The Current Status of Self-Employment in Russia and Its Potential for Development

ABSTRACT This article examines the development of self-employment as a new way of working. It is noteworthy that self-employment is a broad concept that is no longer adequately understood by either current regulations or prevailing public opinion, which reduces the effectiveness of state policy governing citizens who have decided to go into business for themselves. Therefore, society fails to appreciate the importance of the institution of self-employment for the socioeconomic development of the country. The authors provide detailed evidence that the modern development of the institution of self-employment is an objective process that is a consequence of changes to the structure of the modern economy: Services have grown to occupy an ever greater share of gross domestic product, workers have gained increased mobility on the labor market, innovations and digital technologies have been introduced on a massive scale, new incentives to work have appeared, workers are being asked to demonstrate ever greater competencies, and there is increasing pressure to optimize production costs. This article focuses on an analysis of the state of the labor market for self-employed workers in Russia. It is noted that despite positive growth in the indicators, legal self-employment in Russia remains extremely underdeveloped. It still needs to develop in order to satisfy the requirements of the national economy, and the types of standards adopted by developed countries do not yet fully exist in Russia. In order to provide expanded opportunities for citizens to go into business, reduce the unemployment rate, reduce the size of the informal economy, and develop the country’s economy, we need to increase the efficiency of regulation by the state. It should be aimed at establishing the legal status of self-employed workers based on a multifunctional criterion, as well as solving certain tactical and strategic objectives. The first set of goals is to establish administrative, property, informational, and financial support measures for the self-employed. The second set of goals is to develop a new economic environment in the country, which will motivate people to practice legal self-employment.