Change and continuity in the process of labor market entry in Russia. A cross-cohort comparison of first job dynamics

The paper analyzes the influence of institutional change on the transition from school to work in Russia during socialism and the transition period. Using information from the "Education and Employment Survey for Russia" and comparing the birth cohorts 1949-1986, we analyze the duration of the respondents' first job episode and the transition out of the first job. The results document shorter first job durations, increasing risks of unemployment and, in the case of women, more rapid transitions out of the labor market. However, the basic patterns of transition from education to job positions continued to exist. Thus, the transition from school to work in Russian did not experience an abrupt change but a gradual adjustment to the new economic order.