Economic expert Veaceslav Negruța said the World Bank’s conclusions should be followed by particular policies that would help cope with the risks and factors that stop the economic growth, on the one hand, and that undermine the stability of public finances in the long term, on the other hand. The issue was discussed in the talk show “Expertise hour” on Jurnal TV channel.
The WB experts said the economic growth is expected to decelerate. “The question is who of those who now formulate and take economic, macroeconomic and financial policy decisions focused on what it is discussed and took the message transmitted by those from the World Bank seriously?” asked the economist.
Veaceslav Negruța noted the WB experts clearly stated that the risk in the long run is related to demography, the decreasing labor force and the growing fiscal burden that will have to be borne by the declining number of economically active people in Moldova so as to cope with political statements and commitments, some of which are populist and electoral.
Political commentator Victor Ciobanu said the World Bank study is based on official data from Moldova and this didn’t have access to an audit conducted by the Ministry of Finance and could not analyze the situation more thoroughly, including the electoral one. He noted he didn’t see a ministerial roadmap similar to that worked out by the World Bank, with concrete steps that need to be taken in particular areas.
A World Bank study presented on May 13 shows Moldova’s economic growth will decelerate in the medium term. Expansionary fiscal policy measures adopted in 2018 - tax cuts, an increase in wages and public transfers - and constantly increasing financial intermediation activity will underpin growth in 2019. At the same time, lower growth in remittances and higher inflation that erode the disposable income will decelerate growth to 3.4 percent, from 4 percent in 2018.
