Lilia Ovcharova

At least 7.4 million Russians use digital platforms to find jobs or part-time work. Through websites and applications, they work as couriers, tutors, and drivers providing passenger and freight transportation services. While young people remain the most active participants in platform employment, this form of work is also becoming increasingly common among other age groups. These findings were presented by HSE experts at the seminar ‘Platform Employment in Russia: Dynamics, Internal Heterogeneity, and Prospects for Social Guarantees.’

HSE University and the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences (TAS) have agreed on cooperation. The agreement formalised a strategic partnership between the two leading scientific and educational institutions in the field of demographic and sociological research. The document was signed in Kazan on May 13, 2026 by Lilia Ovcharova, HSE Vice Rector and Director of the Institute for Social Policy, and Rifkat Minnikhanov, President of TAS, at the venue of the 17th International Economic Forum ‘Russia—Islamic World: KazanForum.’

On average, a schoolchild spends 48 hours a week on studies—equivalent to a six-day working week for an adult. This was highlighted by experts at the round table ‘Domains of Children’s Well-Being Evaluation for Human Potential and Evidence-Based Social Policy Development,’ held as part of the 25th Yasin (April) International Academic Conference.

The work results of world-class research centres were presented at the Government Coordination Centre. Leonid Gokhberg, First Vice Rector of HSE University, spoke about the main scientific results of the Human Capital Multidisciplinary Research Centre.

During the past year, scientists at HSE University have worked on five strategic projects aimed at advancing key areas essential to the development of modern individuals and society. Each of these projects is unique, yet they share common goals: creating innovative product solutions, generating fresh ideas for the economy, social sector, science, and education, and contributing to the university's research potential.

A unique approach to measuring human well-being has been developed at HSE University, opening up new opportunities for international collaboration. Russia and China, both of which have significantly reduced poverty in recent years, demonstrate a unique potential for joint efforts in this area. At an international forum in Kazan titled ‘SPROUTS: Russia and China–Mutually Beneficial Cooperation,’ HSE University representatives, including Vice Rector and initiator of the Human Capital Multidisciplinary Research Centre Lilia Ovcharova, and Deputy Vice Rector Maria Nagernyak, emphasised the importance of integrating the efforts of the two countries.

Addressing the Eastern Economic Forum, HSE University's experts discussed the role of universities in the integrated development of territories, Russia-China cooperation on carbon neutrality, and the role of businesses and non-profit organisations in society's pursuit of a better future.

On June 26 and 27, HSE University at Pokrovka hosted a discussion of potential partnerships between the university's research teams and strategic projects under the Priority 2030 programme. During the two-day session, the heads of strategic projects presented the main areas of their ongoing research, highlighted some of the key results achieved, and shared their vision for involving new researchers in the projects.

At the plenary session of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Russian President Vladimir Putin participated alongside the Presidents of Bolivia and Zimbabwe, Luis Alberto Arce Catacora and Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa. For the first time, a representative from HSE University—Sergey Karaganov, Academic Supervisor of the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs and HSE’s distinguished professor—served as the moderator of the plenary session.

Meeting in April, the HSE Academic Council discussed the results achieved by the Human Capital Multidisciplinary Research Centre in 2020-2023 and its plans for the future. Lilia Ovcharova, HSE Vice Rector and initiator of the Human Capital Multidisciplinary Research Centre, presented an overview of the progress made, stating, in particular, that 25 subdivisions of HSE University are involved in the Centre's work and more than two thousand early-career researchers and students have been trained at the Centre. Rospatent (the Russian Federal Service for Intellectual Property Rights) has registered 22 intellectual property objects (IP objects) produced in the framework of the Centre's operation, and 28 educational products have been prepared by the Centre.

HSE University is one of the leaders in IT education and research in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). Thanks to this, the university recently received the highest grant of the Priority 2030 programme. The integration of AI technologies into education is set to become a strategic direction for the university’s development over the next five years. What changes are coming to HSE University in this regard and how they will affect students and teachers? These issues were discussed at a meeting of HSE University’s Academic Council on December 20.

