Explaining the Dynamics in Perceptions of Job Insecurity in Russia

31 Pages Posted: 31 Mar 2012

See all articles by Michael Lokshin

Michael Lokshin

World Bank

Vladimir Gimpelson

National Research University Higher School of Economics (Moscow); IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Aleksey Y. Oshchepkov

National Research University Higher School of Economics (Moscow)

Abstract

Contrary to the experiences of other countries, perceptions of job insecurity in Russia were not correlated with the rates of unemployment and the business cycle over the last decade. We develop the theoretical framework that predicts that the individual perceptions of job insecurity depend on regional unemployment rates and on the within-group variance of wage distribution faced by workers. We test this hypothesis using data from ten panel rounds of Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey. Our results indicate that while higher rates of unemployment make workers feel less job secure, the wage compression during recessions reduces their fears of losing a job. In periods of economic expansion the effect of lower unemployment rates is offset by the higher fears of losing better paying jobs.

Keywords: unemployment, job security, business cycle, Russia

JEL Classification: J28, J30, J64

Suggested Citation

Lokshin, Michael and Gimpelson, Vladimir and Oshchepkov, Aleksey Y., Explaining the Dynamics in Perceptions of Job Insecurity in Russia. IZA Discussion Paper No. 6422, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2031950 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2031950

Michael Lokshin (Contact Author)

World Bank ( email )

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HOME PAGE: http://econ.worldbank.org/staff/mlokshin

Vladimir Gimpelson

National Research University Higher School of Economics (Moscow) ( email )

Myasnitskaya street, 20
Moscow, Moscow 119017
Russia

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Aleksey Y. Oshchepkov

National Research University Higher School of Economics (Moscow) ( email )

Myasnitskaya, 20
Moscow, 101000
Russia

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