Ronald F. Inglehart

Ronald Inglehart, the founding father of the Laboratory for Comparative Social Research, passed away on May 8th. Despite a serious illness, he worked until the last days of his life: last December, his book Religion's Sudden Decline was published by Oxford University Press, and in recent months he has been working on a new monograph on China. The death of the world-famous scientist was responded by the World Values Survey Association (WVSA), the World Association for Public Opinion Research (WAPOR), the International Political Science Association (IPSA), the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR), the University of Michigan, as well as many other organizations, associations and a huge number of colleagues around the world. The words of memory and recollections about Inglehart were also published by his colleagues from the LCSR, which has recently been named after him.

We are deeply saddened to announce that on May 8, 2021, at the age of 86 after a long-term struggle with illness, Ronald Inglehart, the co-founder of the Laboratory for Comparative Social Research, has passed away.

In Russia, 2021 was declared the Year of Science and Technology. HSE has always paid special attention to the development of science, and more than 40 international laboratories have played an important role in the development of the university as a world research centre. One of the University’s first such laboratories was theRonald F. Inglehart Laboratory for Comparative Social Research (LCSR), named after its academic supervisor at the time, American sociologist and political scientist Ronald Inglehart. HSE News Service spoke with LCSR Laboratory Head and professor of sociology Eduard Ponarin (HSE – St. Petersburg) about the Laboratory’s work over the past decade.

At the 2019 Golden HSE Award Ceremony, which coincided with HSE’s 27^th anniversary, Aigul Mavletova, an HSE alumna and Associate Professor of the Faculty of Social Sciences, was awarded the Golden Citation Award. HSE News Service spoke with the recipient of the ‘award within an award’ about why research is more interesting than business.

Aigul Mavletova, LCSR Senior Research Fellow, has become a winner of 'Golden Reference' Award — 2019. It is the second time in quite short history of the Award (since 2016) when LCSR research fellow becomes the winner. Congratulations!

Laboratory for Comparative Social Research staff congratulates LCSR co-founder and chief research fellow Ronald Inglehart on his birthday!

On April 10, Ronald Inglehart, founder of the World Values Survey and the Laboratory for Comparative Social Research, delivered an honorary lecture at the LCSR’s 9th international seminar  held as part of HSE’s XX April Academic Conference. The lecture addressed the roots of authoritarianism, its relationship to other widely investigated phenomena and its empirical linkage with contemporary politics.

Ronald Inglehart (LCSR HSE, University of Michigan) gave a talk at the 9th LCSR International Workshop “Comparative Social Research” with report “From an Authoritarian Personality to an Authoritarian Reflex: Evolving Views on a Sustainable Phenomenon.”

On April 9, the XX April International Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development kicked off at HSE University. Since its inception, it has become Russia’s biggest academic and expert platform in the social sciences and economics, as well as an important international event that attracts researchers from all over the globe each year. Fuad Aleskerov and Andrey Yakovlev, members of the Conference Programme Committee, spoke with the HSE News Service about the results achieved over the past 20 years, relevant topics, and plans for the future.

On April, 11th Chief Research Fellow of the Laboratory for Comparative Social Research Ronald Inglehart will give a lecture in Sakharov Center, Moscow. Professor Inglehart will cover the issues of contemporary authoritarianism in world politics. To register, please, follow the link (in Russian).

A new book by the Member of the WVSA Governing Board Pippa Norris (Harvard University, Massachusetts) and WVSA Founding President Ronald Inglehart (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor) “Cultural Backlash: Trump, Brexit, and Authoritarian Populism” is being published now by Cambridge University Press.

Ronald Inglehart, Chief Research Fellow at the Laboratory for Comparative Social Research (LCSR), topped the The Political Science 400 and became the most cited political scientist in the United States.

Ronald Inglehart, LCSR Chief Research Fellow, topped the Most-Cited Scholars Rating which is compiled by American Political Science Association (APSA). LCSR team sincerely congratulates Ron on this marvellous achievement!

Researchers Find Link Between Genes and Subjective Well-Being

The Contribution to Science and Education Award, established by the HSE, recognises outstanding contributions to academic development and international academic cooperation.

At the upcoming XIXth April International Academic Conference On Economic and Social Development, the leading staff of the Laboratory for Comparative Social Research will present Russian editions of their latest monographs.

