The Erosion of the Middle Class – Threat to the Development of the Welfare State

The article deals with the problems and consequences of inequality in society and the erosion of the middle class in the developed countries, as well as the particularities of these processes in Russia. The result of the growing inequality in the United States and other leading countries is an aggravation of social problems. It is difficult for a large number of young people to get а high-quality education and, in the long run, paid jobs and their own homes. There has been a deterioration of health, reduction of life expectancy for the poorest sectors of the population, increase in crime and in the number of people in custody. Leading scientists from the West offer solutions to these problems. The article shows that Russian “middle class” has the essential features and is still in the course of its formation. Crisis of 2014 damaged Russian middle class, which performs important functions in the economic and social development of Russia. That class is the main consumer of the produced economic benefits; investor whose savings are channeled to the development of the economy. Representatives of the middle class generate and accumulate human capital needed for the development of an innovative economy. The crucial role of this layer of society is to serve as a social stabilizer. The slowdown of the middle class, and even more, its size reduction can cause serious damage to the economic and social development of Russia

Implementing the concept of sustainable development in Russia : developing the childhood infrastructure

The purpose of this work is to find the relevant differentiation of quality and accessibility assessments for the services provided by infrastructure institutions, and satisfaction with living environment by families of different types from urban and rural areas of Russia. To obtain an objective picture and evaluate the implementation of the Concept of Sustainable Development in Russia consistent with the interests of families with children, one should consider not only the official statistics, but also the results of sample surveys of target groups. Integrating information from different sources allows obtaining a more reliable and completing assessment of the development of social infrastructure for families with children. The social infrastructure should be developed according to the needs and wishes of the citizens. The findings of the study are based on an analysis of official statistics for the period of 2005-2014 and the results of the representative sample study “Comprehensive monitoring of the population’s living conditions”. To examine the study assumptions, relevant statistical analysis methods have been applied the differences in distribution of answers between urban and rural families have been analyzed using the Pearson’s coefficient. This study has proven that the estimates given by respondents living in urban and rural areas are much less different from the statistics for the types of relevant settlements. Reducing the number of institutions that provide families that have children with healthcare, education and leisure services has not shown negative assessments of respondents yet, but the social infrastructure should be developed in accordance with the needs and wishes of the citizens.peer-reviewe

ЧЕЛОВЕЧЕСКИЙ КАПИТАЛ КАК ФАКТОР УСТОЙЧИВОГО РАЗВИТИЯ

Article focuses on the concept of sustainable development and the factors to achieve it. The article analyzes the sustainability capital, including a variety of types of capital: financial, produced, natural and social. Particular attention is paid to human capital as the most important factor for sustainable development, accumulation and use of human capital in Russia.Статья посвящена концепции устойчивого развития и факторам его достижения. Проанализирован капитал устойчивости, включающий разнообразные виды капитала: финансового; производственного, природного, социального. Особое внимание уделено человеческому капиталу, как важнейшему фактору устойчивого развития, накоплению и использованию человеческого капитала в России

HUMAN CAPITAL AS A FACTOR OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Article focuses on the concept of sustainable development and the factors to achieve it. The article analyzes the sustainability capital, including a variety of types of capital: financial, produced, natural and social. Particular attention is paid to human capital as the most important factor for sustainable development, accumulation and use of human capital in Russia

Impacts of agricultural utilization of peat soils on the greenhouse gas balance

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