Section at the XI International Grushin sociological conference

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Demographic situation in Saratov oblast

The article summarizes the results of the reproduction and migration development of Saratov oblast n in the 20th — early 21st centuries. The origin of demographic waves in the age and sex structure of the population of the region over a century is substantiated. It is shown what demographic and social consequences led to such development of the region, in which depopulation has not stopped since 1992. There are identified the features of the current migration situation in Saratov oblast. The circle of close migration partners of the region and changes in its migration ties over 50 years is revealed. The character of the exchange of population with other regions of Russia is examined. The main factors of the negative demographic situation in the region are considered. The primary factor is the low level of socio-economic development, wages and incomes of the population. As a consequence, together with high proportion of the urban population and poor ecology this results in a low birth rate and a higher mortality rate than the national average. The latter factor is associated not only with the more "old" (than in the Russian Federation as a whole) age and sex structure of the population of the region. The unfavorable socio-economic situation in the region also generates an increased mortality rate for separate classes and causes of death. Indirectly, this is evidenced by a significantly higher (than in the Russian Federation as a whole) mortality of the population of Saratov oblast from diseases of the digestive system and from alcohol poisoning. In addition, the outflow of young people to economically more developed regions of the country and the decline in fertility leads to a decrease in the proportion of women in the most active childbearing age, which causes an even greater decline in the birth rate. And decrease in the share of young people as a whole leads to an increase in the pension burden on the able-bodied population and to a further decrease in the incomes of the entire population of the region. A general conclusion is made that it is necessary to more actively and effectively pursue a policy of equalizing the socio-economic and demographic development of the regions of Russia. It is necessary to create zones of advanced development not only in the Far East or in the Arctic. It is necessary to develop the economy and the social sphere in all underdeveloped regions of Russia at a faster pace.

Results of the study of demographic problems in Russia in the 21st century

Demographic problems are among the most acute in modern Russia. This is evidenced by the great attention paid to them by the authorities, the media, and public organizations. Demographic science uses its own methods to find the ways to solve the existing problems. And in Russia the coverage of demographic problems in scientific publications has a special perspective, since on the one hand, specialists are professionally versed in the topic and see nuances incomprehensible "from the outside". On the other hand, many researchers in the field of social sciences are characterized by a critical approach to any actions of the authorities, and the existing achievements may be downplayed, as they do not reach the final goal. In particular, firstly, the mortality rate in Russia has been decreasing for almost all the years of the 21st century, but it is still very high as compared to most European countries. Secondly, the birth rate in the country is low by world standards, but it is higher than in most European countries. As a result, these facts are interpreted in different ways both in a positive and in a negative way. At the same time, all demographic projections indicate that in the coming decades the natural decline of the Russian population will continue. And to solve this problem, it is necessary to search for new approaches, measures of demographic policy that is impossible without combined efforts of all domestic demographers, despite theoretical, practical and other differences. The national project "Demography" and related programs ("Health Care" and others) can solve problems only subject to necessary scientific development of the proposed measures and their adaptation to the real Russian conditions.

Social support for families with children in the period of coronavirus epidemic and families' need

The purpose of this work is analysis of the social support coverage in Russia during the coronavirus epidemic. The paper also analyzes the impact of the pandemic on the financial situation of families. The work focused on families with children as the poorest category of the Russian population with a lot of social exclusions. The study was based on the data from population survey conducted at the top of the epidemic by the Yuri Levada Analytical Center (LEVADA-CENTER). During the period of isolation caused by the coronavirus epidemic, population significantly suffered from lack of work and reduction of earnings. Families with children lost the possibility to leave children in kindergartens and schools that had a negative effect on the welfare of the population: 35% families reported worsening of the financial situation of their families over the past year. At the same time, more than 40% of the families received social support compensating the negative effect of the coronavirus epidemic. Social support was primarily provided to families with children — there were twice as many recipients of benefits among them then among the entire population. The paper also analyzes the opinion of the population about what measures of the social support they consider the most important and what types of assistance their families need. According to the survey data, the greatest need of the population is for financial support (almost 37% of families). At the same time, the majority of the respondents believe that it is the duty of the state to provide all children with normal living standards. The analysis has shown the importance of the social support of the population and the necessity of raising its efficiency in the difficult period of the coronavirus epidemic.

