Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/35819 
Year of Publication: 
2009
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 4233
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
We construct key household and individual economic variables using a panel micro data set from the Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS) for 1994-2005. We analyze cross-sectional income and consumption inequality and find that inequality decreased during the 2000-2005 economic recovery. The decrease appears to be driven by falling volatility of transitory income shocks. The response of consumption to permanent and transitory income shocks becomes weaker later in the sample, consistent with greater self-insurance against permanent shocks and greater smoothing of transitory shocks. Comparisons of RLMS data with official macroeconomic statistics reveal that national accounts may underestimate the extent of unofficial economic activity, and that the official consumer price index may overstate inflation and be prone to quality bias.
Subjects: 
Inequality
income
consumption
transition
Russia
JEL: 
E20
J30
I30
O15
P20
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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