As a result of the transformation crisis in Russia, as well as the unregulated transition to a factor model of income generation, there was a significant deterioration in the overall economic and social situation in the country. The differentiation of incomes of the population has increased significantly.
A study of the dynamics of income distribution between quintile (20%) population groups shows that in Russia With 1992 The unevenness in the differentiation of incomes of the population increases. The tendency towards concentration of funds among the wealthiest 20% group was quite clearly evident. The redistribution of property that occurs under privatization creates opportunities for certain groups of the population to derive income from property. Together With However, in the process of initial accumulation of capital, numerous abuses took place, which became the source of an unjustifiably sharp increase in the concentration of income.
In reality, the value of the stock ratio is several times higher. According to this indicator, Russia is among the countries with the most pronounced population inequality.
Discrepancies in statistical data are due to the fact that when studying the distribution of income in a particular country, certain difficulties arise in obtaining reliable information. This problem is faced by both individual researchers and organizations. For example, the World Bank's 2005/2006 report notes that, given the difficulties encountered in measuring household income, estimates of differentiation are subject to very significant uncertainties.
In this regard, different interpretations of statistical data arise, often directly opposite.
The main source of information on the level of income of the population in Russia is surveys of family budgets. The data obtained on their basis is not highly reliable, because respondents often simply do not know the real size of their income. At the same time, there is no possibility of obtaining reliable information on the incomes of the most affluent categories of the population. As incomes rise, these categories become less likely to report any information about them. This reluctance is quite understandable, because... a significant portion of the income of the high-income earners.
An analysis of the process of differentiation of household incomes in recent years in Russia allows us to draw the following conclusions.
Firstly, transformational changes in the absence of clear legislative regulation of the relevant processes led to increased income differentiation. The most dramatic changes took place in the early 1990s.
Of course, the growth of income differentiation of the population is inevitable under the conditions of reforms, one of the objectives of which was to establish a stricter interdependence between market labor productivity and income. However, the current level of differentiation is so high that even the emerging positive trends of 2001-2006, as well as government policy aimed at strengthening social protection of the population, are not yet capable of generating radical changes in the standard of living of the population.
Secondly, based on the above data, it is difficult to determine the optimal level of income differentiation for Russia, which is economically effective and socially acceptable. It is necessary to compare various indicators of the level of income differentiation in Russia with the corresponding indicators of other countries, as well as with the critical values of income differentiation accepted in world practice.
For example, a comparison of the Gini index value with the corresponding indicators of other countries carrying out transformational changes allows us to conclude that in Russia there is a significantly sharper increase in differentiation indicators compared to the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. At the same time, in some countries - former Soviet republics - the level of income concentration is higher than in Russia.
In general, the study of various indicators characterizing the differentiation of incomes of the population allows us to identify the following paradoxical situation. Indicators of population distribution by income, characteristic of Russia as a whole, are close to those recorded in both low-income countries (Ghana), middle-income countries (Tunisia, Philippines), and high-income countries (Switzerland, Great Britain). At the same time, the data for the most highly profitable region, Moscow, are close to the indicators for countries with maximum income differentiation (Brazil).
Analysis of this situation leads to the following conclusions. Firstly, the value of the Gini index allows us to make a judgment about the model of a particular state: contractual or exploitative. In our opinion, the values of the Gini index rather depend on the mechanism for the distribution of property rights, which shapes the conditions for access to property for individual groups of the population.
Secondly, it is difficult to determine the threshold values of the acceptable level of differentiation of income of the population. Thus, the current level of income differentiation in Russia in the 1990s does not correspond to the critical values of differentiation accepted in world practice (Table 5.3).
Thirdly, a study of the level of differentiation of income of the population based on analytical tools, including indicators such as stock ratio, Gini index and others, rather indicate a quantitative characteristic of differentiation of income of the population. In order to determine the optimal level of income differentiation for Russia, which is economically effective and socially acceptable, it is necessary to identify the qualitative component of the income differentiation of the population.
Table 7.3
Comparison of critical values of income differentiation
The sharp differentiation of the population's income against the background of their low per capita level led to the differentiation of the economic potential of the population. This was most clearly manifested in the structure of consumption, as well as in the structure of available savings. The structure of the use of monetary income of the population is dominated by the costs of purchasing goods and services, which indicates, according to Engel’s hypothesis, a low level of income in general (German statistician E. Engel, studying the impact of growth in household income on their expenses, noticed that with income growth, the consumption structure, opportunities for savings increase).
Features of state regulation of income of the population.
Qualitative changes in the development of production, growth in production volumes and its quality are not possible without deep transformations in the entire economic mechanism, one of the most important links of which is the regulation of income and wages. In a market economy, there are objective and subjective factors that must be taken into account when organizing wages at enterprises.
The main objective market factors include: the price of labor, prices for means of labor and finished products, the market for goods and its conditions, the mechanism of competition, profit, etc. Such factors influence wages, regardless of the state and the enterprises themselves. When organizing wages, the main role belongs to objective factors; managers only can and must take these factors into account.
Subjective factors include: government regulation, regulation by enterprises themselves, and trade union regulation.
It is known that in a market economy the state, although in a significantly narrowed form, retains a regulatory function. This function extends to the area of income and wages. Regulation of income and wages at the macroeconomic level takes place in many countries with developed market economies and is an integral part of socio-economic policy. The state cannot refuse to regulate income and wages if market mechanisms of self-regulation are not established, if most enterprises do not have a real owner interested in the restructuring and development of production. In addition, the transition from a centralized system for solving problems in the social sphere to a market one cannot occur automatically and spontaneously, since the transformations affect the deep, essential elements of the system.
We can highlight the following most significant goals of the state concept of income.
The priority direction in income policy should be to increase real wages, for which it is necessary to index them, reduce debt and make payments on it a priority, and adopt laws on compensation for damages in case of non-payment of wages.
It is necessary to accelerate the process of bringing the minimum wage closer to the average cost of living. To do this, free the minimum wage from the functions of regulating social transfers, since this restrains its increase, since it is associated with significant budget expenses.
