and their sources;
The standard of living of the population and indicators for measuring it;
Income inequality. The problem of poverty and wealth.
Redistribution of income. Social policy of the state.
20.1. Population income and its sources
Income is the amount Money, received over a certain period of time and intended for the acquisition of goods and services for personal consumption.
The main factors influencing the amount of income are: wages, dynamics of retail prices, the degree of market saturation with goods, etc.
The sources of cash income are wages, income from property (dividends, interest, rent), social payments - transfers (pensions, unemployment benefits, etc.). The importance of each of these sources for different social groups is different: for some, the main ones are wages and transfer payments (employees); for others it is income from property.
Data indicate that property income has increased significantly in Russia, accounting for 45% of personal income; wages account for only 55%. These figures indicate an abnormal situation in the social environment. For comparison: in the United States, the structure of personal income is 25 and 75%, respectively.
In the economic literature, there are two main approaches to determining sources of income: from the position of the theory of labor value and from the position of the theory of factors of production.
Representatives of the theory of labor value (A. Smith, D. Ricardo, K. Marx) proceed from the fact that the only source of value is living labor in the sphere of material production. This means that income is created only by the labor of workers: necessary and surplus. Necessary labor is compensated in the form of wages (worker's income), surplus labor takes the form of profit (capitalist's income). Income created in the sphere of material production in the process of creating and distributing national income is primary. Non-production workers receive income through the process of redistribution of national income. These incomes are called derivatives (secondary). The second approach is based on the dominant approach in modern foreign economic science theory of factors of production. According to this theory, each factor (labor, land, capital) receives its own income corresponding to its share in the form of wages, land rent, and interest on capital.
To assess the level of income, indicators of nominal, real and disposable income are used.
Nominal income is characterized by the amount of money received; disposable income is less than nominal by the amount of taxes and mandatory payments; real is characterized by the number of goods and services that can be purchased with this money. The higher the prices, the lower the real income, and vice versa. Real income is measured using a price index. To determine the price index, the concept of “consumer basket” is introduced, i.e. total price goods and services of a certain set.
The price index is obtained by relating the price of the “consumer basket” in a given period to a similar “basket” in the base period. There are rational and minimal “consumer baskets”. The share of the population whose income is less than the minimum “basket” is defined as living below the “poverty line”. The share of the population below the poverty line characterizes the overall standard of living in the country.
20.2. The standard of living of the population and indicators for measuring it
The concept of “standard of living” of the population characterizes the degree to which the physical, spiritual and social needs of people are satisfied.
The standard of living of the population is the level of consumption of material goods (the provision of the population with industrial products, food, housing, etc.).
There are “minimum level of consumption”, “rational level of consumption” and “physiological level of consumption”.
“Rational level of consumption” is determined based on the satisfaction of reasonable human needs. The set of goods and services included in it ensures the complete and harmonious physiological and social development of the individual.
The “minimum level of consumption” is calculated based on the minimum level of needs. Its value is determined by the range of goods and services of the unskilled worker and his dependents. For this purpose, the lowest prices are taken and luxury items, alcoholic beverages and delicacies are not taken into account.
The “physiological level of consumption” is the level below which a person cannot physically exist. The concept of “poverty level” is associated with it. This is the proportion of the population that earns an income below the government's official poverty threshold. Assessments of the level of quality of life change over time and space: the level that was considered high 30–40 years ago can today be classified as the “poverty line,” and the level that is considered high for some countries is unacceptable for others, etc. d.
One of the first to assess the standard of living was the German statistician Ernst Engel (1821–1896), who established the dependence of the share of food consumption on the level of family income.
Engel's law is a pattern according to which, as income increases, consumers increase spending on luxury goods to a greater extent, and spending on essential goods to a lesser extent, as income increases. Thus, an increase in income leads to a decrease in the share of consumer spending on essential goods (for example, staple foods) and an increase in the share of consumer spending on luxury goods (for example, video cameras, cars). Conclusion from Engel's law: all other things being equal, the share of income spent on food is an indicator of the level of well-being of a given population group.
To assess the standard of living, quantitative and qualitative indicators are used. The UN recommends using indicators that are grouped into 12 groups.
1. Fertility, mortality and other demographic characteristics of the population.
Sanitary and hygienic living conditions.
Consumption of food products.
Living conditions.
Education and culture.
Working conditions and employment.
Income and expenses of the population.
Cost of living and consumer prices.
Transport prices.
Organization of rest.
Social Security.
Human freedom.
For international comparison of living standards in different countries production of national income and gross domestic product per capita is used. Compared to the “standard of living” indicator, the quality of life indicator is more complex. In addition to the standard of living, it includes such indicators as working conditions and safety, cultural level, physical development and etc.
This indicator is measured using “net economic welfare”, which was discussed in previous lectures. To measure it, the following formula is used:
To more accurately assess the well-being of society, the UN recommends using the “human development index”, for which 3 components are defined.
Health: human life expectancy.
Cultural level: the number of years of education of each resident aged 25 years and older.
Total resources of consumption and accumulation in the country: gross national product (GNP) per capita.
20.3. Income inequality. The problem of poverty and wealth
With the principles of income generation common to all, the conditions of inequality of income received are preserved and constantly reproduced, which exacerbates the contradictions associated with the economic mechanism of the formation of poverty and wealth.
The reasons for this contradiction should be sought, on the one hand, in the basic sphere - in the mechanism of reproduction of the economic system, on the other hand, in the superstructural area - government intervention and the creation of appropriate social, legal and other institutions designed to mitigate the aggravating contradictions.
The most important factor deepening the gap between poverty and wealth is the differentiation of income, including wages, social transfers, income from property and income from business activities. In a balanced economy, most income comes from wages. Since in Russia in the 70-90s. There was a steady downward trend in this indicator (from 80.6 to 65%) and at the same time income from property and business activities increased, then there is an aggravation of the contradiction between the owners of such a factor of production as labor and those who own land and capital. To quantify income differentiation, indicators such as the Lorenz curve, decile coefficient and population income concentration index (Gini coefficient) are used.
In Fig. 20.1, illustrating the Lorenz curve, the bisector OA reflects the possibility of equal distribution of income. The real distribution of income is shown by the OA curve (Lorenz curve). The space between the bisector and the curve characterizes the degree of income inequality: the larger this area, the greater the degree of income inequality. In post-reform Russia, this area is experiencing a strong tendency to increase.
The decile coefficient expresses the ratio between the average incomes of the 10% of the highest paid citizens and the average incomes of the 10% of the least wealthy. As the curve in Fig. 20.2, the ratio of cash incomes of the 10% most and 10% of the least wealthy population of Russia in the 90s. tended to increase.
The Gini coefficient experienced a similar trend. It indicates the level of concentration of income of the population. If all citizens have the same income, then the Gini coefficient is zero. If we assume that all income is concentrated in one person, then the coefficient will be equal to one. Thus, in reality the Gini coefficient is between 0 and 1. In modern Russian economy the Gini coefficient increased from 0.260 in 1991 to 0.375 in 1997. This is further evidence of the existence and deepening of the contradiction between poverty and wealth (Figure 20.3).
20.4. Redistribution of income. Social policy of the state
Another contradiction in the distribution of income is the contradiction between efficiency and equality, or social justice.
Efficiency is the receipt by society of the maximum possible benefits from the use of its limited resources.
Equality means that the benefits received are distributed fairly among members of society.
In other words, efficiency is the economic pie, and equity is the way to slice it. The question arises: what distribution of the pie is considered fair? Economic theory identifies three approaches to the interpretation of the concept of “justice”: market, utilitarian and egalitarian.
In a market approach, equality is understood as equality of opportunity rather than equality of outcomes (“pieces of the pie”). Fairness is established by the market itself. This means that resources go to those individuals who can pay the highest price for them and supposedly therefore use them most rationally.
The utilitarian approach considers fair the distribution of goods that maximizes the total utility of all members of society.
The egalitarian approach assumes that all members of society should have not only equal opportunities, but also more or less equal results. Therefore, fair is the equal distribution of goods among members of society (“equal shares of the pie”).
In reality, efficiency and equality come into conflict. Efficient production (“enlarged pie”) does not mean that everyone will receive an equal increased share as others. The fact is that a market economy does not automatically guarantee all members of society a sufficient amount of food and clothing. Government programs, such as social assistance, taxation, are aimed at achieving a more equitable distribution of economic benefits. income tax and etc.
Social measures of the state somewhat mitigate the income inequality that arises at the level of primary, market distribution. In economic theory, there are two approaches to social programs of the state: the “social” approach and the “market” approach. The first determines that society must guarantee every citizen an income that does not allow him to fall below the “poverty line.” At the same time, assistance should be provided only to those who need it, and should be “affordable” to the state budget, otherwise it will turn into an inflationary factor and worsen the situation of the poor. The second approach is based on the fact that the state’s task is not to guarantee income, but to create conditions for increasing income for each member of society. The first approach is based on the principle of social justice, the second - on economic rationality. A combination of both principles is possible.
The most important methods of income redistribution in a mixed economy are: government procurement of goods and services, government loans and subsidies, tax redistribution, social benefits and programs.
Government procurement of goods and services is a form of government consumption. This method of income redistribution affects mainly military orders, civil construction programs, financing capital investments to state enterprises. State procurement of goods guarantees entrepreneurs a stable sales market and profit, and helps solve problems of employment and welfare.
State loans and subsidies are provided by the state to both legal entities and individuals at the expense of state or local budgets, as well as special funds.
