How Structure of Labor Markets Helps Explain Culture: The Case of 60 Russian Regions

Cross-Cultural Research. 2026. Vol. 60. No. 2. P. 243–272.

Musaev A.

We examine whether regional sectoral employment structure helps explain cross-regional variation in individualism–collectivism (IC) beyond income. Using a representative CATI survey of more than 18,000 respondents from 60 Russian regions (2019–2020) linked to employment statistics, we estimate OLS models of regional IC with log GRP per capita and controls (inequality, education, life expectancy, latitude, political openness). We find that agricultural employment shares are negatively associated with IC, whereas service/post-industrial shares are positively associated, net of income; industry shows mixed patterns. Conceptually, we distinguish two possible channels from economic structure to values—(i) a material-security channel (income effects) and (ii) an organizational-logic channel (workplace micro-contexts of autonomy, interdependence, and monitoring). Empirically, we focus on the second pathway and treat income as a covariate rather than a mediator. The findings suggest that how work is organized may matter for regional value profiles in addition to prosperity. Results are robust to alternative IC measure.

Keywords: culture, employment, individualism-collectivism, structure of labor markets

Publication based on the results of: Comparative studies of culture and subjective well-being: differentiation and integration of societies in the context of global challenges (2025)