Tag "demography"

Russians have been estimating their general health as better over recent years, and life expectancy has been growing. Meanwhile, Russia is still falling behind EU countries according to this indicator. Alexander Ramonov, researcher from the HSE Institute of Demography, studied the reasons for this.

Reproductive behavior is modernizing at different rates in post-Soviet countries. Things are changing faster in Russia, Armenia, Georgia and Ukraine, where, over the last fifteen years, the average maternity age has increased and the contribution of women in their thirties to their countries’ birthrates has grown. Meanwhile, old reproductive patterns persist in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, where firstborns are usually born to parents under 30, demographers Vladimir Kozlov and Konstantin Kazenin note in a paper delivered at HSE’s XX April International Academic Conference.

More than half of school graduates in medium-sized Russian cities will change their place of residence either forever or at least for a long time. According a report on internal migration presented by HSE demographers at the XX April International Academic Conference, these people are lost to their cities.

The marriage rate goes through both seasonal and annual fluctuations. In many countries, fewer people marry during leap years. Demographer Eugeny Soroko analysed this phenomenon in a report prepared for the XX International Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development hosted by the Higher School of Economics.

Experts from the Higher School of Economics have determined that the domestic migration increases the speed of wage convergence Russian Regions. Further, the impact of migration on this process depends on migrants’ education level. The results of the HSE study were published in the journal Issues in Economics (Voprosy ekonomiki).

Demographers have created a detailed colour map of population ageing in European countries; a collection of demographic stories, it uses colour coding to indicate the varying stages of population ageing across Europe. By looking at the map, you can easily spot areas with a higher concentration of older people, countries with the youngest populations and the main destinations for workforce flows. The map's author Ilya Kashnitsky comments on some of the demographic stories it tells.   

Seniors in Russia are not responsive to public promotion of healthy living. Their behaviours follow eight different patterns, and a healthy lifestyle is far from being the most popular one. Only 17% of elderly people live what can be termed a 'healthy' lifestyle, Elena Selezneva discovered. The results of the study were presented at the XIX April International Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development at HSE.

While peers are significant, family remains highly important for adolescents as well, according to HSE researchers. However, many young people do not see their parents as role models.

The HSE Institute for Social Policy held an event entitled ‘Demographic Challenges of the 21^st Century’ on 13 June 2017. At the event, Lauren Woodard, PhD candidate, Department of Anthropology, University of Massachusetts, presented her report ‘Politics of Return: Resettlement of Compatriots Programme in Primorsky Territory’. Here she talks to HSE News about the event, her research, and her interest in the complex issues of identity in Russia and the Former Soviet Union.

Older Russians are generally less healthy that their peers in Europe, the US, and other BRICS countries. Poor health is one of the barriers to remaining active and enjoying a well-deserved rest after retirement age. The second most common problem affecting elderly Russians is having to share a home with children and grandchildren, while a lack of social engagement and limited social connections come third on the list of barriers to active aging in Russia. According to researchers, the Russian elderly have social potential, but rarely use it.