Economic Behaviour Strategies of the Northern Small-Numbered Indigenous Peoples and their Impact on Subjective Well-Being

Abstract

Russian academic literature is characterised by a lack of data on the features of the economic behaviour of representatives of the indigenous small-numbered peoples of the North, Siberia, and the Far East of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as ISNPN, the indigenous minorities). Nevertheless, economic, environmental, geopolitical, and social changes in the Arctic region of Russia make it extremely relevant to study the process of transformation of the economic behaviour of these peoples. The article presents the results of a study of the main strategies of economic behaviour of the indigenous peoples (Nenets, Dolgans, Itelmens, Koryaks, Nivkhs, Chukchi, and Evens) and the impact of these strategies on their subjective well-being. In this way, factor analysis made it possible to identify 4 factors that can be interpreted as independent strategies of the economic behaviour of the ISNPN: the saving strategy based on financial knowledge and activity; the strategy of independent financial achievements; the restrictive strategy in the economic sphere based on rationality and independence, and the strategy of hired labour. The article notes that the regression analysis demonstrated particular importance of the saving strategy based on financial knowledge and activity, which makes the greatest contribution to increasing subjective well-being of the indigenous peoples. It has been noted that a peculiarity of the economic behaviour of the ISNPN representatives is the predominance of an orientation towards savings and rationality in almost all identified strategies. The results of the study are summarised in the conclusion, and a deduction about the significant role of increasing financial literacy in improving subjective well-being of indigenous minorities is drawn