The concept of living standards of the population. Standard of living as an economic category

The quality of life - a set of characteristics that reflect the material, physical, social and cultural well-being of the population.

It is clear that when assessing the quality of life, there is no way to use a certain universal indicator. After all, we are talking about a subjective assessment of the conditions of human existence and development. When assessing the quality of life in the first place - the level of satisfaction of material and spiritual needs, the state of health of the nation and life expectancy in the country. It is necessary to establish the degree of achievement of progressive consumption standards, take into account environmental conditions, guarantees for the safety of citizens' lives and their personal freedom, as well as the level of social security, the availability of free time and the rationality of its use.

An old joke from the period of developed socialism. Once an American and a Soviet worker met. The American began to tell in detail how his family lives well across the ocean. It turns out that an American goes to work in one car, relax in nature - in another, but abroad - in a third and more prestigious car. Now it is the turn of the Soviet worker to talk about the delights of his socialist life. It turns out that he drives an economical "Zaporozhets" to work. I usually go to nature with friends in a large truck, as it is more convenient given the state of country roads. And that's it, silence. The American delicately clarifies: what about trips abroad? To which the Soviet worker replied that he traveled abroad, but rarely. Yes, and then mostly with friends on the tank.

Thus, the quality of life is always perceived taking into account historical, national and religious traditions. When characterizing the quality of life as a set of conditions, it is quite acceptable to compensate for one parameter of life by another. As they say, you can live poorer, but more friendly and more fun. Tanks, of course, have nothing to do with it.

Standards of living. Formally, the standard of living is determined quite simply. On the one hand, there needs individual and society, on the other hand, there are specific possibilities to satisfy them. The degree of satisfaction of needs determines the standard of living.

Standard of living is determined by the degree of provision of the population with material, social and spiritual benefits necessary for life.

Now let's clarify the most important points. First, which types of needs should be "counted" and which should not be taken into account when assessing the standard of living; what is living standard structure?

It is customary to distinguish four main component standard of living:

a) the immediate conditions of human life and procreation (life, housing, food);

b) working conditions;

c) conditions of human development;

d) conditions of environmental safety.

Second, what options satisfaction of needs should be recognized as socially normal?

It makes sense to determine the degree of satisfaction of needs not only through comparison with yesterday, with the standard of living in a neighboring country, but also with scientifically based norms. When determining such scientific norms, it is reasonable to pay attention not only to the physiological needs of a person, to the need to ensure an elementary dietary balance of nutrition, to the natural and climatic conditions of the country, but also to the availability of material prerequisites for meeting the corresponding needs.

Thirdly, should we take into account the operation of the universal law of the rise of needs, the operation of which no one is able to cancel? Certainly to be taken into account. What yesterday seemed to everyone ideal and almost unattainable, today may already seem quite ordinary.

Fourthly, the degree of satisfaction of needs always differs sharply by subjects, social groups and regions.

Indicators of the standard of living. The foregoing leads us to the idea that when analyzing the standard of living, we will have to operate not with one, but with a set of indicators. These will be indicators reflecting the level of disposable income, life expectancy and the level of diseases (including professional ones), as well as the level of consumption, housing provision, etc. (see Table 1).

The following indicators in their overwhelming mass are perceived as particular indicators of the standard of living.

Table 1

The main indicators reflecting the modern standard of living of the population

Note. The UN identifies 12 groups of indicators of this kind, including (1) the demographic situation in the country (birth rate, death rate); (2) sanitary and hygienic living conditions; (3) food consumption; (4) housing conditions; (5) education and culture; (6) working conditions and employment; (7) incomes and expenses of the population; (8) cost of living and consumer prices; (9) availability Vehicle; (10) organization of recreation; (eleven) social Security; (12) human rights.

As an integral indicator reflecting the state of the social sphere and the general living conditions of the population of the country, human development index(HDI) proposed by the UN (1990). This indicator is calculated taking into account the interaction of three parameters - the average healthy life expectancy, the basic indicator of education of the population and real GDP per capita. The HDI makes it possible to give a comparative description of the standard of living in various countries.

Within the framework of normative economic analysis, the following are distinguished:

A) indicators real level life, those. reflecting the real situation;

b) scientifically based indicators of the standard of living, which serve as benchmarks.

It is important not only to compare real indicators with scientifically based standards, but also with similar indicators neighboring countries, as well as advanced countries of the world (region).

It should be noted that the system of indicators of the standard of living always has regional specifics.

For example, in highly developed countries of the world among the most important parameters of the standard of living in the first place are the indicators of income, unemployment, as well as the volume of social transfers.

For countries transition period Of particular relevance are indicators of per capita food consumption, which reflects the existing problem of survival and overcoming poverty for a significant part of the population, as well as unemployment and inflation.

