1897 Then this unit was forgotten for a long time, and only the 2002 population census returned this indicator as a unit of account, along with the quantitative characteristics of marital status.

The household is a type of business entity and has a number of features and differences from the family category. The concepts of "family" and "household" are not identical, although they are closely interrelated.

Family from a sociological point of view, social system, realizing itself in two status characteristics - a social institution and a small social group. As a small group, the family is based on marriage or consanguinity, and its members are bound by common life, mutual moral responsibility and mutual assistance. The structure of the family expresses the totality of relations between its members, including family ties, as well as spiritual and moral relations. In scientific circulation, the concept of “family” was more widely used than “household”, which is explained more by ideological motives than purely scientific ones. It was believed that the “household” category was too neutral, indefinite, the “family” positively reflected social processes, the social value of this institution in life.

individual, society and state. Therefore, it was the family, and not the household, that was considered as the object of sociological study.

The scale of the institution of the family as an object of sociology, There are 34 million married couples in Russia, of which 3 million (10%) are in an unregistered marriage. Moreover, the number of married women is 65 thousand more than the number of married men (for comparison: in 1989 the difference was 28 thousand). The average number of children in a Russian family: 1.5 children in cities, 1.25 in rural areas

The concept of "household" is broader than the family, as it includes not only relatives, but also non-relatives and may be limited to one member. In foreign sociology, which traditionally uses this concept, a household (hausehold) is a lonely person or a group of people who have one address, share a common table once a day and (or) use a common living space. Russian sociology understands a household as “a way of life independently organized by an individual or a group of persons living together”. This definition is socially more precise. Unlike the family, the household is not a social institution. Members of a household may form a small group even if it is not a family group (for example, a group of cohabiting students), while a family is always a small group. But if one of the family members lives separately, then the composition of the small group exceeds the number of household members.

Household scale as an object of sociological research: 142.7 million Russians live in 52 million 707 thousand private households, i.e. 98% of the country's population. The average size of Russian households is 2.7 people.

Under the conditions of a market economy, the economic functions of the household have intensified. In the study of economic behavior, consciousness, values ​​and social adaptation of household members, first of all, the structure of households is taken into account, as well as such indicators as the number of its members, demographic composition, family type.

Depending on the type of family, households can be:

• non-family;
• family, when cohabiting persons are spouses, relatives or in-laws (matchmaker, matchmaker, relatives by husband and wife). Most Russian households are family, and almost all families have households (family life is always connected with housekeeping and household organization). The main function of the family household is to organize the life and livelihoods of family members.

The number of family households depends on the number of families, the standard of living and the quality of life of the population, in particular, on the solution of the housing problem. Since Russia traditionally lacks housing and it has become too expensive for mass purchase, the number of family households (52.7 million) is less than those who are married (67.9 million). Many households consist of two families living together in the same area.

Most households (almost 60%) consist of one household member (7 million people). These are the so-called single households, which are primarily composed of pensioners. Half of them are over 70 years old. Therefore, they are also called after family, i.e. households of older people, mostly women, who had a family in the past.

According to the 1994 micro-census, single households in Russia accounted for 20%. In the UK in 1961, single people formed 3.9% of the total number of British households, and 30 years later (in 1992) - 11.1%. The numerical composition of Russian households is presented in Table. 4.14.

As can be seen from the table, the absolute majority of Russian households (about 80%) belong to family households consisting of two or more persons related by marriage or blood relationship or property.

Table 4.14. Size of Russian households by the number of their members

mixed household includes other persons besides the family, such as a nanny, a housekeeper, etc.

group household consists of friends, partners who permanently live in the household and take part in its organization and life support.

In addition, households differ in completeness:

• complete nuclear family household - a married couple with or without children;
• single-parent family household - single parents who have either never been married, or are widowed, or are divorced and separated and live with unmarried children of any age;
• extended family household - parents living with children who are married.

The general structure is given in table. 4.15.

Distribution of households by socio-territorial structure: in the city there are 39.233 million, in rural areas - 13.474 million. one %). To study the household as an object of economic sociology, the quantitative indicators adopted in population statistics are mainly used.