The Laboratory for Comparative Social Research of the National Research University Higher School of Economics announces a call for the 8th LCSR International Workshop «Quantitative Research of Social Changes Across the World», which will be held within the XIX April International Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development. It will take place in Moscow from the 10th till 13th of April 2018. The submission deadline is January 10, 2018.

Robots to Replace Humans?

This year VTB is launching the Endowment for Comparative Social Research at HSE. The endowment will make it possible to invest 10-20 million roubles in research each year. The exact amount will depend on trust management of the endowment assets, implemented by VTB Capital Investment Management.

Altruism based on individual values is changing Western society. People in Western countries have seen a rise in individualism for quite some time, and this in turn helps to create generations of people with altruistic mindsets. Christian Welzel, Chief Research Fellow in the Laboratory for Comparative Social Research (HSE and Leuphana University of Lüneburg), teamed up with researchers from the University of Lausanne to conduct a study showing the connection between emancipative values and prosocial behaviour. The results of the study were published in the Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology.

Cambridge University Press has accepted a new monograph by Ronald Inglehart for publication in early 2018. LCSR is prepares Russian-language translation of the book.

Martin Luther King famously said that the arc of history is bending toward justice - a statement sometimes dismissed as too idealistic but one that may actually have a basis in social science. More than thirty years of research by Ronald Inglehart suggest that, in the long run, democratisation, with its attendant social and legal justice, is inevitable. But how long is that long run? To discuss this, Oksana is joined by Ronald Inglehart, Academic Supervisor of Laboratory for Comparative Social Research at the Higher School of Economics (HSE) during XVIII April International Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development.

Why did Trump win the election? Who votes for right-wing xenophobic populist parties? How do we account for Brexit? Ronald Inglehart, Academic Supervisor of HSE Laboratory for Comparative Social Research, traces the change in public opinion to rising inequality and the resulting cultural xenophobic backlash and prevailing feeling of insecurity.

We are pleased to announce that the 7th LCSR International Workshop “Subjective Well-being and Growing Inequality across the Globe” started on Tuesday, 11 April at the HSE, Moscow. The Seminar is organized within the XVII April International Academic Conference at the HSE. The event will last until April 14.

From April 11 to 14, HSE is holding its XVIII April International Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development. Conference Programme Committee members Fuad Alekserov and Andrei Yakovlev discuss the key themes and main reports that will be presented at the conference. This conference will draw around 2,000 people, including 200 international participants.

This special occasion celebrates Ron’s career and tremendous contributions to the social sciences and to center and department at the University of Michigan. The distinguished speakers include: Amaney Jamal (Edwards S. Sanford Professor of Politics and Director, Bobst Center for Peace and Justice at Princeton University); Alejandro Moreno (Professor of Political Science at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México and the Director of public opinion polling at Reforma); and Roberto Stefan Foa (Lecturer in Political Science, School of Social and Political Sciences, The University of Melbourne).

Regional Conference on World Association of Public Opinion Research dedicated to Survey Research and the Study of Social and Cultural Change is taking place at HSE Moscow September 15-17, 2016 in partnership with World Values Survey. Ronald Inglehart, Academic Supervisor of HSE Laboratory for Comparative Social Research and the Founding President of the World Values Survey (WVS) has talked to HSE News Service about the role of sociology in the modern world and the changes in values and beliefs around the world.

On April 18, 6th LCSR International Research Workshop opened within the framework of April International Conference. Ronald Inglehart, the Scientific Advisor of Laboratory for Comparative Social Research delivered an honorary lecture on ‘Reshaping Human Motivations and Society, 1896-2014’. The lecture discussed the correlation between societal transformations and changing values.

Master’s programme in Comparative Social Research was launched in 2014 and has been rapidly developing since. Its Academic Supervisor Christian Fröhlich talks about what the programme offers the applicants and what makes it unique.

On November 13-14 a meeting of the Executive Committee and the Scientific Advisory Committee of the World Values Survey Association was held at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow. The main mission of the meeting was the design of the master questionnaire for the new wave of the World Values Survey to be launched in 2017. World Values Survey scholars are also participating in the LCSR 5th International Annual Research Conference 'Cultural and Economic changes under cross-national perspective' which is currently underway at HSE. Christian Haerpfer, President of the World Values Association, has talked to HSE News Service about the survey and the preparation for its new wave.

On 17th of November the first and the second year students of master's program in Applied Social Psychology attended a lecture and participated in discussions on issues of values studies. The lecture has been given by Ronald Inglehart, professor of Michigan University and academic supervisor of Laboratory for Comparative Social Research.