Consumer basket and living wage. Among the scientifically based and other calculated norms for the consumption of goods and services, we first of all highlight:

1) rational, most favorable kit consumer goods and services;

2) minimum consumption set, providing normal living conditions for groups of the population (usually 15-18 variants of the consumer basket are allocated depending on age, gender, etc.;

3) living wage, determining the level of physiological existence of a person with the minimum possible set of consumer goods (the physiological minimum of consumption).

point one- this is a set of material goods that is quite achievable in society for certain social groups. Such a rational set acts as a guideline for the socio-economic development of the country in the long term.

point two is the minimum consumer basket, its valuation is minimum consumer budget(MPB). The cost of each item (bread, meat, clothes different types, toiletries, utilities, etc.) is defined as the multiplication of the consumption rate of a particular product by the available market price.

In the process of economic analysis, the MPB is usually compared with the average salary by categories of workers, and for pensioners - with the average pension.

The closer the MPB approaches the rational set, the higher the average salary and average pension compared to the corresponding MPB, the higher the standard of living.

Allocate more actual consumer budget, which is determined taking into account nominal money incomes and the price level, as well as actual preferences.

point three. The monetary value of the physiological minimum consumption, presented as the minimum possible set of goods and services, appears as living wage budget The cost of living is calculated both per capita and for various socio-demographic groups.

The first variant of its calculation (direct account) is the determination of the cost of a natural set of food products that provides a person with the minimum required number of calories; also includes expenditures on non-food goods and services, taxes and obligatory payments. There is a reason to determine such a food package on the basis of a survey of the actual budgets of the poorest families.

In the second option, the subsistence minimum budget is defined as a percentage of the MPB (40-60% of its volume).

Poverty - a state of permanent lack of funds necessary to ensure a satisfactory lifestyle.

Poverty is revealed as the inability of a family to meet the basic needs of food, clothing, and housing with current income.

This definition of poverty is found in old encyclopedic dictionaries, which were published back in late XIX century.

Today, UN documents use the concept human poverty– lack of opportunity and choice to meet vital human needs, such as living a long, healthy and productive life, being literate, eating well, enjoying a quality of life, freedom and respect for others. When determining the level of human poverty, indicators are the proportion of children under 5 years of age with underweight; the level of illiteracy of the population, etc.

The state of poverty concerns both the whole country and individual social groups, households, etc. When assessing the situation at the level of the whole country, the indicator of GDP per capita, the volume of average per capita consumption expenditures per day, etc. are used.

Note. According to the UN, a country is classified as problematic if its GDP per capita is less than $1,200 per year. If personal spending on consumption is less than 2 dollars a day, this is a sign of a poor country, less than 1 dollar a day is a sign of a poor country. Currently, a third of the world's population consistently spends less than $2 a day.

When determining the proportion of the "poor population", the following methods are used:

1) according to consumption rate when attention is focused on the degree of achievement of the physiological minimum of existence (the poverty threshold). All those strata of society that, in terms of consumption, are below the physiological subsistence minimum, are declared poor. Their financial resources are below the value of the needs that must be met. Exceeding the mark of 10% is considered unacceptable for any civilized country;

2) by relative income when a threshold is set for disposable personal income as a percentage of the national average (the relative concept of poverty). All segments of society below the income threshold are automatically classified as poor. It is clear that in this case the choice of the equivalence scale directly affects the poverty indicator. In Germany, the poor are those people whose earnings are less than half the national average wage;

3) statistical reception, when the level of consumption is compared, for example, 10% of the "rich" and 10% of the "poor" population, and then, taking into account the accepted criterion for the ratio of these levels, a conclusion is made about the presence of a prosperous or unfavorable social situation;

4) stratification technique, when the poor a priori include those segments of the population that are characterized by low elasticity of the employment function and weak organizational opportunities for self-sufficiency (the elderly, the disabled, refugees, etc.). For example, in the conditions of Belarus, the "new poor" a priori include single-parent families and large families, families with unemployed parents, pensioners over 60 living alone, etc.;

5) subjective concept of poverty proceeds from the fact that people participating in a sociological survey are themselves able to determine in a qualified manner whether they belong to the poor or not.

This concept of poverty was proposed by scientists from the University of Leiden (Netherlands). The amount of income that still allows you to "make ends meet" is determined on the basis of estimates of surveyed households.

The household survey determines depth of poverty ratio, which expresses the average deviation of income from the subsistence level. Poverty severity ratio reflects the weighted average deviation of the income of the surveyed households from the subsistence minimum.

extreme poverty(poverty) is defined as the inability of a family to meet even the minimum food requirements.

Let's draw some conclusions. It can be noted that the main approach to determining the level of poverty is ultimately associated with determining the range and volume of needs, the satisfaction of which is recognized as socially necessary. The number of the poor directly depends on where the "poverty line" will be drawn. The number of the poor depends on the level of development of the country, the economic situation experienced and the state of the economic situation. Diseases, drugs, loneliness and loss of a breadwinner, material and everyday disasters, forced migration, political and religious persecution can act as specific causes of human tragedies. The vast majority of the poor are those who chronically poor. A significant part of the chronically poor traditionally lives in the economically backward regions of the country.

