Survey of High-Income Groups

About the Project

The top decile by income is a hard-to-reach group for sociological surveys. Nevertheless, high-income individuals set consumption trends, and their spending accounts for the largest share of overall consumption.

High-income categories form a significant—and often unique—segment of demand for certain healthcare, tourism, culture, and innovation sector services.

Studying this group is critically important for designing well-balanced and up-to-date public policies, whether aimed at stimulating specific production sectors or adjusting social programmes.

The HSE project ‘Survey of High-Income Groups’ addresses the knowledge gap regarding this segment of the population. Using specially developed methodological tools, surveys are conducted twice a year among households in the top 10% by income level (with a per capita monthly income of at least 200,000 rubles).

The Survey of High-Income Groups is part of a larger study and is carried out by the Centre for Institutional Research in collaboration with the Economic Behaviour of Households project team.

Topics

The survey covers a wide range of topics, including income and expenditure structure, saving and borrowing behaviour, property ownership, attitudes toward taxation, preferences in education and healthcare, charitable activities, time allocation, and travel and recreation habits. The research provides a detailed socio-economic portrait of the high-income population and tracks changes in their financial behaviour over time.

Sampling

The sample is quota-based by region, age, and gender. The selection criterion is a monthly per capita household income of at least 200,000 rubles.

Applications of the Data

Studying high-income groups can be useful at the national level for developing tax policy, assessing the effect of progressive taxation, understanding social stratification, and forecasting the economy.

For businesses, the data offers insights into the consumer behaviour and preferences of the high-income audience, including brand attitudes, purchasing choices, buying methods, and lifestyle. This information can help businesses more precisely target their advertising and tailor products and services to affluent customers.