Table 4.15. Structure of family households in Russia (data from the 1989 population census and the 1994 microcensus), % of the number of households with two or more persons

The question of the household as an object of analysis has been updated in connection with the study of social relations in the economic sphere and the development of the private sector of employment. At the same time, the study of households is based on a number of particular sociological theories, primarily the sociology of the family, the sociology of labor and the sociology of employment.

The results of the study show that household development is linked to land use, including different forms subsidiary plots - a summer house, a garden, a personal plot, etc. At the same time, no more than 4% of households-"summer residents" have large land plots (more than 20 acres), and most of them own plots of 6-8 acres acquired in Soviet times.

The subsidiary farm of an urban family has a pronounced vegetable-growing specialization. Families with children under the age of 18 are more often than others (56% vs. 49% in childless families). According to the results of household surveys, family households, for which household farming is the main source of subsistence, are the lowest income group of the population.

Rosstat traditionally conducts sample surveys of household budgets, the results of which serve to statistically monitor the standard of living of the population. These surveys are carried out quarterly in all subjects of the Russian Federation and cover 49,175 households. The sample does not include collective households consisting of persons in hospitals, nursing homes, boarding schools and other institutional settings.

According to the results of a sample survey of household budgets in 2006, the average resources for each household member per month amounted to 7052 rubles. At the same time, cash expenditures from the total amount of available resources amounted to 87.9%, the increase in savings was only 7.5%, and the cost of in-kind receipts of food products was 3%. This structure of household resources indicates the low level of the majority of the Russian population. This indicator is associated with stratification and socio-economic stratification of the population. Note that the distribution cash income for 20% population groups in all countries except Russia, by the World Bank estimated on the basis of national data of surveyed households.

The evolution of Russian households in modern conditions determines new types of social adaptation of families to a market economy. From this point of view, the spread of the domestic economy is an indicator of negative trends in the country, when the determining factor in choosing a development model is not the situation in the real sector of the economy, in production (employment, wages, status growth, production behavior), but factors related to the family structure : the ratio of capable and incapacitated family members, the availability of skills, social connections, etc. At the same time, “the home economy does not lead to accumulation and development, but only contributes to the survival of the household and the satisfaction of family needs.”

The sphere of domestic economy lies in the area of ​​immeasurable economy, which K. Polanyi called "substantial economy". Human actions in such an economy are motivated by other motives, "than the maximization of profit or welfare." The basic motive in such an economy is the life support of a person and his family. The behavior of a person - a member of the household is distinguished by a certain irrationality and is largely due to traditions and social values.

Distribution of income between households

Households play two roles:

• as the main consumers of goods and services
• as providers of economic resources.

Households as the main consumers of goods and services

This assumption is valid, although they are consumed not only by households, but also by themselves, who, in the course of production activities, consume the so-called investment goods and services - machinery and equipment, raw materials and materials, financial and intermediary services. Moreover, a large consumer of goods and services is a company that purchases both investment goods (for utilities, power plants, etc.) and consumer goods (for the army, schools, orphanages, etc.). Finally, goods and services are consumed, many of which are created for this purpose (consumer cooperatives, etc.). Nevertheless, households remain the main buyers, especially of consumer goods and services. For example, in Russia in 2002 households consumed 50% of the country's gross domestic product.

Households as the main providers of economic resources for firms

This is an even larger assumption than the previous one, but it is still true in the end. Households are the owners all over the world. and knowledge (especially in the form of education) also belongs not so much to firms and the state as individual people, i.e. households. In developed countries, they are also the main owners of natural resources (especially land) and capital (through holding bank deposits, as well as shares, shares and bonds of firms). Therefore, the bulk of income from developed countries comes to households through rents from natural resources, interest and profits from invested capital, income from entrepreneurial abilities and knowledge. Households leave part of these incomes at the disposal of firms for their further development, part of the income is given to the state in the form of taxes, receiving part of it back in the form of social transfers. But even after that, households remain the main recipients of income. So, in Russia in 2000, out of 6.5 trillion rubles. net disposable income (i.e., after paying taxes and receiving social transfers) was received by households, 1.1 trillion by firms (enterprises) and 1.5 trillion by the state, while non-profit organizations had losses rather than income.