Problems of overcoming poverty. There are a number of difficulties in addressing the problem of poverty:

1. It is always difficult to determine the criterion of poverty, since its boundaries are rather mobile and conditional. In addition, existing methods for calculating poverty do not always pay attention to the real situation. For example, often poverty in terms of income, it is supplemented by the preservation of a high property status (household plot, surplus housing, vehicles, etc.). Such property may well serve as a source for obtaining additional (hidden) income.

2. The level of poverty directly depends on such external circumstances as the dynamics of inflation and GDP, the unemployment rate and the state budget, changes in the exchange rate of the national monetary unit etc. This means that one of the reasons for the poverty of the population lies in an ill-conceived economic policy. Conclusion: changes in economic policy can significantly affect the situation with poverty.

3. There is a direct relationship between the level of personal income and the life cycle of an individual. Therefore, it makes sense to determine the standard of living not only by current income, but also by the mass of income received by an individual throughout the entire life cycle (i.e., take into account previously made savings, accumulation of funds to receive an old-age pension, the possibility of obtaining a loan for education, etc. ).

4. The identification of poverty itself does not yet mean its automatic overcoming, since the financial possibilities of society are always limited. This obliges to resort to the provision of targeted assistance to needy families. In turn, this involves the use of a procedure for special verification of the real state of income and property of poor families. However, the collection and organization additional information revealing the real state of affairs, are in themselves a costly undertaking.

5. The category of the poor, especially in the transitional period, often includes those members of society who officially have a job. This situation requires the reform of the national system of regulation of wages and employment relations, the establishment of a first-class tariff rate not lower than the level of the MPB.

6. Support for socially disadvantaged sections of the population should be combined with strengthening motivation to work.

The study of the standard of living (welfare), poverty, property and social differentiation of the population actualizes the issues of social protection of the population.

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Introduction

At the present stage of development of the Russian economy, the problems of the standard of living of the population and the factors that determine its dynamics become very important. The direction and pace of further transformations in the country and stability in society largely depend on their solution. The solution of these problems requires a certain policy developed by the state, the central point of which would be a person, his well-being, physical and social health. That is why all the transformations that one way or another can lead to a change in the standard of living are of great interest to a wide variety of segments of the population.

The standard of living is a multifaceted phenomenon that depends on many different factors, ranging from the territory where the population lives, that is, geographical factors, to the general socio-economic and environmental situation, as well as the state of political affairs in the country. The standard of living can be influenced to some extent by the demographic situation, housing and working conditions, the volume and quality of consumer goods, but all the most significant factors can be grouped into the following groups:

political factors;

economic forces;

social factors;

scientific and technical progress,

environmental factors, etc.

It is a more detailed consideration of these factors that will be devoted to this work, the purpose of which is to study the factors that determine the dynamics of the standard of living of the population, to analyze the degree of their influence and role in raising the standard of living.

Levellife

Levellife(well-being) -- the level of material well-being, characterized by the volume of real per capita income and the corresponding volume of consumption.

The standard of living is a complex indicator that characterizes the well-being and quality of life of citizens or social groups of a particular country or territory. SL represents the level of consumption of these goods, reflects the well-being of the population and is characterized by a system of the following indicators:

Volume of real income per capita

Structure of consumption of food, non-food products, services

Level and dynamics of prices for basic consumer goods

Rent rates, housing services

The volume of payments and benefits from public consumption funds

The level of education, medical care, etc.

The standard of living is the degree of satisfaction of the physical, spiritual and social needs of people, the provision of the population with consumer goods.

National wealth is the environment where the necessary conditions are created for a materially prosperous life of people, where the standard of living of the population (well-being) is formed and maintained. The standard of living of the population in statistics is understood as the provision of the population with those goods and services that are necessary and sufficient to meet both the vital material needs of people (food, clothing, housing, cultural and household items) and socio-cultural (labor, employment, leisure). , health, education, natural habitat, etc.).

There are the following types of standard of living:

1) Prosperity (the use of goods and services that ensure the all-round development of a person);

2) Normal level (consumption of goods and services according to scientifically based norms that are sufficient for the full restoration of the physical and intellectual powers of a person);

3) Poverty (consumption of goods and services at the level of the possibility of maintaining a person's working capacity);

4) Poverty (minimum consumption of goods and services at the level of human biological survival).

To obtain the entire set of characteristics in terms of standard of living, the following are examined:

1. the general population;

2. separate social and professional groups;

3. households with different incomes.

Economicindicatorslevellife

In world practice, certain experience has been accumulated in a comprehensive study of the standard of living of the population in terms of the main socio-economic indicators, of which the following can be distinguished:

1. Incomepopulation.

The income of the population is a set of monetary and natural resources received or produced by households for a certain period. Income is generated from the work of the employee and other sources.

