This article attempts to analyze the effectiveness of social institutions in influencing the public economic behavior, as they play a key role in shaping and transforming the economic behavior of individuals and groups in response to dynamic changes in the economic context. This effectiveness is assessed based on subjective opinions identified through a sociological survey. The survey was conducted between 2021 and 2024 (two waves: 297 respondents in the first, 268 in the second) in the Yekaterinburg city, which can be characterized as a metropolis, and in small towns of the Sverdlovsk region. This design made it possible to compare results based on settlement size. The findings revealed that nearly one-third of respondents experience anxiety stemming from rapid changes in their lives and work, with this proportion being slightly higher in small towns than in the metropolis. Support in adapting economic behavior is provided to the population through various social institutions. The highest effectiveness — defined as the degree to which institutional support meets public expectations — is observed for family, friendship, and kinship, showing roughly equal levels in both large and small cities. The institutions of education, money, property, and creativity demonstrate similar effectiveness of about 20% across settlement types. The effectiveness of religion and psychological counseling (including coaching, etc.) increased in 2023 compared to 2021. Meanwhile, the effectiveness of authority and mass media as social institutions remains relatively low but is somewhat higher in small towns than in the metropolis. The study’s results can serve as a foundation for improving social programs and practices aimed at optimizing the economic behavior of the population
Keywords
Economic behavior, behavioral adaptation, social institutions, effectiveness of social institutions, subjective effectiveness' evaluation, dynamic socio-economic changes