Distribution of income between households

In economics, it is important not only what the incomes of all households taken together are, but also how these incomes are distributed among households. In 2002, 46% of the cash income of all Russian households was concentrated in the hands of 20% of the population(moreover, the bulk of these incomes were in the hands of the richest 5% of the population), but in the hands of the poor and the poorest 60% of the population - 31% of cash income.

The first group of the population shows limited demand for Russian-made goods, preferring high-quality imports, and the bulk of the population focused on Russian goods does not have enough money to buy these goods (especially housing and durable goods), spending their money income mainly on food or producing it because of poverty, mainly by hand in personal subsidiary plots in the villages and in garden, garden and summer cottages land plots around cities.

The strong social differentiation of Russian households is also reflected in their role as providers of economic resources. Thus, the excessive concentration of cash income in the hands of a small group of Russian households and the resulting fear of losing these incomes as a result of their possibly more even distribution (for example, through a revision of the results of privatization or an increase in rent for the use of state natural resources) pushes them to a significant export of capital from the country. (directly or through their Russian companies). At the same time, the bulk of Russian households do not have sufficient income to save money, let alone to invest it in the Russian economy through banks or the purchase of securities.

The Federal State Statistics Service has summed up the results of the 2010 All-Russian Population Census, obtained as a result of automated processing of census forms.

1. Number and distribution of the population

According to the All-Russian population census conducted as of October 14, 2010, permanent population Russian Federation amounted to 142.9 million people.

The census took into account 90,000 citizens of the Russian Federation who, as of the date of the census, were abroad on a long-term business trip through state authorities and members of their households living with them (in 2002, 107,000).

In addition, the census took into account 489 thousand people temporarily (less than 1 year) in the territory of the Russian Federation and permanently residing abroad (in 2002 - 239 thousand people).

The Russian Federation ranks eighth in the world 1 in terms of population after China (1335 million people), India (1210 million people), USA (309 million people), Indonesia (238 million people), Brazil (191 million people) ), Pakistan (165 million) and Bangladesh (147 million).

Compared with the 2002 population census, the population decreased by 2.3 million people, including in urban areas - by 1.1 million people, in rural areas - by 1.2 million people.

Urban to rural ratio amounted in 2010 to 74% and 26%, respectively.

The population of the Russian Federation lives in 2,386 urban settlements (cities and urban-type settlements) and 134,000 rural settlements.

Changes in the placement of the urban population are characterized by the following data:

93% of the urban population lives in cities (in 2002 - 90%), the rest of the urban population lives in urban-type settlements.

Accommodation rural population characterized by the following data:

During the intercensal period, the number of rural settlements decreased by 8.5 thousand villages and villages. This happened due to the inclusion of rural settlements within the boundaries of cities and urban-type settlements, as well as their elimination by decisions of local authorities due to natural decline and migration outflow of the population to other settlements. At the same time, the census recorded 19.4 thousand rural settlements in which the population actually did not live. Compared to the last census, the number of such settlements has increased by 48 percent.

2. Distribution of the population on the territory of the Russian Federation

Population by federal districts changed as follows:

3. Age and sex composition

According to the 2010 census, women outnumber men by 10.8 million. In 2002, this excess was 10.0 million people.

There were 1163 women per 1000 men in 2010 and 1147 in 2002.

According to the 2010 census, the predominance of the number of women over the number of men is noted from the age of 30 (in 2002 - from the age of 33).

Significant changes have taken place in age group population.

According to the results of the All-Russian population census of 2010 average age population of the country was 39 years (in 2002 - 37.7 years).

The age-sex pyramid clearly illustrates the changes that have taken place during the intercensal period.

4. Marital status, fertility

Number couples amounted to 33 million (in 2002 - 34 million). Of the total number of married couples, 4.4 million (13%) were in an unregistered marriage (in 2002 - 3.3 million, or 9.7%).

The marriage structure of the population aged 16 and over is characterized by the following data:

In addition, 1.8 thousand people under the age of 16 indicated that they were married, of which 1.1 thousand people were unregistered (in 2002, respectively, 3.7 thousand people and 2 2 thousand people).

According to the 2010 census, the birth rate among women aged 15 and over living in private households is characterized by the following data:

The average number of children born by women decreased from 1513 in 2002 to 1469 in 2010 per 1000 women. . - 1993).

