«Quality of your life? - Just short of money». A meeting of the Economic Club at FBK Grant Thornton

A regular meeting of the FBK Economic Club has once again brought together its speakers to discuss various aspects of social and economic policy in current environment, to provide insight into the emerging trends in this area and consider how they impact the quality of life of Russian people.

The keynote speaker Igor Nikolaev, Director of the Institute for Strategic Analysis at FBK Grant Thornton, pointed out that one of the basic indicators of a living standard is salary. He further noted, however, that target labour compensation figures forecast in the May Decrees have failed to be achieved, and no one knows whether they will have been achieved by 2018. As at 1Q 2016, only a few regions have nearly achieved forecast level of compensation for such occupation groups as healthcare workers, high school teachers, staff scientists and workers of cultural institutions.



Tatyana Malyova, Director of Social Analysis and Forecasting Institute, RANEPA, further noted that in a time of financial turmoil the government’s first and foremost goal in the area of social and economic policy is to prevent the proliferation of Russian people living below poverty line. The current estimates suggest, according to Malyova, that 13,4 per cent of Russians are living on the breadline.

Among major risk areas the expert highlighted a threat of a growing number of old age people among the poor, lack of mechanisms to prevent lowering salaries, deficiencies in social payments framework, specifically, underdeveloped direct benefits routine.

By way of winding up the discussion, Evgeny Gontmakher, Deputy Director of Primakov Institute of World Economy and International Relations, RAS, noted that to achieve improvement in social and economic areas, a structural reform is required. The expert believes that there are problem hit areas which significantly impact human capital assets development, which is demonstrated by lack of available health care and education facilities, pension system is under much strain. According to Gontmakher, these challenges will affect economic growth prospects, establishment and development of new market segments, quality and quantity of highly skilled professionals, basically, human capital which is the pillar of a country’s economy.

FBK Economic Club is a unique discussion forum which facilitates expert insights exchange between mass media and renowned economists, politicians and government officials. The Club’s meetings also feature presentation of FBK research papers.

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