Contemporary Statistical Studies of the Russian Population Welfare Level and Dynamics

Abstract

This is a review article examining scientific publications of 2020–2021 on statistical studies of the level and dynamics of the well-being of the Russian population. The author does not discuss or comment on the results of relevant studies and research but systematizes the subject of the works. He also attempts to identify development trends in contemporary statistical studies in this area. The total number of articles related to statistics isn’t decreasing but even slightly growing. Most of them concern the use of statistical data and well-known methods of statistical analysis within specific economic research. The review includes articles on the interpretation of various indicators used for statistical assessment of well-being and comparison of related results, valuation of «shadow» incomes, the results of international, subnational and dynamic comparisons, statistical analysis of the level of well-being of specific groups of the population. The primary data sources most frequently used for conducting welfare research are indicated. The review also lists the core Russian jour- nals that regularly publish articles on statistical topics and foreign journals in which Russian researchers published their papers during the period under review. The author specifically highlights the positive role of the journal «Voprosy Statistiki». Unfortunately, articles on the development of statistical methodology are rarely published. In other words, most of the works are not about the development of statistics as an independent branch of science but rather about the application of well-known statistical methods in the context of the development of other fields. The author concludes that the revealed trend potentially weakens the position of domestic statistics amidst the «data revolution» and the increasing competition with other scientific disciplines. Finally, the paper formulates a number of questions, the consideration of which, according to the author, would help Russian statistics «find its place».