To ensure a real increase in income, it is necessary to strengthen the distinction between the taxation of wages and business income, establishing a more preferential procedure for hired workers and their equivalents (the benefit consists of a lower starting tax and less progressive rates).
The financial base of pensions should be strengthened by increasing the nominal amount of wages, deductions from which form the pension fund.
Legislatively, organizationally and economically form a mechanism for regulating the income of the population, taking into account the territorial characteristics of life.
The policy of state regulation of income today contradicts financial stabilization, as it is carried out by reducing government payments for all items of social expenditures of the state budget.
The main functions related to the state’s influence on the income of the population have also undergone changes. These changes are manifested, first of all, in the reorientation of administrative and command functions to social protective ones, which are aimed at mitigating the negative consequences of the transition economy. Among the priority areas are the following functional changes:
· providing conditions for earning income and creating equal opportunities in the exercise of rights to a share in public welfare through fair distribution of income;
· implementation of social programs for the structural reorientation of the economy, aimed at housing construction, education, healthcare, and so on, as well as supporting industries that ensure the social development of society;
· reduction of undesirable differences in the receipt and distribution of income due to the transition period;
· ensuring a reasonable policy for combining taxation with social support (benefits for producers of essential goods, small businesses, encouraging charity, transport payments, subsidies, and so on).
The state regulatory impact on the income of the population consists of implementing measures aimed at preventing negative social consequences associated with the formation of a market mechanism. Forms of government regulation consist of material, institutional and conceptual components.
Material the basis for state regulation of income depends on the volume of national production and the size of the share that is redistributed, centralized through the state budget. Institutional the basis is related to the organization of the redistribution process and the activities of the relevant institutions. Conceptual relies on the use of a particular theory in government social policy.
The state regulatory mechanism is quite complex and includes primary distribution (wages, other primary incomes of the population and enterprises); redistribution through the state budget, tax and transfer systems; final distribution made through transactions and services to the public.
During the primary government distribution of income, an upper limit is set for the increase in nominal wages in the public sector. The economic importance of wage regulation is determined by the fact that its change affects aggregate demand and production costs. Primary income regulation is used by the state both to increase the competitiveness of national products, encourage investment, and to curb wage growth and inflation.
The redistribution of income is carried out through the state budget and consists of differentiated taxation of various groups, recipients of income and social payments to the population.
By organizing budgetary redistribution of income, the state solves several problems: increasing the incomes of the poor, creating conditions for normal reproduction of the labor force, easing social tension.
The following methods can be distinguished: economic, legislative, conciliation, administrative.
Towards economic methods include: determination of minimum wages, tax policy, regulation of wages for employees of public sector organizations and civil servants, employment, etc.
The growth of the minimum wage depends on the economic opportunities that have developed in society at a certain stage. If this factor is not taken into account, this may lead to delays in the payment of wages to employees, to a budget deficit, etc. At the same time, the minimum wage should be determined taking into account the funds that are necessary for the normal physical reproduction of the labor force, i.e. . living wage, which in turn depends on the monetary policy of the state.
Tax revenues to the budget are ensured by tax policy; without this, it is impossible to organize the redistribution of income and establish effective stimulation of economic growth. For example, providing tax breaks to small businesses helps increase employment, gives them a chance to survive and take their place in the market.
When regulating wages in the public sector, the state proceeds from its economic capabilities. Through the efforts of this sphere, the human potential of any society is formed. The role of this area in promoting health and leisure is great. By increasing the costs of maintaining this area, the state ensures the social orientation of the economy towards the development of the individual. There is also a reverse relationship: more complex, creative work creates a larger mass of output per unit of time, which leads to economic growth.
Legislative methods. An important place in income regulation is occupied by the development of its legislative and regulatory framework, which is the starting point of the entire regulatory process. Standards are used to calculate standard consumer budgets, working time standards - to determine working hours, the duration of vacations at enterprises, and the creation of safe working conditions; tax rates – for withholding income tax, taxes from legal entities (including social taxes, etc.)
For regulating the incomes and quality of life of the population, the most significant are the Constitution of the Russian Federation (Basic Law), the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, laws on reforming the economy, on employment, decrees of the President of the Russian Federation, government resolutions (on increasing the minimum wage, legal support for collective contractual system, social security and insurance, social guarantees, etc.).
Administrative methods. These methods are not associated with the creation of additional material incentives or the risk of economic (financial) damage. They are based on the power of power and include measures of prohibition, permission or coercion.
With the transition to a market economy, some previous administrative measures were retained, but new ones also appeared: direct state control over monopoly markets; development of standards, monitoring their compliance; education and maintenance of minimum acceptable parameters of life of the population, below which there is poverty; protecting the interests of the nation - export licensing or government control over imports.
Conciliation methods. In many countries, these methods are widely used and are considered the most economical and “bloodless”. Social partnership is the coordination of actions of the government, entrepreneurs and employees on the dynamics of wages and social transfers.
The idea of social partnership developed in the 1950s. L. Erhard, R. Balog and others, proceeds from the need to harmonize public interests represented, on the one hand, by labor unions and, on the other, by associations of entrepreneurs for the sake of successful economic development of the country. It involves the conclusion of a “social contract” in the field of economic and social policy by the government, national employers' associations and trade unions acting as equal partners.
Agreements at various levels (in the General - at the federal level, in sectoral and regional tariff agreements - at the sectoral and territorial levels, collective agreements - at enterprises) reflect questions about the size of the minimum wage, tariff rates, social benefits, the procedure for indexing income, duration working hours, compensation for harm, guarantees of labor rights, labor protection, housing and others.
The collective bargaining system is an effective form of regulating wages for hired workers. Its development in Russia is hampered by two factors:
1) depreciation of labor power, as a result of which wages cannot fulfill their reproductive function;
2) unjustified differentiation of wages by categories of workers at enterprises of the same industry, territory, as well as by individual industries and regions.
Each method has at its disposal direct and indirect measures of influence. The number of measures of direct government intervention includes: state guarantee of a minimum wage in its territory, regulation of wages in the public sector, establishment of a system of regional coefficients, public investment, subsidizing programs to improve production efficiency, tax exemption, direct administration of mandatory allocation of job quotas for certain groups of the population, organizing retraining of workers, allocating a certain number of workers to perform socially necessary work, etc.