In material form, income is divided into monetary and natural.

The monetary income of the population includes all receipts of money in the form of payment for employees, income from entrepreneurial activities, pensions, scholarships, allowances, income from property in the form of interest, dividends, rent, amounts from the sale of securities, etc.

Income in kind - all receipts of products produced by households for their own consumption: agricultural products, animal husbandry, various products, services and other products in kind, intended for personal, family consumption (i.e., not having a commodity form).

The ratio between these two forms changes periodically, but the monetary form is the most common.

When income is realized, part of it goes to the consumption of material goods, part - to the consumption of services. The structure of consumption is affected not only by an increase in monetary income, but also by a change in the structure of the population, an increase in its educational and cultural level.

To characterize the welfare of the population, aggregate incomes (of the entire population, family, individual) are important, the growth of which at constant prices and taxes (or at least their smaller increase compared to the increase in income) indicates an increase in the ability to meet needs.

The total income is the main indicator of the material security of the population, it includes all types of cash income, as well as the value of in-kind receipts received from personal subsidiary plots and used for personal consumption. In addition to the monetary component, total revenues include the cost of free services received at the expense of the federal and municipal budgets and enterprise funds.

For the statistical characteristics of the standard of living, it is important to establish income boundaries that ensure the minimum allowable level, i.e. determination of the subsistence minimum (the cost of a set of goods and services necessary to meet the primary needs of a person for a year, such as minimum sets of food, non-food products and services necessary to maintain human health and ensure his life, as well as mandatory payments and fees)

The living wage allows you to set the boundaries of poverty.

The poverty rate is a relative indicator, which is calculated as a percentage of the number of citizens whose incomes are below the subsistence minimum, to the total population of the country. At present (since 1990), the poverty threshold in the world is set at $1 a day.

2. Differentiationpopulation

One of the most important socio-economic indicators characterizing the degree of uneven distribution of material and spiritual wealth among members of society. The quantities or shares in which the social product is distributed among the groups of the population, and the very principle of distribution, are determined by the prevailing relations of production. The differentiation of the incomes of the population in most capitalist countries is relatively great.

3. IndicatorsexpensesAndconsumptionpopulation

These are all expenses in the aggregate: food, clothing, housing, cultural and household items, and also socio-cultural: leisure, health, education, etc.

In monetary terms, the entire set of goods and services actually consumed during a given time in a household is the cost of living.

The level of consumption is a feature of consumption that depends on the number of consumers. There are three levels of consumption:

Individual - on which the consumption of each individual person is carried out;

Collective - on which the consumption of collectives takes place;

Public - associated with the consumer interests of all the people of the country (state). These are law enforcement, security, defense, management, education, science, external Relations. Each of us needs them, but no one individually can satisfy them.

The higher the standard of living, the higher the needs. It is mainly about physical, spiritual and social needs.

4. Pindicatorspurchasingcapabilitiespopulation

Economic indicators that are inversely proportional to the amount of currency needed to cover a certain consumer basket of goods and services.)

5. WITHredsizepensions

6. PindicatorsexpensesVsocialsphere

7. Degreeemploymentpopulation.

The main trends of the employed economically active population:

1. A decrease in the economically active population in the agricultural sector, respectively, an increase in industry, construction, transport and the service sector.

2. Decrease, first relatively, and then absolutely, in the number of employed economically active population in industry and construction.

3. Growth in the number of employed economically active population in transport and especially in the service sector. At the same time, it is very important to note the fact that the importance of the service sector is changing dramatically and there is a functional expansion of the service sector.

Accordingly, the greater the number of people working for the good of the country, the higher the income, and this is one of the main indicators of the standard of living.

standard of living income population

Socialindicatorslevellife

1. Life span is a consequence high level of life, but also this indicator affects the current standard of living of the country.

2. The level of education in the country, the higher it is, the higher the standard of living. There should be a sufficient number of schools, lyceums, various courses.

3. The country's health care system also affects its standard of living. Hospitals, hospital transport, and the provision of modern medical care are necessary.

4. Leisure living standard of the population also depends on people's spending free time. The presence of theaters, cinemas. There should be clubs for young people, sections for children.

Dynamicslevellife

If we compare the economic situation in the country now and, say, 15 years ago, we will see the rise of the country's economy: an increase in GDP, industrial output, agricultural products and, as a result of an improvement in the macroeconomic situation, a significant decrease in wage arrears, a decrease in the number of unemployed, an increase in real wages, an increase in real money income. However, the low standard of living of the majority of the population of Russia remains, and significant regional differences in the standard of living of the population remain.

Russia is slowly but surely rising in the ranking of human development, although it is still very far from the leaders of the list. The UN in its annual, already 20th, report of the program "The Real Wealth of Nations: Ways of Human Development" put our country in 65th place, which is six lines higher than last year

· In 2006, Russia was in 65th place, and in 2010 - 57th.

