Indicators of Poverty in Transitional Russia

The authors attempt to provide poverty rate estimates in Russia adjusted for in-kind consumption. The results show that for rural households in-kind food consumption accounts, on average, for about 75% of total food consumption and that about 25% of food consumption among urban households comes from unrecorded incomes. This indicates that nearly 40% of food consumption for the total sampling comes from part-time family farming. It follows that poverty headcounts are significantly reduced when non-monetary consumption is taken into account. According to the report, 26% to 28% of Russia’s population live below the poverty line; official estimates put these figures between 34% and 44%. The paper offers a broader concept of poverty by considering real estate and personal assets when evaluating the economic potential of a household.