Agency for the Development of Human Capital in the Far East and Russian Public Opinion Research center developed an effective tool to measure the social situation in the regions (Human Development Index).

MOSCOW, February 15, 2018. The Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) presents the results of a study devoted to the speech of Valery Fedorov, VCIOM General Director, at a session of the Russian Investment Forum 2018 held in Sochi.

In 2017, VCIOM conducted its first public opinion survey to measure the Human Development Index in the Far East. The index is a complex measurement based on 146 indicators including 68 statistical and 78 sociological questions.

The survey involved a special sample (with a sample size of 8,000 respondents representative of the population of the Far-Eastern region and each of its units according to basic social and demographic characteristics). The study provides data concerning the following key trends in the development of the units of the Russian Federation which are part of the Far Easter Federal District.

Satisfaction with the situation in the region of the permanent residence

Over the last years the level of respondents’ satisfaction with the situation in Chukotka Autonomous okrug and Sakhalin oblast is unchangingly high. Over the entire period of measurement negative assessments have been strongly dominating in Jewish Autonomous oblast.

Housing policies

Low affordability of housing, high tariffs for communal services and unfavorable mortgage loan terms are the major housing problems typical for all FEFD units. Public perceptions of the rates of putting into operation of new housing facilities differ a lot: while positive assessments excessively prevail in the Sakha Republic (Yakutiya) and Sakhalin oblast (+21 p.p. and +25 p.p., respectively), an overwhelming majority of the population living in Magadan oblast and Chukotka Autonomous Okrug assess the situation negatively (-56 p.p. and -54 p.p., respectively). Inhabitants of Kamchatka krai (-30 p.p.) and Magadan oblast (-29 p.p.) report the lowest level of housing infrastructure development.

Education

Assessment of the quality of education is dependent on respondents’ region of residence. Generally, the quality of pre-school and secondary vocational education as well as supplementary vocational education does not cause any criticism and concerns among the public. The Khabarovsk krai and Amur oblast inhabitants provide the highest assessments (+20 p.p. and +25 pp., respectively). At the same time, many Far-Easterners worry about the availability of high education; this is especially true for the Sakha Republic (Yakutiya), Sakhalin oblast and Chukotka Autonomous okrug. Inadequate access to high-quality education is the main reason behind high rates of educational migration which is often unreturnable.

Health care

Primorsky krai residents show the lowest level of satisfaction with the work of health care (-33 p.p.). The availability of health care services has low assessments among the residents of Kamchatka krai (-35 p.p.), Jewish Autonomous oblast (-40 p.p.) and Primorsky krai (-31 p.p.). However the Far-Eastern residents are mostly sensitive to a lack of opportunity to get high-quality and high-tech health care (especially in Kamchatka krai with -57 p.p. and Jewish AO with -50 p.p.). Another problem is low satisfaction with the health care facilities (-19 p.p. for the FEFD in general). Seventy-nine percent of the Far-Eastern residents point out alcohol addiction and 64% drug addiction as acute problems.

Labor market

The labor motivation is indicative of the progress in the modernization of human potential. Motivation components’ analysis shows that the Far-Easterners have high adaptation potential including an ability to acquire new skills (+49 p.p.) and upgrade them (+45 p.p.).

Public assessments of separate components of working conditions provided by employers are similar across all FEFD units. Respondents tend to give high assessments to stable salary payments (+48 p.p.) and workplace safety (+42 p.p.). Remuneration rate becomes increasingly important: respondents who are most sensitive to the difference between the expected/desirable wage and the real wage are largely residents of Amur Oblast (-46 p.p.), Khabarovsk krai (-43 p.p.), Magadan Oblast and Jewish AO (-40 p.p., each).

Transport infrastructure

High airfare is the major problem for the Far-Easterners (up to -70 p.p.). Another problem which the FEFD residents mention is an extremely low quality of the road topping (up to-72 p.p.).

VCIOM survey was commissioned by the Agency for the Development of Human Capital in the Far East in July-August 2017. The survey involved 8,000 respondents aged 18 and over living in Amur oblast, Jewesh Autonomous Oblast, Kamchatka krai, Magadan oblast, Primorsky krai, Sakha Republic (Yakutiya), Sakhalin oblast, Khabarovsk oblast, and Chukotka Autonomous okrug.  The study was conducted using a special sample representative of a particular subject of the Russian Federation. Four criteria (quotas) were taken into account to design the sample: gender, age, education and type of settlement. The margin of error does not exceed 3.1%.   

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