Russian wages crash

Russian wages crash

Two University of California at Berkeley sociologists have discovered that real wages in Russia have declined by 50% since the fall of communism. The study, due to be published in the July issue of the American Journal of Sociology, was reported in the Daily Californian.

Michael Hout, a UC Berkeley sociology professor, along with former graduate student Theodore Gerber, found that the lower wages result from Russia's widespread economic regression and affect citizens from all sectors of society.

Gerber and Hout released their data along with an analysis of a survey conducted from 1991 to 1996. The survey shows that unemployment increased from 1.1% in 1991 to 13% in 1996, reaching 22% among people between the ages of 18 and 25.

Hout said that the survey's results reflect a loss in gross domestic product of 33%.

From GLW issue 314