Of the total number of women aged 15 and over who gave birth, 19% of women aged 15-19 gave birth to their first child, 54% aged 20-24, 19% aged 25-29, aged 30 -34 years - 5.3%, aged 35 years and over - 1.9% of women.

5. Number and composition of households

In 2010, there were 54.6 million private households 3 in which 141.0 million people lived, or 99% of the total population of Russia. By size, private households (hereinafter - households) are distributed as follows:

The average household size (average number of household members) in Russia has decreased and amounted to 2.6 people (in 2002 - 2.7 people). The low average household size in Russia as a whole is due to the presence of a large number of households consisting of one and two people, such households make up more than half of all private households.

Among households with two or more people, 17.9 million households (44%) have children under the age of 18 (in 2002, households with children under the age of 18 accounted for 52%). During the intercensal period, the number of households without children under 18 increased by 15%.

Households with 1 child still dominate in both urban and rural households.

In collective households (these are people living in orphanages, boarding schools for orphans and children left without parental care, stationary social service institutions, barracks, places of deprivation of liberty, monasteries and similar specialized institutions), 1.8 million people, and in 2002 - 2.3 million people. During the 2010 census, 34 thousand homeless households were recorded (in 2002 - 68 thousand), which include almost 64 thousand people (in 2002 - 143 thousand people).

6. National composition, language skills, citizenship

In accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, nationality during the survey of the population was indicated by the respondents themselves on the basis of self-determination and was recorded by the census workers strictly from the words of the respondents. When considering the national composition of the population, it should be borne in mind that the population of individual nationalities could be affected by the fact that the population had the right not to answer the question of nationality. In this regard, in 2010, 5.6 million people (almost 4.0%, in 2002 - 1.5 million people, or 1%) do not have information about their nationality, of which about 3.6 million people received information from administrative sources, and 2 million people did not identify their nationality.

The change in the population of the most numerous nationalities is characterized by the following data4:

Of the total number of private households consisting of 2 or more people, 84% of households are mono-ethnic, where all members of the household belong to the same nationality.

In 2010 proficiency in Russian 138 million people indicated (99.4% of those who answered the question about knowledge of the Russian language), in 2002 - 142.6 million people (99.2%). Among the townspeople, 101 million people (99.8%) spoke Russian, and among the rural population - 37 million people (98.7%).

Among other languages the most common are English, Tatar, German, Chechen, Bashkir, Ukrainian, Chuvash.

Possession of the Russian sign language of the deaf was indicated by 121 thousand people.

population citizens of the Russian Federation amounted to 137.9 million people (99.4% of persons who indicated citizenship), 0.7 million people have citizenship of other states and 0.2 million people are stateless. Of the total number of citizens of the Russian Federation, 79 thousand people have two citizenships. More than 4.1 million people do not have citizenship on the census form.

The change in the citizenship of the Russian population during the intercensal period can be seen from the following data:

7. The level of education of the population

The 2010 census took into account 110.6 million people aged 15 and over with basic general education and above, representing 91% of this age group. Compared to 2002, the number of people with the above level of education increased by 1.2 million people (1.1%).

The dynamics of the level of education of the population aged 15 years and over is as follows:

Of the total number of people with higher vocational education 1.1 million people (4.3%) have a bachelor's degree, 25.1 million people (93%) have a specialist 5, and 0.6 million people (2.3%) have a master's degree.

Among specialists with higher professional education, 707 thousand people have postgraduate education(in 2002 - 369 thousand people).

There are 596,000 candidates of sciences and 124,000 doctors of sciences in Russia. There are 265,000 women (44%) among Candidates of Sciences, 41,000 (33%) among Doctors of Sciences. By age, candidates of science are dominated by people of working age (65%), among doctors of science - people older than working age (51%).

The number of persons with incomplete higher education(by 44%), while 68% of them continue their education.

The number of people with secondary (complete) general education slightly increased (by 189,000 people, or by 0.9%). At the same time, the number of people aged 15 and over with basic general and primary education has decreased.

It should be noted that the proportion of the illiterate population aged 10 years and over is decreasing. If in 2002 the proportion of illiterates in this age group was 0.5%, then in 2010 it was 0.3%. Among the illiterate population, 42% are persons aged 60 and over (67% in 2002).

