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Employment Restructuring in Russian Industrial Enterprises

Author

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  • Gregory Schwartz

    (Cardiff Business School, UK SchwartzG@Cardiff.ac.uk)

Abstract

Labour market developments in post-Soviet Russia have presented liberal economists with an apparent paradox: the absence of mass compulsory redundancies in the face of substantial collapse in output. The seemingly irrational `labour hoarding' in Russian enterprises has been interpreted as either influenced by workers choosing a wage cut in exchange for job security, or enterprises resisting redundancies in order to obtain state funding, or as a result of rent-seeking firm behaviour. However, systematic research on employment decision-making in industrial enterprises presents another picture. By combining documentary sources with interviews conducted in six industrial enterprises in Russia, this article will suggest that the disproportionate correlation between employment and production decline lies in the fact that the acute technological and structural degradation of the post-Soviet economy has resulted in enterprise adjustment being made through demand for labour.

Suggested Citation

  • Gregory Schwartz, 2003. "Employment Restructuring in Russian Industrial Enterprises," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 17(1), pages 49-72, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:17:y:2003:i:1:p:49-72
    DOI: 10.1177/0950017003017001252
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Richard Layard & Andrea Richter, 1995. "How much unemployment is needed for restructing: the Russian experience," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 3(1), pages 39-58, March.
    2. Simon Clarke & Veronika Kabalina, 2000. "The New Private Sector in the Russian Labour Market," Europe-Asia Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(1), pages 7-32.
    3. Bob Arnot, 1988. "Controlling Soviet Labour," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-1-349-09231-4.
    4. Gimpelson, Vladimir & Lippoldt, Douglas, 1999. "Labour Turnover in Russia: Evidence from the Administrative Reporting of Enterprises in Four Regions," Transition Economics Series 4, Institute for Advanced Studies.
    5. Commander, Simon & Tolstopiatenko, Andrei, 1996. "Why is unemployment low in the former Soviet Union? : enterprises restructuring and the structure of compensation," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1617, The World Bank.
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