Sociological knowledge - to the system of management (on the example of the perception of the economic situation by young people)

The relevance of the study of public opinion (including that with regard to its territorial specifics) is explained by the priorities of state policy. Sociological science plays a crucial role in the formation of feedback between the authorities and society. The young generation, as the main resource for the future development of Russia is one of the most important objects of sociological research. The aim of the study, the results of which are presented in this article, is to examine how the young generation perceives the current economic situation in the country and region, and their personal financial situation. The authors carry out a comparative analysis of public opinion of young people and the rest of the population. Sociological monitoring helps to obtain the results of people’s self-assessments of their financial position and social well-being, which is important information for the authorities. However, in order to make sociological knowledge play an important role in the management system it is necessary to establish the following conditions: the sociological information must be submitted to the authorities on a regular basis and it must be scientifically justified; reporting documentation of state management bodies must contain the indices that reflect the key indicators of public opinion. A sociological study of public opinion carried out on the example of a specific socio-demographic group has shown that young people assess the economic situation and their personal financial situation more positively compared to the assessments given by the rest of the population. This is largely due to the physical and psychological characteristics of this age group. For the period of 2000 - 2014, the dynamics of young people’s judgments has shown significant positive changes. However, no positive dynamics was observed during 2011 - 2014: the indicators of purchasing power and social identity did not change; the characteristics of economic situation in the oblast deteriorated; the proportion of pessimistic forecasts about the future of the Russian and regional economy increased. Such trends can lead to the deterioration of social well-being and growth of the protest potential in a given social group.