What factors best explain the low incidence of skills training in a late industrial society like Russia? This research undertakes a multilevel analysis of the role of occupational structure in the probability of training. The explanatory power of occupation‐specific determinants and skills polarization are evaluated, using a representative 2012 sample from the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey. Applying a two‐level Bayesian logistic regression model, we show that the incidence of training in Russia is significantly contextualized within the structure of occupations and the inequalities between them. The study shows that extremely high wage gaps within managerial class jobs can discourage training, an unusual finding. Markets accumulating interchangeable and disposable labour best explain the low incidence of training: workers within generic labour are less likely to develop their skills formally, except in urban markets. Although we did not find strong evidence of skills polarization, Russians are yet to live in a knowledge economy.
The present paper operationalizes one of the oldest concepts in the sociological literature about social stratification. Relying on Weber's theory, the authors consider life chances in terms of positive and negative privileges. This framework is fertile ground for constructing a series of indices measuring opportunities and risks in key areas of life such as economic conditions, work situation, human capital accumulation, and consumption and leisure activities. Drawing on empirical data from three 2015 representative Russian surveys, the authors classified the Russian population on a continuum of life chances. The majority of Russians obtain just one third of the maximum scores on the life-chance scale. It is also shown that the life-chance scale has a strong correlation with the peaks of income distribution; however, the relationship between lower-and middle-income groups are not that salient. Finally, we show that life chances are uniquely distributed across different localities in contemporary Russia. We admit therefore the high analytical power of the neo-Weberian concept of life chances in stratification studies. Measured via a multidimensional index, life chances appear a good alternative to a gradational approach and the relational stratification schema developed particularly for the working population.
The given paper assumes the existence of a correlation between the occupational structure and the mode of social and economic development of a country. It is shown that the modern stage of development in advanced economies could be described by the post-industrial phase with (a) the specific proportions in the occupational structure (predominance of professional managers and technical experts); (b) particular nature of work and the corresponding extent of labor division according to specialization and qualification (highly skilled labor with broad specialization and a new criterion of creativity included within qualifications). Within the certain historical framework these indicators, combined onto the entire scheme, produce the criteria to distinct different types of socio-economic development and arrange them in consistent order. The analysis of occupational structure of Russian population shows that the reforms of 1990s have facilitated the process of deindustrialization alongside with the growth of semi-and low-skilled jobs. According to the scheme, Russia seems to have reached the stage of the development that is similar to one of the 1950-1960s in the USA and the Europe.
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