Sessions attended by HSE University experts at the recent St. Petersburg International Economic Forum focused on the digitalisation of migration management, regionalisation of the world economy, participation of companies in global value chains, and many other topics. Below, HSE News Services covers some of the main sessions of the event.

The Human Capital Multidisciplinary Research Centre, established in 2020 and coordinated by HSE University, recently held a session of the International Supervisory Board and presented work results for the period of 2020-2022 along with plans for 2023-2025, including fundamental and applied research in the field of human development, creation of unique empirical databases for the development of evidence-based social and economic policies, and the introduction of digital approaches in humanities and social sciences.

Social Policy for Sustainable Development and Inclusive Economic Growth is one of HSE University's strategic projects. The project is aimed at translating scientific achievements into practical solutions for social and economic policy. HSE researchers and their partners have been actively involved in this work, and the first results have been obtained. In her interview with the HSE News Service, Vice Rector Lilia Ovcharova, Academic Supervisor of the project, spoke about what has been done so far.

The meeting was held in person for the first time in over two years. It was attended by Sergey Kravtsov, Russian Minister of Education, and Dmitry Smyslov, Vice President of VK. The Council discussed HSE University’s breakthrough projects in engineering and artificial intelligence and elected new distinguished and tenured professors.

On June 22, 2022 the presentation of the collective monograph "Society of Unequal Opportunities: Social Structure of Modern Russia" (by Natalia Tikhonova (ed.), Svetlana Mareeva, Vasiliy Anikin, Yulia Lezhnina, Anastasia Karavay, Ekaterina Slobodenyuk) was held.

Will new technologies divide or unite people and society? What mechanisms should be used to balance society’s interests and progress so that innovation does not dehumanize humans? How should interaction between humans and AI be structured? Is all technology good for people? TheXXIII Yasin (April) International Academic Conference of HSE University discusses these questions and more.

As part of the XXIII Yasin (April) International Academic Conference, HSE University held a meeting between HSE scholars and Anton Kotyakov, Minister of Labour and Social Protection of the Russian Federation. The title of the meeting was ‘The Future of Social Security: Trends and Forecasts.’ The experts and the Minister discussed the experience and lessons learned from population support initiatives during the pandemic, social protection efforts to reduce poverty and inequality, measures to counter sanctions, and the situation in the labour market.

HSE University academics held a discussion with Maxim Oreshkin, presidential aide and graduate of the HSE University, as part of theXXIII Yasin (April) International Academic Conference. They talked about the current socioeconomic situation and the future of Russia's development. The discussion was moderated by HSE Academic SupervisorYaroslav Kuzminov.

TheHuman Capital Multidisciplinary Research Centre and HSE University, in cooperation with the World Bank, held the conference ‘New Challenges of Demographic, Epidemiological and Medical-Technological Development: Search for New Models of Healthcare Development.’ The participants discussed whether the healthcare system was prepared to face the pandemic, how the latter affected lifespans and excess mortality rates, whether we can trust statistics, and what we should do to see ‘the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel.’

On December 1, key areas of HSE University’s recently adopted strategy were presented at the extended meeting of the International Advisory Committee. Outgoing and new members of IAC learnt more about the University’s initiatives in human capital and AI research, as well as about its plans to build a Master’s Engineering School.

The Human Capital Multidisciplinary Research Center, together with the Vishnevsky Institute of Demography and the International Laboratory for Population and Health, organized the first demographic readings in memory of HSE University Professor Anatoly Vishnevsky, the first director of the Institute. The experts in attendance discussed a wide range of topics, including family policy, how to improve the conditions of low-income people, and how to correct market and employment setbacks.

What are the outcomes of growing inequality? How much inequality is there in Russian healthcare and education? What does Russian society think about inequality? (Spoiler: that it’s excessively high and unfair.) These questions and many others were discussed by Russian and French researchers at the conference ‘Socio-economic Inequality and Poverty in the Modern World: Measures, Dynamics, and Prospects in an Age of Uncertainty’.

Experts from the World Bank and HSE University discussed the gender gap in salaries in different countries and the impact of socio-cultural, economic and behavioural factors on differences in earnings.

