A study of the territorial differentiation of wages for agricultural workers and monetary incomes of the population by municipal and urban districts

Burda Aleksei Grigor'evich Doctor of Economics Professor, Department of Economic Cybernetics, Kuban State Agrarian University 350044, Russia, Krasnodarskii krai, g. Krasnodar, ul. Kalinina, 13, kab. 209 ek agburda@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Introduction

Wages are the main source of labor reproduction, both in the national economy as a whole and in the agricultural sector of the economy. Fair and decent wages are an important factor in motivating work, a necessary condition for rural development and ensuring the food sovereignty of our country. The issues of territorial and sectoral wage differentiation traditionally attract the attention of many scientists ^[1-6], which confirms the need for constant monitoring of the level of wages in the agricultural sector. Not only domestic but also foreign scientists are interested in various aspects of wage differentiation. Thus, S. Madan, considering wage differences in the manufacturing and service sectors, identifies factors specific to employees (education, work experience, gender and marital status), which explain about half of the fluctuations in employee wages, and factors specific to the company (nature, size, type and location of the enterprise) Explaining only 12-17% of the variation in wage levels, it concludes that the quality of human capital is not only important for reducing wage differentiation, but also contributes to increasing its level ^[7]. In our opinion, it is also necessary to take into account the number of residents of municipal and urban districts in which organizations are located, since this parameter affects the amount of wages.

An assessment of intra-industry differentiation of wages by categories of workers in agricultural organizations, natural and climatic microzones and municipal districts of the Saratov region showed that the inter-district range of average monthly wages is 2.2 times ^[8]. The presence of significant wage differentiation in general for all types of economic activity and in agriculture by federal districts is also noted by representatives of academic science ^[9]. E. V. Reprintseva spoke about the significant differentiation of the average wage level in the context of economic activities in the period 2014-2018 ^[10].

However, the changing socio-economic environment, business conditions and the economic situation in the country and the world encourage the development of certain aspects of the problem under consideration, taking into account the current labor market conditions. The purpose of the work is to study the territorial differences in the level of remuneration of agricultural workers and the monetary income of the population by municipal and urban districts.

Achieving this goal involves solving the following tasks:

- to consider the differentiation of wages in the agricultural sector of the Russian economy,

- to compare the salaries of agricultural workers in various federal districts with the established industry earnings in the country as a whole,

- to identify gender differences in the level of wages in the agricultural sector and compare them with the corresponding differentiation across all types of economic activity,

- to analyze the volume of social payments and incomes of the population by municipal districts and urban districts of the Krasnodar Territory – one of the regions with highly developed agriculture,

- formulate the results of the conducted research, outline ways to solve the identified problems.

Research material and methods

The data of the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation on the amount of wages, social benefits to the population and taxable monetary incomes of the population by municipal, urban districts and municipal districts served as the source material for the work. The research applied general scientific methods of scientific cognition, statistical groupings, methods of economic analysis and data visualization.

Territorial differentiation of wages in the agricultural sector

In the analyzed period from 2016 to 2023, an increase in the average monthly nominal wages of agricultural workers was noted in all federal districts of Russia without exception (Figure 1).

In 2017-2019, the highest wage level in the industry was in the Far Eastern Federal District, and from 2020 to 2023 – in the Central Federal District. The Volga, Siberian and North Caucasian Federal districts are distinguished by low wages in the agricultural sector.

Figure 1 – Average monthly wage in agriculture in the federal districts of the Russian Federation, RUB.

Scientists from Kursk and Oryol came to the conclusion that in the regions of the Central Federal District, "the increase in the level of wages actually does not depend on both the overall level of economic development of the regions, determined by the size of GRP per capita, and the degree of agricultural specialization, determined by the volume of agricultural production, and is largely formed by the influence of the cost of living and the price level" ^[11], as well as labor market conditions.

The wage level in the agricultural sector of the Volga Federal District in the analyzed period was 82.8-90 % from the national average, and on average for 2016-2023 – 15.3% lower than the national average (Figure 2).

