Under the welfare of the population in economics and sociology is meant the provision of people with various types of goods (material, social, spiritual). These include items, services, living conditions, products. Welfare is characterized by the level of income, the amount of consumption of material goods, the availability and quality of housing, the availability of transport, housing and communal services, household services, the level of health care, education, cultural services, social security, the length of the working day and the amount of free time, etc. the answer to current questions on the economy related to the standard of living of citizens.
What is the standard of living?
Another important concept in the economy is the standard of living. This is approximately the same as the level of well-being, although the concept of "standard of living" is more often used in assessing the income of citizens. Therefore, it can be considered a narrower and more quantitative indicator. Under the standard of living refers to financial and material well-being, the provision of goods and services that are relevant in a given period of time. The simplest indicator of a standard of living is the ratio of a person’s income to the value of a consumer basket.
The standard of living is determined by the amount of recorded income and expenses of a citizen.
What is the quality of life of the population?
More generalized is the idea of the quality of life. This is a more blurred indicator, not amenable to accurate quantification. It can be called an intangible, subjective indicator. When determining it, such general factors as the state of health, ecology, level of psychological comfort, etc. are taken into account. The quality of life shows the degree of satisfaction with life, which a person can assess as very bad, bad, average, good and excellent (or maximum). As a unit of time, one year is taken in assessing the quality of life.
What is an indicator of living standards?
The United Nations offers a broad approach in determining the standard of living of a population. Among the proposed items (12 pieces), the most important ones can be distinguished:
- balance of income and expenses;
- price level;
- level of social security;
- living conditions;
- unemployment rate, working conditions;
- life expectancy of the population;
- sanitary conditions;
- state of education, medicine;
- state of transport infrastructure.
Basically, these indicators are quite specific, although they allow a certain degree of subjectivity in the estimates. At the same time, two are considered the most important: incomes and life expectancy. A separate analysis is carried out for different segments of the population. This allows you to get away from uninformative average ratings and consider the situation in more detail.
The standard of living of the countries of the world in 2018
The standard of living of the population is determined separately for each of 142 countries, which include both the rich countries of Europe and the poorest states of Africa. In the first place is Norway. This is the country with the highest standard of living. It has become rich thanks to oil and gas reserves extracted from the bottom of nearby seas. The country is also one of the leaders in the development of renewable energy, environmentally friendly modes of transport. Obviously, Norway has a fair social system. All this makes her one of the most prosperous in the world.
In last place in the ranking is Chad. It is a Central African state with a backward agrarian economy and weak governance. Africa generally has low living standards. Probably the blame for the hot climate and lack of resources, as well as the colonial past of many of these countries. These are mainly small states with very modest opportunities. In addition, the problem is aggravated by the tradition of large families, and with extensive housekeeping, population growth leads to a rapid depletion of resources.
The map shows the standard of living of various countries of the world.
The standard of living in Russia in 2018
According to the Legatum Prosperity Index agency, our country is in 61st place in the ranking of countries in the world in terms of living standards. Above us is Greece, Belarus, Mongolia, as well as Mexico, Romania and China. Developing states are coming from below. Thus, Russia is at the very bottom of the ranking of countries with an average standard of living, but it is still higher than typical developing states of the tropical and equatorial zones. For the richest country in terms of resources, these are very unsightly indicators. And they are unlikely to improve in 2019.
As for Ukraine, it is among the developing countries, at 64th place in the list of countries of the world. That is very close to us.
What are developed countries?
Economically developed countries include countries with fast technological progress, a developed and influential economy. In such states, only 15-16% of the world population lives. However, this does not prevent them from producing 3/4 of the total gross product of civilization and creating the basis for scientific and technological progress. These are also countries with the highest living standards. In a more obsolete understanding, developed countries mean industrial, or industrialized, states. By this definition, China can rightfully be attributed to them. Due to the rapid development of the Chinese economy and the growing number of scientific discoveries and technical developments, this country can already be classified as developed with reservations. However, the standard of living of people is not yet sufficient to achieve the performance of classical developed countries.