How should the universities of the Asia-Pacific region develop in the digital era, what challenges does the Russian labour market face, and what are the prospects of the Far East and Arctic region? These were some of the topics discussed during the first day of the Eastern Economic Forum, which featured the participation of HSE Rector Nikita Anisimov and other HSE University experts.

Nikita Anisimov has held his first meeting of the Board of Tenured Professors as HSE University Rector. HSE Academic Supervisor Yaroslav Kuzminov also participated in the event. They told the board members that the university’s development priorities remain the same, while the professors expressed their commitment to helping the new administration. They also discussed the renewal of the board, by including representatives of different research fields and young scholars from all HSE campuses.

What fields employees can hope to get high salaries in? What is the return on higher education? How is life expectancy related to retirement age? These and some other issues were discussed by experts at the First Conference ‘Labour Market: Demographic Challenges and Human Capital’ organized by the HSE Human Capital Multidisciplinary Research Centre.

On April 28, Elena Iarskaia-Smirnova, Head of the International Laboratory for Social Integration Research, presented a report on the main areas of activity and prospects for the development of the laboratory at a meeting with the Chancellor of the National Research University Higher School of Economics Yaroslav Kuzminov, the Vice-Chancellor and Director of the Institute of Social Policy Lilia Ovcharova, the Vice-Chancellor and Director of the Institute of Applied Political Research Valeria Kasamara, attended the discussion. Participants discussed the main areas of research and key research and partnership projects of the ILSIR and other research institutions of the Faculty of Social Sciences.

Experts believe that increasing productivity, diversifying the economy, as well as developing human capital and expanding non-resource exports will help boost Russia's economic growth. But the state policy has to be smart. This was discussed at a series of round tables and expert discussions on the topic of productivity at the XXII April International Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development, organised by HSE University and Sberbank.

Many national governments have responded to the sharp rise in poverty during the pandemic with new social support programmes, including direct cash payments. During a joint seminar between the HSE Institute for Social Policy and the World Bank held as part of work conducted by the Human Capital Multidisciplinary Research Centre,experts discussed approaches that have been implemented abroad and the prospects of a minimum guaranteed income in Russia.

The Institute for Social Policy at the National Research University Higher School of Economics held on December 17, 2020 the 15^th academic workshop on the topic of Social Protection as a Part of Anti-crisis Support Packages during COVID-19 Pandemic: Global and Russian experience. The event was organized on the online platform Zoom in the framework of a research grant funded by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (grant ID: 075-15-2020-928) and in cooperation with the World Bank within the series of events under the topic “Active Ageing Policy and Pension Reforms: Russian and International Experience”.

Many countries discovered that their social support systems were unprepared to respond quickly to the coronavirus crisis and that emergency measures were needed to protect incomes and jobs. This was the message that experts of the HSE Institute for Social Policy, Financial Research Institute (FRI) and World Bank delivered at a joint seminar.

On June 4 and 5, 2020, the Institute for Social Policy hold the online two-day workshop on Covid-19 pandemic and social protection policies INCOME, POVERTY AND EMPLOYMENT IN THE ERA OF COVID-19: ANTI- AND POST-CRISIS SOCIAL PROTECTION POLICIES organized in partnership with the World Bank and the Financial Research Institute (NIFI).

The Institute of Social Policy experts prepared an overview of international practices for supporting the economy and population while fighting against the coronavirus pandemic in different countries of the world.

In general, about 25% of the Russian economy, i.e. a quarter of all employed people, falls under the full closure in April, estimates Lilia Ovcharova, Director of the Institute for Social Policy at the Higher School of Economics.

Lilia Ovcharova, director of the Institute, took part in the meeting of the Council on Guardianship in the Social Sphere under the Government of the Russian Federation, which was held on March 12, 2020.

On March 12, 2020, Lilia Ovcharova, Director of Institute for Social Policy, made a presentation at the expert meeting devoted to Alternative Tools and Performance Indicators for the Demography National Project.

