Unemployment, Labour Supply Variations and Precarious Work
On April 7-10, the Laboratory for Comparative Social Research at HSE will hold the Fifth LCSR International Workshop ‘Social and Cultural changes in cross-national perspective: Subjective Well-being, Trust, Social capital and Values’ which will take place as part of the XVI April International Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development.
Attending this year’s conference is Arne L. Kalleberg, Kenan Distinguished Professor of Sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an international expert on labour force issues related to work and inequality. He recently spoke with the HSE news service about the challenges facing labour force research, the situation with unemployment in Russia, and his interest in developing collaboration with researchers at HSE.
— What is the main challenge today for researchers who study the labour force, which is your area of expertise?
— I study mainly issues related to work and inequality. I believe the main challenge in this field is to study the growing causes and consequences of diversity in both forms of work and the experiences of labour force members. Types of employment relations are becoming increasingly varied, including open-ended as opposed to closed-ended temporary contracts, different sorts of contracting relations, work that is mediated by the internet, and so on. In addition, labour force participants are more diverse than ever and differ in their needs, motivations and skills, and so it is necessary to understand differences produced by gender, race and ethnicity, immigration status and age.
— The economic crisis in Russia has provided quite a bit of data on the staff reductions and unemployment that have unfortunately taken place since last fall. What lessons have been learned already and what could be next?
— Unemployment in Russia has recently begun to increase after decreasing for several years since the spike in unemployment associated with the financial crisis of 2009. Fluctuations in unemployment reflect both demand for workers that is produced by shifting business conditions and variations in the supply of labour, which in Russia’s case is caused by a decline in the working age population. Studying the ebbs and flows of unemployment thus provides great insights into the dynamic interrelations among the labour force, work and the economy.
— How did your cooperation with HSE begin?
— My first visit to Russia was to attend a conference on economic sociology at HSE in Moscow in October 2012. There I met Tatiana Karabchuk, and we became aware of our mutual interests in the comparative study of the nature and consequences of precarious work (i.e., work that is uncertain, insecure, generally low paying and has little opportunity for advancement). I was then invited to attend a conference of HSE’s Laboratory on Comparative Social Research in St. Petersburg in November 2014. Tatiana and I are now collaborating on a paper that examines the consequences of economic transformation in Russia and Germany on perceptions of insecurity and subjective wellbeing.
— Why are you interested in developing working relations with HSE researchers?
— The continuing economic transformations taking place in Russia and other former Communist countries provide an important context for assessing how institutions and cultural characteristics affect the nature of work and employment relations, as well as the reactions of individuals to job and economic insecurity and subjective wellbeing. In addition, I would like to learn more about and start using the World Values Survey to examine these topics for a wide range of both developed and developing countries.
— Apart the conference itself is there anything special you would like to see in Moscow?
— I have only been to Moscow once. Then, I was very happy to visit Red Square and see St. Basil’s Cathedral and the Kremlin, and to experience the wonderful artistry of the Metro stations. I hope to revisit these places again and explore them further. I would also like to see some of Moscow’s museums, parks and well-known streets and squares.
Anna Chernyakhovskaya, specially for the HSE English Language News service
See also:
25th Yasin (April) International Academic Conference Now Accepting Proposals
Reports on new research results will be presented and discussed as part of the conference’s sections. These reports will be selected based on reviews of proposals. As always, the conference programme features expert discussions of the most pressing economic, social, internal and external issues in the format of roundtables and associated events.
Academic Council: HSE University’s Contribution to Achieving National Goals and Development Priorities to Increase
HSE University’s Development Programme until 2030 will be improved in order to increase the university’s contribution to achieving national goals and implementing the priorities of the country’s scientific and technological development. This decision was made by the university’s Academic Council on April 26. The meeting also addressed the principles for the development of HSE University’s external communications, one of which is the creation of a high-quality information field around the university.
Keeping Up with the Neighbours: Envy as a Driver of Economic Growth
Classical economic theory assumes that economic agents are entirely self-interested and rational in their pursuit of material well-being, and that they are not affected by external factors. As a result, externalities are not considered in any way when constructing economic models. Nevertheless, some sociologists argue for a revision of modern economic theory to incorporate the ethical dimensions of economic agents' behaviour. Kirill Borissov, Professor of the Faculty of Economics at the European University in St Petersburg, spoke at the XXIV Yasin (April) International Academic Conference and shared his observations from creating his own economic model incorporating the factor of envy.
Structural Transformation and Drivers of Sustainable Growth in Russian Economy Discussed at HSE University
The Russian economy has demonstrated high resilience to unprecedented external pressure and has managed to largely adapt to new conditions. As early as this year, it can go from recession to growth. The issue of where to find drivers and resources for this was discussed at a plenary session titled ‘Russian Economy under Sanctions: From Adaptation to Sustainable Growth’ at the XXIV Yasin (April) International Academic Conference held at HSE University as part of the Decade of Science and Technology. Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation Maksim Reshetnikov took part in the discussion.
‘People Want to Receive Only Useful Content’
Experts say that interest in news has sharply increased among the Russian audience. At the same time, part of the audience deliberately avoids it. What kind of content is in demand and will people continue to watch TV? These and other issues were discussed at the plenary session ‘ Info-hygiene and Information Elitism: How to Consume Media Properly’ at the XXIV Yasin (April) International Academic Conference.
'The Emerging Trends in Africa Will Shape the World Order, and We Need to Be Prepared for That'
Africa has the potential to become a new economic giant. Today, African countries are interested in comprehensive cooperation and strengthening their positions in the global arena, and they look forward to receiving assistance from Russia and China in developing their technology, economy, and social sphere. Effective engagement with Africa requires training a greater number of professional African studies specialists. The XXIV Yasin (April) International Academic Conference at HSE University featured a plenary session on 'Africa in a Changing World'.
Learning a Foreign Language Can Delay the Onset of Dementia
Dementia, a debilitating form of cognitive impairment, can be preventable. According to Professor Jubin Abutalebi of the University Vita Salute San Raffaele, Italy, and the Arctic University of Tromsoe, Norway, the easiest way to prevent cognitive decline after the age of 60 is to learn and practice foreign languages – the more languages, the better, suggests Professor Abutalebi in his presentation 'Preventing dementia through bilingualism' at the XXIV Yasin (April) International Academic Conference.
‘The BRICS Strategic Partnership Offers the World Creative, Unifying, Forward-Looking Initiatives’
Today, BRICS has become an influential factor in modern international relations and is perceived as one of the pillars of a more just world order. This association is not based on one party’s dominance, but instead, is built on a sound balance of interests. The role of the association was discussed by the participants of the plenary session ‘BRICS Development Strategy: Equal Opportunities in an Unequal World’at the XXIV Yasin (April) International Academic Conference.
Sanctions Create New Opportunities for Russian Companies
Like any crisis, the sanctions of 2022, besides problems, have created new opportunities for Russian companies. This is the conclusion that HSE University’s experts have come to. Their study results are presented in the report ‘Adaptation of Russian Industrial Companies to Sanctions: First Steps and Expectations’, prepared by HSE University for the XXIV Yasin (April) International Academic Conference.
Search Query: How to Study Migration with Google Trends
Experts have calculated that the number of international students in Russia has grown six times over the last decade, and researchers say that many of those who are studying today would like to stay in the country. This, alongside issues such as why Google Trends are worth looking into, were covered at the HSE XXIV Yasin International Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development section on demography and labour markets.