Gender differences in life expectancy of the population of Tatarstan

During the spread of coronavirus infection around the world, much attention is being paid to study of excessive mortality of the population, which has impact on life expectancy. Achieving the goals set by the Government of the Russian Federation to achieve life expectancy of 78 years by 2030 depends on many factors, including reduction of gender differences in life expectancy and excess mortality of the male population from various classes of causes. But in 2020 there was a turning point which led to a decrease in life expectancy to the level of 2014. This fact requires a more detailed study of the negative consequences of gender differences in this demographic indicator. The data of Rosstat and the sociological study "Demographic well-being of Tatarstan" conducted by the Family and Demography Center of the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences served as an information resource. The purpose of the article is to identify the main social consequences of gender differences in life expectancy. The main socio-cultural and behavioral factors of male mortality are highlighted. Among the behavioral factors that are closest to explaining the high mortality of Russian men is alcohol consumption, which is considered as an optional phenomenon of suicide. The direct expression (consequence) of a certain behavior is the most characteristic tendency of men to neglect their own health. In order to change the situation, only the state policy on development of measures aimed at creating conditions for raising the life expectancy is not sufficient, it is also necessary to change the consciousness of men to form motivation for the need to preserve and strengthen health.

Opportunities for interdisciplinary studies of the economic behavior fundamentals

The purpose of the study is to identify trends in the economic behavior of the population in the field of consumer, saving, investment, and credit activity. The analysis of human economic actions only for solving scientific problems is divided into the listed types, but in practice, an individual makes a particular decision (chooses a certain strategy) under the impact of simultaneously influencing groups of factors that depend on gender and age, place and living conditions, social affiliation-income group, level of education, psychological and value attitudes, level of development of the financial infrastructure in a certain territory, stage of economic development of a country and / or region. And now another significant factor has been added — the coronavirus pandemic and its consequences. The article presents the results of the first stage of the interdisciplinary research project "Socio-psychological factors of economic behavior of the population: risks and opportunities (cross-country comparisons)" carried out by the authors. On the basis of the data obtained with the help of the sociological tools developed by the authors, the types of economic behavior are investigated in terms of four psychosocial aspects closely related to the features of mentality: trust, risk, stress, responsibility. An interdisciplinary approach to the study of the motives and strategies of economic behavior provides identification of the most realistic picture of all current risks and opportunities for population in the financial and consumer services market. At the second stage, the data obtained by the authors from the results of the survey of the Russian population, will be compared on the basis of a comparative analysis with the outcomes of the forthcoming surveys of respondents from Poland, Belarus, Lithuania and Slovakia.

Raising the level of the regional healthcare development

The article is devoted to the consideration of the possibilities of change management in the regional health care system. The research methodology includes the provisions of theories of change management, innovation management, concepts of organizational development, strategic management. The author's approach to managing changes in the Russian healthcare system at the regional level was developed using a systemic, multilevel, integrative, interdisciplinary approach, methods of comparative, factor analysis, instrumental methods of statistics. The study revealed shortcomings of the management systems in the healthcare during the pandemic. Proposed current approaches to change management, author's approach to their assessment in regional health care. The studies carried out show the high potential of the Russian medical science, the sanitary and epidemiological service, the rapid adaptation of the healthcare system in the face of the challenges associated with the pandemic. Along with the success of the Russian healthcare, serious problems have been identified in the management of the industry, including due to insufficient resource provision. A conclusion is made about the possibilities of increasing the level of development of the regional healthcare as a result changes in the industry through integration of medical science and practical healthcare, active implementation of innovations, digitalization, public-private partnership tools that contribute to preservation of the human potential and strengthening the socio-demographic, economic security of the region.