Tax redistribution of income refers to an indirect method of regulating income. This measure of income redistribution is aimed at achieving certain social and economic goals. For example, tax benefits used to attract foreign investment, develop small businesses, etc.
Social benefits and programs are conditioned by the cyclical development of a market economy, causing unemployment and stratification of the population by income. Therefore, the state undertakes the payment of unemployment benefits, child benefits, pensions for disabled people and other transfers.
Workshop on the topic of lecture 20
Seminar plan
Population income: sources, types, structure.
The standard of living of the population and indicators for measuring it. Engel's law.
Income inequality. The problem of poverty and wealth.
The role of the state in income redistribution.
Questions for discussion, tests and olympiads
What are the differences between nominal, real and disposable income?
Name the reasons that give rise to inequality in income distribution.
Which graphical model can be used to clearly illustrate the degree of inequality in income distribution?
How to determine the poverty level? Under the influence of what factors does it change?
Describe the main points of view on the phenomenon of poverty. What is Engel's law?
What are transfer payments? Does anyone in your family receive them?
What is the income structure in Russia (ratio of income from property to wages)? How does it differ from similar indicators in other countries?
What is a consumer basket?
Distinguish between the concepts of “standard of living” and “quality of life”.
Explain how the price index is calculated and how its calculation is important for the creation of government social programs.
You have a car and are a driver. How to view your car: as wealth or as a source of income?
Tests, situations, tasks
Choose the correct answers
1. In countries with developed market economies, the largest share in the structure of family income is occupied by:
a) wages and salaries;
b) income from property ownership;
c) income from securities;
d) rental income.
2. The ratio of the share of wages and the share of profit in national income demonstrates:
a) the importance of the trade union movement;
b) distribution of income between various factors of production;
b) distribution of the country's population among various social groups;
d) the dynamics of entrepreneurship development.
3. The family budget is:
a) the total amount of cash income available to the family;
b) the total amount of family expenses;
c) the structure of all income and expenses for a certain period of time;
d) everything is wrong.
4. Which of the following typically leads to a reduction in consumer spending?
a) decrease in consumer income;
b) reduction in the level of income tax;
c) expectation of a quick rise in prices;
d) increase in government payments to the population.
5. What collateral do banks issue consumer loans against?
a) a pledge of property is required;
b) for a guaranteed salary;
c) a guarantee from a company that has verified the borrower’s solvency is required.
6. Select the most accurate indicator of standard of living:
a) cash income of the population;
b) real income per capita;
c) unemployment rate;
d) inflation rate.
7. An increase in the degree of inequality in the distribution of income in society will be reflected in the Lorenz curve:
a) the coincidence of the income distribution curve with the median line;
b) upward movement of the income distribution curve;
c) downward movement of the income distribution curve;
d) the curve will remain in the same position.
8. Transfer payments are:
a) one of the forms of wages;
b) government payments to individuals;
c) in-kind gratuitous benefits;
d) all answers are correct.
9. Distinguish between market, utilitarian and egalitarian approaches to the interpretation of the concept of “fair distribution”:
a) the distribution of goods is fair in which all members of society receive the maximum total utility;
b) fair distribution, in which resources go to those who can pay the highest price for them;
c) fair when all members of society have equal results from the product produced. What position do you take?
Solve problems
Determine the change in real income if, at an inflation rate of 50% per month, wages during this period increased by 1.5 times. Task 2.
Determine the change in real income if, at an inflation rate of 50% per month, nominal income doubled over two months. Task 3.
It is known that about 80% of the world population lives in developing countries, however, they account for only 16% of global income, while the richest 20% account for about 84% of global income. Using the available data, draw the Lorenz curve and determine the value of the Gini coefficient.
Topics for economic analysis, abstracts, crosswords, essays
Compile and analyze a table of your family’s monthly income based on the following indicators:
a) wages;
b) income;
c) transfer payments (scholarships, pensions, benefits);
d) other.
Express them as a percentage and determine the share of each of them in the total family income.
Write an essay on the chosen topic
Real incomes and their dynamics in modern Russia.
Prosperity and poverty.
Choose a topic for an economic essay
“If all members of society had equal opportunities to choose and make decisions... the problem of distribution might not have arisen” (Leontyev V. Economic essay).
“Their god, their purpose, their joy in times of adversity. Their life and death are income, income, income” (Byron).
"In national economy“where nothing is produced, there can be no income” (Erhard L. Welfare for all).
Any society is a complex formation consisting of people united by certain characteristics. One of the fundamental characteristics of a person in modern society is the amount and methods of receiving his total income. Income in general view- this is the amount of money that we earn or receive over a certain period of time (usually 1 year). The amount of income valued in money represents nominal income. Real income is the amount of goods and services that can be purchased with cash income. The difference between real and nominal incomes is formed by inflation, taxes and in-kind transfers.
Income and purchasing power of the population are not only of social significance - as components of the standard of living, but also as factors determining the duration of life itself. They are very significant as an element of economic recovery, which determines the capacity of the domestic market. A capacious domestic market, secured by effective demand, is a powerful incentive to support domestic producers.
The low level of income, and, as a consequence, the low purchasing power of the bulk of the population, whose monetary potential is partially diverted to the purchase of imported goods, is one of the main reasons for the stagnation of the Russian economy.
It is obvious that in order to revive the economy, it is necessary to create effective demand through an increase in the share of household income in the total income of society - GDP. Basically, to revive the domestic market and support domestic producers, it is strategically important to increase the incomes of the poorest and middle part of the population. An increase and, of course, timely payment of wages, pensions, scholarships and other social benefits is necessary for economic recovery.
The relevance of the chosen research topic determines the importance of the issues of formation and structuring of income, the implementation of social policy in the transitional conditions of a market economy in Russia, the direction of ongoing reforms aimed at building a social state with a market economy.
The work will consider the following aspects characterizing the problem of income of the population:
Identify the essence of the concept of “income” as an economic category and find out what its structure is.
Explore the process of formation and distribution of income.
Consider the causes of income inequality.
Consider issues related to the concept of “social welfare” and analyze the criteria for its definition.
Find out the essence of the state’s social policy and the features of its implementation in the conditions of modern Russia.
the degree of satisfaction of scientifically based needs and interests;
satisfaction with the quality of life of the people themselves.
characteristics of the population's income, and in particular the formation of income and the structure of income;
problems of income inequality, in particular the causes of inequality and government income policies;
social policy of the state.
The objectives of this work are:
Taking this into account, the structure of the course work was determined. It consists of an introduction, four chapters, a conclusion, and a list of references.
When writing the work, the empirical method of analyzing theoretical research in the area under study was used.
1. INCOME AND THEIR SOURCES. DISTRIBUTION AND REDISTRIBUTION OF INCOME
1.1. Concept and types of income. Sources of formation
Personal income is understood as the amount of money and material goods received or produced by households over a certain period of time. The role of income is determined by the fact that the level of consumption of the population directly depends on the level of income. Individual household income is generally divided into three groups: 1:
income received by the owner of the factor of production - labor;
income obtained through the use of other factors of production (capital, land, entrepreneurial abilities);
transfer payments (benefits, scholarships, pensions)
We must distinguish income from wealth. It represents the value of all assets owned by a household at a particular point in time. Wealth consists of material objects: houses, land, cars, furniture, books, etc.; as well as financial resources: cash, savings accounts in banks, bonds, stocks. You can get bank loans using your wealth as collateral. Wealth is a source of income
Households, by making economic resources available to firms, receive rewards in the form of wages, profits, interest and rent. These four components add up to household income.
The problem of interaction between labor and capital, either explicitly or implicitly, is central to any area of economic theory. Alternative directions in economic theory differ in their interpretation of the ultimate basis of income. The basis for the differences in explaining the source of income lies in alternative theories of value.
In accordance with the labor theory of value (A. Smith, D. Ricardo, K. Marx), the only source of value is living labor in material production, which creates new value. The Marxist theory of income is based on the theory of surplus value. The latter is understood as part of the new value created by the labor of hired workers and appropriated free of charge by capitalists. The labor theory of value, the ideas of which were formulated by the classics of political economy, was developed by Marx and used as the basis for the theory of exploitation and all related conclusions. The Marxist theory of surplus value uses the ratio between the shares of capital and labor in new value as an analytical tool, calling it the norm of surplus value. It is characteristic that this indicator is used to measure the degree of exploitation of labor by capital and depends on the length of the working day and labor productivity.
The general trend of the rate of surplus value is determined by the relationship of class forces 1 . Along with the rate of surplus value, Marxism also uses other indicators to measure the share of labor income. The theory of accumulation substantiates the conclusion about the relative deterioration of the position of the proletariat, manifested in a fall in its share in national income, the total social product and national wealth. Modern economic theory also analyzes trends in the shares of income of capital and labor.
The dominant explanation in modern economic theory of the sources and principles of income generation is based on the theory of factors and their marginal productivity. Marginal productivity theory focuses on the analysis of functional relationships between different parts of income.
Different areas of economic theory explain the sources of income in different ways, but are united in the fact that each production factor is associated with a certain income, which makes it possible to integrate different ideas. Interpretation of the main problems of income theory in modern conditions significantly different from the ideas of the past. The growth of national welfare and the creation of systems of social regulation, if not eliminating, then significantly smoothing out the problems of class confrontation. Nevertheless, the analysis of the ratio of the shares of labor and capital in total income is recognized as generally significant and is widely used in modern economic analysis.
In the economic literature there are different concepts regarding the calculation of income. Thus, Edgar K. Browning believes that income should also include the provision of goods and services under a number of government programs, subsidies for housing and food products, assistance for education, income from an increase in the value of stocks, bonds, and real estate.