· In 2006, the average salary was 10,867 rubles, and in 2010 - 21,597 rubles. The average monthly accrued salary in 2009, according to some sources, amounted to 20.785 rubles and increased by 8.5% compared to 2008.

· The average labor pension in 2009 (according to the preliminary estimate of the Pension Fund) increased in real terms by 11.3% and amounted to 5.322 rubles, which exceeded the pensioner's subsistence minimum by 29.0% (17.6% in 2008). The higher growth rates of pensions compared to wage growth led to an increase in the replacement rate (the ratio of the average pension to the average salary) to 28.3% (24.8% in 2008).

In addition, from January 1, 2010, according to the law, the amount of the pension, taking into account all other social payments, must be no less than the subsistence minimum for a pensioner established in the subject Russian Federation where the pensioner lives. This innovation did not affect Moscow, since the minimum pension for non-working pensioners from January 2010 amounted to two living wages - 10,275 rubles.

· The average subsistence minimum per capita in 2009, according to preliminary estimates, amounted to 5.153 rubles with an increase of 12.2% compared to 2008. At the same time, the subsistence minimum for the able-bodied population amounted to 5.572 rubles, pensioners - 4.1 thousand rubles and children - 4.93 thousand rubles.

· In August 2009, for the first time in the past 15 years, Russia recorded a natural increase in the population, which amounted to 1,000 people.

· The number of deaths in 2006 - 2167, and in 2010 - 2013

· The number of births in 2006-1479.6 thousand people, in 2009-1764.0 thousand people.

· The average life expectancy is also growing - in 2000 the average life expectancy was 59 for men and 72 for women, while in 2009 it was 61.8 for men and 74.2 for women.

In terms of educational attainment, the share of people with higher education in the population aged 25-64 increased by 2% from 2005 to 2009

· As for the healthcare system, the situation is improving here too - in April 2010, 908 million rubles were allocated for the construction of 17 new medical institutions

· The proportion of the population with incomes below the subsistence minimum is decreasing - in 2006 there were 15% of such people, and in 2009 already 11.2% of the total population.

Conclusion

The standard of living is a very important indicator of the state of affairs in a country at the world level. As we have seen, the standard of living in Russia is rising every year. In order to speed up this process, you need to do the following:

1) increasing labor motivation, personal interest of workers. Ensuring the growth of wages and entrepreneurial income in connection with the final results, increasing labor productivity. Fruitful work and entrepreneurial activity should allow you to live with dignity;

2) ensuring full employment as a powerful factor in the growth of production, increasing the confidence of the economically active population in the growth of income and the multiplication of property;

3) strengthening the insurance principles of social policy, linking the financial situation of the population with the size of its contributions, as well as payments from employers and the state to compensate for loss of income due to the occurrence of insured events;

4) providing the entire population with minimum social guarantees (in consumption, housing, education, health protection, etc.), and for the most socially vulnerable groups, and above all the disabled, targeted social support from entrepreneurs and the state.

5) development of people's abilities, creation of an effective system of general and vocational education, training and advanced training of personnel.

Listusedliterature

1. Economic theory. Textbook./Ed. V.D. Kamaeva. - 8th ed. - M., 2002.

2. Economy. edited by Bulatov 3rd edition, 2002

3. Questions of the economy. - 2004. - No. 10 - p.77.

4. http://www.rbc.ru/

5. http://www.gks.ru/wps/wcm/connect/rosstat/rosstatsite/

6. http://www.izvestia.ru

7. http://www.rfpa.ru

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12.2. The standard of living of the population as an indicator of the effectiveness of social policy

The standard of living of the population as an integral characteristic of the well-being of citizens of the country, along with income and consumption, includes working and living conditions, the volume and structure of working and free time, parameters of cultural and educational development, as well as indicators of public health, the socio-demographic and environmental situation in the country and its regions. Therefore, in economic theory and practice, it is customary to understand the standard of living as the amount of material goods and services per capita of the country's population in a particular period of management. The concept of "standard of living of the country's population" includes not only material, but also cultural (spiritual) and social needs of citizens.

In accordance with Art. 25 ILO Concept No. 177 on Public Purposes and Standards of Social Policy, everyone has the right to food, clothing, housing, medical care and social security necessary for the health and well-being of the individual and members of his family, as well as to the security of unemployment, disability or loss of livelihood.

The concept of "standard of living of the country's population" is a historical category. It reflects the provision of citizens with material goods and services for a specific period of time. The concept has a quantitative and qualitative content, it is supplemented by various categories of the reproductive process, new characteristics of working conditions, life and life.

According to the degree of reflection of the parameters characterizing the standard of living of the population of the country, the indicators are divided into general and particular.

General indicators the standard of living is the volume per capita of national income, consumption fund, consumer fund of national wealth (the volume of accumulated consumer property, cultural and community buildings, cultural, household and household items). These data characterize the degree of achievement of the socio-economic development of society.

