Socio-economic effects of labor migration from small towns of Russia

Abstract

The article examines labor migration from small Russian towns: prevalence of the phenomenon, the direction and duration of trips, spheres of employment and earnings of migrants, social and economic benefits of migration for households. The representative surveys of households and migrant-workers by a standardized interview were conducted in four selected towns. Authors draw a conclusion about high labor spatial mobility of the population of small towns and existence of positive effects for migrant’s households and the economy of towns themselves.

Can Digital Transformation Solve the Problem of Arctic Youth Migration Outflow?

“…We agree with Mkrtchyan and Florinskaya that youth migration outflow stipulated numerous human resource problems in the "donor territories" [2], which decrease communities' resilience to the social changes and lead to economic devastation. Due to the specificity of age motivation and craving new things, youths are the main "catalyst" for updating the socio-cultural environment and for the development of innovation and entrepreneurship in the territories.…”

“…Thus, in 2004, 14% of the polled eleventh graders living in small towns intended to stay in their hometowns after graduation from school, and in 2015 it was only 4% [3]. A low percentage of return migration does not save the situation in the "donor territories" [2,[4][5][6], including Arctic regions [1]. Non-return youth migration to the big cities is a steady world trend in the context of rapid urbanization, which appears stronger in the northern territories because of their unfavorable conditions for living.…”

“…One of such problem is the Arctic youth migration outflow, mostly educational migration: in 2018, the difference in migration of young people in the age range of 15-19 was 297 in the Republic of Karelia, 1360 in the Komi Republic, 1399 in the Arkhangelsk region, 1268 in the Murmansk region, 1164 in the Yamal-Nenets autonomous area, 1157 in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), and 165 in the Chukotka Autonomous District [1]. Since the vast majority of those young people who have left do not return to their native villages or small towns, this situation stipulated numerous human resource problems in the "donor territories", which, in turn, further stimulates the youth migration outflow [2]. Thus, in 2004, 14% of the polled eleventh graders living in small towns intended to stay in their hometowns after graduation from school, and in 2015 it was only 4% [3].…”

Methodical Approaches to Determining the Labor Potential Quantity and Management

“…For example, the studies of Mkrtchyan N. and Florinsky Yu. testify to "the high labor and spatial mobility of the population of small towns and its positive impact on the households of labor migrants and on the economy of the cities themselves" [10].…”

Does Migration Affect Wages in Russian Cities? Empirical Microdata Analysis

“…At the same time, Andrienko and Guriev (2004) note that most of the studies of internal migration in Russia are carried out on regional data, while the subjects of the Russian Federation occupy vast territories, and the analysis of the population movement only between the regions does not take into account the migration within them. The reason for the small number of studies of labour migration in Russia at municipality level is the lack of municipal statistics, which, in demographic and sociological studies of labour migration, is compensated for by conducting surveys of the population (Zayonchkovskaya 2001, Roshchina 2003, Ivanova 2008, Zayonchkovskaya et al 2015, Mkrtchyan and Florinskaya 2016. The results of the aforementioned studies show that the intensity of labour migration in Russia at municipality level is quite high, but its impact on local labour market outcomes in the recipient cities of labour migrants demonstrated in the economic studies on the Russian data has not been estimated yet.…”