Improving bargaining positions of Russian women and its implications for Russian men

The paper investigates the fate of Russian men in the beginning of the 20th century, following the devastating effects of economic transition of the 1990s. Namely, the paper looks at effects of changing family environment on men's socioeconomic outcomes (such as educational attainment, employment, earnings, and others), arguing that stronger bargaining positions of Russian women improve outcomes for Russian men.

The paper uses data from the Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS-HSE), 2002 to 2010, matching individual and family questionnaires’ files to get a wide range of family and community data.

In order to understand `the big picture' it first examines the major trends in Russian family life and work, such as trends in labor force participation, college education, occupational choice of spouses, marriage and divorce rates, fertility, following a closer look into men’s outcomes. The paper pays special attention to Russian men’s alcohol and tobacco consumption, with the problem of alcoholism being historically persistent and widespread.

The estimated regression model, built on the theortical model of collective bargaining in the family by Chiapporri (1992), and Chiappori, Fortin, Lacroix (2002),  attempts to make use of exogenous factors, such as improved “outside options” for the women (employment, educational and marriage opportunities), and the family subsidy program intorduced in Russia in 2007 (the so-called “Maternal Capital Law”, a subsidy for the 2^ndand higher order child born, tied to the wife).

Preliminary results show that stronger women’s positions in Russian family  positively affected men’s socioeconomic outcomes, including in the area of consumption of addictive substances. The findings point out that policies directed at women may improve well-being of men, and society in general.