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Polarization or Upgrading? Evolution of Employment in Transitionary Russia

Author

Listed:
  • Gimpelson, Vladimir

    (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

  • Kapeliushnikov, Rostislav

    (CLMS, Higher School of Economics, Moscow)

Abstract

This paper discusses the structural change in the Russian employment and explores whether the evolution of employment over 2000-2012 followed the scenario of progressive upgrading in job quality or brought about the polarization of jobs in terms of their quality. Jobs are defined here as occupation-industry cells and their quality is measured through relative earnings and education levels. Using detailed micro-data from a few complementary large scale surveys, we rank all jobs according to the earnings and educational criteria and divide these distributions into 5 quintiles. At the next stage, we explore dynamic changes in job quality and socio-demographic characteristics of workers in different quintiles. The paper rejects the polarization scenario and confirms the upgrading hypothesis.

Suggested Citation

  • Gimpelson, Vladimir & Kapeliushnikov, Rostislav, 2014. "Polarization or Upgrading? Evolution of Employment in Transitionary Russia," IZA Discussion Papers 8688, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8688
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    10. Wojciech Hardy & Roma Keister & Piotr Lewandowski, 2016. "Technology or Upskilling? Trends in the Task Composition of Jobs in Central and Eastern Europe," HKUST IEMS Working Paper Series 2016-40, HKUST Institute for Emerging Market Studies, revised Dec 2016.
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    Cited by:

    1. Gimpelson, Vladimir & Kapeliushnikov, Rostislav, 2017. "Age and Education in the Russian Labour Market Equation," IZA Discussion Papers 11126, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Ilya B. Voskoboynikov, 2020. "Structural Change, Expanding Informality and Labor Productivity Growth in Russia," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 66(2), pages 394-417, June.
    3. Rica, Sara De La & Gortazar, Lucas & Lewandowski, Piotr, 2020. "Job Tasks and Wages in Developed Countries: Evidence from PIAAC," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    4. Kyui, Natalia & Radchenko, Natalia, 2020. "The Changing Composition of Academic Majors and Wage Dynamics," IZA Discussion Papers 13591, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Szymon Gorka & Wojciech Hardy & Roma Keister & Piotr Lewandowski, 2017. "Tasks and skills in European labour markets. Background paper for the World Bank report “Growing United: Upgrading Europe’s Convergence Machine”," IBS Research Reports 03/2017, Instytut Badan Strukturalnych.
    6. Gimpelson, Vladimir & Kapeliushnikov, Rostislav, 2023. "Shifts in Composition of Jobs: Upgrading, Downgrading or Polarization? The Case of Russia 2000-2019," IZA Discussion Papers 16078, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Sebastian, Raquel & Harrison, Scott, 2017. "Beyond technological explanations of employment polarisation in Spain," GLO Discussion Paper Series 154, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    8. Kyui, Natalia & Radchenko, Natalia, 2021. "The changing composition of academic majors and wage dynamics: Beyond mean returns," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(2), pages 358-381.
    9. Szymon Gorka & Wojciech Hardy & Roma Keister & Piotr Lewandowski, 2017. "Age, tasks and skills in European labour markets. Background paper for the world bank report “Growing United: Upgrading Europe’s Convergence Machine”," IBS Research Reports 04/2017, Instytut Badan Strukturalnych.
    10. Delaporte, Isaure & Peña, Werner, 2023. "The Dynamics of Labour Market Polarization in Chile: An Analysis of the Link Between Technical Change and Informality," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1262, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    11. Demidova, Olga & Kolyagina, Alena & Pastore, Francesco, 2020. "Marshallian vs Jacobs effects: Which is stronger? Evidence for Russia unemployment dynamics," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 244-258.
    12. Wojciech Hardy & Roma Keister & Piotr Lewandowski, 2018. "Educational upgrading, structural change and the task composition of jobs in Europe," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 26(2), pages 201-231, April.

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion

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