Demographic and family policies as a part of contemporary social policy: theoretical approaches, goals, implementation mechanisms and performance assessment (part 1)

The demographic situation in Russia continues to be extremely difficult: the number of births is declining while mortality is increasing and the population is aging. The problem is aggravated by the coronavirus pandemic, which has a negative impact on the health, mortality, and standard of living of the population. Under these conditions, there is a need for public policy, which can reverse or at least slow down the existing demographic trends. To do this it is necessary to understand its functions. The article deals with the state social policy and its parts (family and demographic policies). There is agreement on the definitions of each policy, but their functions and objectives continue to depend largely on the researcher's approach. The demographic policy is considered very broadly, and population reproduction may be associated with quality of life. There is a certain connection between them, but it is often indirect and it is impossible to clearly distinguish the contribution of the economic component to demographic development. It is also often emphasized that the demographic policy should not set clear quantitative goals. These two provisions blur the essence of this policy and, to some extent, limit the field of its implementation. Family policy, which is as equal a branch of social policy as demographic policy, is very often seen as a component of the demographic policy. This means that it gets assigned functions that are not peculiar to it, to the detriment of the family component itself. In order to increase the effectiveness of both policies, it is necessary to more clearly define their goals, functions, and mutual equality.