The International Laboratory for Comparative Social Research (LCSR) was established in 2010 in the first wave of a competition for government mega-grants to attract major academics from abroad to Russian universities. The famous American sociologist and political scientist Ronald Inglehart, Founding President of the World Values Survey and professor at the University of Michigan, became the laboratory’s first Academic Supervisor.

As the 5th LCSR Summer School on ‘Introduction to Factorial Design and Data Visualisation with R’ came to a close on August 3, participants commented on their experience and shared their impressions.

It is five years since the HSE began setting up international laboratories. HSE’s Deputy Vice-Rector, Marina Litvintseva, Head of Laboratory for Algebraic Geometry, Fedor Bogomolov, and Ronald Inglehart and Eduard Ponarin from HSE Laboratory for Comparative Social Research reflect on the results of the work conducted last year and on the achievements of the laboratories.

A week-long training methodological workshop 'Economic and Social Changes: values effects across Eurasia' on advanced quantitative methods in comparative studies took place in April. The workshop was jointly organized by the Eurasia Business and Economics Society (EBES), Turkey, and HSE's Laboratory for Comparative Social Research. The workshop included presentations by the members of LCSR and EBES, series of practical workshops, as well as reports of the participants.

Why do people become researchers and pursue careers in science? What is more important for them – self-fulfillment or financial incentives? On the day before Russia celebrated Science Day on Feb 8, HSE’s news service talked to researchers working at HSE about what motivated them to become scientists.

Russians would like their children to value achievement and wealth more than they themselves do. This stems from the reality and norms of modern life, Maxim Rudnev and Alexandra Savelkayeva from HSE’s Laboratory for Comparative Studies of Mass Consciousness noted in a study on intergenerational value transmission.

Why are Russians unhappy; who serves the dictators; how to reform control and supervision;Trade versus wars; Russia’s new citizens; what do Russian and Chinese banks have in common; why analysts don’t predict recession; the provincial social environment and physical isolation of rural settlements: the most interesting research by HSE in 2014. According to Opec.ru.

MA Comparative Social Research student shares her impressions on attending the conference

On November 10-15, the IV International Conference ‘Cultural and Economic Changes in a Comparative Perspective’ took place in St. Petersburg. Organized by HSE’s Laboratory for Comparative Social Research, the conference has traditionally brought together Russian and foreign scholars working on issues of values, trust, social capital, corruption and inequality in a changing world, as well as the role of religion in political activity and other social issues in Russia and other countries.

From November 10 to 14, the HSE Laboratory for Comparative Social Research’s (LCSR NRU HSE) 4th International Annual Research Conference ‘Cultural and Economic changes under cross-national perspective’ will take place in St. Petersburg. The programme includes dozens of themed sessions on current social, political and economic problems, and lectures by the world’s leading sociologists.

5th September is the 80th birthday of the outstanding sociologist and political scientist Ronald Inglehart, Academic Supervisor of the HSE’s International Laboratory for Comparative Social Research (LCSR).

Отчет о летней школе

The fourth HSE LCSR summer school on Categorical Data Analysis is over. This year 40 young academics from universities and research centres in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Italy, Germany, Poland, Romania, Israel and the USA took part.

From 29 June to 12 July the HSE Laboratory of Comparative Social Research is holding the Fourth International Summer School on Categorical Data Analysis in Zelenogorsk in the suburbs of St Petersburg. This year academics have come both from the Russian regions and from abroad — CIS, Germany, Israel, Romania and the USA.

The economic crisis in European countries did not pass by unnoticed as concerns the public’s set of values. In some groups, there was a shift from emancipative values to more traditional ones. Above all, this involves the socially vulnerable strata that the crisis hit hardest of all, Natalia Soboleva, a researcher with HSE’s Laboratory for Comparative Social Research (LCSS), concluded in a study

If laws exist at the state level that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, then the impact of individual values creating a negative attitude towards homosexuality falls. People are inclined to adapt their behavior to conventional norms. A group of European researchers came to this conclusion over the course of an international study, the results of which Peter Schmidt presented at the XV April International Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development of the Higher School of Economics

The conference opens on the 1st April 2014 at the HSE with the participation of the World Bank and the IMF. The Deputy Chairman of the Conference Programme Committee Andrei Yakovlev spoke about some of the key sessions, lectures and seminars to look out for.

