Interregional Population Migration in Russia: Using an Origin-to-Destination Matrix

This study examines regional economic conditions and their effects on interregional population redistribution patterns in Russia. After reviewing striking changes in population flows before and after the collapse of the former Soviet Union, an application of the gravity model on population migration in Russia in 2003 is presented using a newly obtained interregional in- and out-migration flow matrix supplied by Rosstat (formerly Goskomstat). Gross migration patterns in since the year 2000, when large transformational population flows ceased, have not been investigated so far in the existing literature. The analysis conducted focuses on geographical factors, which have been basically omitted in existing literature on migration patterns in transformational Russia, and the attractiveness of Moscow regions and resource-mining areas is clearly presented.

Demographic Situations and Development Programs in the Russian Far East and Zabaikalye

This paper describes population problems involved in the Russian Far East and Zabaikalye regions, and the nation as a whole. According to the analysis conducted by the author no notable population growth will emerge in the near future, therefore extensive development strategy can not be taken in planning regional economic projects. In this regard the current "Development Program for the Russian Far East and Zabaikalye" established recently is much to the point.

Tajik Labour Migrants and their Remittances: Is Tajik Migration Pro-Poor?

For the four years since 2006, Tajikistan, a former Soviet republic, has led the world in the receipt of foreign remittance as a proportion of GDP. Needless to say, key reasons for this are the low income levels in Tajikistan and the country's special relationship with Russia, which is enjoying rapid economic growth. Yet while interest in the relationship between migration and foreign remittance has existed for a long time, not many studies have looked at this region. This paper used household survey forms from two points in time to profile households in Tajikistan and international labour migration by Tajiks, and examined the relationship between household income levels in Tajikistan, the poorest of the former Soviet republics, and foreign remittance being received from international labour migrants and the likelihood of migrants being supplied. It found no correlation between household income levels and amounts of money received from abroad, which suggests that altruistic models of the relationship between migration and remittance do not apply. Moreover, it also found that households with high incomes are more likely to supply migrants, indicating that international labour migration from Tajikistan may not be conductive to reducing poverty in that country.

Determinants of Childbirth in Russia: A Micro-Data Approach

This paper uses the micro-data from the Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS) to identify factors that explain fertility between 1995 and 2004. An overview of nationwide birth dynamics in post-Soviet Russia shows that not only do changes in economic conditions move in lockstep with the overall birth rate trend, as has been pointed out by numerous researchers, but so too do proximate determinants of fertility, and suggests that rises and falls in the total fertility rate in Russia are also affected by factors such as demographic timing effects. Although few studies employing micro data have been conducted, it is frequently argued that the shrinking of the economy during the transition to the market economy was the reason for the decline in the birth rate. However, many demographic researchers and sociologists, particularly in Russia itself, attribute the drop in the countryfs birth rate from the 1990s to the long-term population trend, a view that also has widespread acceptance. While the previous studies all used fertility data up to 2001, this paper analyses data up to 2004, which is significant as the birth rate has shown a sustained rise since 2001. It was shown that household income levels do not have a significant impact on birth probability, and this may indicate the possibility that economic growth did not lead directly to the recovery in the birth rate. This suggests that social conditions in the broad sense may have caused the birth rate to rise. Finally, the paper examines, from a demographic perspective, the measures to encourage couples to have children that were introduced in the last days of the Putin Administration, which ended in May 2008.

Inter-Regional Population Re-distribution in Soviet Russia Revisited

Discourses over interregional migration at the time of the Soviet era have shown that the government control on population redistribution was effective at the early Soviet period, but in the late Soviet era the effects of incentive mechanisms including national investment became limited. This certainly can be expectable, but it is also undeniable that such assertion was inconsistent with the phenomenon. Indeed the population influx was continuously seen in Far East or Extreme North regions even at the very end of the Soviet period, suggesting the possibility of effective governmental management on geographical redistribution of population. This paper confirmed the effectiveness of the governmental control on population migration in the late Soviet era, using newly available data. It was suggested that the analytical unit utilized in previous studies (Economic Regions or cities) may involve problems, so that the effect of various factors could not be accurately grasped. This shows the necessity of further verification of the results that have been obtained during the Soviet era.This study was financially supported by Grant in Aid for Scientific Research B (19H01478) and The Japan Securities Scholarship Foundation.27 p