TO private indicators the standard of living of the population can be attributed to: the level and methods of consumption, working conditions, housing, the level of social services, the conditions for raising children, social security.

Economic indicators reflect the economic aspects of the life of society, the level of human well-being, as well as the material possibilities of citizens to satisfy their physical and spiritual needs. These indicators are directly related to the reproduction of the country's labor force, for example, nominal and real incomes, employment, etc.

Socio-demographic indicators characterize the age and sex and professional and qualification composition of the population, the physical reproduction of the labor force (population size, its individual strata and groups, life expectancy, mortality indices, birth rates, etc.).

According to the nature of the reflection of the processes of consumption of material goods and services, indicators of the standard of living of the population are divided into value and natural.

To value indicators includes all indicators of income and consumption expressed in monetary terms (retail and wholesale trade turnover, cash disbursements and payments, cash deposits, consumption of services, etc.).

natural indicators represent the volumes of consumption of specific material goods and services in physical terms, i.e. in physical units of consumption (pieces, kilograms, square meters of living space, etc.).

According to their volumetric and structural characteristics, indicators of the standard of living of the population are divided into quantitative and qualitative.

Quantitative indicators reflect the measure, volume, size of consumption of specific types of material goods and services.

Qualitative indicators reveal the structure of consumption by individual elements(food, housing, education, services, etc.).

Indicators of the standard of living of the population of the country are calculated and reflected in the state (federal and regional) programs of social development, social support and social protection of the population. They are included in the plans for the development of state social funds, such as the Pension Fund of Russia, the State Employment Fund, the Compulsory Medical Care Fund of the Russian Federation, the Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Population, etc. Indicators of living standards are taken into account in the plans and programs for the development of individual sectors of the country's material production, related with the production of food and non-food products, with the construction of social infrastructure facilities, with the activities of the non-productive sectors of the country themselves. A special place is occupied by calculations of the level of income and consumption of the population.

12.3. Incomes and consumption of the population

The essence of the state income policy is the distribution and redistribution of income through the system of the state budgetary device through differentiated taxation of various groups of income recipients and social payments to the population. Thus, the state solves the problem of raising the income level of the poor and low-income strata of the population and at the same time creates conditions for the normal reproduction of the labor force in the country, contributing to the easing of social tension in society.

In the conditions of the formation of market relations in the Russian economy, the term “actually disposable income” began to be used (since 1992) to characterize the level of income and consumption of the country's population. This parameter is calculated as the sum of all monetary incomes received by the country's population in a particular economic period, minus the amount of taxes and obligatory payments, taking into account inflation rates.

However, this indicator is able to reflect only the amount of funds allocated to meet the needs of the population, but is not able to reveal the social utility of these funds. This is explained by the fact that they have a cost form of interpretation and, therefore, are costly. Therefore, in domestic and foreign literature, the concept of poverty of the population is used.

The number of low-income citizens of the country;

Line (threshold or border) of poverty;

The standard of socially necessary consumption;

Social minimum;

Living wage;

Minimum consumer budget (MPB);

The minimum required standard of consumption. The number of indicators can be increased. For example, you can

include here the minimum wage, the minimum pension, stipend, the amount of social payments and benefits.

Western experts refer to the category of "low-income citizens" members of society who do not have the necessary standard of consumption recognized by this society.

The size of the number of low-income citizens in the country depends on the extent to which state and local authorities are focused on the social needs and needs of the population. If the number of such citizens is constantly growing, it means that insufficiently thought out, poorly substantiated and uncoordinated social policy in terms of goals, timing and activities is being carried out.

The standard of socially necessary consumption is the amount of consumption that satisfies at a minimum level the basic vital needs of the citizens of the country.

Concepts "line (threshold or border) of poverty", and Also "living wage" are used in world practice as equivalent. The size of these indicators is determined by the value of the minimum allowable limits of consumption, below which the normal development of a person (in the physical and socio-cultural sense) is impossible, since it does not correspond to the current level of development of the productive forces, social and other values. In scientific and practical use, the subsistence minimum is interpreted as an integral social standard, reflecting a set of consumer goods and services necessary for the physiological reproduction of a person.

Index "standard of socially necessary consumption" typical for countries of Eastern Europe. It is understood as the amount of consumption that satisfies the basic vital needs of a person at a minimum level.

social minimum- the amount of consumption of material goods and services that at a minimum level satisfies all the needs of a citizen of the country, considered at this stage necessary to ensure the usual living conditions.

Dimensions and structure minimum consumer budget(IBP), which underlies the determination of the level of poverty of the population of the country and the development of a system of government measures in the social sphere, can be determined using a number of methods. The choice of method depends on the goals and objectives of the study, the availability of information on income and consumption, calculation methods, etc.