On March 10, 2020, Lilia Ovcharova, Director of Institute for Social Policy, took part in the meeting of the section "Older Generation" within the Council on Guardianship in the Social Sphere under the Government of the Russian Federation.

On March 2, 2020, Lilia Ovcharova, director of the Institute for Social Policy, took part in the meeting of the Coordinating Council under the Government of the Russian Federation for the implementation of the Decade of Children in the Russian Federation.

On February 27, 2020, Lilia Ovcharova, director of the Institute, took part in the 8th meeting of the Public Council under the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Russian Federation

On February 17, 2020, Lilia Ovcharova, Director of Institute for Social Policy, participated in the Joint Expert Meeting of the Presidential Grants Fund.

On February 11, 2020, Lilia Ovcharova, Vice Rector of HSE, Director of the Institute for Social Policy, talked about standards of living and the quality of live of the Russian population in the live broadcast of the Moskva 24 TV Channel program ‘Zhizn v Bolshom Gorode’ (“Life in a Big City”).

On February 6, 2020, Lilia Ovcharova, director of the Institute for Social Policy, participated in the meeting of the Commission on Economy, Budget and Prospective Development of Moscow City Civic Chamber focused on the 2019 outcomes and 2020 workplans.

On January 29 HSE experts participated in a seminar on ‘Skills and Returns on Education in the Russian Federation’ at the World Bank office in Moscow. The seminar was held as part of the analytical support programme for Russia’s national priority project ‘Education’.

On January 21, 2020, Lilia Ovcharova, director of the Institute for Social Policy, participated in the workshop "Labour Input to Estimate Productivity in Russian Statistics. Russia’s KLEMS Experience"

On January 17, 2020, Lilia Ovcharova, Vice Rector of HSE, director of the Institute for Social Policy, talked about poverty in the live broadcast of the RBK TV Channel.

On January 15 and 16, 2020, the 11th Gaidar Forum devote to Russia and the World : Challenges of the New Decade took place in Moscow. Lilia Ovcharova, director of the Institute for Social Policy, and Oxana Sinyavskaya, deputy director of the same Institute, took part in the Forum.

On January 14, 2020, Lilia Ovcharova, director of the Institute for Social Policy, took part in the expanded Collegium of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation. The event was dedicated to the 25th anniversary of its formation

On December 25, 2019, Lilia Ovcharova, director of the Institute, took part in the seventh meeting, the last one in 2019, of the Public Council under the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Russian Federation.

On December 24, 2019 Lilia Ovcharova, director of the Institute for Social Policy, took part in the meeting of the Commission on Social Support of the Population, Pension and Social Insurance of the Public Council under the Russian Ministry of Labor.

HSE University hosted a Russian-Chinese meeting on ‘Social policy as a tool for combating poverty and developing human capital’. Representatives of the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs, the World Bank, the Russian Pension Fund, the government of Tatarstan, and HSE University researchers evaluated the social policies of both countries, shared effective measures for combating and eliminating poverty.

On June 24, 2019, Lilia Ovcharova, director of the Institute, took part in the meeting of the Public Council under the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Russian Federation.

On July 19, 2019, Lilia Ovcharova, Director of Institute for Social Policy, took part in the meeting of the project committee for Demography National Project conducted by Tatiana Golikova, Russian Deputy Prime Minister.

On July 12, 2019, Lilia Ovcharova, Director of Institute for Social Policy, took part in this meeting devoted to the Implementation of the Activities of the Decade of Childhood withtin the framework of the Priority National Projects for the period up to 2024 approved by the Presidential Degree.

On July 8, 2019, Lilia Ovcharova, Director of Institute for Social Policy, took part in the meeting of the Commission for Persons with Disabilities withtin the Public Council of the Ministry of Labor of the Russian Federation.

On July 1, 2019, Lilia Ovcharova, Director of Institute for Social Policy, took part in the meeting of this Council devoted to Methodologies for calculating productivity index.

Lilia Ovcharova, director of the Institute, took part in the meeting of the Council on Guardianship under the Government of the Russian Federation, which was held on June 27, 2019.