Indirect methods of influence include: preferential taxation of low-income groups of the population; selectivity of the procedure for distributing free goods.
Anti-inflationary income regulation
For anti-inflationary regulation, two types of economic policies are used:
· policies aimed at reducing the budget deficit, limiting credit expansion, and curbing money emission;
· price and income regulation policy aimed at linking wage growth with price growth and income indexation, determined by the level of the cost of living and consistent with the dynamics of the price index.
The state regulates prices through direct intervention. Government subsidies (through special surcharges, subsidies to the manufacturer or consumer) have a direct impact on price formation.
The direct influence of the state takes place in industries where its share in the consumption of goods and services is significant (state orders in the defense industries, in a number of construction sub-sectors). Government bodies, being regular customers (buyers) of certain types of goods and services from private firms, establish in agreement with partners before agreement with partners.
The state also influences foreign trade prices (encouragement of exports; tax exemptions, provision of preferential loans and other benefits; changes in duties in foreign trade; introduction or abolition of quantitative restrictions, etc.).
The state can set fixed prices for goods (services) in the public sector and limits for their increase in the non-state sector.
The impact of taxation on income policy. The distribution of newly created value among production factors, the main of which is labor, largely depends on how the state uses the financial, credit and tax mechanism. A decrease in real wages in the context of a sharp drop in gross domestic product and a slight decrease in the number of people employed in the economy is natural.
A significant role in regulating the income of entrepreneurs and employees belongs to the state taxation system. As an analysis of the state of affairs shows, the social potential of the tax system in modern Russia is practically not used. This refers to its ability to redistribute income from high-income to middle- and low-income segments of the population. In addition, a significant part of the population avoids paying taxes altogether.
By reducing the taxation of the wage fund by tax and shifting part of it to the recipients of income, it is possible to obtain an additional amount of budget revenue due to the fact that those employers who are currently transferring “in envelopes” to their employees wages significantly higher than indicated will come out of the shadows in pay slips submitted to tax authorities. In the meantime, tax policy stimulates and consolidates employment structures and wage schemes in which labor in sectors of the economy that determine the face and prospects for the country’s development - in industry, science, and culture - turns out to be low-prestige and low-paid.
In order to “debug” the tax mechanism, the tax burden should also be redistributed between sectors of the economy. We are talking about shifting the tax burden from manufacturing enterprises, primarily to the financial and trade spheres, where there is an unjustifiably low level of tax withdrawals.
There are four main reasons why, in Russia's current environment, a more equitable distribution of income should be seen as necessary to arrest the decline in output and move towards economic growth in the future.
Firstly, high-income groups of the Russian population are not inclined to save and invest in the domestic economy, but are focused on exporting capital abroad and consuming imported goods.
Secondly, with a reduction in production and a decrease in income for the majority of the population to a physiological minimum, with a simultaneous reduction in the consumption of education and health services, there is a sharp deterioration in the quality of labor resources.
Thirdly, increasing the income level of low-paid (low-income) groups of the population, focused on the consumption of domestic goods and services, stimulates the development of domestic production, investment activity and employment growth.
And finally, fourthly, a more equal approach to income distribution is a psychologically important positive factor. If wealth inequality and differentiation in income levels between different groups of the population increases, there will remain a danger of resistance to reforms on the part of fairly highly educated, but low-income groups of the population.
Let us dwell briefly on the recommendations of the school of supply-side economics in the field of tax policy. Representatives of this school believe that tax increases lead to higher costs and prices and are ultimately passed on to consumers. High taxes deter investment, investment in new technology, in improving production. Unlike Keynes, supporters of supply-side economics argue that the tax policy of Western countries does not restrain, but increases inflation, does not stabilize the economy, but undermines incentives for production growth.
Supply-side economics advocates cutting taxes to stimulate investment. It is proposed to abandon the system of progressive taxation (recipients of high incomes are leaders in upgrading production and increasing productivity), to reduce tax rates on entrepreneurship, wages and dividends. Tax cuts will increase the income and savings of entrepreneurs, lower the interest rate, and as a result, savings and investments will increase. For wage earners, tax cuts will increase the attractiveness of additional work and receiving additional earnings, incentives to work will increase, and labor supply will increase.
In their reasoning, supply-side economics theorists rely on the so-called Laffer curve (the Laffer curve was named after the American economist who substantiated the dependence of budget revenues on tax rates). Its meaning is that reducing marginal rates and taxes in general has a powerful stimulating effect on production. When rates are cut, the tax base ultimately increases: as more products are produced, more taxes are collected. This does not happen immediately (Fig. 3). But in theory, broadening the tax base can compensate for the loss in tax revenue caused by lower tax rates.
Some other supply-side economics recommendations are worth mentioning. Since tax cuts lead to a reduction in budget revenues, various ways to “rescue” the deficit are proposed. Thus, it is recommended to cut social programs, reduce the bureaucracy, and get rid of ineffective federal spending. The effective functioning of the tax system of countries with market economies is aimed at achieving several main objectives.
Rice. 7.3. Laffer curve
Firstly, the tax system must successfully solve the fiscal redistribution problem, i.e., by redistributing the income of entrepreneurs and the population, provide the revenue side of the state budget with financial resources (in developed countries, taxes cover on average up to 90% of state budget revenues).
Secondly, the tax system should act in such a way that, at a minimum, does not undermine incentives for production and all economic activities, and, at best, contribute to the formation and strengthening of such incentives.
Thirdly, the taxation system is quite organically connected with the principle of social justice.
Fourthly, the formation of taxation systems is greatly influenced by the requirements for organizational and computational ease in determining certain taxes, the efficiency of their collection, the possibility of maintaining tax stability, i.e., the absence of the need for frequent and especially drastic changes in certain taxes, etc. . P.
Fifthly, there must be a skillful distribution of the tax burden between various budget levels - federal, regional (subjects of the Federation) and local; in unitary states - between the national and local levels.
