The loss in wages affects Russian citizens across all employment sectors and reflects a widespread economic regression in that country, said Michael Hout, professor of sociology. Hout's work with Theodore P. Gerber, a former graduate student, now assistant professor at the University of Oregon, also reveals that unemployment has increased from 1.1 percent in 1991 to 13 percent in 1996, reaching 22 percent among 18 to 25 year olds. It adds specifics to a general perception that the Russian economy is struggling, if not foundering, under reform measures instituted since the demise of communism.
Privatization has yet to create a dynamic private sector in that country.
When we hear the words economic reform, we think about new business opportunities and the privatization of state run firms. These data show that neither have come to Russia despite five years of shock therapy. The authors purchased the raw wage and employment data from Moscow's All-Russian Opinion Research Center, formerly an agency of the federal government, now a private research institute. There were 1,500 to 2,000 interviews per year in a nationally representative sample. The yearly data has been available within Russia, but this is the first time it has been available in English or combined to reveal an overall detailed picture of economic reform.