On June 26, 2019, Lilia Ovcharova, Director of the Institute for Social Policy, took part in the third meeting of the Public Council of the Ministry of Labor of the Russian Federation devoted to developing volunteerism.

Lilia Ovcharova, Director of the Institute, participated the 3^rd Forum for Social Innovations in Regions that took place in VDNH Expo in Moscow.

On May 23, 2019, Lilia Ovcharova, Director of the Institute for Social Policy, took part in the extended collegium of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation. Dmitry Medvedev, Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, addressed the collegium. Maksim Oreshkin, Minister of the Economic Development, presented a report on the Ministry performance in 2018 and its objectives in 2019.

The Council meeting considered the results of the first commissions' meetings.

The meeting discussed the ongoing work issues and the commission's work plan on the key directions for the next 5-6 months.

The objective of the working group is to expend the longevity and raise the quality of life of the population by improving the availability and the quality of social services.

On May 17, 2019, Dmitry Medvedev, Prime Minister of Russian Federation, conducted the meeting.

On May 13, 2019, the meeting with the representatives of the expert community tackled the realization of the national development objectives of Russian Federation until 2024.

The meeting held on May 14, 2019 examined the preliminary assessments of the applications submitted to the Presidential Grants’ Competition aimed at developing the civil society through the ‘Support for families, motherhood, fatherhood and childhood’ category.

The topics of the lecture were ‘Securing the sustainable growth of the citizens’ real income’ and ‘Reducing the poverty level in the Russian Federation by half’.

The meeting discussed the results of the first stage of the pilot projects implementation. These projects are aimed at reaching by 2024 the national goals of socio-economic development, namely to increase citizens’ real income and to reduce the poverty by half. The participants also discussed the objectives for the second stage and the development of the standard recommendations for accepting regional programs aimed at reducing the share of the population with below-minimal income.

The meeting on May 13, 2019, considered the first assessments of the applications for the Presidential Grants on the development of the civil society on the ‘Support of the projects in science and education’ category.

National objectives for social development, as well as existing risks and opportunities in implementing these objectives were discussed by participants of HSE International April Conference.

On February 12-16, 2019, Lilia Ovcharova, Director of the Institute for Social Policy, took part in the Russian Investment Forum and Healthy Life Forum: Towards 80+’ (Sochi).

On Wednesday, February 6, 2019 at 4 p.m. a collective book “Income Stratification Model of Russian Society: Dynamics, Factors, Cross-country comparisons”  was presented.

Lilia Ovcharova, Director of the Institute for Social Policy, took part in the meeting and made a presentation titled ‘How to increase the real income of citizens: some suggestions’.

On January 23, 2019, Lilia Ovcharova, Vice Rector of HSE, Director of the Institute for Social Policy, answered questions about poverty in the live broadcast of the Russia-K TV Channel program ‘Chto delat?’ (‘What Is To Be Done?’).

On January 17, 2019, Lilia Ovcharova, Vice Rector of HSE, Director of the Institute for Social Policy, talked about poverty in the live broadcast of the RBK TV Channel program ‘Delovoj den’ (“Business Day”).

On January 15, 2019, the website Gazeta.ru published an interview of Lilia Ovcharova, Vice Rector of HSE, Director of the Institute of Social Policy, on the topic of poverty.

In order to research human capital, Lilia Ovcharova, a renowned scholar and expert on social policy, has been appointed Vice Rector responsible for applied human capital research at HSE. Human capital development studies are key priority for our university.

Lilia Ovcharova, director for Social Studies, HSE, director of the Institute for Social Policy, answered this question in the live broadcast of the program ‘OTRrazhenie’ (‘Reflection’) of the OTR Channel.

On June 28, 2018, Lilia Ovcharova, director of the Institute for Social Policy, commented on the changes in the pension legislation in the interview given to the Pervyi (One) TV Channel.

The discussion participants talked about the reasons and the consequences of the reform proposed by the Government. How will it influence the quality of life, the demographic situation, the labour market and the solvation of the poverty problem? Will the family institute benefit or suffer from it? What could civil society and non-profit organizations do in the face of coming reforms?