The first general indicator characterizing the role of tax in the economy of a country is the share of all tax revenues, as well as tax revenues at the central (federal) level in the gross national product (GNP).
The second general indicator of the taxation system of countries with market economies is the similarity of the main taxes. Approximately 90–95% of all tax revenues come from 70 taxes, although their total number in different countries reaches several dozen. An important general indicator of the taxation system is the distribution of tax revenues across various budget levels.
7.8. Income policy as an aspect of socio-economic
state policy
In any society, income policy is part of the state socio-economic policy. It is determined by the economic institutions that exist in the state at a particular point in time, the priorities that the state has determined and the tools that it uses. In the most general form, economic policy and income policy are also determined by the degree of government intervention in the economy: the scale, forms and intensity of this intervention. From this point of view, there are two polar options: administrative economics and free market. President Roosevelt's anti-crisis measures included a wide range of administrative methods:
· the government was given the authority to regulate wages, prices, working hours, and the process of industrial competition;
· government bodies organized order programs for enterprises, which were paid from the federal budget;
· the government organized public works to reduce the pressure of unemployment in society;
· state control over the securities market was significantly strengthened;
· Federal budget expenditures increased significantly, mainly due to the growth of public debt (the budget deficit increased), etc.
The socio-economic policy of the state, carried out in unstable, transitional periods of historical development, has a central block of so-called subpolicies, decisions in the area of which largely determine the success or failure of the reform as a whole. We can call it a kind of dominant in the totality of all economic decisions made during the implementation of reforms, since it is this block that has direct access to the level and quality of life of the population and contributes to the adoption or blocking of reforms by citizens. We are talking about employment policy, price policy and income policy, which ultimately constitute the overall concept of transformation, since inconsistent decisions in the field of one of these policies can nullify all efforts to reform the economy as a whole.
Let us recall how, for example, employment policy and wage policy interact as an aspect of income policy. According to the classical model, high unemployment is a result of too high wages. Unemployment is considered by the classics as an excess of supply over demand. The cure for unemployment would be to reduce wages to the equilibrium level.
Rice. 7.4 Classic unemployment scheme
According to this theory, no special economic policy is required, since classical market mechanisms operate: excess supply pushes the price down, and equilibrium is achieved. However, in reality, wages are reduced very reluctantly. There are many reasons for this, and the main one is that wages are not only the costs of employers, but also the income of the employee. Therefore, employees through trade unions do their best to prevent such a decline. But the employer is also interested in stable wages, as this allows him to more clearly plan the company’s activities, establish calmer relationships with staff, and make reasonable forecasts for the future. Thus, the classics called the presence of one or another level of unemployment in society a “voluntary” payment for high earnings and did not consider it possible to interfere in this process.
Meanwhile, during the mass unemployment of the 1930s. the inconsistency of this theory became obvious and the classical approach was replaced by the views of Keynes and the Stockholm School. What is true for an individual enterprise is not necessarily true for the state. Indeed, an entrepreneur will hire more workers if the price of labor decreases and other economic conditions, and, first of all, the demand for the enterprise’s products remain unchanged. However, the following situation is also true: if wages fall in the country as a whole, this leads to a contraction in aggregate demand, and, consequently, employment.
This is how a confrontation arose between “classical unemployment”, caused by an excessive rise in the cost of labor, and “Keynesian unemployment”, caused by a fall in aggregate demand. Keynes, as you know, believed that the state should pursue special policies aimed at increasing demand, for example, increasing government spending through an active expansionary financial policy. This will affect the demand for labor, new jobs will be created, which will ultimately reduce unemployment. However, an increase in investment and consumer spending will certainly affect the inflation rate. Moreover, the post-war decade showed that simultaneous increases in both prices and unemployment are possible.
Phillips proposed a fundamentally new look at the problem of the relationship between price policy, employment and wages, and ways to solve it, by constructing his famous curve. Phillips's main idea was that inflation could be curbed only by limiting wages and allowing a certain level of unemployment (6-7%).
The dependence derived by Phillips also indicates a direct relationship between inflation and the mechanism of income generation, since the price growth curve practically repeats all the bends of the curve characterizing the rate of wage growth. True, there is a certain lag in the rate of price growth, increasing as wage growth decreases. Based on this, Phillips states: it is not the increase in wages itself that leads to inflation, but only one that outstrips the real progress in labor productivity.
So, it seemed that a mechanism for managing such complex processes as inflation, unemployment and wages had been found. By planning the unemployment rate (the same 6–7%), it is possible to regulate the rate of inflation, and the ratio between the increase in average wages in the country and the increase in the national level of labor productivity is able to maintain a balance between the money and commodity supply. Only partly. In subsequent years, it turned out that this dependence was not so stable, especially in the long term. In the 1970s The general pattern is the simultaneous acceleration of growth in both prices and unemployment.
Thus, it is obvious that we can only say that:
· price policy, employment policy and wage policy represent one of the most significant central blocks of any socio-economic policy of the state, since they directly affect the interests of all members of society;
State regulation of population income
First of all, income regulation is manifested in the wage regulation mechanism, which is a combination and interaction of three mechanisms:
1) government intervention(the role is more social than economic; the nature is more indirect than direct);
2) collective agreement (national, industry, company) regulation;
3) labor market, subject to the law of value.
The experience of state regulation of incomes of the population shows that government bodies are involved in the regulation of wages in the following areas:
establishment of a guaranteed minimum wage (USA, France, Spain, etc.), but it can also be established on the basis of national agreements;
tax system (in relation to income and wages);
limits on wage growth during periods of increased inflation (or compensation for falling incomes during periods of rising prices);
direct regulation of wages in the public sector of the economy (however, it is limited, since most state-owned enterprises operate on the principles of complete economic independence and payback);
institutional foundations of collective agreement regulation.
The minimum wage rate is set for an adult, whose age varies across countries. The minimum rate for a young person is set as a percentage of the minimum rate for an adult. The length of the probationary period varies depending on the category of personnel and the country.
