Institutional Barriers to The Growth of Human Capital of Highly-Skilled Professionals

Abstract

The factors that currently determine Russian professionals' quality of human capital is analised in the article. Authors use the multinomial logistic regression and methods of content analysis based on the data of the RLMS HSE in 2019 and the FCTAS RAS in 2021. It is shown that the main role in the processes of accumulation and renewal of their human capital is played by factors related to the specific of socio-economic institutions in Russia. Employment in the main sectors of the Russian economy – industry, trade and services – does not require professionals to further increase their human capital. The concentration of enterprises from industries where highly qualified specialists are usually in demand in the most urbanized regions causes an unequal distribution of high-quality human capital between large cities and other localities. It is also shown that the influence of age on the processes of accumulation of human capital is nonlinear. The possibility to get into the group with the highest quality of human capital for professionals are drained even before the age of 40. At the same time, from the age of 45, the chances for them to have human capital with its typical quality for highly-skilled professionals begin to decrease, which is associated with discrimination in the Russian labor market of older workers and the inexpediency for them to invest in their human capital in these conditions. The results show how difficult it will be in the current conditions and considering the inevitable aging of the population to implement the plans of the country's leadership to increase the share of high-tech enterprises and increase labor productivity without changing the institutional environment.