TY  - JOUR
TI  - Sources of Livelihood According to Population Censuses in Russia
T2  - HSE Economic Journal 
IS  - HSE Economic Journal 
KW  - population census
KW  - sources of livelihood
KW  - employed population
AB  - The article analyzes the evolution of the sources of livelihood in Russian population censuses, starting with the first All-Russian Census of 1897 and ending with the census of 2020. Based on historical and modern data, the authors demonstrate how changes in formulations and categories reflect the transformation of socio-economic relations: from an agrarian society to a market economy, including the growth of self-employment, pension provision, and government social programs. Special attention is paid to methodological problems: incomplete accounting, reduced participation of the population, incorrect categorization of data (for example, combining pensions and benefits in the aggregated tables of the 2020 Census). Comparison with data from the tax service, departmental statistics, and surveys revealed significant discrepancies, especially in estimating the number of self-employed and passive income recipients. The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified the negative trends observed during the census: a decrease in confidence, a shift in focus to administrative sources; at the same time, the digital format could lead to double counting and errors in filling. In conclusion, measures are proposed to improve the design of questions, increase the transparency of the procedure and integrate census data with other sources to form a comprehensive picture of the standard of living of the population.
AU  - Valeriy Yumaguzin
AU  - Maria Vinnik
UR  - https://ej.hse.ru/en/2025-29-2/1060427949.html
PY  - 2025
SP  - 306-336
VL  - 29