Andrey Shevchuk, HSE, associate professor Denis Strebkov, HSE, associate professor New forms of self- employment in Russia: Remote work patterns and E-markets This study was carried out within “The National Research University Higher School of Economics’ Academic Fund Program in 2010-2012, research grant No. 10-01-0129. XIII April international Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development (April 5, 2012)
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Andrey Shevchuk, HSE, associate professor
Denis Strebkov, HSE, associate professor
New forms of self-employment in
Russia:Remote work
patterns and E-markets
This study was carried out within “The National Research University Higher School of Economics’ Academic Fund Program in 2010-2012, research grant No. 10-01-0129.
XIII April international Academic Conference on Economic and Social
Development (April 5, 2012)
2
Self-Employment in the New Economy
• Service sector
• Knowledge-intensive and Creative industries
• Remote work or Telework (using ICT)
• Global E-markets
3
E-lance economy
“The fundamental unit of such an economy is not the corporation but the individual. Tasks aren’t assigned and controlled through a stable chain of management but rather are carried out autonomously by independent contractors. These electronically connected freelancers – e-lancers – join together into fluid and temporary networks to produce and sell goods and services. When the job is done – after a day, a month, a year – the network dissolves, and its members become independent agents again, circulating through the economy, seeking the next assignment”.
Thomas W. Malone and Robert J. LaubacherThe Dawn of the E-Lance Economy (1998)
4
Online Marketplaces for Freelancers
Name Year of foundation
Working language
Registered users
Freelancer.com 2004 Eng. 3,000,000
oDesk.com 2003 Eng. 2,000,000
Elance.com 1999 Eng. 1,300,000
Guru.com 2000 Eng. 1,000,000
Free-lance.ru 2005 Rus. 1,000,000
vWorker.com 2001 Eng. 500,000
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New phenomenon for Russia
• Self-employment in the USSR was illegal
• Information and Communication Technology (ICT) lag
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Self-employment in Russia
Type Russia EU
Own account workers(without employees) 5.8 10.5
All self-employed(including employers
and contributing family workers)
7.3 16.9
Source: ILO
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Online Marketplaces for Freelancers
Name Russia UK USA
Internet penetration rate(% of population) 43 % 84 % 78 %
Use the Internet for their work
(% of the labor force)23 % 77 % 62 %
Source: FOM, RLMS-HSE, E-skills.com, Pew Research Center
1. Second Russian Freelance Survey (2011, March), N = 10,943
• Future freelancers (2,925)• Active freelancers (7,179) (from Russia – 4,474)• Former freelancers (839)
2. Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey – HSE (2010, Oct), N = 21,343 • Russian working population (10,145)
47.5% of general population
• Russian employees using the Internet for their work (2,017)9.5% of general population19.9% of Russian working population
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Questionnaire: about 50 questions
• Demographic and professional profile• Work values and motivation• Employment strategies• Relationships with clients• Satisfaction• Income and well-being• Self-management• Work-life balance
Gender
60
4041
5953
47
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Male Female
Freelancers Employees using the Internet Working population
%
Age
19
28
2219
1012
1713
28 30
42
26
11129
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
18-22 23-26 27-30 31-40 41 years +
Freelancers Employees using the Internet Working population
%
Mean: 28.5 35.0 38.3 years old
Education
3
1521
60
22
30
3
64
2
10
56
3
29
10
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
School (8-9 years) School (10-11years)
University, nodegree (3-4 years)
University (5-6years)
PhD
Freelancers Employees using the Internet Working population
%
Employment Status
GENUINEFREELANCERS
(29%)
Employees(41%)
Students(14%)
House-wives(7%)
Entre-preneurs(8%)
Skills
Other
Advertising / Marketing / Consulting
Translating
Writing, Editing
Audio / Video
Photography
Engineering and Manufacturing
Graphic design, Creative arts
Computer programming
Websites
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
3
5
12
28
10
5
9
38
20
29
%
16
Work Values
%
Which aspects do you personally think are important in a job?
17
Working Hours
12
2
3
15
71
56
26
17
25
29
3
89
8
18
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Freelancers
Employees usingthe Internet
Working population
Up to 20 h 21-35 h 36-45 h 46-60 h More than 60 h
Mean:
51
42
45 hours
18
Earnings (average monthly post-tax personal income in USD)
Mean:
1,090
665
480 USD
17
25
47
29
19
10
20
3
143
53
35
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Freelancers
Employees usingthe Internet
Working population
Less than $325 $326 to $825 $826 to $1650 More than $1650
19
Satisfaction
11
9
9
29
24
24
11
13
20
3
2
641
51
47
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Freelancers
Employees using theInternet
Working population
Very satisfied Satisfied Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied Dissatisfied Very dissatisfied
All things considered, how satisfied are you with your life as a whole nowadays?
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Conclusion: Electronic Freelancers in Russia
• Young individuals with a higher enterprising spirit and human capital, offering creative and knowledge-intensive services.
• Work longer hours than regular employees and often operate under pressure, but have a higher income, enjoy autonomy at work and are satisfied with their lives.
• “New middle class” and the vanguard of the workforce in terms of the nature of work, ICT-competence and motivation.
• Play an important role in the development of the Internet, e-business, and innovative entrepreneurship.
• But still very narrow and highly specific category of the workforce.