Economists discuss low salaries in republics of Northern Caucasus

According to the economists interviewed by the “Caucasian Knot”, shadow incomes must also be taken into account when calculating the standard of living in the regions of Russia, otherwise the real picture is not reflected.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that the republics of Northern Caucasian have become outsiders in the rating of small- and medium-sized cities in Russia in terms of salaries in 2021. Chechnya with an average salary in small- and medium-sized cities of 23,900 roubles takes the last 80th place in the rating, in the ratio of 1.43 salary levels to the cost of a fixed set of goods and services.

The economic statistics are not the most reliable, since Russia has a high share of shadow earnings, the exclusion of which makes such official studies unrepresentative, the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent has been told by Sergey Khestanov, Associate Professor at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA).

“I would be wary of this type of data. In those years when I visited Northern Caucasus, I got the impression that people in Chechnya are quite prosperous. Chechnya does not look like the poorest subject of the Russian Federation in any way,” Sergey Khestanov noted.

The cost of the fixed set of goods and services in Russia is carried out only by regions, and in this connection, the rating by cities raises questions, says Natalia Zubarevich, the director of the regional programme of the Independent Institute for Social Policy.

“The rating is not clear to me. [In Russia] no cost for the fixed set of goods and services is being determined by cities, only by regions. Chechnya is a poor region,” Natalia Zubarevich told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent. The expert also noted that Chechnya did not stand out in any way against the general background of the regions of Southern Russia in terms of the indicators discussed.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 30, 2022 at 07:16 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.