8. Livelihoods

In 2010, 103.6 million people had one source of livelihood, 33.0 million people had two sources, and 2.2 million people had three sources or more.

The types of sources of livelihood and the number of people who named them and the main source are characterized by the following data:

9. Economic activity of the population

Change in the economic activity of the population aged 15-64 years old living in private households in the intercensal period is characterized by the following data:

The economic activity of the population increased by 6.1%, while the growth was due to an increase in the employed population (by 8.8%) while reducing the number of unemployed (by 16%).

The number of economically inactive population (for example, non-working pensioners, students, housewives, persons who do not have and are not looking for a job) decreased by 18%, and their share among the population of private households aged 15-64 was 25% against 31% in 2002 year.

In 2010, out of 109 million people aged 15-72 living in private households, 72 million (66%) were economically active, while 32 million (29%) were economically inactive and 5 million ( 5%) did not indicate economic activity.

Almost 66 million people (or 91%) of the economically active population aged 15-72 are employed in the economy, and 6.3 million (or 9%) are unemployed. Among the unemployed, 2.8 million people, or 44%, are young people aged 15-29.

In 2010, 1.7 million employed people (2.5%) indicated that they had more than one job.

Of the total number of people aged 15-72 employed in the economy, the absolute majority - 61.6 million people (94%) - are employed. Compared to 2002, the number of employees increased by 5.8%. The number of employers employing employees to carry out their activities amounted to 1.4 million people (in 2002 - 923 thousand people).

The household, in accordance with modern theoretical approaches available in economic science, is one of the key socio-economic subjects. The dynamics of their formation largely determines the efficiency of the state's economy and the development of civil society. What is a household? What subjects can it be represented by?

What is a household?

A household is, in accordance with a definition common in the scientific community, an institutional social unit that consists of a relatively small group of citizens living together, pooling their incomes and resources to one degree or another, and also consuming a number of goods and services together.

Usually run by families. Households can be not only consumers of goods and services, but also their producers - for example, if their subjects carry out entrepreneurial activities.

There is another interpretation of the term in question. It was created by economists. According to it, a household is a group of people who make collective economic decisions. For example, related to the purchase of goods, the use of services, or their production, if household members are engaged in entrepreneurial activities.

Key Features of a Household

There is a widespread point of view according to which a household is a social group characterized by the following main features:

Isolation (both legal and actual),

Accommodation of participants in the territory of one residential premises or a group of those located nearby,

Regularity of social communications—assuming that household members with varying degrees intensities interact, communicate with each other.

As we noted above, households are most often formed by families. But this is not always the case. Possible household subjects are firms, public organizations, churches, non-profit structures, political parties. All of them, one way or another, will correspond to the main features of the household that we have considered above.

Households perform a number of economic functions. Let's study them.

Economic functions of households

The main functions of households from the point of view of the economy are as follows:

Capital distribution;

Control over the formation of individual consumer preferences;

Investment of accumulated capital.

Of course, there are a number of other significant economic functions of households. Thus, the relevant social groups form market demand by buying goods and services produced by other economic entities. Households, as we noted above, can produce various products and services themselves. It can be noted that economic relations can also arise between individual members of the household. This may be due to various legal relations - debt, production, labor.

In the corresponding social group, local economic roles associated with capital management can be formed. Thus, a financial household is conducted. The considered social group can be an independent economic entity that interacts: with other households, with individual citizens of their country, with government agencies, with commercial banks, with various types enterprises, with non-state structures, with foreign citizens and organizations.

Let's study the basic economic functions of households - distribution, control and investment, in more detail.

Distributive economic function of households

One of the key households is the distribution of funds. Those or other subjects of the household who earn a large amount of money, one way or another, share them with others. In families - as a rule, free of charge and sufficiently active. In more dispersed social groups, such a distribution is rare.

Therefore, the larger the household, the more pronounced the distribution of capital in it becomes. This function plays a positive role from the point of view of the entire macroeconomic system, since the availability of capital among people with different needs stimulates the production of goods and the provision of services in relevant areas. If funds were concentrated in a small number of people, then this would contribute to the development of a smaller number of industries - those that are able to satisfy the needs of a particular citizen.

Household consumption generates demand, as a rule, for significantly more wide range goods and services.