Rent is the income received by the owner of land when renting it out. The total supply of land, unlike other factors of production, is relatively fixed by nature and cannot be increased in response to a higher price or decreased in the event of a low price.
Figure 1 shows that the supply curve for land is fixed. The supply and demand curves intersect at the equilibrium point E. Rent tends to fluctuate around this point. If rent rose above the equilibrium point to point M, then the demand for land would decrease to Q 1 and part of the land would remain unoccupied: Q-Q 1. Some landowners would be unable to rent it out and would be forced to offer land for a lower fee. For the same reasons, rent cannot remain for long below an equilibrium point, such as R2. An increased demand for land would lead to an increase in rent. Only at the equilibrium point does the total quantity of land demanded equal its supply. In this sense, supply and demand determine the price of land.
Land rent exists in 2 main forms: differential and absolute. In turn, differential rent comes in several forms.
Differential rent I is associated with different fertility land plots and their effectiveness. With the same inputs of resources, the results of production on them will be different. Differential rent also arises due to the unequal location of land plots. Transport costs for farmers will be greater or less. Proximity to markets significantly affects the structure of production. In the case of differential rent I, production costs will be determined by the marginal values of the worst plots in terms of fertility or location. The additional income received on more fertile and better located lands is appropriated by the land owner
Differential rent II implies different productivity of successive investments of capital on the same piece of land. It is created in the process of intensification of agricultural production. In this case, costs are determined by the marginal cost of capital (the least productive). The cost gains resulting from more productive investment of capital accrue initially to the farmer. He appropriates it during the term of the lease.
Absolute rent is the payment for all plots of land, regardless of fertility and location 1.
The next type of income is interest or loan interest. The interest rate is the price paid for the use of money. More precisely, the loan interest rate is the amount of money that needs to be paid for using one ruble per unit of time (month, year). Two aspects of this type of income are noteworthy.
1) Loan interest is usually considered as a percentage of the quantity borrowed money, not how absolute value. It is more convenient to say that someone pays 12% of the loan interest than to say that the loan interest is 120 rubles per year per 1000 rubles.
2) Money is not economic resource. As such, money is not productive; they are unable to produce goods or services. However, entrepreneurs “buy” the opportunity to use money because money can be used to purchase means of production—factory buildings, equipment, storage facilities, etc. And these funds undoubtedly contribute to production. Thus, using money capital, business managers ultimately buy the opportunity to use by real means production 2.
Economic profit is the difference between the firm's total revenue and all costs. In conditions perfect competition When an industry is in equilibrium, each firm's costs are the same as their revenues, and the economic profit of all firms is zero. In an equilibrium state, all the main indicators that shape demand and supply in the commodity market - supply of resources, level of technology, consumer tastes, their incomes, etc. remain unchanged. Any deviations from equilibrium caused by the actions of one firm, which, for example, applied some innovations and therefore received economic profit, are eliminated in the long run due to the entry of new firms into the industry. An industry in equilibrium is absolutely static, all actions of firms are predictable, and there is no risk.
In this regard, economists explain the existence of net profit by the return of a specific resource - entrepreneurial abilities. The latter, as is known, refers to the abilities of an entrepreneur:
A) decide on the use of other resources in the production of goods and services;
B) apply more progressive methods of company management;
C) use innovations, both in production processes and in the choice of forms of goods sold;
D) take the risk of making all such decisions.
Finally, a firm will earn economic profit if it manages to monopolize the market for a particular product. Monopoly profits arise because the monopolist reduces production and increases the price of a product.
Wages, or wage rates, are the prices paid for the use of labor. Economists often use the term "labor" in a broad sense, including wages1:
workers in the usual sense of the word, that is, “blue and white collar” workers of various professions;
specialists - lawyers, doctors, teachers, etc.;
owners of small businesses - hairdressers, appliance repairmen and many different traders - for labor services provided in the implementation of their business activities.
The level of income of members of society is the most important indicator of their well-being, as it determines the possibilities of an individual’s material and spiritual life: recreation, education, maintaining health, meeting basic needs. Among the factors that have a direct impact on the amount of income of the population, in addition to the size of wages themselves, are the dynamics of retail prices, the degree of saturation of the consumer market with goods, etc.
To assess the level and dynamics of income of the population, indicators of nominal, disposable and real income are used.
Nominal income is the amount of money received by individuals during a certain period; it also characterizes the level of monetary income, regardless of taxation.
Disposable income is income that can be used for personal consumption and personal savings. Disposable income is less than nominal income by the amount of taxes and mandatory payments, i.e. These are funds used for consumption and savings. To measure the dynamics of disposable income, the indicator “real disposable income” is used, calculated taking into account the price index.
Real income - represents the amount of goods and services that can be purchased with disposable income during a certain period, i.e. adjusted for changes in price levels.
Thus, an increase in nominal income by 8% with an increase in the price level by 5% gives an increase in real income by 3%. Nominal and real income do not necessarily move in the same direction. For example, nominal income may rise while real income may fall at the same time if commodity prices rise faster than nominal income.
The desire to maximize one's income dictates economic logic of behavior for any market entity. Income is the ultimate goal of action every active participant in a market economy, an objective and powerful incentive for his daily activities.
But high personal incomes are beneficial not only to the individual, it is also a socially significant benefit, since they are ultimately the only source of satisfying general needs, expanding production, and supporting low-income and disabled citizens.
Recipients of market income are always concerned with three questions: the reliability of its sources, the efficiency of using income and the justification of the tax burden. Economic theory answers these questions by examining education and the movement of total income.
There is income monetary value results of activities of an individual (or legal entity) as a subject of a market economy. In economic theory, “income” means sum of money, regularly and legally entering the direct order of a market subject.
Income is always represented by money. This means that the condition for receiving it is effective participation in the economic life of society: we live on a salary or at the expense of our own entrepreneurial activity - in any case, we must do
Consequently, the very fact of receiving monetary income is an objective identification of the participation of a given person in the economic life of society, and the amount of income is an indicator of the scale of such participation. After all, money is perhaps the only thing in the world that cannot be given to oneself: money can only be received from other people.
The direct dependence of income on the results of market activity is violated only in one case - when it is objectively impossible to participate in it (pensioners, young people of working age, disabled people, dependents, the unemployed). These categories of the population are supported by the entire society, on behalf of which the government regularly pays them cash benefits. Of course, these payments form a special element of total income, but, strictly speaking, they are not “market” payments.
Market income is always the result of our useful efforts for other people. This means that it is largely determined by the coincidence of the goods and services we offer with the demand presented by “other people”. The interaction of supply and demand is an objective mechanism for the formation of income in a market economy, including the income of the population. Of course, in such a mechanism there are elements of chance Although it is unfair and therefore unfair, there is no other way to generate income in a market economy.
Nominal monetary incomes of the population are formed from various sources, the main of which are: factor incomes; cash receipts from the line government programs assistance in the form of payments and benefits received from the financial system (from banks, through savings banks, from insurance institutions, etc.), etc.
The funds received by the employed population in order to remunerate the owners of the factor of production (labor) make up the decisive part of the income of this group of the population - wages, income such as wages at enterprises, in cooperatives, etc., income from their own farm, etc. An analysis of trends in the long-term development of labor factor remuneration indicates that this type income will retain its leading role in the formation of the total volume of cash income in the long term.
Payments under government assistance programs have a significant impact on the formation of the population's income; these sources provide pensions, support for temporarily disabled citizens, and various types of benefits are paid (for child care, medical care, for low-income families for children; unemployment benefits) 1 .
The ratio of the share of transfer payments and wages in the population's income plays an important role in shaping the economic behavior of an individual and his work motivation.
With the dominant role of wages in the formation of the total amount of income, such qualities as entrepreneurship and initiative are formed. If the role of payments through government assistance programs increases, a passive attitude towards production activities and the psychology of dependency often develop.
Cash income of the population received through the financial and credit system is presented in the form of: payments for state insurance; bank loans for individual housing construction, economic establishment for young families, members of consumer associations (for example, for garden construction); interest on deposits in savings banks accrued at the end of the year; income from increases in the value of shares, bonds, winnings and loan repayments; lottery winnings; temporarily available funds resulting from the purchase of goods on credit; payments of various types of compensation (injury, damage, etc.).
Other cash receipts include income from the population from the sale of things through consignment and buying stores, etc.
Nominal income of the population, as already noted, includes, in addition to net income of the population, mandatory payments. The population makes mandatory payments through financial system in the form of various taxes and fees. Through the accumulation of tax payments and fees, the state exercises its right to generate part of its resources for the subsequent implementation of social policy through the redistribution of funds and assistance to low-income citizens. In order to protect the interests of low-income citizens and prevent the level of well-being from falling below the maximum permissible in given specific conditions, the state sets a threshold minimum for tax-free income. At the same time, progressively higher tax rates are set for high incomes.
Despite the diversity of sources of income, the main components of cash income of the population are wages, income from business activities and property, as well as social transfers.
1.2. Distribution and redistribution of income
The entire product produced in a society can be represented as the sum of income from the factors involved in its production. The functional distribution of income is its distribution between factors: labor, capital, natural resources and entrepreneurial abilities. As a result of the functional distribution of income, such primary income as wages, interest, rent and profit are formed. In the system of factors of production, the main relationship concerns capital, therefore, for simplicity, the functional distribution can be represented as the ratio between income from labor and from property. The functional distribution of income shows the shares of income attributable to labor and capital, and our task is to trace the change in the ratio of the shares of labor and capital in the total income of society, identify the reasons for the change and evaluate them 1 .
