\n
\n<\/p>\n
It’s been about four months
\nsince the novel coronavirus was first reported in Wuhan, China, before spreading
\nrapidly around the globe, disrupting the lives of people everywhere. The
\npandemic is bound to end at some point, but its effects will be felt deeply. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
A study conducted by the
\nResearch Institute for Quality of Life of the Romanian Academy warns that
\nRomania is faced with two crises at the same time: a health crisis and an economic
\ncrisis. The institute’s paper, entitled The pandemic and living standards. Social
\nprotection policies, posits that unlike the health crisis, which has immediate
\neffects, the economic crisis has social implications that are already visible
\nand will continue to be so for some time. Living standards will suffer
\nespecially once the health crisis is over or begins to pass, says the research paper,
\nemphasising that judging by other economic and social crises faced by Romania in
\nthe past, it will take at least another five years for the people’s purchasing
\npower to recover. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The study notes that the
\npopulation’s incomes are already lower as a result of the pandemic and that the
\nemployees on furlough will be worst hit, with more than one million employment
\ncontracts having already been suspended. People working in informal employment,
\nsubsistence farmers, whose number is unknown, as well as the persons who have
\nrecently returned from abroad and who do not have an income are also expected
\nto be hit hard by the crisis. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Sociologists therefore
\npropose an increase in unemployment benefits to around 200 euros for the next three
\nto six months, which amounts to 75% of the net minimum wage. In the area of
\nsocial assistance, researchers propose a guaranteed minimum income of 200 euros
\nfor the next three months, an increase in state funding for the emergency aid budgets
\nof the local administration in the next three months, the amendment of the social
\nassistance law and drafting the sectoral strategies in the social sector for
\nthe 2021-2027 period based on the new situation. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The research paper also
\nnotes that the International Monetary Fund expects Romania’s public deficit to
\nreach 8.9% of GDP, the equivalent of some 19 billion euros, and for GDP to see
\na 5% drop in real terms. To help with the public deficit, the paper proposes starting
\nurgent talks with the International Monetary Fund and levying a solidarity tax.
\nIt also recommends a number of policies relating to pensions and salaries, such
\nas cancelling or delaying the implementation of the pensions law adopted in
\n2019, indexing pensions based on the inflation rate, raising salaries only so
\nas to compensate for the inflation rate and the reintroduction of a nationwide unified
\nsalary scheme in the local administration. (CM)<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Romanian sociological study looks at the effects of coronavirus pandemic on living standards in this country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":85541,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[35339,29822,39951],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-85540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-coronavirus","tag-crisis","tag-effects"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n