Standard of living as assessed by the population

The fundamental goal of public administration, according to the Constitution, is the creation of conditions that would ensure the achievement of high standards of living, decent life and free development of each individual. Therefore, the assessment of the level of life achieved by the population is the highest priority in the preparation and implementation of socio-economic development programs, and it also helps assess the performance effectiveness of state authorities. The standard of living determines the success of transformations, and political and economic stability in society. The article focuses on the analysis of the dynamics of changes in the standard of living of the Vologda Oblast population. The main conclusions of the article are based on the results of special sociological surveys on key components of the standard of living, carried out by ISEDT RAS in the Vologda Oblast. In this study the standard of living is characterized by the specifics of consumption of goods, property security, characteristics of financial behavior and ways of meeting socio-cultural needs. The methodology used for the study of the standard of living (sociological survey) provides an opportunity to consider the subjective views of people about significant aspects of their life and reveals the features of socio-economic and territorial differentiation. The analysis shows that, despite the increase of subjective assessments of incomes, there remains a significant socio-economic differentiation of the population, which makes certain adjustments to the standard of living.