The Impact of the Implementation of the Welfare State Concept on the Level of Poverty in Russia and Norway

Abstract

At present, the problem of poverty is urgent for both Russia and Norway. According to Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation, 12.1% of the Russian population was below the poverty line in the second quarter of 2021. According to the World Bank, the national poverty rate in Norway in 2018 was 12.7%. At the same time, both states position themselves as having overcome extreme poverty. Both states use the social-democratic type of the welfare state concept as the basis of social policy. The purpose of this study is to research the influence the welfare state concept application on the national level of poverty in Russia and Norway. The research methods are the analysis of official statistics of Russia, Norway and the World Bank, international reports, legislative acts and the analysis of media texts. The conclusions of this study highlight that the use of the welfare state concept in the Russian Federation and the Kingdom of Norway can positively affect the national level of poverty, but it contains a set of significant risks. The results show that further use of elements of the welfare state concept to combat poverty is possible in both countries, but taking into account the current realities, namely, the application of the principles of multidimensional evaluation, targeting in implementation and consideration of regional specificity in practical work with the phenomenon of poverty, and the involvement of other (besides the state) social institutions in this process. The conclusion of this paper formulates recommendations for state and municipal authorities of the Arctic subjects of the Russian Federation (mainly) and the Kingdom of Norway (to a lesser extent) to adjust the social practices used with regard to current trends and taking into account the identified risks.