● SATURDAY, January 3
Potential effects of ruble depreciation on Moldovan economy
Experts at the Institute of Legal and Political Research of the Moldovan Academy of Sciences think that the depreciation of the ruble didn't lead to a deep financial crisis in Russia, but it still fueled panic and uncertainty because of the fluctuations of the exchange rate. As such, Moldovan immigrants in Russia are affected as well, given that they invested their hopes in the chance to improve their standard of living and that of their relatives at home. According to official stats, 62.6% of all the remittances that enter Moldova come from Russia. The fall of the ruble is bound to reduce the volume of remittances from Russia compared to the first 10 months of 2014 and, subsequently, have a negative impact on the well-being of many Moldovans. The volume of savings, as Moldovans usually save money in dollars or, less frequently, in euros and Moldovan lei, will decrease proportionally with the depreciation of the ruble.
Salaries should rise, IDIS expert
Salaries in Moldova ought to rise, and the authorities should revise the costs of an hour of work, especially in the public sector. This is long due, and the government should pay increased attention to these matters, says Viorica Antonov, expert with the think-tank IDIS Viitorul. Speaking in an interview with the RFE/RL's Moldovan service, Viorica Antonov remarked that the average salary doesn't meet the costs of living. While in 2010 emphasis was on increasing salaries in the justice sector, the expert thinks today attention should shift towards the education sector, which has become very vulnerable, due to young specialists refusing to take low paying jobs in rural areas. Other vulnerable sectors, according to the expert, are health care, agriculture and constructions.
