The paper examines dynamics in demand and supply of skilled labor in the Russian economy over the transition period of 1990–2000-s. It shows that despite a huge inflow of workers with tertiary education demand for such workers grew in the Russian labor market even faster. This explains why...

To be competitive, firms have to maintain level and composition of workforce they consider optimal given utilized technology and expected output. The paper discusses what types of firms are unable to keep optimal employment, and why. Do firms still report excess of labor or do they face labor...