Based on the functional distribution of income, the share of labor income in total income is calculated. This indicator can be represented by the ratio between the product of wages and the number of employees and the amount of total income. It is characteristic that the historical trend in the share of labor (in modern systems accounting, wage labor includes a very wide range of employees, while in Marxist theory the share of labor is understood as the wages of the proletariat) in Marxism is assessed as declining, while opponents argue for an increase in the share of labor in total income.
Among the factors influencing the share of labor, there are such as growth in labor supply, growth of fixed capital and changes in technology (Fig. 2).
The intersection of the LD and L S curves determines the equilibrium level of real wage W0. The amount of labor income in our case is equal to the area of the shaded figure 0W 0 EQ 0 or the product of the equilibrium wage level and the number of employees (W 0 X Q 0)
L S
E
W 0 
L D
0 Q 0
TO Quantity of labor
L D-curve aggregate demand on labor, the position of which depends on the technology and material capital available to the economy;
L S – labor supply curve, for simplicity, assumes that the elasticity of labor supply is 0, i.e. does not depend on salary.
Rice. 2. Amount of labor income
Actual data on the share of labor income are estimated on the basis of Western forms of national accounting. There is a general trend towards an increase in the share of labor income, which amounts to about 80% of total income. Note that labor income includes the income of all employees, including the top management staff of corporations.
The functional distribution of income reflects its real distribution among citizens in conditions where it is possible to unambiguously identify the social status of both the employee and the owner of material capital. In modern conditions, there is an erosion of social status, which is expressed in the fact that employees are simultaneously owners of capital, owning various types of securities, real estate, and organizing private businesses. If about 90% of the population is taken into account by national statistics as wage earners and at the same time the share of owners (including family members) reaches 50%, then there is a diversification of social status, which, if not eliminates, then significantly smoothes out the problem of class confrontation.
Diversification of social status is closely related to an increase in the degree of mobility of the socio-economic hierarchy and labor mobility.
Note that the functional distribution of income does not reflect the income of families and individuals who may own different production factors. The total income of the population is formed from various sources and is redistributed between families depending on their size and composition. Personal income distribution measures the distribution of income between families (let's assume that a family can consist of 1 person).
Based on income distribution data, all families can be grouped into certain income groups. By comparing the share of each group in total income, you can construct a graph illustrating income differentiation.
If incomes are distributed evenly, then each group of families should receive income corresponding to its share, and the income distribution graph will be represented by the bisector OA in Fig. 3. The opposite of absolute equality, hypothetical absolute inequality corresponds to a situation where 1% of families receive 100% of the income, while others receive nothing. In this case, the income distribution graph is represented by a curve coinciding with the axes of the coordinate system with the vertex at point D.
Income concentration curves (Lorenz)
Rice. 3. Income concentration curves (Lorenz)
In fact, the distribution of income is reflected by curves of type I, II, III. The closer the actual distribution curves are to the bisector OA. the more even the distribution of income is in reality. The difference in the types of actual distribution curves is due to the fact that they take into account income, I - before taxes, II - after taxes, Ш - taking into account transfer payments. The inverse relationship between the relative amounts of income (wealth) and the number of their recipients, expressed graphically, is called the concentration curve, or Lorenz curve. The degree of inequality (or degree of concentration) is expressed mathematically by the area of the figure above the actual distribution curve, related to the area of the triangle OAV, - Ginny index. A synthesis of evidence based on the described methodology is used to assess the degree of inequality in income distribution over different periods of time, between different countries or population groups.
1.3. State regulation of distribution and redistribution of income
The formation of total income of the population covers their production, distribution, redistribution and use. Income distribution is formed at the stage of formation of income of owners of production factors (functional distribution). Personal distribution of nominal income is the result of redistribution. Passing through the family budget, the volume of per capita income changes depending on the size and structure of families, the ratio of dependents and persons with independent income. The amount of real income depends on the parameters of the inflation process. The main channel for the redistribution of income is government regulation of this process. Tax systems and government transfers (cash and in kind), social security and insurance systems, etc. show that the modern state is involved in large-scale activities to redistribute income 1 .
Any form of government regulation (including social) consists of material, institutional and conceptual components. Let us note that social regulation is not the exclusive privilege of the state; it covers not only the redistribution of income, but also other indicators of living standards. The objects of social regulation are protection environment and consumer protection. Social regulation is carried out by business units, trade unions, churches and other non-governmental organizations. The material basis of state regulation depends on the volume of national production and the share of it that is redistributed centrally, through the state budget. Institutional framework is associated with the organization of the redistribution process and the activities of relevant institutions (including non-governmental ones). The conceptual basis of state regulation is a theory or theories that acquire the status of government doctrine, that is, they form the basis of the state's social policy.
Alternative conceptual approaches to government redistribution of income can be reduced to the problem of contrasting equality and efficiency. The origins of this problem lie in the area of resource allocation. Classical theory believes that the market is capable of rationally allocating limited resources. In accordance with the so-called “Pareto efficiency,” the state of the system is stable if no redistribution of resources (or products) can improve the position of one of the participants in the economic process without worsening the position of others. Income distribution is characterized as persistently uneven. The classical theory believes that the distribution of income cannot be changed, and any government redistribution is doomed in advance. The neoclassical school critically evaluates the uneven distribution of income. Attempts are being made to find an efficiency criterion that would compare processes that affect the incomes of many consumers at once. From this point of view, such a redistribution of income can be considered effective in which the increase in the wealth of the winners is greater than the loss of wealth of the losers.
Proponents of government redistribution of income argue that equality in income distribution is a necessary condition for maximizing the total utility of income of all consumers 1 . This conclusion is quite reliable in conditions where the volume of all redistributed income is fixed. Critics of government redistribution rightly believe that the stimulating effect is associated not only with the magnitude, but also with the way income is distributed. Therefore, any redistribution of income aimed at maximizing total utility in the current period inevitably leads to a decrease in income (and total utility) in the subsequent period.
The relationship between equality and efficiency in practice comes down to the search for such forms and methods of redistribution that would minimize the negative impact of redistribution processes on efficiency, while simultaneously maximizing the positive result in the form of poverty reduction.
The choice of conceptual framework for social policy depends on the political process. However, if the market is not able to distribute income “correctly”, this does not give reason to believe that the political process is capable of finding the optimal solution.
State redistribution of income is carried out through budgetary and financial regulation. The state, in accordance with social policy priorities and existing special social programs, provides social payments in the form of cash and in-kind transfers, as well as services. Social benefits and services are varied. They are differentiated by sources of formation and methods of financing, and the conditions for providing them to the circle of recipients. Cash social benefits are associated with compensation for loss (reduction) of income as a result of: complete or partial loss of ability to work, birth of children, loss of breadwinners or work (unemployment benefits, compensation for retraining costs and other payments to the unemployed). Cash social benefits are complemented by fully or partially free health care, education, housing and transport services. All social transfers can be one-time or paid periodically over a specified period of time. The amount of social benefits may depend on the legally established minimum per capita income or wage. Social transfers can take the form of tax rebates. All social payments are registered in the social insurance and social security system, supplemented by state charity.
In countries with a market economy, financing of these areas is carried out on a tripartite basis (state, employers and recipients of funds), and in countries with an administrative command economy - centrally. Real incomes of the population were formed mainly from wages and income from public consumption funds (PCF). Distribution of general physical training was carried out on a free or partially paid basis in accordance with the quantity and quality of labor contribution to social production, as well as taking into account need 1 .
There are various options for combining public and private branches of social payments. The goal of social policy is to encourage all forms of business activity, primarily labor and entrepreneurial activity. Labor activity is manifested in an increase in the degree of use of labor reserves, growth in employment and labor productivity, entrepreneurial activity is reflected in the volume and structure of investments. Being objectively interconnected, these forms of activity are carried out at any given moment by different subjects who have different motivational models of behavior. As a result, the government regulatory system must simultaneously support income and create incentives to increase business activity of all market entities.
2. INCOME INEQUALITY AND THEIR MEASUREMENT
One of the sources of social tension in any country is the difference in the levels of well-being of citizens and the level of their wealth. The level of wealth is determined by two factors 1:
1) the amount of property of all types owned by individual citizens;
2) the amount of current income of citizens.
People receive income as a result of either creating their own business (becoming entrepreneurs) or providing their own factors of production (their labor, capital or land) for the use of other people or firms. And they use this property to produce the goods people need. This mechanism of income generation initially contains the possibility of income inequality. The reason for this:
1) different values of factors of production owned by people (capital in the form of a computer, in principle, can bring more income than in the form of a shovel);
2) different success in using factors of production (for example, an employee in a company producing a scarce product may receive higher earnings than his colleague of the same qualifications working in a company whose goods are sold with difficulty);
3) different volumes of factors of production owned by people (the owner of two oil wells receives, all other things being equal, more income than the owner of one well) 2 .
The amount of income is closely related to the wealth and well-being of families. The relationship between income and wealth is direct (the level of income determines the amount of wealth) and inverse (the higher the wealth, the higher the income from it). Experts assess actual data on the distribution of wealth as less reliable than information on current income. Income differentiation compared to wealth differentiation (property differentiation) is quantitatively more stable. In different countries, the relationship between the degree of differentiation of income and wealth is different, but if the differentiation of income has changed little in recent years, then the differentiation of wealth, according to experts, is growing.
This indirectly confirms that the rapid growth in the share of income from property is largely the result of inflationary redistribution.