Economically developed countries include countries in Western and Northern Europe, Canada and the USA, Australia and Japan, South Korea and New Zealand. They also include Israel.
The UN prefers to refrain from clearly dividing the countries into developed and developing.
Welfare economics
There is no concrete definition of this concept. However, it is obvious that we are talking about the economist of developed countries. Such an economy provides a decent quality of life to the vast majority of citizens, good provision of services, quality goods, and infrastructure. A lot of attention is paid to ecology, as well as the development of industry, advanced technologies. This is the economy of welfare and growth.
More controversial is the relationship between welfare and economic growth. Some scientists believe that such a relationship exists, while others say that these phenomena often conflict with each other. The main arguments of those who consider economic growth to be of little use to people's lives are as follows:
- Economic growth leads to exacerbation of environmental problems - from air pollution to climate change.
- Economic growth can lead to the enrichment of only part of the population and does not necessarily affect the income of the bulk of people.
- Often, economic growth contributes to fewer jobs. This relates more to technological growth.
- Economic growth is mechanical in nature and generates a huge amount of products, which are far from always important for people and more likely clogs store shelves and apartment residents.
Those who consider such growth important for improving the lives of the population give their arguments:
- The increase in output leads to a fuller and more diversified satisfaction of the various needs of people.
- Economic growth does not always lead to environmental degradation. Often it contributes to a more active introduction of new technologies.
- Economic growth leads to increased incomes.
- In any case, economic growth is better than economic recession.
Distribution of wealth and social stratification
Population incomes are never the same. Although each person seeks to receive more, this desire is expressed to all in varying degrees. For some, wealth is the meaning of life, while for others, spiritual values are more important. Opportunities for making money are also different for everyone. It depends on the region in which a person lives, what his abilities, level of health, emotional stability. It may also depend on all sorts of particular circumstances.
The presence of social injustice sharply strengthens social stratification, when some are in an obviously more advantageous position than others. In our country, social injustice is more pronounced than anywhere else in the world, and human abilities and desires turn out to be less significant than personal connections.
Obviously, a large income stratification is the main reason for the widespread poverty in our country. Indeed, in terms of natural resources, we are in first place in the world.
What is statistics talking about?
According to statistics, one tenth of Russia's population owns 82% of the country's personal property. In the USA this figure is lower - 76%. And in China it is equal to 62%. Now our country is in second place in the world in material inequality after Thailand.
According to the Higher School of Economics, this situation in Russia will continue to worsen. In 2019, the income gap between the poor and the rich will become even greater, which could put the country in first place in this ranking. The greatest irritation among Russians is caused by rather high incomes from officials and frankly gigantic ones from oligarchs. All this suggests that we are still far from a welfare economy.
Reasons for stratification in Russia
Probably, the reasons for such a strong stratification are the resource orientation of the Russian economy, the absence of a progressive tax, the policy of the federal authorities, and the peculiarity of the mentality of Russian citizens. However, the last paragraph refers only to the category of hypotheses. For example, in the Soviet period relative equality prevailed, and most people did not have a great desire to get rich.
According to experts, the minimum wage of 50,000 rubles. at current prices, this is a sufficient level that would smooth out the contrasts and not greatly harm the rich stratum. However, while the state adheres to a different tactic. As a result, the stratification value is growing, which has a negative impact on the economy, and reduces domestic demand. It turns out that the country's economy rests on the constant extraction and export of natural resources. Otherwise, it will be generally unsustainable.
Conclusion
Thus, the quality of life of a population depends on many factors. One of the most important is the level of income stratification. If it is relatively small, then this is a completely normal phenomenon, characteristic of most countries of the world. However, when it goes off scale, the quality of life of the poor is sharply worsened. Economically developed countries include states with a high level and quality of life, a developed economy, and rapid technological progress. Soon, China will be among them. The welfare economy implies the creation of comfortable living conditions for people, opportunities to meet their needs. Such an economy must be balanced. Achieving an economic balance between supply and demand is an important element of it. This allows you to make it as stable and stable as possible.