Rates of Return on Human and Social Capital in Modern Russia

This study was intended to describe the characteristics of the human and social capital, and the return on them in the form of wages in stable and crisis years of 2012 and 2014. The study was conducted using the RLMS-HSE database. As a result, we can describe the following findings. 1) Social capital, measured by the level of trust, can be divided into three factors: trust in public institutions, trust in state and citizens and trust on the workplace. 2) Our data refute the widespread belief that there is a surplus of specialists with higher education in Russia – there is only a third of these. 3) We didn’t find neither the positive impact on human religiosity, nor discrimination in earnings levels. 4) Social capital level in Russia is low. Also, social capital does not give any returns or give a small, but still negative. 5) Comparing the rates of return in crisis 2014 and stable in 2012 years, it should be noted that the "prize" from the larger volume of human capital (higher education) in the crisis year was higher, while the return on social capital (which was significant in both years only in the component “trust in the government and citizens”) were similar - negative. Moreover, if in a stable 2012 rate of return on a particular experience has been higher than the rate of return even on the diploma of higher education, in times of crisis return on higher education has received a larger salary "bonus." One can assume that during the crisis diplomas, as the guarantor of qualifications and skills have become an important resource in determining the position of the individual in the labor market. At the same time, social capital even during the crisis does not become the resource from which the Russians were able to get the return and implement this potentially important and significant resource.