Control economic function of households

The next significant function of households is control. Its specificity lies in managing the needs of each of the members of the relevant social group.

The fact is that household incomes, even if we are talking about associations within the same city, can vary greatly. And if one level of spending is acceptable for representatives of one social group, then members of another household, based on the possibility, will not be able to count on the same pattern of consumption. In this regard, the purchasing aspirations of individual household entities may be subject to control in order to optimize the structure of their expenses.

households

The next most important function of households is investment. Household finances can be directed to support the activities of a wide variety of economic entities. At the same time, these communications can already be observed at the level of daily expenses of members of the corresponding social group - when shopping in a store, using various services. Household spending actually becomes an investment in businesses that supply certain goods or services. In addition, financial investments of households can be represented by bank deposits, participation in stock trading, private investment support for any projects.

The efficiency of running a financial household largely depends on the quality of its local budget management. Let's study this aspect in more detail.

Household budget

We noted above that the household is an independent economic entity. Thus, household finances are autonomous in terms of priorities in their distribution, despite the fact that their receipt largely depends on the actions of other subjects with whom the corresponding social group communicates.

The household budget, like a financial plan formed by the state or an enterprise, consists of estimated income and expenses. Its distinctive specificity lies in the fact that when compiling it, as a rule, the actual, rather than estimated, individual needs of each of the household members are taken into account. For someone, one volume of goods and services is needed, for another, a completely different one. In turn, budgets within the framework of larger-scale social institutions can be drawn up on the basis of calculated indicators that are not always combined with the real individual needs of a particular citizen. This is the advantage of budgeting at the level of a local household, in the ability to take into account the consumer preferences of all its participants.

Of course, in many cases the concept of "budget" in the household is considered informally. In principle, it is rare when someone from the family undertakes to draw up a real plan of income and expenses reflected in a separate document. Although, when it is really needed, many people do this work - using, for example, specialized types of software, mobile applications, and they do it very effectively.

But, regardless of the method of drawing up the household budget, its main feature remains - focus on the individual structure of needs. At the same time, it often does not matter how much a particular member of the household earns. This is another feature of the economic role of the respective social groups, when the subject of consumption may not have mutual rights and obligations. But, it should be noted that such a specific relationship is more typical for family households and is not very common in corporate legal relations.

What are the types of households

We will study what types of households there are. The classification of the corresponding social groups based on the number of subjects is widespread. Thus, households can be single or group. The former are formed by individual citizens or families. The second is by several groups of people.

Other common household classification criteria:

Territorial affiliation (it is assumed that the location of the corresponding social group is correlated with the city, region, state);

Ability to pay (in this sense, households can have high, medium or low income);

Property characteristics (based on the type of housing and property owned by household members).

Researchers can define other criteria, related, for example, to the social status of household members, the labor potential of the corresponding social group, the level of education and qualifications of citizens who are part of the household.

Household structure

Let's study what constitutes the structure of the household. This term may mean:

Household composition;

Distribution of functional roles in the corresponding social group.

Regarding the composition of the household: it may correspond to the marital status of each of its members. It can be parents and their children, other relatives. Regarding functional roles in the household: they can be represented by participants who form capital by working, developing a business, distribute income and expenses of households, make decisions regarding the management of resources available in the household - real estate, household tools, play a passive economic role within the household , but active - in cooperation with other economic entities.

Depending on the size of the household, the socio-economic characteristics of other social groups of the corresponding type that have developed in a particular city or region, the functional roles of household members can be represented in a much wider range.

Households and the State

Among researchers, there is an ambiguous assessment of the role of the state in the formation of households. On the one hand, the corresponding social group is generally independent of the activities of any state structures. On the other hand, the state can play a critical role in terms of maintaining household resilience.

First of all, in the economic sense. Here we can talk both about providing working members of the household with opportunities to earn in the financial system of the state - for example, through employment in budgetary structures, in the civil service, and about providing direct assistance to citizens in the form of transferring funds in the form of subsidies, benefits, distribution in favor of those or other household subjects of targeted support measures.

In turn, the household performs important functions for the state, both social and economic. As we noted above, the corresponding associations are formed, as a rule, by families, whose education is the most important factor in the development of civil society. Households generate demand in many segments of the economy - this helps to increase the economic stability of the state, increase its GDP.

