Employment in Small Business Sector and its Impact on Quality of Life in Russian Regions

Abstract

Employment in small business sector is an essential factor in improving quality of life (QOL) for a region. Successful small businesses require human, financial, technological investments and result in improved QOL. “Small business and entrepreneurship is now commonly seen as the primary engine of economic development 1. Small business creates new workplaces, reduce unemployment payments and reduce crime in regions 2. An aging population pared with depopulation result in increased cost of benefits like pension payments which adversely impact the Russian national budget. Stimulation of secondary employment (employment for retired) in small business sector can result in improved QOL for the elderly. Problems of unemployment can be solved mostly through small business development 3. The objective of this research is to evaluate a relationship between employment in small business sector and QOL in 78 Russian regions. The regression model was used for an empirical analysis. The results show that there is an effect of employment in small business sector on QOL at a reasonable level. The findings and analysis revealed that employment in small business sector has a positive effect on QOL in all Russian regions analyzed.