Review of Russian Approaches to Assessing Commuting Labor Migration

Based on the results of a review of a number of selected Russian studies of commuting labor migration (CLM), the article systematizes and critically evaluates approaches to studying this phenomenon in Russia. The consideration of approaches is accompanied by an analysis of statistical sources based on the relevance criteria identified by the author: depth and detail of data, spatial coverage, regularity of collection, accessibility, spatial resolution. It is shown that in Russian practice, there are four main areas of research on CLM, each based on the corresponding data sources. The first approach uses official statistics (census data, labor force sample surveys) covering demographic and macroeconomic employment indicators. The second uses departmental statistics, usually affecting individual characteristics of the sphere of labor (tax revenues, registration of migrants, etc.), through which researchers approach the interpretation of CLM. The third approach is based on selective sociological research (sociological surveys and in-depth interviews). Studies based on sociological surveys focus on the motives and factors of citizens’ mobility, while differing in the locality of the research object and limited sample size. The fourth approach uses big data: information from mobile positioning data, banking transactions, and GIS applications. These sources better neutralize the traditional weakness of Russian statistics of CLM mobility, allowing research to be carried out with an array of continuous and detailed alternative statistics. In addition, the study considers, in particular, approaches to synthesizing heterogeneous sources by creating balance models with various embedded socioeconomic factors.