Money Can’t Buy Happiness

Ukrainians have become more optimistic. This follows from the findings of an extensive study entitled Social and Economic Security of the Population, conducted in Ukraine by the International Labor Organization (ILO) in 2004. The study is based on State Statistics Committee surveys among 9,400 persons representing different social groups and regions. Much to the experts’ surprise, the survey results reflect the population’s growing confidence in the future. Of those polled, 12.2% expect their incomes to increase this year, while only 8.4% expect the opposite. In 2003, these figures were 4.9% and 14.9% respectively. In simple terms, this survey reflects the nation’s considerable socioeconomic progress.

The level of satisfaction of basic needs is rising. Yet there is little cause for jubilation, as most of those polled have admitted to not having enough money to buy an adequate supply of food, pay utility bills, buy clothing, or take a vacation; 77.3% can’t afford household goods and appliances, such as a washing machine or even a kitchen table; 75.6% can’t afford vacations and 38.8% education. On the bright side, while 58.7% of Ukrainians could not afford an adequate supply of food in 2003, this figure dropped to 43% in 2004 from a staggering 73% in 2000.

Jobless Ukrainians feel most insecure. Although the unemployment rate declined to 8.7% last year, the ILO considers unemployment one of the biggest problems in Ukraine. According to ILO Social Security Program Director Guy Standing, the Ukrainian government should make a priority of overcoming unemployment. President Viktor Yushchenko has vowed to create five million new jobs. “We need not ordinary jobs, but attractive jobs,” says Doctor of Economics Ella Libanova, adding: “There are enough jobs today, but people are reluctant to take them up because they are low paying and unpopular. Such jobs should be replaced with new ones so that people would be able to work with dignity and be rewarded appropriately.”

Another sign of progress reflected in the survey is that social and labor relations in Ukraine are acquiring market economy characteristics. Behavioral stereotypes are changing as citizens become more active searching for their place under the sun. To illustrate, in the last 12 months 15.3% of workers have been looking for new, better jobs.

What are their motives? 59.7% look for higher-paying jobs and 19.4% for better working conditions. Another noteworthy fact is the declining number of those who are eager to travel abroad in search of work. Less than 26.4% of Ukrainians are ready to seek a better life overseas, while 31.6% would like to relocate to another region within Ukraine. Experts view it as an extremely positive trend: rising internal migration as opposed to labor drain, which harms the nation’s economy.

Another positive sign is the rising number of Ukrainians who are satisfied with the size of their income. While 21.9% said so in 2003, this figure jumped to 26% in 2004. Respondents’ individual incomes averaged UAH 453 ($86). It is interesting how Ukrainian citizens feel about the minimum living wage. Whereas 58.3% of those polled have said that they know its size, only 12.1% of them named the correct figure (at the time of the survey it was UAH 362, or $69). Only 6.5% consider this amount sufficient for survival.

In a recent interview with The Day, Labor and Social Policy Minister Vyacheslav Kyrylenko declined to name a minimum living wage that would be sufficient. According to those polled, a family of four should have a minimum monthly income of UAH 3,081 ($586). Accordingly, Ukrainians believe that the minimum monthly income per one family member should amount to UAH 770 ($146), twice the official minimum living wage. Incidentally, the incomes of 76.2% of those polled are below the official minimum living wage. “This is evidence of mass poverty of the population and its inability to fully satisfy even the most basic of needs,” the ILO report reads. Only an insignificant percentage of those polled identify themselves with the middle class, whereas most of them consider themselves people of modest means with a low social status.

What do most Ukrainians do when they run out of money long before the next payday? Half of them borrow money. At the moment of the survey 23.2% of those polled had debts, which averaged UAH 1,601 ($305). For 65.6% of Ukrainians it takes half a year to pay off debts, and one year for 22.9%. Of those polled, 10.8% have accumulated an average six months of unpaid rent. One in ten respondents have six months of unpaid bills for natural gas, electricity, and water. Most people borrow money from relatives, friends, and neighbors.

Ukrainians have a very democratic idea of social justice. Most of those polled (83.5%) are certain that those who work should not be paid equal wages. Over half of them have spoken against the imposition of any limits on incomes as part of the policy to overcome poverty.

It follows from the survey that Ukrainians believe that money can’t buy happiness. 25.1% of respondents have identified good health as their primary concern. It is followed by a financially secure future (19.6%), safety (18.7%), food (16.9%), self-realization (10.3%), and recognition by others (9.4%). Among the social values, respondents have singled out respect for their rights (76.7%), rule of law (71.5%), and personal independence (65.7%). Much like in the previous years, active involvement in government ranks lowest on the list of their priorities. However, one must bear in mind the fact that the survey was conducted in 2004, when Ukrainians still had no idea what they are capable of. At the time Ukrainian citizens said they lacked protection from the declining living and health standards (46.9% and 41.2% of those polled), confidence that life would improve in the country (40.8%), and stability in the country and society (39.9%). Among the 90 countries covered by ILO surveys, Ukraine ranks 35th in the Economic Security Index. Almost all countries that trail behind Ukraine in the index have been classed as developing nations by the international community. “Ukraine has an acceptable level of formal commitments, but a very low level of their fulfillment,” Guy Standing commented on Ukraine’s rating. It is time for Ukraine to honor the commitments it has undertaken.