Collective agreement regulation is carried out by business organizations and trade unions at the national (state), industry and company levels. If at the state level the role of regulation is rather social, then at the industry level it is not only social, but also economic, stimulating, and at the company level it is primarily a stimulating role. There is a certain hierarchical subordination so that the established minimum wage on a national scale is not lower (possibly higher) at the industry and company levels.
As we move to the primary level, collective agreements become more and more detailed, taking into account the characteristics of the industry, firms and their economic capabilities.
IN national(sectoral) collective agreements regulate (establish) the minimum wage for the nation as a whole or for sectors of the economy and the general procedure for wage indexation.
Industry collective agreements regulate: the minimum tariff rate for the main professional qualification groups, forms and systems of wages, bonuses and additional payments, the wage indexation mechanism, the amount of social payments and benefits.
Corporate collective agreements regulate the size and differentiation of tariff rates, allowances and additional payments, wage indexation, the system of participation in profits and share capital, the amount of social payments and benefits. They also reflect working hours (length of the working week, vacation, etc.). First of all, such collective agreements regulate the wages of workers. For managers and specialists, these issues are specified in contracts.
Market self-tuning cannot be considered a market element. The labor market presents a wide dispersion of wages in public and private companies, the unorganized sector, where there are no trade unions. The labor market is the area where the public assessment various types of labor. It is represented by the average salary for various professional qualification groups, categories, industries, regions, length of service, gender, age.
Both the state and private companies are interested in identifying the average salary. The government periodically conducts surveys, and private companies and the informal labor market provide all the necessary information. The company administration puts the obtained data on the average salary in the middle of the salary range for each category.
The average statistical salary reflects the public assessment of work. It is not only a link between the labor market and a specific company, but also serves as a tool equal pay for equal work.
All enterprises (firms) strive to comply with this principle, as it allows:
1) restrain wage growth;
2) prevent the leakage of the most qualified personnel.
Market self-adjustment is a systematic, independent adjustment of wages by each firm, taking into account the average wage for all specified parameters.
Protecting nominal incomes from inflation is an integral part of income policy. In developed capitalist countries, it is carried out by indexing income both at the state level (based on relevant legislation) and at the level of individual firms (companies) through a collective agreement. The indexation system provides for a differentiated approach (from full compensation of the lowest incomes to its complete absence for high-income groups of the population).
All RKS provide state (and not only) support for the income of poor families, there are certain systems of social security (insurance), support for self-employed workers, etc. Due to national characteristics and economic opportunities, their great diversity is noted. For example, in the USA on state(government) level, two groups of programs can be distinguished:
1) social insurance programs(partially compensates for lost earnings of pensioners, the unemployed, due to temporary disability, dependents who have survived the insured, etc.);
2) government assistance programs(charity programs) - establishing benefits for those who cannot work (the elderly, blind, disabled), assistance to single-parent families, etc.
When improving state income policy in Russia, it is advisable to take into account the experience accumulated in the PRS over 200 years of market relations.
The essence of state income policy is the redistribution of income through the state budget through differentiated taxation of various groups of income recipients and social payments to the population.
Basic means and methods of state regulation of income:
Determination of the minimum hourly or tariff wage rate;
Social partnership - coordination of public interests between the government, employers and trade unions;
Indexation of income in conditions of inflation;
Income differentiation by industry and region, etc.
Basic principles of state policy for regulating household incomes:
Stimulating labor and entrepreneurial activity, innovative potential of the employee;
Rejection of the principle of universal automatic indexation and compensation of income in connection with rising prices;
Overcoming unfair differentiation of workers’ incomes in different industries and regions, incomes of different social groups;
Linking measures to increase income with stabilization of money circulation;
Ensuring social protection of the population.
The main features of the reform include: the establishment of minimum wage guarantees; eliminating maximum wage limits; introduction of a unified tariff schedule for budgetary organizations; improving the principles of sectoral and territorial regulation of wages.
One of the negative factors of economic reform is the significant differentiation of incomes of the population .
During the period of reforms, differentiation in the amount of income received in Russia increased from 4 to 15 times (about 3.5 percent of the population can be classified as rich, and about 20 percent of the population are below the poverty threshold).
For industrialized countries, the ratio of minimum and average wages is 1:2; in Russia, this ratio is much higher (only recently, after the minimum wage was increased to 4,330 rubles per month by the end of 2008, has it decreased slightly). A distinctive feature of poverty in Russia is the presence of a significant segment of the population that receives only the minimum wage.
State consumer protection.
In market economic conditions, the problem arises of the unpreparedness of a significant part of manufacturers and entrepreneurs for conscientious commercial activities and, consequently, the problem of ensuring the safety and quality of goods arises.
The most pressing problems of consumer protection in Russia arise when selling goods; carrying out construction work; provision of household services; provision of housing and communal services; receiving educational services; receiving medical services; using public and other transport services; protection of the rights of depositors in banks, investment companies, pension funds.
Main objectives of the consumer rights protection system:
Creation of an effective system for protecting consumer rights;
Formation of public structures for the protection of consumer rights;
Organization of legal protection of consumers;
Organization of propaganda for the protection of the legal rights of consumers and the responsibilities of sellers;
Development and implementation of a set of measures to prevent access to the market of hazardous and low-quality goods, works, and services;
Creation of a system of legal education of the population in connection with the protection of consumer rights;
Ensuring equal access to goods and services for all categories of the population and ensuring consumers the right to freely choose goods and services.
Internationally recognized consumer rights: the right to basic needs; right to security; right to information; the right to choose; the right to be heard; right to compensation for harm; right to consumer education; right to a healthy environment.
The consumer protection system can be divided into a state system and a public consumer protection system (the latter predominates in a market economy). The system of state protection of consumer rights is represented by the following government bodies:
Antimonopoly service and ministries;
Committees for certification, metrology, standardization;
Environmental Protection Committees; sanitary and epidemiological surveillance;
Customs Committee; judiciary; sectoral state inspections;
Various interdepartmental commissions to prevent the entry of substandard goods into the domestic market.
The system of public protection of consumer rights consists of: consumer organizations created on an industry or territorial basis; chambers of commerce and industry; unions; labor collectives; colleges of lawyers, advocates; local government bodies.
