Single Mothers in Russia: Household Strategies for Coping with Poverty

This study presents trends in single parenthood in Russia and examines the factors that explain the living arrangements of single-mother households. The recent period of economic reforms in Russia has reduced government transfers, eliminated publicly subsidized preschool care programs, and worsened labor market opportunities for women. Our research shows that for the last decade the proportion of female-headed households has increased rapidly and these households have experienced an increasingly high poverty risk. Using seven rounds of data from the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS), we investigate the role that household living arrangements play in single-mother family income dynamics and the major factors that affect the income status of mother-only families in Russia. We find that enhanced earning power of the single parent as well as a higher level of child benefits increases the likelihood that the single parent family lives separately from other relatives. Increasingly, however, single mothers are choosing to co-reside with other relatives or adults to survive and raise children in times of economic stress and uncertainty