Income differentiation develops under the influence of various factors related to personal achievements or independent of them, having an economic, demographic, sociobiological or political nature. Among the reasons for the uneven distribution of income are: differences in abilities (physical and intellectual), differences in education and qualifications, hard work and motivation, professional initiative and risk-taking, origin, size and composition of the family, property ownership and market position, luck, luck and discrimination.
The whole variety of factors influencing income differentiation can be divided into those that depend on and those that do not depend on the personal efforts of income recipients. The boundary between these groups of factors may be more or less fluid: innate abilities and talent may not lead to increased income and may not find application, while modest abilities can be developed as a result of education and strong work motivation; ownership of property by inheritance can lead to both its increase and the loss of property and income from it. Differentiation factors influence the degree of uneven income distribution in different ways. In general, income is distributed more unevenly among property factors than among labor factors, but the relationship between these factors varies in different countries and at different times.
A comparison of the distribution of income and the distribution of abilities between people shows that income, even from labor and not from property, is not distributed as evenly as abilities. Rice. Figure 4 illustrates the relationship between differences in income (curve 1) and abilities (curve 2).
Evidence shows that the distribution of people by income and ability can be described mathematically using lognormal distribution curves presented in Fig. 4. Based on the log-normal distribution curves, various differentiation coefficients are calculated. For example, decile differentiation coefficients show the ratio of incomes of 10% of the lowest and highest income groups and are used to assess income differentiation in world practice and in the Russian Federation. Curve 2 of the distribution of abilities is always more symmetrical than income curve 1. Curve 1 has a right-sided asymmetry, or skew, which clearly shows a greater differentiation of income than abilities. It is interesting to note that curve 1 reliably describes the distribution of income both in countries with a traditional market economy and in countries with an administrative command economy.
All factors of income differentiation that do not depend on personal efforts act as unique barriers to increasing income status.
Lower groups Higher groups Income, abilities
Rice. 4. Income and ability distribution curves
No economic system has succeeded in eliminating inequalities in income and family wealth. Even under the command system of the USSR, the state was forced to abandon the principles of complete equalization (they tried to implement them only during the period of “war communism”) and move to generating income according to the principle: “From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs.” But since people have different abilities, their work has different values and this entails unequal rewards for work, that is, differences in income 1 .
Of course, in the USSR, for the vast majority of the population, the differences in income levels were much smaller than now in the Russian Federation, but, nevertheless, they existed: someone bought an export-spec Zhiguli or a Volga at the same time In all schools, parent committees were forced to collect money to buy school uniforms for children from poor families. In addition, in order to gain the support of the state and party apparatus, the country's leadership encouraged their employees " non-cash income“—that is, the right to purchase scarce goods at reduced prices in the so-called “closed distributors.” The result of this was a sharp - but as if disguised - difference in the real incomes and wealth of families 2.
With equalizing principles of income generation, additional sources generating inequality in our country were the insufficient unity of the country’s consumer market, that is, the unequal availability of all types of goods for all groups of the population, the unequal purchasing power of national monetary unit, the presence of different types of natural privileges.
It must be remembered that the so-called principle of distribution according to labor over time creates the basis for distribution according to the principle defined as “according to accumulated property.”
The attitude towards this form of distribution among the population of our country is ambiguous. Inheritance rights in all civilized countries are considered natural human rights. This way of generating income and property is protected by the state and should not cause a negative reaction from society. The negative attitude of the population is associated with illegal forms of formation or accumulation of capital and property, which is most typical for the initial stage of the formation of a market economy.
In countries where the main principles of income generation were the labor nature of their receipt and the egalitarian approach, the legal forms of sources of income have a narrow interpretation; opportunities for rapid growth in income and property were limited. Hence the sharply negative attitude of the population towards large and rapidly growing property and capital.
Becoming market system management and the formation on this basis of a layer of owners will inevitably increase the influence of the principle of distribution of accumulated property. At the same time, the formation of total income of the population will contribute to the growth of income differentiation and social stratification of society, the formation of a layer of not only the rich, but also the poor, which will require active government intervention to overcome social tension.
Changes in incomes and stratification of society lead to the most negative consequences. Layers of people are being created who are below the poverty line, which is unacceptable in a developed society. There is a moral stratification of society into “us” and “strangers”; the commonality of goals, interests, and sense of healthy patriotism are lost. As a result of the division of society, regional populations and individual citizens into rich and poor, interregional and even interethnic contradictions arise, which leads to the destruction of the unity of Russia. There is an outflow of qualified workers to areas that do not require relevant knowledge abroad. As a result, the educational and professional potential of society is deteriorating, and knowledge-intensive industries are degrading. As a result of a low standard of living, the labor activity of the population decreases, health deteriorates, and the birth rate decreases, which leads to demographic crises 1 .
Income and wealth inequality can reach enormous proportions and then pose a threat to the political and economic stability of the country. Therefore, almost all developed countries of the world are constantly implementing measures to reduce such inequality
But first, let’s try to understand why absolute income equality is undesirable. The fact is that such an organization of economic life kills people's incentives for productive work. After all, we are all born different and endowed with different abilities, some of which are less common than others. Therefore, in the national labor market, the demand for such abilities far exceeds the supply. And this leads to an increase in the price of the labor abilities of such people, that is, their income.
However, people with the same type of abilities perform the same duties in different ways, with different labor productivity and product quality. How to pay for these different results of labor? What is more important - the fact of labor or its result?
If you pay the same - “based on the fact of work”, then people who work with greater productivity and are endowed with talents useful to society will be offended. Many of them will stop working at full capacity (why bother if everyone gets paid the same?). This means that the productivity of their work will drop to the level of the least gifted and hardworking members of society. The result of this will be a reduction in the country's economic progress and a slowdown in the growth of the well-being of all its citizens. It was precisely these consequences of “equalization” in wages that had an extremely disastrous effect on the economy of the USSR and became one of the main reasons for the gradual cessation of its growth 1 .
Therefore, people have to pay for their activities in different ways. And since people have different innate abilities to work, and this is also layered with differences in acquired qualifications and experience (human capital), the result is significant differences in income levels.
Because of this, there is a certain income inequality; should be considered normal. Moreover, it is an extremely important tool for encouraging people to work.
Before turning to the problem of measuring inequality in income distribution, it must be said that disposable income is the income of an economic entity received after paying transfers from the state and paying taxes from its personal income. It is disposable income that gives a more accurate idea of the standard of living of the population than personal income.
What is the gap between rich and poor? One of the most famous ways to measure this inequality is to construct the Lorenz curve, named after American economist and Max Lorenz statistics. We are talking about personal, not functional, distribution of income.
Absolute inequality means that 20%, 40%, 60%, etc. The population does not receive any income, with the exception of one single person, the last in the row (line OF) person, who appropriates 100% of all income. The broken line OE is a line of absolute inequality.
Rice. 5. Lorenz curve
In reality, the actual distribution of income is shown by the line OABCDE. The more this line, or Lorenz curve, deviates from the OE line, the greater the inequality in income distribution. If we divide the shaded area by the area of triangle OFE, we get an indicator that reflects the degree of inequality in income distribution.
If the area of the unshaded section of the graph is designated by the letter T, then we can obtain the following relation:
;
Where G is an indicator measuring the degree of income inequality.
This indicator in economic theory is called the Ginn coefficient, named after the Italian economist and statistician Corrado Gini (1884-1965). Obviously, the greater the deviation of the Lorentz curve from the bisector, the greater the area of the T figure, and, therefore, the more the Gini coefficient will approach 1. It should be noted that this coefficient cannot be equal to either one or zero, because a civilized market economy eliminates such extremes due to the targeted redistribution of income. It is interesting to compare the value of this coefficient in countries with developed market economies and in Russia. So, in the early 80s the coefficient was: in Japan 0.270, Sweden 0.291, Germany - 0.295, USA - 0.329, Brazil 0.565.
3. WELFARE OF SOCIETY AND CRITERIA FOR ITS DETERMINATION
Increasing the well-being of the population is the most important task of social policy. Along with the concept of “national welfare”, it is advisable to consider the concepts of “conditions”, “level” and “quality” of life as independent ones. Living conditions should be understood as the immediate objective circumstances of the life of the population (employment, wages and income, forms of settlement, the nature of housing and the property security of families, the development of public funds and social infrastructure).
The standard of living is the totality of living conditions of the country’s population corresponding to the achieved level of its economic development. The main feature of the socio-economic category “standard of living” is the nature and scale of fulfillment of the needs of not only the population as a whole, but also of individual groups. The definition of a lifestyle as a way of activity is based on the orientation of the behavior of a person, a team, or a social community associated with their goals (for example, a passive lifestyle is opposed to an active one). The standard of living is characterized by such indicators as: average monthly accrued wages of workers in the economy; cash income on average per capita per month; average size of assigned pensions; living wage on average per capita per month; the number of people with incomes below the subsistence level; correlation with the subsistence level of average per capita income, average monthly accrued wages, average amount of assigned monthly pension; ratio of cash incomes of the 10% most and 10% of the least affluent population 1.
The quality of life covers and characterizes the entire range of its properties, extends to all its aspects, reflects people’s satisfaction with the material and spiritual benefits provided to them, reflects security, comfort, convenience of living conditions, their adaptability to modern requirements, painlessness and life expectancy. Simply put, quality of life is how well people live. When we say “quality of life,” we do not mean any one indicator, a meter expressed in quantitative, numerical form. Quality is a generalized concept, usually expressed by the words “high”, “average”, “satisfactory”, “low”, “unsatisfactory” by analogy with the verbal assessments that characterize students’ knowledge. But unlike assessing the quality of knowledge, the quality of life is not usually expressed in numbers, fives, fours, threes, twos.