Figure 2 – The ratio of the average monthly salary of agricultural workers in the federal District to the average monthly salary of agricultural workers in the Russian Federation, %

In the Far Eastern, Central and Northwestern districts, the wages of rural workers during this period were higher than the average by 19.7%, 16.4% and 14.1%, respectively. The maximum deviation from the average level occurred in 2017 in the Far Eastern Federal District, when wages were 29.3% higher than the average level in the industry in the country.

An analysis of the subjects of the Russian Federation revealed that the lowest wage in the industry in 2023 was in the Republic of Tyva – 16293 rubles (34.3% of the average), and the highest in the Sakhalin Region – 87062 rubles (181.3% of the average), the national average was 47561 rubles.

Regional differences in the level of remuneration of agricultural workers are due to both the territorial division of labor and the established specialization of commodity producers, the prices and cost of products and goods necessary for the reproduction of labor, and regional levels of the subsistence minimum.

Our research confirmed the conclusions of E. V. Rodionova about "the need to conduct research on regional wage differentiation in agriculture, taking into account the use of regional coefficients and northern allowances to find effective solutions to reduce regional wage inequality in agriculture" ^[5].

Gender differentiation of wages in agriculture

It is of interest to consider the differences in the level of remuneration of male and female labor in the agricultural sector, as well as to compare this differentiation with the existing differences in the economy as a whole (Table 1).

Table 1 – Characteristics of the average wages of men and women according to sample surveys for October

Note: the grouping was compiled by the author according to the data of the Federal State Statistics Service https://rosstat.gov.ru/

The analysis of the results of sample surveys of gender differentiation of wages conducted by state statistical agencies with a frequency of two years for the month of October indicates a faster growth in wages for women compared to men in the period from 2017 to 2021 in the economy of the Russian Federation as a whole. At the same time, in agriculture, on the contrary, the growth rates of women's wages were lower than men's. In 2023, compared to 2021, there was a more significant increase in men's wages both in the economy as a whole and in the agricultural sector in comparison with women's wages. Moreover, the chain indices of growth rates in this period are the most significant for the period under review.

It should also be noted that throughout the analyzed period of time, the ratio of men's wages to women's wages in agriculture was in the range from 1,204 to 1,231 times, and in the economy as a whole – from 1,380 to 1,436 times, that is, gender differentiation in the agricultural sector is present, but to a less pronounced extent than in the in many other industries and is not as significant as the average for the economy of our country.

Differentiation of monetary incomes of the population by municipal and urban districts of the Krasnodar Territory

The dynamics of social benefits and taxable monetary incomes of the population as a whole in the Russian Federation for 2010-2020 is considered in the article ^[12]. We have analyzed the volume of social benefits and taxable monetary incomes of the population by municipal districts (urban districts) of the Krasnodar Territory for 2022. This indicator is a simplified analogue of the amount of monetary income of the population by municipal districts and urban districts, calculated in accordance with the temporary procedure based on information from tax authorities on the personal income tax base of individuals and individual entrepreneurs, pension authorities on benefits and pensions paid, as well as information from executive authorities on unemployment benefits paid, social support measures and other types of targeted social assistance to the population. The value under consideration is somewhat at odds with the amount of monetary income of the population, which is taken into account according to a more complete range of indicators in accordance with the current methodology. The source of information for this purpose was the information published on the official website of the Federal State Statistics Service.

The hypothesis was put forward, tested and partially confirmed that the amounts of income and social benefits per inhabitant depend on the number of residents of municipal districts and urban districts. The number of residents by districts and cities of the region is determined by dividing the absolute amounts of income and payments by their amount per inhabitant. Next, ranked rows of districts and urban districts by population were constructed, their groupings were carried out and income and payment indicators per 1 resident per month were calculated separately by municipal districts (Table 2) and urban districts (Table 3).

