It is too early to say that Russia is among the countries with the highest income levels. Because here we are talking only about nominal incomes, not real ones. This opinion was expressed by Andrei Loboda, economist and communications director at BitRiver, in a conversation with socialbites.ca, commenting on the relevant statement of Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov.
“According to our estimates, over the past 10 years, the nominal income of Russians has doubled. Therefore, in terms of nominal income growth, Russia can really be at the top of the list in terms of income growth. But taking into account inflation, ruble depreciation and mandatory payments, real incomes have not only not increased over the past 10 years, but have also decreased by 1.5%,” Loboda explained.
According to him, given the almost three-fold depreciation of the ruble, a more significant decline in real incomes is prevented by an unprecedented increase in wages and real incomes by more than 10% per year in 2023. The reason for this, the economist noted, is the structural restructuring of the economy and the shortage of qualified personnel.
It predicts that Russians’ real incomes will increase by 5 percent by the end of 2024 and 3.5 percent in 2025.
Loboda emphasized that the structure of Russian consumption has changed significantly over the past 10 years. According to the economist, in 2013 the average Russian spent about 37% of his monthly income on food, and the same amount on clothing, footwear and non-food items (excluding energy resources). By 2023 the average Russian will spend 31% of his income on food, and 15-20% on clothing, footwear and non-food items, but will increase spending on services. Loboda admitted that demand for non-food items has decreased due to price increases, and this is associated with the depreciation of the ruble (a significant part of non-food items is either imported or heavily dependent on imported components).
Therefore, the economist concluded that the fact that the standard of living of Russians in general has increased significantly over 10 years can be said only with large reservations and adjustments for inflation and depreciation of the ruble.
August 14 Siluanov statedWe see that Russia is currently on the list of high-income countries.
Russians before appreciated be ready for more difficult tasks.
What are you thinking?
Source: Gazeta
Ben Stock is a business analyst and writer for “Social Bites”. He offers insightful articles on the latest business news and developments, providing readers with a comprehensive understanding of the business world.