2.4.1 Migration as a Factor of Human Capital Accumulation in Russia

Research Area 2. Demography and Active Ageing  → Research Program 2.4 Migration Flows and Strategic Directions of Russia's Migration Policy

Project period

2020-2025

Context of Research Project within a Subject of Human Capital

Migration processes in Russia (both external and internal) are an important factor in the socio-demographic and economic development of the country. The study of migration processes is important for understanding how to use human potential in the Russian Federation and in the world. In the near future, migration will be an important component of the socio-economic and demographic development of Russia and its regions.

The research project "Migration as a Factor of Human Capital Accumulation in Russia" will answer several questions. How does the decline in the quality of labor force abroad affect migration processes? What impact does a decrease in the flow of migrants from different countries have on migration? What happens to emigration from Russia? How does the integration and adaptation of migrants in Russian society take place?

Project Aim

The aim of the project is to develop measures aimed at improving the efficiency of international and internal migration and to contribute to designing a strategy for the migration policy of Russia until 2030

Project Objectives:

1. We will analyze the migration situation in Russia; evaluate the contribution of migrants to the economic development of Russia; and elaborate strategic guidelines and recommendations for Russia's migration policy
2. We will identify new elements of urban infrastructure created by migrants in Russian cities; study religious practices of Muslim migrants; and analyze labor strategies and reproductive behavior of migrants
3. We will describe the socio-demographic characteristics of migrants from different countries; offer a comparative analysis of the social integration of internal migrants and migrants from the countries of the Eurasian Economic Space; and analyze the impact of mobility on the social well-being of internal and international migrants
4. We will analyze discourses about the purposes of entry and exit of migrants in national and regional media

Key Findings

2020

We analyzed the trends of permanent and temporary internal and international migration in Russia (in particular, we identified the main trends in emigration from the former Soviet republics, analyzed the reasons for the emigration of Russians in the 2010s, studied the formation of diasporas from the former Soviet republics in Russia, and analyzed the demand for foreign labor in the Russian labor market)

2021

We have identified new elements of the urban infrastructure created by migrants in Russian cities, analyzed the religious practices of Muslim migrants, and offered recommendations for Russia's migration policy

2022

Discourses about the places of entry and exit for migrants have been studied through the analysis of national and regional media. Socio-demographic characteristics of permanent migrants of different nationalities have been described. Migration trends have been analyzed. Current migration situation in Russia has been examined, considering the results of the population census of 2021. Recommendations on the migration policy of integration have been developed.

2023

The contribution of internal migration to the well-being of the population has been revealed.

Shift work is one of the ways to realize the traditional male social function of the breadwinner of the family and children. Shift workers in most cases are married family people, 70% of whom have two or three children.

In most (not all) cases families in which men become shift workers, their financial situation and housing conditions improve, and additional opportunities appear to invest in children's education.

But shift workers are often forced to go to work without finding jobs with decent pay in their region. This is reflected in their indicators of life satisfaction, which may be lower than those of non-migrants, as in the case of Bashkiria.

Distribution of migrants and non-migrants by level of social well-being, Bashkortostan (%)

Educational Programs

Educational trajectory Demography — Economics. Demography Master's Program

Study Course Population and Development Studies. Population and Development Master's Program

HSE and RANEPA Joint Educational Workshops Social and Humanitarian Dimension of Human Potential

The Program of Additional Professional Education «Aging of the Population»

Publications

1. Demintseva Е.  Understanding Russia’s Brain Drain in the 2010s. // Problems of Post-Communism
2. Oparin, D.A. (2022) Muslim Space of the Moscow Region and Migration: Fragmentation, Diversification, Integration. Sibirskie Istoricheskie Issledovaniia – Sibe- rian Historical Research. 3. pp. 111–126 doi
3. Denisenko M. B., Mukomel V. I. Foreign workers in Russia: employers' opinions //Sociological research. – 2023. – No. 1. – p. 26. doi
4. Demintseva E. B., Mkrtchyan N.V. "New directions of migration: migrants from Central Asia in Kamchatka". // Research digest. Issue No. 6 (35). - 2024.

Conferences

XXII April International Scientific Conference on Problems of Economic and Social Development (Moscow, Russia, April 4-22, 2021): Sessions Emigration from the Former USSR to Foreign Countries 1 and 2 / Section P Demography and Labor Markets (20/04/2021)

5th International RLMS-HSE User Conference (Moscow, Russia, May 27-28, 2021):
Pishnyak A., Khalina N., Nazarbaeva E. The Path from the Middle Class: Evaluation of the risks of poverty for Russian middle class members (28/05/2021)

Special online seminar of WCRC-HSE-RANEPA Integration: State Strategies and Migrant Trajectories (RU) from the series of seminars Migration Studies (Moscow, Russia, November 24, 2021)

XXII Yasinskaya (April) International Scientific Conference on Problems of Economic and Social Development (Moscow, Russia, April 4-8, 2022):

 - Special session "Migration processes during the pandemic" in the framework of Section P "Demography and the Labor Market" (April 7, 2022)

XXIV Yasinskaya (April) International Scientific Conference on problems of economic and social development (Moscow, Russia, April 4-14, 2023):

- Round table "A new wave of emigration from Russia" (05/04/2023)

A series of master classes "Human potential: approaches to study and measurement" by the HSE and RANEPA (online, October 28 – December 23, 2023). Karachurina L.B. Migration of the population at the municipal level: centers and peripheries (09/12/2023)