The concept of “standard of living” largely characterizes a quantitative measure of people’s well-being and is most often characterized by quantitative, numerical indicators. The standard of living is difficult to express using a single criterion, a single measure. To characterize the standard of living of people, one has to resort to a number of indicators.
What are the main, most widely used measures of living standards in economic practice?
The structure and level of consumption of the main types of goods and services in physical terms per person or per one family of four people per year or the measure of provision of a person and family with consumer goods serve as the most important indicators of the standard of living of the population of a country, region or certain social groups (urban and rural population, young and old, men and women, employed and unemployed). Accordingly, when assessing the standard of living, indicators of annual consumption of food, clothing, shoes per person or family, provision of living space, furniture, durable goods, cultural and household items are used. In addition, indicators are used that characterize the provision of the population with schools, kindergartens, medical services (say, the number of doctors or hospital beds per thousand people), consumer service points, laundries, hairdressers, baths, and canteens 1 .
Among the widely used generally accepted indicators of living standards are the monetary income of the population per person or family. Usually, monthly income is measured. It is important that the monthly income exceeds the so-called subsistence minimum, calculated based on each person’s consumption of the minimum necessary set of goods and services, called the “consumer basket.” The cost of living depends significantly on prices, so in conditions of inflation it continuously changes. In Russia in 2003
The cost of living averaged 1,900 rubles. People whose consumption is below the minimum subsistence level are usually said to live “below the poverty line.” In Russia in 2003, over 30% of the population had incomes below the subsistence level.
Along with monetary income, the standard of living is influenced by the so-called public goods or public consumption funds, which include goods and services provided by the state to the population free of charge, or for a limited fee, either in kind or in the form of special payments - transfers. In countries with a centralized economy, healthcare and education can be completely free, and partly cultural and physical education services, and to some extent food and recreation for certain groups and categories of the population (for example, free school breakfasts, free milk for hazardous work). In countries with market economies, there is a wide range of public goods, but most often the goods or services are free or partially paid for certain categories of consumers with low incomes.
People's standard of living is also characterized by their property and monetary savings (property qualifications and monetary savings). After all, those who have low incomes now may have had high incomes in the past and accumulated significant wealth that allowed them to live well on low incomes. Therefore, in order to judge a person’s standard of living, it is not enough to study his income declaration; one must also add to it a declaration of property and savings.
Very specific indicators of living standards are infant and general mortality, morbidity rates and average life expectancy. For example, the average life expectancy of men in Russia in 2000 was approximately 60 years, and for women - 72 years, which is several years lower, check
in Sweden, the USA and a number of other countries 1.
The amount of free time that a person has the right to use according to his choice and discretion is also considered as a determining indicator of the level and quality of life. Most often, free time is compared with working or full time. A certain idea of the standard of living of those employed in production can be obtained based on the length of the working week. Thus, a forty-hour workweek is considered quite acceptable, and a thirty-five-hour workweek (seven working hours a day with two days off) is desirable.
If we judge the standard of living of people by their current consumption, then the most significant impact on it in a saturated, deficit-free market is played by income and prices. After all, the higher the income and the lower the prices, the more goods, goods, and services a consumer can purchase with his income. But such a conclusion is valid only in conditions when income growth is accompanied by an adequate increase in the physical mass of goods and services available to consumers for purchase for money.
In conditions of a decline in production and a high level of inflation, it is extremely difficult to judge the standard of living of the population based on studying changes in income and prices, and conclusions may be erroneous. If all goods produced and purchased through import are consumed by the population, then it is obvious that the average level of consumption per person is equal to the physical quantity of goods consumed divided by the number of consumers, and does not depend at all on income or prices.
For example, if Russia produces and purchases 7.5 million tons of meat per year with a population of 150 million people, then it is clear that annual consumption per person will be 7.5 x 1000/150 = 50 kg. Of course, someone who has high incomes or the ability to purchase meat at a low price will be able to consume more than 50 kg, but then others will get less, and differentiation of consumption will arise, while the average level will not change.
Let us once again recall the harsh truth that it is impossible to consume more than what is received, because the inexorable law of conservation of matter operates. So if we want to increase the consumption of the entire population, then there is only one way - to increase production. And to some extent, by importing some goods at the expense of exporting others. By increasing income without increasing production, and even more so in the conditions of its decline, you can get one and only result - rising prices, inflation, an increase in internal and external government debt. No increase in living standards can be achieved in this way.
Assessments of the level and quality of life vary over time and space. What was considered a high standard of living 20–30 years ago may today only slightly exceed the “poverty line.” What looks like poverty to a European may be the most rational way of life for the indigenous people of Africa or the Arctic. This confirms the sad experience of the “introduction” of European or American civilization into the life and culture of the small peoples of the North. Thus, any comparisons of the level and quality of life, especially in the international aspect, must certainly take into account the above circumstances 1.
In this regard, we note that Russia will be in a rather difficult situation for at least another decade, when the social expectations of the population are significantly higher than the economic capabilities of society. Hence the danger of acute social conflicts is great. Therefore, the choice of directions and mechanisms for implementing social policy for Russia is now of particular importance.
It should be clarified that the living wage is the level of income that ensures the acquisition of a set of goods and services necessary to ensure human life at a certain level of socio-economic development of the country and the existing needs of the population. The subsistence minimum is a “reference point” in order to have an idea of the level of well-being of the population. The subsistence level represents the cost of mandatory payments and fees, as well as the cost of the consumer basket, which, in turn, represents the minimum set of food products, non-food products and services necessary to maintain human health and ensure his life.
In characterizing the essence of quality of life as a socio-economic category, it is necessary to emphasize a number of its features 1 .
Firstly, quality of life is an extremely broad, multidimensional, multifaceted concept, incomparably broader than “standard of living.” This is a category that goes far beyond economics. This is primarily a sociological category that covers all spheres of society, since they all contain people’s lives and their quality.
Secondly, quality of life has two sides: objective and subjective. The criterion for objective assessment of the quality of life is the scientific standards of people's needs and interests, in relation to which one can objectively judge the degree of satisfaction of these needs and interests.
On the other hand, the needs and interests of people are individual and the degree of their satisfaction can only be assessed by the subjects themselves. They are not fixed by any statistical values and practically exist only in the minds of people and, accordingly, in their personal opinions and assessments. Thus, assessment of quality of life comes in two forms:
Thirdly, quality of life is not a category separated from other socio-economic categories, but unites many of them and includes them in a qualitative aspect.
Thus, the components of quality of life include lifestyle, standard of living, and the environment, enriched with qualitative assessments. For example, when characterizing the quality of life, one cannot limit oneself to assessing nutrition by its nutritional value (calorie content, content in grams of proteins, fats). It is impossible to ignore such qualities of nutrition as its regularity, variety, and taste. When characterizing the quality of working life, one cannot limit oneself (as when analyzing the standard of living) to indicators of employment, unemployment, length of the working day, week, year, and the level of occupational injuries, but it is necessary to assess the compliance with the interests of workers of the content and nature of work, its intensity, relationships within the work collective and etc.
Quality of life is the degree of development and completeness of satisfaction of the entire complex of needs and interests of people, manifested both in various types of activities and in the very sense of life. The problem of quality of life includes the conditions, results and nature of work, demographic, ethnographic and environmental aspects of people’s existence. There are legal and political aspects to this problem related to rights and freedoms, behavioral and psychological aspects, and a general ideological and cultural background.
As for well-being in general, this is a kind of synthesis, a generalizing view of the social organism, including all of the above aspects.
Achieving the highest possible quality of life for the population is a priority goal of a social market economy. One of the most important prerequisites for the implementation of this task is the implementation of an effective policy for the welfare of the population. The central place in welfare policy is occupied by the income of the population, their differentiation, and the constant increase in the standard of living of citizens.
4. SOCIAL POLICY OF THE STATE. FEATURES OF THE STATE SOCIAL POLICY IN MODERN RUSSIA
4.1. The essence of the state's social policy
In XX and beginning of XXI i.v. In industrialized countries, concepts and doctrines are increasingly spreading that entrust the state with the task of ensuring such human rights as the right to a certain standard of well-being. The theory and practice of “social market economy”, meaning broad social activities carried out by the state, is becoming especially popular. Thus, in real life, the distribution of income in countries with market economies is carried out as a result of the free play of market forces, but also on the basis of government regulation of various income streams through their redistribution.
From the point of view of the functioning of the economic system, social policy plays a dual role. Exactly according to economic growth, creating favorable conditions in the social sphere becomes the main goal economic activity, that is, the goals of economic growth are concentrated in social policy. In addition, social policy is also a factor in economic growth. Moreover, if economic growth is not accompanied by an increase in well-being, then people lose incentives for effective economic activity. The higher the level of economic development achieved, the higher the requirements for people ensuring economic growth, for their knowledge, culture, etc. And this, in turn, requires further development of the social sphere.
The basic principles of social policy include: 1) protecting the standard of living by introducing various forms of compensation for price increases and indexing; 2) providing assistance to the poorest families; 3) provision of assistance in case of unemployment; 4) ensuring social insurance policy, establishing a minimum wage; 5) development of education, health protection, and the environment mainly at the expense of the state; 6) pursuing an active policy aimed at ensuring qualifications 1.
IN market conditions The main conductor of social policy is the state.
State social policy is a purposeful activity of the state aimed at weakening income differentiation, mitigating contradictions between participants in a market economy and preventing social conflicts on economic grounds. Through state social policy in a market economy, the principle of social justice is implemented, which presupposes a certain measure of equalization of the status of citizens, the creation of a system of social guarantees and equal starting conditions for all segments of the population 1 .
