Net wages in Romania dropped in January this year by over 8%, as compared to the previous month,
\nstanding at the equivalent of approximately 430 Euros. It is no secret that
\ninvestors are attracted by the small salaries in the Romanian business environment. At the same time, Romania is
\ntopping a ranking of countries with the highest income inequality between the
\nrich and the poor; the ratio is 7.2 to 1 as compared to the European ratio of 5
\nto 1. For several years now, Romania has been among the countries with the
\nhighest economic growth, which hasn’t quite been felt by its people so far. The
\ncountry’s ranking as one the poorest also proves that this growth model isn’t
\nto the people’s benefit. This paradox, as the head of the European Commission
\nRepresentation in Bucharest Angela Filote points out, doesn’t have quality as
\nfoundation, but low salaries and costs.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Angela Filote: All this tells me is that the economic
\ngrowth model in Romania nowadays is not working for the benefit of its people,
\nbecause in spite of all this growth, people continue to be poor. This isn’t a growth
\nmodel we should encourage as a sustainable, durable model, one that leads to
\nthe hope for a better future and a better standard of living.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
For this reason, in the country report
\nfor Romania, the European Commission recommends the authorities focus on three
\nkey areas: ways of kick-starting investment, carrying on structural reforms,
\nand implementing responsible budget policies. At the same time, Finance
\nMinister Anca Dragu says that investments have recovered after the 2013 slump.
\nHowever, this occurred mainly in the private area, while public investment
\nremains in short supply and is ineffective. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Anca Dragu: Romania has a sustainable economic growth, with a growth rate in
\nthe investment area of 7.5% in 2015 and an increase in final consumption of 5.3%,
\ntherefore investment remains the engine for growth.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Romania’s economic growth has to be
\nboosted through structural reforms related to capital, labour force and
\nproductivity – says Valentin Lazea, chief economic adviser with the Romanian
\nCentral Bank. A short list would include, among other things, better absorption
\nof EU funds, boosting direct foreign investment, turning the Bucharest Stock
\nExchange from a border market into an emerging one, boosting healthcare and the
\nbirth rate, education, research and development, building a Trans-Carpathian
\nroad infrastructure as well as agricultural development. All these measures are
\ndifficult to implement, as they don’t bring in votes – Lazea went on to say.
\nHowever, as the European Commission discretely pointed out, there is no more
\nroom for fiscal and monetary relaxation, as they have already been
\nimplemented. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The EC Country Report on Romanian economy speaks of progress, but also draws attention to potential threats.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":109,"featured_media":67787,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[38393,38395,38392,38394],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-67786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-angela-filote-head-of-the-european-commission-representation-in-bucharest","tag-central-bank-advisor-valentin-lazea","tag-ec-country-report-on-romania","tag-finance-minister-anca-dragu"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n