Household income

Let's study what household incomes can be formed by. The main sources of capital to be distributed among the relevant social groups are:

Salary;

Compensation in the framework of civil law relations;

Entrepreneurial activity;

Lease of certain assets;

Receiving dividends as a result of investments in the assets of certain enterprises;

Making profit through trading in securities;

Use of natural resources;

Receiving bank interest on deposits.

Individual household members can extract one or more of the above. As a rule, the corresponding cash receipts are reduced by the amount of mandatory payments - in the form of taxes, commissions, other deductions provided for by law and the terms of contracts.

Household spending

Expenses, in turn, of households can be represented by:

Costs associated with the maintenance of disposable resources (for example, paying utility bills, if we are talking about real estate);

With the acquisition of basic types of goods - food, household chemicals, electronics;

With the use of everyday services - transport, banking, communication;

Long-term acquisitions - the purchase of new real estate, cars and other equipment.

Household expenses can be supplemented by the use of legal, medical, educational services - based on the structure of needs that is formed in a particular social group. Let's consider this aspect in more detail.

The structure of needs within the household

Households are independent economic entities, the composition of which, at the same time, can be represented by participants with different needs. For some, it is enough to purchase basic goods and services, for others it is necessary to turn to additional services, purchase more expensive products.

The main factor determining the structure of needs in the respective social groups is the disposable income of households. The larger it is and the more actively its distribution is carried out, the more likely it is that the personal demands of farm participants in terms of consumer preferences will increase. In some cases, they may be replaced by social priorities. For example, it may be preferable for a person to spend the available money not on the purchase of some expensive product, but on sponsorship of financial support to other people or organizations. In many ways, the appearance of such preferences depends on such factors as the level of education, upbringing of a particular person, and the circle of his communication.

Factors in the formation of households

Let us now consider under the influence of what factors a household can be formed. Above, we studied the main types of households, the criteria for their classification. Each of them will correspond to a separate group of factors in question. So, if we are talking about a single household, most likely it will be represented by a separate family. The factors of its formation are, as you know, human relationships. People get closer, create families and start a common household. in this case it can play an important role, but it is usually secondary.

In turn, the formation of group households can be primarily due to just the same economic necessity. Social groups of the corresponding type involve the unification of several families into a common household - due to the fact that in such a format it will be much easier for each of them to realize their needs and optimize the structure of expenses.

The territorial affiliation of potential household members, the level of their income and the types of property they own can also play a significant role in the formation of the associations under consideration. So, for example, in the open area of ​​the Far North, it would probably make sense for indigenous peoples living in the respective territories, having relatively low incomes and not the most liquid property, to unite in households.

Summary

The household is a socio-economic unit that plays an important role in the development of society and the state. Uniting into households, people contribute to the strengthening of the intensity of mutual communications, a more efficient distribution of capital, and the formation of an optimal structure of consumer preferences in terms of disposable income.

The subjects of a household are usually families. But the formation of appropriate social groups and organizations is quite possible. The structure of the household can be determined by its composition and distribution of functions among the participants, depend on the economic and cultural characteristics of the community within which the corresponding type of social group is formed.

In some countries household definition based on joint nutrition, in others - on the joint living of people. For example, in the USA, Sweden and Switzerland under household concept there are groups of people living in the same room or part of it. In any case, the household is understood as the primary economic unit of society.

Much is now being said about the high cost of housing, about the low rates of housing construction. But what is the need for housing that exists in Russia at the moment? This question was asked by the Institute of International Economic and Political Studies (IMEPI) of the Russian Academy of Sciences, which devoted a special study to this problem.

To begin with, it is necessary to clearly distinguish such categories as demand and need. Demand is the ability to pay, and need is a more evaluative category, which is associated with the definition of the standard of living in society and the realization of the right to housing. In Russia, for example, the measure of needs is often taken as the so-called social standard - 18 square meters. m area per person. Officially, the scale of the need for housing is expressed in the number of citizens who are on the waiting list for better housing conditions - now it is about 4.4 million families, or 9% of the total.

