Welfare impacts of the 1998 financial crisis in Russia and the response ofthe public safety net

We compare welfare indicators for a nationally-representative sample of Rus sians interviewed shortly after the 1998 financial crisis with data on the same people two years earlier. Both objective and subjective measures revea l a widespread, though not universal, deterioration in welfare. Current exp enditures generally contracted more than incomes. Inequality fell. There we re both gainers and losers at all levels. The safety net's response fell fa r short of what was needed to protect Living standards, but it did help pre vent even greater poverty. Even without better targeting, a modest expansio n of the safety net could have prevented an increase in income poverty in t he aftermath of the crisis. JEL classification: I32, I38.