Table 2 – Social benefits and taxable monetary incomes of the population of the municipal districts of the Krasnodar Territory, 2022

Note: the grouping was compiled by the author according to the data of the Federal State Statistics Service https://rosstat.gov.ru/

The municipal districts of Kuban differ significantly in terms of population, the range of variation in the number of inhabitants is over 118 thousand people: less than 30 thousand people live in the Beloglinsky municipal district, and over 148 thousand people live in the Dinsky district. Municipalities were considered differentially: one group included entities with a population of up to 100 thousand people, the other – over this value.

In the first group, cash income was 13.6% lower than in the second. This difference can be explained by the wider employment opportunities in relatively large municipalities. It is known that many villagers, living in remote villages and farms, work in district centers, travel tens of kilometers to and from their place of work every day. In addition, it is noteworthy that the first group includes municipalities in the northeastern steppe part of the region, where the population density is significantly lower: in Beloglinsky, Krylovsky, Shcherbinovsky, Starominsky, Novopokrovsky and other districts of the Kuban.

The second group included the municipalities of Dinsky, Yeisk, Crimean, Slavyansky, Temryuksky, Tuapse, Seversky, Kavkazsky, Tikhoretsky, Belorechensky, Timashevsky, Ust-Labinsky, Krasnoarmeysky, Kurganinsky districts. It is not difficult to notice that almost all of them differ either by a slight distance from the regional center and are actually part of the agglomeration of Krasnodar (like Dinskoy and Seversky municipalities), or include the cities of Yeysk, Krymsk, Slavyansk-on-Kuban, Tikhoretsk, Belorechensk, Timashevsk, Ust-Labinsk. Accordingly, the activities of the population living here are connected not only with agriculture, where, as is known, the wage level is lower than in many other industries. The amounts of social and other payments per inhabitant in the first and second groups of municipal districts are almost the same – they differ by less than one percent.

Let's consider the differences in the prevailing levels of monetary income of the population in urban areas – by urban districts of Kuban (Table 3).

Table 3 – Social benefits and taxable monetary incomes of the population of urban districts of the Krasnodar Territory, 2022

Note: the grouping was compiled by the author according to the data of the Federal State Statistics Service https://rosstat.gov.ru/

When grouping urban districts by population and identifying the impact of this factor on the amount of social benefits and taxable monetary income of the population, the Federal Territory of Sirius was reflected separately, since it is significantly inferior in population to other districts – less than 13.5 thousand people live here, and in terms of taxable monetary income of individuals and individual entrepreneurs, this the territory significantly exceeds the rest of the urban districts of the region, exceeding the average by more than 2.2 times. At the same time, the amount of social and other payments per 1 resident here is only 62.6% of the average regional level of urban districts.

Conclusion. Wage differentiation is one of the factors of income inequality of the population, it affects the stratification of the population in terms of living standards. Significant differences in wages lead to income gaps among citizens and social tension in society, and a low level of differentiation, "equalization" reduces the motivation of employees, the desire for professional development and achievement of labor success.

The conducted research made it possible to note significant differences in wages in agriculture by territory and gender. The steady excess of the average monthly salary of agricultural workers in the Central and Northwestern Federal Districts by more than 10% compared with the average monthly salary of agricultural workers in the country can be explained by the presence of large megacities in the respective territories - Moscow and St. Petersburg with higher levels of labor reproduction costs and employee salaries. It has been established that in large municipalities, workers have more employment opportunities, and the income level is higher here. One of the elements of the increment of scientific knowledge obtained as a result of the work performed is the revealed relationship between the population of municipal districts and the income level in the Krasnodar Territory. A distinctive feature of gender differentiation of wages in the agricultural sector has also been established: in the agricultural sector, the growth rate of women's wages is lower than that of men, whereas the average situation in the economy is the opposite.

It is necessary to improve the remuneration system in such a way that it takes into account the contribution of each employee to the overall result, its effectiveness and industry characteristics. Studies of cyclical wage fluctuations ^[13], including the seasonal component, as well as the real level of wages in the regions of the country ^[14] and fair wages of employees of agricultural organizations ^[15] seem promising.