Labor market regulation
Labor market- a set of socio-economic, social relations, a set of special norms and standards that develop regarding the implementation of supply and demand for labor and ensure the effective use of labor with appropriate remuneration.
Purpose of state employment policy- promoting full employment and ensuring opportunities for enterprises to freely hire workers and ensure the rights of citizens.
Directions of government activity in this area:
Development of the legal framework;
Development of a system of vocational training and retraining of the unemployed;
Creation of employment services and labor exchanges;
Development of the benefit payment system;
Creation of a nationwide, computerized information and reference system for registering the unemployed, for paying benefits, etc.;
Providing the necessary transfers for the regions;
Measures of indirect regulation of the labor market used by the state include: monetary policy, tax policy, depreciation policy; development of programs for social unemployment insurance, programs to promote labor recruitment, programs to increase the number of jobs in the public sector; development of anti-discrimination programs by gender, age, skin color, etc.
One of the most necessary elements of market infrastructure is the labor exchange.
Labor exchange- an organization that specializes in mediation between employees and employers for the purpose of buying and selling labor. It allows citizens to reduce their job search time and streamline the hiring of labor by enterprises.
Labor exchanges can be public, private or public. Basically, labor exchanges exist in the form of labor and employment centers.
The main task of labor and employment centers is to prevent long-term unemployment and minimize the time needed to find a job.
Private labor exchanges carry out their activities on the basis of contracts with employers. State employment services operate according to an approved budget, which is drawn up from the state employment promotion fund, independent contributions of workers, additional sources (financing is provided by an enterprise, etc.).
Methods of state regulation of employment:
- economic methods: preferential lending and taxation, budget policy to encourage entrepreneurs to maintain and create jobs, provide vocational training;
- organizational methods: creation of an employment and employment service, an information system serving the labor market, a state system of vocational guidance for youth, training and retraining of personnel;
- administrative and legislative methods: regulation of the procedure for concluding employment contracts, working hours, overtime, introduction of mandatory contributions by entrepreneurs to national employment funds, determination of employment quotas, regulation of the period of working life.
Tasks of government agencies for social protection of the population.
The transition to a market economy requires fundamental changes in the social protection system. The main principles of the new concept of social protection are:
· Universality of social rights (socio-economic and legal guarantees cover all citizens without exception and all spheres of human life)
· Increasing role of personal income in improving the standard of living of the population while eliminating equalization in the distribution of transfers and subsidies. The transition from a model focused on the low price of labor and a high share of free goods and services to a new model based on the high price of labor and payment for meeting the growing needs of the population.
· Wide application in the practice of socio-economic planning and management of systems of scientifically based social standards. The most important of them (living wage, minimum wage, pensions, etc.) must be approved by law at the national level.
· Flexibility of the system of social guarantees, taking into account the dynamism of socio-economic processes in market conditions to prevent possible social tension.
The role of government bodies at different levels in maintaining social guarantees for the population is different.
At the federal level, minimum amounts of state guarantees are established, general programs are implemented, and distribution relations are regulated through the federal budget and trust funds.
Local authorities develop and implement their own programs and ensure the implementation of general state programs to protect citizens on their territory. They can increase the level of guarantees for certain groups of the population, introduce additional guarantees for their territory with funding from their budget.
Most sectors of the social sphere - healthcare, physical education, preschool education, housing and communal services - are included in the sphere of partial self-financing. Needs in excess of the level determined by standards, provided free of charge, are paid by the working population from personal funds and collective funds of enterprises, which will be able to enter into contracts for servicing workers, create sickness and insurance funds, directing part of the earned funds for these purposes. For socially weaker sections, the corresponding services will be provided mainly free of charge, at the expense of budgets of all levels (from the federal budget those services that are guaranteed at the federal level will be paid, and from other budgets - additionally guaranteed at the appropriate level).
Significant inequality in income distribution is socially dangerous and does not meet the needs of modern production. The solvency of the population, ensuring high aggregate demand, is an important condition for economic growth. At the same time, maintaining high standards of living standards and quality of life is necessary for the reproduction of the qualified labor force necessary for production in a post-industrial, knowledge-based society.
Today, economically developed countries recognize the right of people to a certain standard of well-being. The means to overcome inequality and poverty is primarily government income policy. It is carried out in two main directions:
1) regulation of income of the population;
2) redistribution of income through the state budget. Revenue regulation practices include:
State regulation of wages. This measure is especially important for such categories of the population as low-skilled workers, women, foreign workers;
Indexation of household incomes in order to protect them from inflationary depreciation. Indexation refers to an increase in nominal income depending on rising prices. The state carries out indexation of transfer payments. At the firm level, during periods of high inflation, the requirement for wage indexation is usually included in the collective agreement.
Let us dwell in more detail on the problem of state regulation of wages. Currently it includes:
Legislative establishment and change of the minimum wage;
Tax regulation of funds allocated to pay for labor by organizations, as well as income of individuals;
Establishment of state guarantees for wages. The basis for organizing remuneration is the employee’s consumer budget. In Russia, the minimum consumer budget of a low standard is used as such, which really does not allow for a normal human existence. However, the minimum wage established by the state is almost three times lower than the subsistence level, which contradicts not only the practice of developed countries, but also the Labor Code of the Russian Federation (LC RF).
The minimum wage is the lowest limit on the cost of unskilled labor, calculated in the form of cash payments per month that employees receive for performing simple work under normal working conditions. In addition to the tariff part, regulated depending on the minimum wage, the wage structure includes bonuses and rewards, allowances and additional payments, as well as payments not directly related to labor results. In budgetary organizations and public sector enterprises, wage regulation is carried out on the basis of a single tariff schedule (ETC). ETC is a scale of tariffs and remuneration for all categories of workers - from the lowest level worker to the head of an organization. The tariff system of remuneration is a set of standards by which the level of wages is regulated. These are the tariff schedule and tariff-qualification directories.
The tariff-free wage system is an individual development of individual companies. There is also state regional regulation of wages and income of the population, carried out on the basis of regional coefficients and northern allowances. This system was formed under conditions of a rigid planned economy and is poorly applied in market conditions. The tariff-free wage system takes into account two factors:
1) differences in the needs of the population engaged in work of equal severity and complexity (qualifications);
2) differences in the level of consumer prices by region.
