THE INDEX METHOD IN THE ANALYSIS OF WAGES

• Main Author: M. P. Dekina
• Format: Article
• Language: Russian
• Published: Plekhanov Russian University of Economics 2018-06-01
• Series: Statistika i Èkonomika
• Subjects: wages; factorial index analysis; structural shifts; wage differentiation
• Online Access: https://statecon.rea.ru/jour/article/view/1225

Purpose of the study. The study of wages in the Russian Federation, the study of the influence of various factors on its magnitude is of particular relevance now in connection with the existence of a noticeable differentiation in the level of workers' wages. In the official statistics, differences in wages are manifested most clearly in the territorial aspect and in the context of the types of economic activity. The average wage in the economy is affected by changes in the structure of the employed – both within the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and the types of economic activity. The purpose of this paper is to consider the methodology for analyzing the structural changes that affect wages in Russia, as well as in obtaining their quantitative assessment, based on government statistics.Materials and methods. To achieve this goal, the index method is used, often used in the analysis of wages. Typically, the analysis of wages includes the construction of a system of variable wage indexes, constant composition and structural shifts. In this paper, we propose the index analysis methodology, adapted to identify the effect of changes in the structure of different territorial units on the average wage. Municipal entities, regions of the Russian Federation, federal districts and Russia in general act as territorial units. In addition, the methodology of index analysis of wages is considered, taking into account the structural factor by types of economic activity. A comprehensive analysis is presented, which makes it possible to assess structural changes in common – both in the distribution of territories and in the types of activity. The inclusion of factors is made depending on analytical purposes and the availability of statistical data. The calculations were performed, based on data from the Federal State Statistics Service. The proposed method makes it possible to consider more comprehensive the factor of wage differentiation.Results. The application of the system of variable, constant composition and structural shifts revealed that when the employed were grouped by territories, economic activities, education level and social and professional groups, the most noticeable structural changes were observed in the distribution of the employed by territories and education. Due to changes in the wages of individual groups of workers, the average wage has changed most strongly due to distribution across territories and by professional groups. Based on the adapted methodology, calculations have been made that allow drawing conclusions about the structural changes of the employed in the economy and the impact of these changes on wages in Russia.Conclusions. In the Russian Federation, there is a noticeable differentiation of wages by subjects and types of economic activity. A higher level of wages is observed in the Central and Far Eastern Federal Districts. The most highly paid are the activities in the financial sector and in mining. Multilevel index analysis makes it possible to identify the impact of changes in the structure of employees by subjects and types of economic activity. According to the results of the calculations, the changes in the average wage due to structural changes are significant.