As is known, the nature and content of social policy depend on the degree of state intervention in the management of social processes; on this, all types of state social policy that have developed today in developed countries can be divided into two groups.
The first can conditionally be called residual - in this case, social policy performs functions that the market is not able to implement. This is a social policy limited in scope and scope, predominantly passive and compensatory in nature, the conceptual foundations of which are formed under the influence of the ideas of conservatism. A typical representative of this option (with a certain degree of convention) is the American model.
The second group is institutional .
Here, social policy plays a crucial role in providing the population with social services and is considered as a more effective means in the socio-economic and political sense than the system of private institutions. This is a more constructive and redistributive policy. From a conceptual point of view, this group is most influenced by social democratic ideology, and its typical representative (also conditionally) is the Swedish version of the welfare state.
Both groups differ from each other in the presence
or the absence of certain components, but their relationship, as well as the degree of government intervention in the social sphere, the role of redistribution processes, the degree of priority of social problems in the activities of the state.
In all other countries of the world, the social role of the state is in the range
between these two groups.
The practice is more varied. Thus, in Belgium the level of social spending by the state is very high, but social policy is predominantly passive, compensatory. The Scandinavian countries are predominantly social democratic, but their social sphere is by no means free from liberal elements. There are also no pure liberal regimes. All European states with social market economies developed under the influence of both liberal and social democratic impulses. In recent years, there has been a further convergence of the main characteristics of various types of state social policy, especially with regard to the ideology of the prospects for its development.
From the social practice of countries with developed market economies, the following conclusions can be drawn 1.
1. The degree of social support for the population, primarily this concerns the free or preferential provision of socially significant goods and services (education, healthcare, culture), is not a direct function of the level of economic development, although, naturally, it depends on it.
2. There is a direct relationship between the level of many social indicators of a nation’s development and the scale of redistribution activities of the state; this, in particular, is confirmed by numerous studies of international organizations in recent years (for example, calculations of the developed human potential index).
3. Society always faces a choice - growth of personal income (low level of taxes and other withdrawals from personal income) or increase in the level of satisfaction by preferential terms socially significant needs of the whole society (or a significant part of it).
4. Ideology public policy in the social sphere in relation to the central issue - the degree of state intervention in the social sphere - undergoes cyclical changes not only depending on the economic capabilities of society, but also in accordance with the reaction of the mass voter to changes in politics that affect its interests.
For all countries, the “golden period” in the development of social activities of the state was the 60-70s. During these years of the most favorable development, the share of spending on social purposes in the gross national product in the United States and developed European countries doubled and reached in the early 80s: 21% in the United States; 24% - in England; 30% - in France; 31.5% - in Germany; more than a third are in Sweden and Denmark. In the 1980s, the pendulum swung in the other direction. During these years, in all developed countries there was a revision of the scale, forms of organization and financing of social programs. The reasons for the revision are usually the same - the need to increase the flexibility of providing payments, strengthen their ability to meet needs, expand consumer choice, reduce the presence of the state in the economy and society, and strengthen control over government spending.
Thus, the cyclical change of priorities in the social policy of developed countries led to the redistribution of funds between individual items of social spending, but, as a rule, did not affect the serious social achievements of previous development; the share of spending on social needs in GDP also did not undergo significant changes. In most countries financial crisis the social sphere was somehow overcome thanks to some reduction in spending, a number of protectionist measures, strengthening tax discipline and other measures.
In the mid-90s, we can again talk about the reverse movement of the pendulum; public choice in most countries dictates the need for a new revision of the social role of the state towards its strengthening.
Our country traditionally belongs to the type of state with a strong role of the state in the social sphere. If we do not talk about lower material and institutional levels, the system of social guarantees and social protection of the population that had developed in Russia at the beginning of economic transformations generally corresponded to the principles of a social market economy. From the point of view of the criteria of a market economy, the social role of the state was overly paternalistic, although it ensured the satisfaction of a wide range of comprehensively regulated needs, but it fettered personal initiative and suppressed the desire of citizens to independently solve problems of their own well-being.
From the point of view of the functioning of the economic system, social policy plays a dual role 1 .
1) With economic growth, accumulation of national wealth, creation of favorable social conditions for citizens it becomes the main goal of economic activity, and in this sense, the goals of economic growth are concentrated in social policy; all other aspects of economic development are beginning to be considered as means of implementing social policy.
2) Social policy is a factor of economic growth and is not accompanied by an increase in well-being, then people lose incentives for effective economic activity. At the same time, the higher the level of economic development achieved, the higher the requirements for people, culture, physical and moral development. In turn, this requires further development of the social sphere.
Social policy is carried out under different conditions of economic activity. Thus, we can talk about the social policy of a company (corporation) in relation to its personnel, about regional and national social policy. Given the close relationship modern world, we can talk about state social policy (for example, in solving global environmental problems, overcoming socio-economic groups of countries and even continents).
4.2. Features of the state social policy in Russia
For a number of reasons, at the initial stage of radical economic transformations in Russia, the main emphasis was placed on the financial recovery of the economy and macroeconomic stabilization. The social sphere and its problems were relegated to the background. As a result, the population of Russia faced a sharp drop in living standards against the backdrop of increasing social differentiation of society.
The increase in prices in 1992 for consumer goods was 26-fold. At the same time, the monetary income of the population increased approximately 10 times, including wages by 12 times. Reduced accordingly consumer spending, which could not but affect the real incomes of the population. The fall in real incomes, in turn, entailed not only a reduction in the consumption of basic products, but also a deterioration in the consumption structure.
The decline in living standards was accompanied by social differentiation of society, including in terms of wages. Thus, the earnings of the 10% of the highest paid workers exceeded the earnings of the 10% of the least paid by 4 times before 1991, in March 1992 by 11 times and in September by 16 times. The number of people below the poverty line has increased significantly, which, according to government statistics, by the end of 1992 amounted to almost a third of the population. “The middle class, which serves as the main stabilizer of social tension, has essentially never been formed.
Measures to financially support state-owned enterprises, carried out in the second half of 1992, stopped mass unemployment caused by the bankruptcy of enterprises. However, the situation on the labor market gradually worsened.
The problem of labor protection has worsened. Has noticeably worsened demographic situation. The process of depopulation of the population began. Due to the aggravation of social problems in the country, the social orientation of reforms has been strengthened.
As a result of the reforms, the social and labor sphere acquired a new quality. Institutional innovations influenced, firstly, the emergence of fundamentally new areas and types of activities and, secondly, the formation of a new structure of possible sources of income. The most radical was the legal and real design of the institute private property, the result of which was: - the formation and development of a new sector of the economy and, accordingly, the creation of new jobs; the formation of a new source of income - entrepreneurial and property income in its most diverse forms.
The multiplicity of forms of labor activity, especially the development of individual labor activity, has led to an increase in self-employment of the population. Due to the liberalization of customs policy and trade rules, the so-called “shuttle” business has gained greater momentum. The lifting of restrictions on secondary employment also expanded the range of income sources.
The policy of artificially maintaining the existing level of employment or the slow growth rate of unemployment, carried out through the use of preferential lending regimes and subsidies for unprofitable industries, inevitably leads to the emergence and reproduction of high latent unemployment. In Russia, its two forms are most widespread: sending workers on forced unpaid (or partially paid) leaves and using a variety of part-time work schedules.
The existence of large hidden unemployment is due to conscious choices at the macroeconomic level. The negative economic and social consequences of this phenomenon are well known: conservation of a large number of inefficient jobs, a decrease in real incomes of the formally employed population, weakening incentives for highly productive work, etc. However, from the point of view of specific government functions, another, less obvious effect is achieved. : if, within the framework of today’s legislation, the registered unemployed become the object of social protection, then as a result of the choice made, several million formally employed people, but deprived of a permanent source of labor income, find themselves outside the framework of the social assistance system and, in principle, are not the object of the state’s social policy.
The dependence of the employment sector on the macroeconomic situation and changes in the structure of production in a market economy determines the subordinate position of politics in the labor market in relation to politics financial and economic structures of the Russian government. Its social “bloc” (including the Ministry of Labor of the Russian Federation, Federal service employment, the Federal Migration Service, etc.) has virtually no ability to directly influence the scale of employment and unemployment. Its prerogatives include only regulatory support and operational regulation of specific processes in the labor market.
The change in the economic situation in the country made it necessary to create legal framework regulating the behavior of all economic entities in the labor market. Despite the fact that the Employment Law is the first legal act whose norms are generally adequate to the emerging market relations, some of its articles and the implementation mechanism have led to the emergence of a number of social problems. Social and economic situation today's unemployed is extremely contradictory. The social protection standards for the unemployed introduced by the Employment Law are, at first glance, quite liberal: the minimum work experience sufficient to receive benefits is only 12 weeks per month. last year, the amount of unemployment benefits is guaranteed not lower than the minimum wage, and fairly high thresholds for the benefit scale are defined. However, with the current inflation dynamics, the real content of these payments is rapidly depreciating and the benefits are not able to effectively perform the function of maintaining the incomes of the unemployed at an acceptable level, which negates efforts to socially protect this category of people.
In terms of stabilizing the labor market, special hopes were placed on the implementation of the idea of social partnership and regulation of employment on the basis of collective and individual labor contracts.