But the size of living space does not fully reflect housing needs. There is a basic need to have a roof over your head, and other factors are superimposed on it, which reflect the preferences of each individual household. Allocating a separate dwelling to each household does not solve the housing problem. Not only is there a surplus of housing relative to the number of households and a variety of housing in all parts of the country, the structure of distribution of housing is also important.

Structure of households in Russia

At present, it is quite difficult to assess the need for housing in our country. On the one hand, there is a decrease in the population, and migration no longer ensures growth. On the other hand, the need for housing depends on the number of families and households. Unlike a family, a household may include non-relatives and may consist of one person. The 2002 census counted 52.7 million private households, in which 142.8 million people live, or 98% of the total population of Russia. By size, private households are distributed as follows (see table).

Thus, despite the decline in the population, the need for housing increases as the number of households grows: the young want to live separately, the elderly live longer, the number of divorced increases. To meet this need, it is necessary to build new houses. But those already built fall into disrepair, become uninhabitable if they are not restored or replaced with new ones. The average area per inhabitant in Russia is 20.2 sq. m (in 1998 - 18.8 sq. m) - this is more than the social norm. But be aware of the paradoxes of averages, this figure is adjusted for household size and the presence of children, which, as the data show, significantly affect the size of housing.

If we consider the distribution of households by the number of rooms, then one room is occupied by approximately 16% of households, two rooms - by 41.6%, three or more rooms - by 42.3% of households.

On average, there are 1.2 people per room in Russia, i.e., a significant part of the population does not have a separate room.

Criteria for needing housing

Significant disparities in the distribution of housing require clarification of certain criteria for "housing need". These include the following concepts.

Overcrowding - more than one household lives in the same building. There are two forms of overpopulation. First, families living in the same apartment may not have family ties- This is the so-called communal. According to official data, in Russia 2.2% of households live in communal apartments, in Moscow this figure is higher - about 3%. This also includes hostels. Although their share is decreasing, currently 1.4% of households live in dormitories (for comparison: approximately 74% of households have a separate apartment, 17.5% of households have a separate house). Secondly, overpopulation implies the presence of family ties. It can be determined if household members are on the waiting list for housing.

The concept of "poor quality of the housing stock" includes two parameters - dilapidated and dilapidated housing (old buildings, unsuitable for habitation) and uncomfortable housing (which lack hot water, gas, electricity, elevators, etc.). The level of improvement of the housing stock can be judged by the following figures: at present, 87% of the areas in the urban housing stock are equipped with water supply, 85% sewerage, central heating - 88%, bathroom - 80%, hot water supply - 77%, gas - 69% .

In Russia, a significant amount of housing is dilapidated and dilapidated - it is approximately 91 million square meters. m of total area. Moreover, its share in the housing stock is growing: if in 1995 its share was 1.4%, now it has reached 3.2%. According to official data, residential buildings older than 30 years make up 62% of the total housing stock, and the degree of deterioration of a third of the housing stock exceeds 60%.

Problems with; rent and utility bills: households spend more than a certain percentage of their income on housing and utility bills. Currently, on average, rent is about 19% of the total income of a Russian family.

Social indications - there are categories of citizens who, according to objective indications, need a separate room. First of all, these are people suffering from certain types of diseases and having a disability. Moreover, in the latter case, a person needs specially equipped housing (for example, the presence of ramps). At present, for example, in Russia there are almost 11 million people with disabilities, or 76.2 people per 1,000 people.

The check, please

Currently, the housing stock in the Russian Federation is 2.85 billion square meters. m. Is it enough to solve the housing problem and provide the population with decent housing? According to official estimates, the need is another plus 2.6 billion square meters. m - you need to build almost as much as you already have - a task that is hardly feasible in the foreseeable future.

According to statistics, there are now about 56 million apartments in Russia, and the number of households is approximately 53 million. It turns out that in our country there is even a physical surplus of housing stock. Especially when you consider the process of reducing the country's population. In accordance with demographic forecasts, by 2016 the population of Russia will amount to 134.4 million people, that is, it will decrease compared to. 2001 by 10.4 million people, or 7.2%.

A survey conducted by the Public Opinion Foundation showed that the shortage and high cost of housing worries an average of 17% of respondents. At the same time, in the age group from 18 to 35 years, this problem was noted by 25% of respondents. Housing inequality is gradually becoming more significant than income stratification.