Middle class’ investment in human capital: Consumption of paid services in education and medicine

The topic of the middle class is back among the most relevant in recent years against the background of searching for growth drivers for the economy and the key to social stability of society. The expectations placed on the middle class often seem excessive and contradictory, but there are perspectives in which this stratum of society differs significantly from other Russians. This article examines the role of the middle class as a provider of changes and new standards of consumption through investment practices in the development of human capital. The focus is on the consumption of paid services in education and health, both in dynamics over a period of almost 20 years, and based on data from a special cross-sectional study of the middle class conducted in 2018. An assessment of the dynamics of consumption of paid services shows that the Russian middle class is actively increasing investment in human capital in favorable economic conditions and is trying to maintain the existing level of consumption in times of crisis, while remaining the leader in the consumption of these services among the population. A factor model of investment behavior of the middle class built on the data of a special cross-sectional survey highlights the differentiation of behavior of various socio-economic groups in its composition. The study takes into account the heterogeneity of the middle class and analyzes the behavior of its core and other representatives.