The first experience in this direction was the General Agreement for 1992, concluded between the government of the Russian Federation, the Russian association of trade unions and associations of entrepreneurs, which reflected the main directions of promoting employment and developing the labor market 1. In conditions of mass release of tariff agreements, it provides a number of guarantees for them: referral to retraining or mastering another profession out of production with payment of the difference between the scholarship and the average salary at the place of last work; protection of the interests of workers during the period of mass layoffs on the part of public organizations (trade unions); the priority right of an employee temporarily transferred to another enterprise to be reinstated in his previous position upon completion of reconstruction, and others.
Russia will be in a rather difficult situation for at least another decade, when the social expectations of the population are significantly higher than the economic capabilities of society. Hence the danger of acute social conflicts is great. Therefore, the choice of directions and mechanisms for implementing social policy for Russia is now of particular importance.
Social policy cannot be seen as a purely economic problem. Economic science, as the subject of its research in the field of social policy, focuses on the economic mechanisms of its implementation. In a market economy, these include, first of all, mechanisms for generating income and maintaining employment.
CONCLUSION
The total income of the population, its level, structure, methods of receipt and differentiation are indicators of the economic and social well-being of society. Their distribution has a pronounced socio-political overtones, predetermining property and social differentiation.
The distribution of income is closely related to the distribution of resources. Through income differentiation in social life, those relationships that are hidden behind the distribution of resources are revealed. All economic processes take place in a certain social environment, therefore the distinction between the economic and social aspects of systems of social interaction is conditional and abstract. Analysis of the distribution of production results in the form of income distribution allows us to assess whether society correctly solves the question “for whom?”
The traditional debate between supporters and opponents of government regulation in the field of distribution boils down to the problem of the relationship between efficiency and equality. The formulation of the problem of equality inevitably involves us in the sphere of value judgments, which are the basis of the so-called normative economic theory. Normative economics aims to describe ideal (from the point of view of various ideological systems) models of social structure. Positive economic theory studies already existing systems of relations. The unity and difference between positive and normative economic theories is most clearly evident in the debate over the relationship between equality and efficiency. It is generally accepted that, while efficiently distributing limited resources, the market makes “mistakes” in the distribution of income. This is by no means an indisputable statement that roams the pages of textbooks, based on the fact that economic efficiency artificially divorced from its social content.
State regulation of the economy is aimed at increasing the efficiency of social production, ensuring social justice and stability. The area of government regulation that is called social must satisfy all three of these goals. This chapter analyzes the processes of formation of total income of the population and the role of government intervention in their regulation. Most economists believe that uneven income distribution, or the division between rich and poor, is a persistent phenomenon that persists even against the backdrop of significant growth in living standards. Can government intervention reduce the stigma of poverty and what price will it have to pay for it? What will the public choice be based on: the economic or political decision-making process? It is theoretically impossible to correctly determine what part of public income should be redistributed in favor of the poorest. Both economic and political decision-making processes do not guarantee the absence of miscalculations.
Russia in numbers // Goskomstat. M., 2002.
Shestakova E.. Reforming the social protection system in Eastern European countries // World economy and international relations, 1999. No. 1. pp. 45-53.
/. Population income: types and sources of formation. Nominal and real income.
Distribution of personal income and the evolution of the social structure of society. Diversification of social status.
Standard of living and poverty. Socio-economic mobility and social progress.
State regulation of income distribution. Equality and social stratification.
Social protection systems.
Population income: types and sources of formation. Nominal and real income
The concept of “income” is complex and ambiguous. In everyday life it seems obvious, but this simplicity is deceptive. For us, income can be something we receive in the form of money, or something that is taxed, or a reward that we usually receive or expect to receive, or the result of managing available resources. All these concepts of income are by no means identical, although each of them can serve as the basis for formulating a completely correct definition of income. In this chapter we have to understand the basics of the concept personalor personal income, which is understood as income over a certain period into the personal sector of the economy.This definition is initial but not exhaustive.
In most industrialized countries Total personal income refers to income from employment, property, or transfers from other sectors that move into the personal sector of the economy. In turn, the personal sector of the economy can be defined as a set of households and individual residents of a given country, in contrast to corporate business or government agencies.The personal sector includes not only the households of individuals, but also the unincorporated private businesses of sole proprietors, such as farmers, retailers and members of the liberal professions.
The basis for the formation of total personal income from any economic activity is GNP at the distribution stage, which is equal to the sum of primary income (forming national income - ND), income from services created in the country and the amount of depreciation compensation for annual depreciation. The integrating indicator of all types of income is national income. There are various classifications of the structure of personal income, in table. 28.1 shows one of the most common ones.
Table 28.1Structure of personal income of the population
|
Wages and salaries in monetary terms and natural form Cash and in-kind allowances for service pressing armed forces Entrepreneurs' contributions: a) for social insurance, etc., b) for other purposes. |
Employment income |
|
Persons of liberal professions Farmers Other individual entrepreneurs and merchants |
Self-employment income |
|
7) Rent, net interest, dividends |
Property income |
|
Current transfers, charity companies State benefits and other payments |
Transfer income |
It is necessary to distinguish between the concepts of “income” and “wealth”. As you know, economists distinguish two types of quantitative variables - stock and flow. Stock is the quantity measured at a given moment. Flow - quantity per unit of time. In our case, capital is a stock, and income is a flow. In turn, capital is wealth, and income is a service of wealth. From this we can derive the following definitions: stocks of wealth that exist at a particular moment are called capital. The flow of services during a period is called income.
For clarity, the interdependence of income and wealth can be illustrated as follows. Let someone receive annual means of subsistence from various sources: wages, profits from investments, transfer receipts from the state and other income (inheritance, donations, gifts, etc.). After paying taxes, he can dispose of these means of subsistence as follows: 1) spend on personal needs; 2) transfer to other persons as a capital transfer; 3) add to your existing stock of wealth (save). In the latter case, the profit from investing for the next year will increase accordingly. This process can be schematically depicted as follows (Fig. 28.1).
As you can see, this process can proceed from year to year throughout our entire life. “someone.” At the time of death, his wealth will be zero, since his fortune will pass to his heirs (or to the state, etc.). The entire life path of our “someone” was a period of time from dust to dust, and his wealth from zero to zero.
Based on the above, we can now give the most common and universal definition of income: income in a given period is the amount of money that a certain person can spend, leaving the value of his wealth unchanged. The amount of income valued in money represents nominal income. Real income is the amount of goods and services that can be purchased with cash income.
We have already said that the source of personal income is the gross national product and national income. This interdependence can be depicted in more detail as follows (Fig. 28.3):
Gross national product -
depreciation =
National income
Retained profit of companies -
Taxes on companies (so-called corporation tax) -
Profits transferred to the state +
Interest paid by the state +
Capital gains =
Personal income before taxes
Rice. 28.3.Source of personal income
Basic economic theories about sources and dynamics of income
The theory of labor value. Separate elements of this theory are contained in the works of such outstanding economists as W. Petty, A. Smith and D. Rickard o. However, this theory was most consistently and completely developed by K. Marx, who believed that the distribution of income in a capitalist society is antagonistic in nature. National income (created entirely by working people) consists of two parts: the wages of wage workers and the surplus value appropriated by the exploiting classes. The development of capitalism is accompanied by an increase in the share of the bourgeoisie and a corresponding decrease in the share of workers, all other things being equal. The income of capitalists and large landowners represents part of the surplus value created by hired workers. Consequently, a faster rise in these incomes in relation to wages means an increase in exploitation and an increase in the antagonism between labor and capital.
Theory of factors of production. Its foundations were laid by the French economist J.B. Say, and to date, in different interpretations, variants and modifications, it is predominant in industrial countries. According to this theory, value is a component of various incomes. Each factor of production, participating in the creation of a product, brings to its owner one or another part of the value equivalent to the costs of this factor. Yes, wages seems as remuneration for the service of a worker’s labor; rent - for the service of land; profit is divided into two parts: business income - remuneration for activity entrepreneur (for risk, organizational talent, “labor” to provide production with everything necessary) and interest - as a reward for the “productive service” of capital. According to Say, the incomes of various social groups are independent of each other, i.e. The rise or fall of some incomes does not affect the value of others. This emphasizes the absence of antagonism between classes and the general interest of all social groups in the growth of social wealth.
Sociological theory of distribution. Its creator is a modern French economist J. Marshall. This theory does not reject in principle the theory of factors of production, but criticizes its followers for inattention to non-economic, social factors influencing the nature of distribution (for example, the balance of class forces in the struggle for the distribution of national income, the real socio-economic structure of modern capitalist society, etc.). P.).
Proponents of sociological theory divide the entire population into professional groups that differ in “the way they are included in the economy” and how they receive income. Distribution itself is presented by French economists as a struggle of “homogeneous groups” for a share in the total product. For the process of income distribution, the behavior of economic entities is decisive, therefore, such main socio-economic groups as wage workers and owners of profits in the arbitration of the state (a supra-class body) fight for the distribution of income, striving for greater social justice, using strikes, associations and other methods economic struggle.
Egalitarian (egalitarian) theories originated several centuries ago as one of the directions of utopian socialism. Followers of egalitarianism (absolute equality) in distribution support this principle with arguments not only of an ethical and ideological, but also of an economic nature. It is argued, in particular, that such a distribution brings the maximum possible total utility in society: consumers spend their income first on those goods that have the greatest marginal utility. After primary needs are satisfied, the remaining income is spent on goods with lower marginal utility. This ignores the fact that such distribution leads to the destruction of the motivational mechanism and, consequently, to losses in labor productivity and the volume of output. Implementation of egalitarian experiments in practice - the policy of "war communism" in Russia (1917-1921), the "cultural revolution" in China (1966-1976), etc. - invariably led to economic collapse.
