Each time domestic statistics publish medium salary data, Belarusians are indignant and remember jokes about the cabbage. Why is it going on and who in this case is the rights - Belstat or Belarusians? Together with the Senior Researcher, BEROC Research Center, Lviv, we understand what data is better to watch. Read and listen to the new issue of the podcast "about money".
Subscribe to the podcast can be in the Yandex.Music service. It can also be listened to on Apple devices or other subcast receivers. Link to download the file itself in mp3 format is here.
Main thoughts
The problem is not that Belstat does not consider incorrectly. The problem is in understanding the numbers. First, it is important to remember that the mean salary that Belstat says is the accrued salary. That is, from this figure you need to take another 14% (13% income tax and 1% - deductions to FSZN).
Secondly, in order to see which salary gets most of the Belarusians, you need to look at the index of the median salary. Unfortunately, its statistics lead only twice a year - in May and November.
The median salary is a figure calculated in such a way that 50% of the working gets more than this number, and the remaining 50% is less.
If we are interested in the growth of salaries in general in the economy of the country, you need to look at the average salary. If the task is to find out how people live, the median value will be more close to reality. The average Belarusian will see itself closer to the median salary than the average.
The difference between the middle and median salary in November 2020 amounted to 250 rubles in the country, and in Minsk and more - 450. This difference tells us about economic inequality, that the most rich in the population has experienced and experience the current economic crisis better than poorer citizens. The more economic inequality, the greater the difference between the middle and median salary.
How to understand the difference between the middle and median salary? Example. You receive a thousand rubles with a friend, Bill Gates comes to visit you, which receives several million dollars. So the average salary will now be several hundred thousand dollars, as it is considered as an arithmetic average. The median salary will be just 1000 rubles.
Economic inequality is not bad and not good. It all depends on what it is caused. If the fact that a person in the 90s simply stole money is toxic inequality. If the reason lies in market mechanisms (someone came up with the idea that brought and benefits society, - Windows is a bright example), such economic inequality is even effectively.
All "five hundred" has become some kind of magical number. Belarus periodically reached this plank, then fell below it. Officials perceived this figure as an increase in average salary, although if you engence the words, this promise was more about to provide a median at $ 500. It is much closer to the concept of "all".
The real salary is an understanding how much and what you can buy on earned money. It is needed not to be deceived in the case when salaries are growing due to inflation.
If now all the prices in Belarus will increase 10 times and the salary is also 10 times, then no one will live. There will be galloping inflation.
Timesline
00: 40-04: 23. Why does the average salary reflect the real salary situation in the country? What is a median salary? And what salary statistics lead in the world?
04: 23-07: 02. Why such a big difference between medium and median salary?
07: 02-10: 43. Economic inequality and its catastrophic scale.
10: 43-16: 38. What is wrong with the promise of "five hundred"? Is it possible to execute it?
16: 38-17: 50. What is real salary? How to understand her ordinary person?
17: 50-20: 10. If there is a "real salary" concept, why the subsistence minimum budget and the minimum consumer budget?
20: 10-25: 25. What statistics to look at to understand your salary level? And why do you need to take 14% from average salary?
Read and listen also:
Our channel in Telegram. Join now!
Is there something to tell? Write to our telegram-bot. It is anonymously and fast