Poverty in the Russian Federation: possibilities and specifics of the use of the AROPE multi-criteria index in the poverty monitoring system of the Russian Federation

Abstract

The article presents a comparative analysis of the level and structure of poverty of the Russian population using two different concepts of poverty definition — the absolute income criterion currently used by Rosstat, and the AROPE indicator of poverty and social exclusion. The paper also attempts to assess how the change of the methodology for determining poverty can affect the existence of the poverty status of individuals. The study is carried out both at a national level and at a federal district level. The empirical basis of the paper is selective observation of income of the population and participation in social programmes, conducted by Rosstat in 2017.The results show that in transition from the absolute income criterion to the multi-criteria AROPE index, the poverty level of the population of the Russian Federation significantly increases. The highest growth of poverty is among people over working age. The age structure of poverty also changes significantly. With AROPE, the proportion of older persons among the poor increases and the proportion of children decreases. It is also shown in the article that the transition from the current official methodology of poverty definition to the definition in accordance with AROPE’s methodology can lead to loss of the poverty status by part of the population, which, in case of the official transition to using AROPE index as a criterion for receiving social support, can have a negative impact on their socio-economic situation. The obtained results vary significantly by federal districts of the Russian Federation.