Demographic future of Russia in the UN forecasts: "scientific foresight" and reality

The article provides a brief history of the emergence of demographic forecasts, shows their use by the United Nations, the range of countries for which forecasts were made and are being drawn up, considers demographic forecasts that were carried out during the Soviet era and provides a detailed analysis of demographic forecasts for Russia. In contrast to the forecasts of the population of the Soviet Union as a whole, for Russia they initially began to focus on the downward dynamics. It is concluded that over two decades (1996-2015) in countries with a predominance of the Slavic ethnos (excluding the former republics of Yugoslavia), the population as a whole has decreased to 95.5%, while in countries with a predominance of the Anglo-Saxon ethnos — it increased to 123.8%. The forecasts given in the article are compared with the actual size of the population that has already taken place. Everywhere in countries with a predominance of the Slavic ethnos, the actual population is higher than the predicted, and in countries with a predominance of the Anglo-Saxon ethnos, on the contrary. Comparing the forecasts with the actual population dynamics, the conclusion is substantiated about a noticeable change in the ratio between the two groups of countries united by ethnicity, a decrease in the demographic potential of the Slavic group and its increase in the group with a predominance of the Anglo-Saxon ethnos. In the final part of the work, it is said that the presented rates of change in the population size in 35 years and then in another 50 years, arising from the UN demographic forecasts for 2050 and 2100, as well as the demographic dynamics in the 90s of the twentieth century and in the first 15 years of the new century, indicate that if Russia, like other Slavic countries do not make radical efforts and, accordingly, do not consistently take effective measures to change the demographic trends, then the same thing can happen to Russia as has happened in different centuries to many countries such as Assyria, the Hunnic Empire, etc. The current geopolitical situation in which Russia is, its status as a great power, the country's largest territory in the world, favorable geographical position and colossal natural resources, dictate the need to increase its economic, defense and, naturally, demographic potential.

Migration of population in Sverdlovsk oblast: problems and solutions

In the context of the necessity to implement the national goals, one of the important areas of activity is support of positive demographic processes, promotion of population growth in the country, including through resettlement and migration of residents of other countries. This is relevant not only at the country level, but also at the regional level, each of which has features that must be considered when forming demographic policy. The article analyzes the effectiveness of the program to promote migration and resettlement of compatriots from other countries to Sverdlovsk oblast. Its advantages and limitations are highlighted, its effectiveness is considered on the example of immigrants from several CIS countries: Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan. It is shown that despite the formal fulfillment of the objectives of the program (more than 28 thousand foreigners arrived in Sverdlovsk oblast within 9 years), some meaningful moments were missed, the selection of migrants based on the occupations in demand in the labor market of the region was not fully carry out. There are presented the directions of improving the program for the medium term, which are connected with new approaches to raising the quality of program implementation in Sverdlovsk oblast. It is shown that it is necessary to formalize and improve the mechanism for attracting foreign labor to the region using notification quotas, organized recruitment, modification of selection criteria for the point system, development of the material base and linguistic community for an accelerated adaptation. Analysis showed that promotion of resettlement is necessary with relation to professionals in relevant areas of activity (doctors, teachers), while the demand for unskilled labor is satisfied by migrants.

Problems and opportunities for effective regulation of labor migration in the Republic of Uzbekistan

Demographic trends in Uzbekistan have a specific character associated with the active natural growth of the country's population (in the past 50 years, the country's population has increased by 2.86 times and amounted to 35 million people). In the early 1990s, there was an outflow of people to their historical homeland, the migration balance is still having a negative character. The article analyzes the gender and age composition of the population, changes in the dynamics of indicators of the natural movement of the population, in which the fertility rate decreases, life expectancy increases (73.4 years). The high proportion of young people (up to 60% in the population structure) and the annual high growth of labor resources (about 500 thousand people) creates a burden on the internal labor market. There is a significant flow of labor migration to foreign countries, in which the Russian Federation occupies a leading place. The article analyses of the current reforms in the field of regulation of labor migration, which have been significantly developed under the new government of the country (since 2016), including the establishment of organized forms of labor migration. There are highlighted the present main targets of the Government of Uzbekistan, to create conditions and mechanisms that contribute to ensuring managed and regulated migration flows, legitimate rights and interests of citizens of the country. The author analyzes the trends in the normative and legal regulation of the sphere of labor migration, the relevance of the development of a new draft "Law on External Labor Migration" aimed at improving the efficiency of state bodies in solving complex migration issues. There is shown the institutional reform of the Agency for External Labor Migration in the field of migration management. It is proposed to develop a Concept and Strategy of state policy in the field of labor migration, as basic documents relating migration for the future. There are proposed directions of reforms in the migration sphere, establishment of organized forms of labor migration, expansion of international cooperation, powers of various departments of the country, improvement of the system for collecting statistics and data analysis, and conducting scientific research in the migration sphere.