A child’s attitude towards school is formed by his parents and classmates. And, according to a new study published in Voprosy Obrazovaniya (Education Issues) magazine, the type of school doesn’t have a significant influence on his or her view
August 30, 2013
The structure of Russians’ income sources has changed. Pensioners are working more than before, while middle-aged Russians are working more and relying less on welfare; Russians are less frequently receiving child-related benefits. Farming has become less important for residents in rural areas. Sergey Vasin and Vladimir Kozlov presented a map of Russians’ income sources in the HSE online magazine Demoscope Weekly
August 26, 2013
The annual conference of the American Sociological Association was in New York this year. Among the 6,000 specialists discussing the current state of social sciences and society were 18 academics from the HSE
August 22, 2013
For a long time, retail in Russia developed without interference from government regulators, but the situation has changed dramatically in recent years. The state is now actively trying to control this sphere, but the effectiveness of such attempts is questionable, asserts Vadim Radaev in his recent paper.
August 20, 2013
The Kremlin wants to change its relations with the business elites. While one part of the ‘government vertical’ hopes to maintain the status-quo of the mid-2000s, another one trying to broaden the social base of government to include medium-sized businesses. But if the bureaucrats want to win support and improve the investment climate in Russia, representatives of other elites need to be drawn into the discussion
August 19, 2013
Women’s magazines, declaring itself as model of modern woman interests and promoters of actual trends, in point of fact promote 19th century values. That’s the conclusion Elena Meshkova has drawn in her research
August 16, 2013
Only 20% of residents in Qatar are native citizens of the country. The rest are migrant workers. Cheap workers come from the East, more expensive ones from the West. Trevor Johnston has studied the way this authoritarian regime uses deliberate segregation in order to maintain civil peace during this mass influx of migrant workers engaged in the economy of the country
August 06, 2013
The fact – well known to political consultants – that people tend to go along with the crowd can be explained by a brain mechanism which has helped our survival as a species. Every time we differ from others, our brain responds by triggering an 'error signal', causing us to change our opinion in favour of the majority, reveals a study by Vasily Klucharev
August 05, 2013
The future generation of Russia's political managers is unlikely to embrace a democratic society, regardless of the protests emerging in the country today, the study 'Russian Elites-2020' shows
August 01, 2013
Informal alliances between prosecutors and judges contribute to the repressive sentencing that is characteristic of Russia's criminal justice. The underlying factor is that the prosecutor's career depends on his or her conviction rate, while the judge usually seeks to avoid appeals, according to Alexander Libman, André Schulz, and Vladimir Kozlov
July 29, 2013
The informal labour market is growing in Russia. An increasing number of people are moving to the informal economy because they do not trust government institutions and do not receive the public benefits they are entitled to as taxpayers. 'Shadowed from Regulation: Informality in the Russian Labor Markets, Its Dynamics, Extent, and Consequences' is a paper by Vladimir Gimpelson
July 15, 2013
If the majority of a country’s population moved from values of survival to values of self-expression, individuals with both types of values will try to avoid corrupt behaviour. But if, as in Russia, values of survival prevail in society, individuals with values of self-expression are inclined to act corruptly. This is the conclusion of a study by Maria Kravtsova and Alexey Oshchepkov
July 11, 2013