The cost composition of the MPB can be viewed as a monetary expression of the subsistence minimum or as a cost expression of the lower limit of the consumer bundle (basket) that provides current reasonable needs. In other words, this is the minimum amount of a rational budget that allows to ensure the normal state of human life in the amount of rational consumption rates that reflect reasonable current needs.

The concept of “rational (optimal) consumer budget characterizes the prospective reasonable needs of the citizens of the country.

The “poverty line (threshold or boundary)” can be measured by each of the following methods of calculation:

- statistical method justifies "poverty" as a relative category and has two types: 1) the poverty line is set at the level of income that a certain proportion (10-20%) of the poorest citizens of the country has; 2) the poverty line is the minimum per capita income of individuals. recognized by society (i.e. legally) as the least well-to-do members of society. For example, the European Statistical Commission defines the poverty line as a value equal to half the minimum income in the country;

- normative method relies on specially developed standards - sets of goods (rational wardrobe, rational consumer budget, etc.) to meet the basic physiological and social needs of a person in the context of individual sex and age groups. The so-called consumer baskets of goods and services form the basis for determining the subsistence minimum by the normative method. They provide information about a set of, for example, food products that can provide a balanced human diet (in terms of chemical and energy composition) necessary for the life of adults, the growth and development of children, and the preservation of health in each age group;

- combined method calculation of the subsistence minimum combines elements of the first two methods and therefore it is also called the normative-statistical method. With the combined calculation method, expenses are determined according to scientifically based standards and current prices of goods and services. The minimum set of food products and goods of a cheap assortment for an average family of four is taken as a basis. It is generally accepted that food costs account for 70% of the total family expenses;

- subjective method calculation of the subsistence minimum is based on an analysis of the results of sociological research among the population.

- resource method involves taking into account the capabilities of the national economy in meeting the material and spiritual needs of the population.

When calculating the level of the poverty line (threshold or border), it is important to establish the so-called national standards of the subsistence minimum, not only in value, but also in physical terms, i.e. in the form of consumer baskets of goods and services.

Despite the rather large number of indicators characterizing the level of poverty, in practical use such concepts as “absolute poverty” and “relative poverty” have received the greatest popularity and application.

Absolute poverty- this is the absence of income as such or the absence of income necessary to ensure the minimum living needs of an individual (or family). Absolute poverty primarily affects such categories of citizens as persons without a fixed place of residence, homeless children, persons who do not have the status of forced migrants, and so on. In Russia, they make up about 5% of the total population. The absence or insufficiency of funds to maintain a minimum of physiological needs (approximately 2/3 of the subsistence minimum budget) covers almost 15% of the population of our country.

Relative poverty determined by the amount of income below the subsistence minimum budget. Now in Russia more than 50 million people are below the poverty line. In world practice, relative poverty is characterized by an income that does not exceed 40-60% of the average income of citizens.

In the Russian economy, like the “new Russians”, the “new poor” appeared, this group included those sections of the population who, by their education and qualifications, social status and demographic position, had never previously been included in the lower stratum of society. The drop in incomes of these population groups today is caused primarily by unjustified low level wages at state enterprises and institutions, unemployment and part-time employment of a large segment of the economically active population.

Measures to increase wages for employees of the public sector, the indexation of payments accelerated the dynamics of the population's cash income, slightly increasing their real content.

However, the stratification of society continues to grow. The share of 10% of the wealthiest population accounts for more than 28% of all monetary incomes of the population, and the share of 10% of the least well-to-do accounts for only 2.1%.

Population groups differing in material well-being also have different levels of consumption. In families from the group with the lowest incomes, more than 70% of the consumer budget is spent on meeting primary needs: food, clothes, underwear, shoes. Such a population is practically forced to refuse to buy durable goods (4% of all consumer spending). In the group of families with the highest incomes, the share of spending on food products is 10 percentage points less than that of the low-income population, the share of durable goods is 14% of all consumer spending.

Expenses for food in the poorest families are distributed approximately as follows: for the purchase of bread products - 30%; for meat and dairy products - 20%; for vegetables and fruits - 8%.

The well-to-do population spends on food: meat and dairy products - 40%; bread products - 6%; vegetables and fruits -15%.

12.4. Social norms, regulations and standards

Social rationing, i.e. the process of developing and applying social norms, norms and social standards plays an ever-increasing role in the implementation of the tasks of the state's active social policy. Social norms, norms and standards, acting in the corresponding economic period, reflect the specific ratios of certain types of labor and consumption, supplement the information base of the state's social policy, since they characterize the volume and structure of social development resources, determine the level of consumption of material goods and social services by the population.

The question of delimiting the concepts of “social norm”, “social norm”, “social standard” is very difficult in theoretical terms.

social norm - a legislatively approved indicator of the maximum allowable expenditure of resources for the production and consumption of a unit of food, non-food products and services that satisfy public or personal needs of a social nature of an established quality.

