Effects on Beneficiaries of the "Monetization" of Privileges in Russia: Initial Experience in Saratov Oblast

The monetisation ofl'goty: Changing patterns of welfare politics and provision in Russia

“…15 In addition to the material effects of the reforms, equally important is evidence of changing usage patterns of public services as a result of monetisation. Now that l'gotniki must pay for these services, they report that they make fewer trips on public transport, visit friends and family less frequently and travel less often to medical facilities (Struyk et al 2006). Furthermore, the number of sanatoria trips available to federal benefit recipients fell in compared with 2005(MZSRRF 2005).…”

Financial reforms and out-of-pocket payments in the Russian healthcare sector

“…employees of civil and armed services or those moving to strategically important or remote areas), but not based on income. As such, privileges were neither designed to serve as social assistance or relieve hardships, nor were they exclusively awarded to low-income consumers (Struyk et al, 2007;Wengle & Rasell 2008;Besstremyannaya, 2009b).…”

“…Scientific reports with simulations and forecasts of possible gains and losses by beneficiaries and case studies appeared also only after the 2005 social benefits reform was actually implemented (e.g. Alexandrova & Struyk, 2007;Besstremyannaya, 2009b;Hahulina, 2005;Ovcharova, 2005;Sinitsina, 2009;Struyk et al, 2007;Volchkova et al, 2006;Wengle and Rasell, 2008). The overall number of beneficiaries was not reduced significantly and most categories of beneficiaries remained unchanged (Wengle & Rasell, 2008;Sinitsina, 2009).…”

“…The changes brought by the reform affected millions of Russian beneficiaries, yet studies that evaluate and track effects of the reform during the extended post-reform period are still lacking. The studies that were conducted during the post-reform period mainly assessed the general design and reform implementation (Besstremyannaya, 2009b;Ovcharova, 2005;Volchkova et al, 2006;Alexandrova & Struyk, 2007;Sinitsina, 2009;Wengle & Rasell, 2008); reported on short-term adjustments that have arisen from the reform and its public perception (Besstremyannaya, 2009b;Hahulina, 2005;Alexandrova & Struyk, 2007;Struyk et al, 2007;Wengle & Rasell, 2008;Parfitt, 2007;Zasimova, 2010); and gave numerical estimations of benefit groups' behavior before and after the reform (Besstremyannaya, 2009b).…”