“The majority of the countries with the comparable level of development, including the countries of the former Soviet Union, have already raised the retirement age”, added the expert.

On June 14, 2018, business newspaper “Vzglyad” published comments by Lilia Ovcharova, director of the Institute for Social Policy, and Oksana Sinyavskaya, deputy director, on pension reform and its impact on the career of women.

Without any extra sources of the pension funding, the pensions can go only lower under the current demographic situation. The raise of the retirement age is the price we have to pay to keep the pensions growing.

In the comment to the 360 TV channel, Lilia Ovcharova underlined that Russia, unfortunately, does not have any other sources to raise the pensions.

On May 16, 2018, Lilia Ovcharova participated as a speaker in the “Social protection” section of the Forum organized by the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation and the Nizhniy Novgorod Region Government in Nizhny Novgorod.

Council members discussed the support and development of the so-called “silver volunteering” ­– the volunteering of the elderly - in the Russian Federation and the development of the “Citizen – Government”  dialogue via Internet: possibilities, mechanisms and themes of interaction with the reference population.

Issues concerning changes pertinent to key social spheres were discussed during the ‘Human Capital and Social Policy’ plenary session of the XIX April International Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development.

Today, the XIX April International Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development begins. HSE Academic Supervisor Evgeny Yasin talks about the main topics that will be covered at the conference, as well as some of the participants.

The Forum was held within the framework of the Moscow Government pilot project aimed at creating better conditions for the elderly Muscovites. The forum participants discussed various city programs aimed at helping senior citizens to realize their full potential. The programs will provide elderly people with the opportunities of studies, employment, and leisure and sport activities.

On February 15, 2018, the roundtable on "Myths of Old Age" was held  at the Kudrin Foundation for the Development of Civil Initiatives. The event was attended by Lilia Ovcharova, director of the Institute for Social Policy, and Oxana Sinyavskaya, deputy director of this institute.

On February 7, 2018, a Social forum on the topic “Responsible business-government cooperation for sustainable social development” was held within the framework of the Russian Business week. Lilia Ovcharova, director of the Institute for Social Policy, co-moderated the discussion.

On January 16, 2018, an expert discussion “Will the social policy remain a national priority?” was held within the framework of the Gaidar forum. Lilia Ovcharova, director of the Institute for Social Policy, and Natalia Zubarevich, chief research fellow of the Centre for Studies of Income and Living Standards of this Institute, took part in the discussion.

The XVIII April International Academic Conference has kicked off at Higher School of Economics (HSE). This major event includes expert discussions on the strategic problems facing Russia’s economic and social development. Representatives of the Russian Government will take part in the debates.

On December 20, 2016, the ZIL Cultural Centre hosted this year’s Golden HSE awards ceremony. This year saw several significant changes to the award rules: new nominations have appeared, many of them were divided into categories for different groups of employees — all to help ensure HSE was able to express its gratitude to a larger number of worthy candidates.

Eleven individuals have become members of the new HSE Supervisory Council, as approved in an order signed by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

The Government of the Russian Federation has expressed its gratitude the Director of the HSE Centre for Labour Market Studies (CLMS), Vladimir Gimpelson, and the Director of the HSE Institute for Social Policy (ISP), Lilia Ovcharova, for their hard work and professional contributions.

Lilia Ovcharova, the Director of the Institute for Social Development Studies, presented a special report at the UN House in Moscow on the achievements of the UN Millennium Development Goals. Under the auspices of the United Nations, the leaders of 174 nations signed the document at the start of the 21^st century, thereby setting important goals for the entire world. This year, experts presented the results of the project at UN headquarters in New York City and around the world.

The XVI April International Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development starts on April 7. Below HSE Academic Supervisor Evgeny Yasin describes what interesting things await this year's participants.

For the first time, students and post-grads are invited to listen in on plenary sessions of the International April Conference. They will be able to find out ‘from the horse’s mouth’ what the world’s top academics, economists, government and public figures think about the current state of Russia’s economy and society.

The new makeup of the Expert Council to the Russian government has been confirmed. It includes 366 members, 23 of whom are HSE staff.