Social norm- a more general concept that is not related to a specific subject (individual citizen, family, socio-demographic group) of rationing. The social standard is set either as a percentage or in value terms.

social standard- the established measure of consumption by citizens of the relevant social benefits and services is not lower than the minimum allowable amount. Food, consumer goods, medicines, social services, etc. are rationed.

The purpose of creating a unified state system social rationing - to establish uniform conditions for social development, social support and social protection of the population throughout the territory of the Russian Federation, i.e. uniform conditions for the implementation of the social policy of the state on the territory of the country.

The bulk of the social norms and standards currently in force in the economy of the Russian Federation are connected with the regulation of the most important areas of the life of the country's population.

IN labor field, labor relations and labor protection are:

Guaranteed minimum wage;

Tariff scales for wages;

Labor safety standards, labor protection norms and rules, hygienic standards, sanitary norms and rules lists of industries, works, professions and positions with harmful and dangerous working conditions;

Benefits received by employees in connection with harmful and dangerous working conditions;

Hours of work, holidays and holidays, annual leave.

In the field of employment of the population are provided:

Payouts Money(unemployment benefits, scholarships for the period of study, compensation to employees when transferring them to another job);

State assistance in maintaining, reconstructing and creating jobs;

Organization of public works.

IN sphere formation and development labor and personnel potential countries entered:

State professional standards that meet international requirements for personnel certification;

All-Russian system of training and retraining of personnel, additional professional education.

IN social security the objects of social regulation are the sizes and types of pensions (old-age pensions, disability pensions, in case of loss of a breadwinner, for long service, in connection with special conditions labor, pensions in connection with work in the Far North, social pensions, preferential pensions).

IN scholarship for students of state and municipal higher educational institutions of secondary specialized and primary vocational education, training of doctoral students and graduate students, the minimum amounts of scholarships for specific categories of students have been normalized, and the minimum allowable amounts of scholarship funds of the respective educational institutions have also been introduced.

IN sphere of social support and social protection Citizens are provided by law:

Social payments and benefits to the poor, the disabled, senior citizens, participants in the Great Patriotic War and persons equated to them, families of military personnel who died in armed conflicts, and other persons;

State benefits to citizens for unemployment, in connection with the birth and upbringing of children, accidents at work and occupational disease, temporary disability, refugees and internally displaced persons dismissed from military service, for sanatorium treatment, rehabilitation of children, for burial and in other cases;

Norms and standards for the provision of free or affordable housing (subsidies for construction and housing) to the poor, discharged from military service and other persons;

Benefits and subsidies for payment: housing and communal services; for using the telephone and radio; for transportation;

Norms and standards for the provision of free meals to students of general education schools and vocational schools from large families;

Free medical care in state, municipal and other institutions;

Free pre-school, basic general and secondary vocational education in state, municipal and other educational institutions;

State support for the development of culture;

Social services for the elderly, disabled, orphans.

Social norms and regulations, and more recently state minimum social standards (GMSS) define a system of typical requirements that social objects place on each other in the course of their interaction, and regulate the values of the most important social indicators.

In my own way status social norms and standards are divided into:

State, established in the form of social guarantees provided for by law (pensions, benefits, etc.);

Departmental settlement character.

Based on the adopted federal social norms and regulations, as well as social standards, the needs for current expenditures for social purposes are determined from the budgets of the corresponding levels.

Fundamentally new social standards for the development of health care formed the basis of the Program of State Guarantees for Providing Citizens of the Russian Federation with Free Medical Care. On the basis of relevant social norms, per capita norms for financing health care are determined at the expense of budgets of all levels, compulsory medical insurance funds and other revenues.

Among others, the scope of the use of social norms and standards in the field of social insurance has significantly expanded.

As a tool for regulating the processes of social development, social support and social protection of the population in the new market conditions, state minimum social standards are introduced into management practice by federal laws "On the general principles of organizing local self-government in the Russian Federation", "On the financial foundations of local self-government in the Russian Federation" and Budget Code of the Russian Federation.

Currently, work on the creation and adoption of individual sectoral systems of social standardization is being carried out as part of the preparation of the following federal laws of the Russian Federation;

- "On the state educational standard of basic general education";

- “On state insurance for temporary disability, maternity and death”;

- "On healthcare in the Russian Federation";

- "On the general principles, criteria and conditions for the provision of social payments and benefits, delimitation of sources of their financing";

- “On the subsistence minimum in the Russian Federation”, etc.

The creation of a unified nationwide system of social standardization is one of the most important conditions for strengthening local self-government and federalism in our country, a means of increasing the controllability of social processes. A qualitatively new mechanism of state support for social sectors is being formed, which makes it possible to move from itemized to per capita financing of budget expenditures at all levels for social needs.

State Minimum Social Standard - the minimum required amount of social guarantees established by law (expressed in the norms and norms of social protection) for the provision of public social benefits and services to the population, financed from the budgets of all levels and state social funds.

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