A new English-taught master’s programme at the HSE, ‘International Master in Comparative Social Research’, will allow students to acquire the knowledge and skills that are in demand on the global market for social research. Applications are due by May 31, 2014.

Elite motorists pose a mortal threat to the public; Russians are blowing their chances of building good public institutions; social media can bury politicians; reasons why our society is morally unstable and why expensive medical equipment is available but unused – these were the HSE's 13 most interesting and relevant research projects in 2013, according to Opec.ru.

Authoritarianism has a future in Russia. In the next two decades, the 1980s generation will start to join the higher echelons of Russian society. But the situation is such that the change of generation of the elites will have little effect on the transformation of the political regime. Or so the authors of research on “The Russian elite in 2020” have concluded

Laboratory for Comparative Social Research of the National Research University Higher School of Economics has organized the 3d LCSR Summer School on “Multilevel Confirmatory Factor Analysis (MCFA) and Multilevel Structural Equation Modeling (MSEM) in MPLUS”. The main course in the LCSR Summer school will be held by professor Hermann Dülmer. The HSE news portal asked Professor  Dülmer to tell us about his plans for the LCRS Summer School and about how he first got involved with the HSE.

The future generation of Russia's political managers is unlikely to embrace a democratic society, regardless of the protests emerging in the country today, the study 'Russian Elites-2020' shows

If the majority of a country’s population moved from values of survival to values of self-expression, individuals with both types of values will try to avoid corrupt behaviour. But if, as in Russia, values of survival prevail in society, individuals with values of self-expression are inclined to act corruptly. This is the conclusion of a study by Maria Kravtsova and Alexey Oshchepkov

One of the HSE’s applications was a winner at the third competition to attract leading researchers to Russian universities. The competition was held by Decree No. 220 of the Government of the Russian Federation. A new Laboratory of Mathematical Finance at the HSE will be headed by Yury Kabanov, Professor at the University of Franche-Comté (Besançon).

With rising incomes, people are less accepting of war. In recent decades in Russia, as in many countries around the world, the number of citizens willing to give their lives for their country has declined. These are findings of joint research by Ronald Inglehart and HSE

Russians are more concerned about material success than self-realization, in spite of a global shift from survival values to self-expression values. ‘Happiness in Russia in Comparative Perspective’, is a paper by Edouard Ponarin, Director of the HSE Laboratory for Comparative Social Research (LCSR)

‘Economics and Geography’ was the topic of the 12th Annual Conference of the series of Leontief Readings which took place from February 15-16, 2013, at the Leontief Centre with the support of the Saint Petersburg government. Theoreticians and empirical researchers looked for answers related to the spatial development of cities, regional inequality and transport.

The HSE Laboratory for Comparative Social Research summer school on ‘Causal models and structural equations’ has just finished in Zelenogorsk. The Laboratory director, Eduard Ponarin, shared his impressions about the school and told us about the LCSR’s plans for developing the school...

On November 25^th a reporting conference of the HSE Laboratory for Comparative Social Research (LCSR) on ‘Comparative Sociology in Quantitative Perspective’ was held at the HSE.

Ronald Inglehart, Academic Supervisor of the Laboratory for Comparative Social Research at the HSE Branch in Saint-Petersburg, has been acknowledged by the experts of ‘Russian Reporter’ magazine as one of the 100 the most authoritative people in Russia in 2011 – in the category ‘Scientists’, ‘for his willingness to become a Russian scientist’.

On October 3rd Jacques-Francois Thisse, Professor of Economics and Regional Science at the Université catholique de Louvain (Belgium) gave a press conference at the Higher School of Economics.

In late August  2011, the HSE Laboratory for Comparative Social Research (LCSR) carried out its first international summer school in Russia. This was dedicated to statistical methods of analysis in sociology, and particularly, multilevel analysis. Eduard Ponarin, Head of the LCSR and Professor at the Saint-Petersburg branch of the HSE, told us about more about this school.

Ronald Inglehart, Professor at the University of Michigan and Academic Supervisor of the HSE Laboratory for Comparative Social Research, and Pippa Norris, Professor in political science at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, have both won the Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science. The awards ceremony took place on September 24^th at the University of Uppsala, Sweden.

On September 21^st the Russian Government Grant Council announced the names of the winners of the second open competition for Russian Government grants for state support of scientific research conducted under the supervision of leading scientists in Russian universities. Among the 39 winners were two applications from the Higher School of Economics.