Emergence of a social contract as a new instrument of state social assistance to low-income citizens: key consequences

Abstract

State social assistance is one of the key areas of a government’s social policy and a major tool for improving the quality of life of socially unprotected groups of the population. A unique instrument of state social aid has got a name of «social contract», which is the only compensatory form of social support that imposes obligations on its recipients as much as on the benefactors. Given the direct correlation between the socio-economic situation in the Russian Federation and the evolution of legislation regulating state social assistance – especially during financial and economic crises – it is important to examine the specific circumstances and reasons that led to the inclusion of social contracts in federal legislation regulating the aforementioned aspect. While the historical development of social contracts has been explored in academic literature, no previous attempts have been made to connect this development with general historical processes in Russia. Therefore, it would be appropriate to analyze primary sources, such as legislative acts, and apply historical analysis for achieving this task. It is also important to note that the obligations of social contract recipients can be fulfilled in various ways, just as the financial obligations of the social aid providers signing such contracts can take different forms. Consequently, there is a need to assess the outcomes of social contracts as a social aid tool by examining the most common methods of performing obligations among low-income recipients engaged in such contracts, as well as the most frequently used forms of financial obligations fulfillment by social aid agencies. The primary research methods for this study will include aggregation of government statistics and analysis of academic literature on the subject.