In addition, the factor of the need to attract the population to remote areas of the country experiencing a labor shortage is taken into account. In Soviet times, many people were recruited to the Far North and remote areas of the country, since, taking into account the operation of this system, they could earn significant funds for those times.
Currently, depending on the degree of discomfort assessed by natural-climatic, economic-geographical, socio-psychological conditions and the risk factor of residence, five zones are distinguished with coefficients from 1.0 in the most comfortable zone V to 1.8-2.0 in the most uncomfortable zone I.
Northern bonuses are applied for continuous work experience in the Far North and equivalent areas. Their minimum amount is 10% of earnings, and the maximum is differentiated by region of the country and, after five years of continuous work experience, ranges from 30% of earnings in the European North, in the southern regions of Siberia and the Far East to 100% on the islands of the Arctic Ocean and Chukotka.
Coefficients for work in high mountain areas are set depending on the degree of reduction in a person’s ability to work in the range from 1.0 to 1.4.
This system is used only in state-owned enterprises. At private, mixed and cooperative enterprises, taking into account regional coefficients, only the minimum wage level is determined. Therefore, today this system needs a serious revision.
The income redistribution policy assumes:
Accumulation of funds in the hands of the state for the implementation of social policy by collecting direct and indirect taxes from the population and enterprises;
Providing social services to the population by financing education systems, medical care, cultural institutions, art, physical education and sports, leisure, etc.;
Financing the social protection system, including: a system of social guarantees,
system of pension, medical and social insurance, system of social support (assistance) to the population.
The source of personal income of the population is the national product, the consumption fund, from which everyone receives a certain share as a result of primary and secondary redistribution. In this case, income can be received in various forms: income from labor, employment in the household, use of property and capital, budget transfers, and others.
Income has two forms: nominal and real. Real income is formed as a result of activities that generate income, disposable amounts to meet needs, they are less than nominal income by the amount of taxes, other obligatory payments, and losses from inflation.
Regulation of monetary income is carried out in unity, in direct connection with expenses. The state influences income and expenses in order to optimize the balance of income and expenses of the population. In summary form, the balance sheet indicates the volume and structure of income and expenses, and the purchasing power of the population. The main income items reflected in the balance sheet: wages of employees, income from property and business activities, social transfers. Expense items: purchase of goods and payment for services, mandatory payments and voluntary contributions, purchase of foreign currency, securities, etc.
The main source of income is wages. Income from business and property accounts for almost 20%, which corresponds to the level of countries with developed market economies. However, this is not a consequence of the relationship between forms of ownership, but of the rate of entrepreneurial profit: in Russia, private sector employers focus on 80-120% of profits, while in the West they are content with 10-30%.
Remuneration is designed to perform reproductive and stimulating functions, to ensure a connection between the quantity, quality of work and the level of well-being. The basis of payment is the tariff system, with the help of which the earnings of workers of different categories are differentiated. It includes tariff rates (salaries), tariff categories (coefficients), tariff schedules. The assignment of types of labor to tariff categories is carried out on the basis of the tariffication of work.
Assignment of tariff categories to employees is carried out taking into account the Unified Tariff and Qualification Directory of Work and Professions of Workers (UTKS), the Unified Qualification Directory of Positions of Managers, Specialists, and Employees (USC).
The tariff system for employees of organizations financed from budgets of all levels is a guarantee of their payment. The tariff system of payment for employees of other organizations can be determined by collective agreements, agreements, taking into account uniform tariff and qualification reference books and state guarantees for wages. The General Agreement between all-Russian associations of employers and the Government of the Russian Federation provides for giving the ETKS and EKS a status mandatory for use by enterprises regardless of their organizational and legal form.
The choice of tariff rates (salaries) in the extra-budgetary sphere is established by the enterprise independently and is enshrined in collective agreements and agreements. The tariff system for remuneration of workers at any enterprise should not be lower than the level of state guarantees for wages.
State guarantees for wages for employees, regardless of the field of employment, are based on the principles and norms of international law and are designed to ensure timely and full payment of wages and a decent existence for the family.
State guarantees are:
- minimum wage;
- the minimum tariff rate (salary) for employees of public sector organizations;
- measures to ensure an increase in real wages;
- limiting the list of grounds and amounts of deduction from wages by order of the employer, the amount of wage taxation;
- terms and order of payment of wages;
- receipt by the employee of wages in the event of insolvency and termination of the employer’s activities;
- state supervision and control over the implementation of wage guarantees.
The minimum wage is established throughout the country as a social standard. It is periodically revised taking into account the rising cost of living and the socio-economic situation in the country. The task has been set to increase the minimum wage to the subsistence level. Collective agreements and tariff agreements may establish minimum tariff rates and salaries above the minimum wage.
The increase in the level of real wages is carried out in the form of indexation in connection with the increase in consumer prices for goods and services. Indexation is intended to fully or partially compensate for the rise in prices and support the purchasing power of cash income. For budgetary organizations, indexation is carried out on the basis of the law and other regulatory legal acts; in non-budgetary organizations, the indexation procedure is determined by collective agreements or regulatory acts of the organization.
In the budgetary sphere, the state regulates both the general level of payment and the relationship in payment between categories of workers, industries, regions with the help of the tariff system, financial support and other levers. Remuneration in the public sector should not fall below 80-85% of the average salary in industry; salaries of managers are set as a multiple of the rate of the main employee of the organization. The frequency is determined by the executive authority. The unified tariff schedule (ETC), approved by the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation for budgetary organizations, contains 18 categories 1 ETC does not apply to civil servants paid on the basis of the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation. The salary of senior officials is called cash remuneration. Persons of a lower rank (head of department in the ministry) are paid a salary; in addition to the salary, it includes various additional payments and allowances..
Under the auspices of the International Labor Organization, a “Strategy for Poverty Reduction in Russia” has been developed. To index wages, public sector employees are recommended to use funds received as a result of both economic growth and improvement of the mechanism for distributing national income.
In the private sector, the state is limited to minor interference in the organization of states, and the main regulator here is collective bargaining agreements. The parties to an employment contract have freedom of choice in setting wages. Payment depends on qualifications, complexity of the work performed, quantity and quality of labor expended; its maximum limit is not established. Limiting the amount of wages from below has no practical significance for enterprises, since it is not involved in real calculations of wages. The collective agreement between employees and the employer is not a reliable regulator; not all enterprises enter into them; Many of them do not have trade union organizations.
Wages in real terms in 2004 were still below 1990 levels. 2 Regions have the right to pay for categories at higher rates. So, the rate of the 1st category ETC is 1100 rubles. per month, 18th category - 4950 rubles, in Moscow - 2500 and 11.4 thousand rubles, respectively. (with an average salary in 2005 of 17.3 thousand rubles). The average accrued wages in February 2006 amounted to 9.1 thousand rubles. In 1990, it was equal to 180 rubles, with this money you could buy 1200 kg of bread, currently - only 900 kg.: 60% of those employed in agriculture, culture and healthcare have incomes below the subsistence level, and the average payment is only 1.5 times the subsistence level and several times lower than unemployment benefits in developed countries.
In general, government regulation of distribution relations is ineffective. Remuneration has become more dependent on factors not related to the quantity and quality of work; employers are mainly guided by the principle “based on the results of the interview.”
In developed countries, the wage fund is determined at fixed hourly rates, mandatory and additional elements of payment are identified, guaranteed and possible earnings are optimally combined, and great importance is attached to bonuses for managers and specialists. Mandatory elements of payment are fixed in a collective or individual agreement; its minimum part includes expenses for paying for an apartment, maintaining a car, household expenses, vacation pay and some other items.
The main additional incentive measures are:
- salary increases taking into account labor results;
- short-term bonuses based on performance;
- allowances for complexity, working conditions, length of service;
- social benefits (insurance, etc.);
- promotion to a position with greater responsibility;
- participation in management;
- ownership of company shares;
- other forms (bonuses for initiative, personal achievements, participation in sales, cost reduction, bonuses for innovation proposals, etc.).
In the USA, payment is based on the requirements for the work performed and the results of its implementation; in Japan, great importance is attached to the employee’s personal data and age; in Europe, first of all, qualifications and terms of professional training are taken into account.
The upper limit of wages depends on the degree of intensity and responsibility of work, the cost of physical and mental energy and other factors. It is determined by the marginal productivity of labor according to the assessment given by the heads of firms. None of them will pay an employee more than the income he brings to the company.
When determining the lower limit of wages as a modified cost of labor, not only the cost of living comes to the fore, but also income tax and other taxes on individuals, and an increase in fees for services.
If wages are determined only by the cost of labor. those. physical, intellectual and other costs that occurred during the work process, then it will only be enough to compensate for these costs and simply restore the ability to work. And we need funds for the development of the workforce (increasing the educational, informational, cultural level, qualifications), and the maintenance of disabled family members.
The average equivalent wage is ultimately established taking into account the state of the labor market, demand and supply of labor.
Scientific and technological progress and growth in labor productivity lead to a reduction in the need for labor, but not necessarily to savings on wages in the same proportion, since employed workers have the right to count on increased pay as a result of progress. Whether this becomes a reality depends on business policies and the state of the labor market.
In Russia, business is still young, and many of its representatives, being in euphoria from permissiveness, do not remember social responsibility. The state must economically and administratively remind them of the need to increase consumption and accumulation funds and take into account the social consequences of their activities.
Optimization of consumption and accumulation funds requires the introduction of a mechanism for increasing wages in the real sector by reducing business income not used for accumulation needs. In accordance with the recommendations prepared by the Institute of Social Policy of the Academy of Labor and Social Relations, to regulate entrepreneurial income, a state wage standard is established, which all employers are required to comply with. The standard leaves business income as a balance and, if necessary, limits it in the interests of compliance with the norm or accumulation or consumption. When production is unprofitable, wage debt accumulates. Competition should not allow prices to be raised to compensate for a decrease in business income.
In Russia, the policy of regulating the income of the population must take into account the regional differentiation of socio-economic development. Basic living conditions should not depend significantly on where you live. Competent social policy is especially necessary in rural areas, depressed regions, and northern territories.
The situation of rural residents has significantly worsened as a result of the liquidation of the collective and state farm system, the underdevelopment of farming, and the degradation of the social infrastructure of the village. In depressed regions, many enterprises do not operate, new jobs are not created, and there are no conditions for the development of entrepreneurship, which increases social tension. From the northern territories, which were previously intensively populated and developed, there is an outflow of population due to a drop in production and living standards.
The equalization of regional production differences primarily depends on the aspirations of private capital and is possible only in the distant future. In the meantime, businesses have more attractive investment opportunities. The state focuses capital on the development of certain territories only in order to increase the potential for the export of raw materials. In this case, the possibilities of budgetary territorial equalization should be used more fully, taking into account the increasing concentration of financial resources in the federal budget.
Financial resources of the federal budget make it possible to increase spending on life support in regions and zones with particularly difficult economic and living conditions, demographic and migration problems, and those who find themselves in an unfavorable socio-economic situation. The tools for implementing this direction of regional policy are targeted transfers, subventions for education, healthcare, social protection of the population, federal and regional programs for attracting investment and structural adjustment.
The federal target program “Reducing differences in the socio-economic development of regions (2002-2010 and until 2015)” was adopted. The goal of the program is to reduce the differences in key indicators between the most developed and lagging regions (currently the differences are tens of times). To implement this program, conditions must be created for the development of regions whose socio-economic indicators are below the national average, a favorable environment for entrepreneurship and investment must be created, and the efficiency of state support for the constituent entities of the Russian Federation must be increased.
However, the total amount of financing is only 66.3 billion rubles. for 14 years, of which funds from the federal and regional budgets amount to 27.5 billion rubles, or about 40%. Moreover, the executors of the program are the subjects of the Russian Federation and organizations determined on a competitive basis. They are also responsible for the timely and complete implementation of the program.
