Publisher: EXPERT-GRUP Centrul Analitic Independent

Assessing the Impact of recent Reforms in the Tax Administration

Assessing the Impact of recent Reforms in the Tax Administration

Author(s): Adrian Lupuşor / Language(s): English

Keywords: tax administration of Moldova,

During 2014-2015, the Main State Tax Inspectorate (STS) of Moldova, supported by SIDA, as well as other donors (World Bank, IMF, USAID/BRITE and EU), implemented a series of fundamental reforms. The interventions were primarily aimed at increasing the efficiency of tax administration and stimulating the voluntary fiscal compliance by easing the communication and interaction between fiscal authorities and taxpayers. This report aims to undertake an assessment of the net impact of these reforms. The analysis will be based on econometric, statistical, as well as qualitative methods, reflecting the evolution of the fiscal system in the last couple of years, with a primary focus on tax collections and interaction with the taxpayers.

Open Data Readiness Assessment. Social accountability for the education reform in Moldova.

Open Data Readiness Assessment. Social accountability for the education reform in Moldova.

Author(s): Ion Gumene / Language(s): English

Keywords: political participation;

Open data readiness assessment is carried out as part of “Scoala Mea - Empowered citizens enhancing accountability of the education reform and quality of education in Moldova” Project. The main goal of the project is to encourage Moldovan citizens to engage with local, regional and national authorities in evidence-based policy and budget dialogue regarding the reform of educational sector, the quality of services and the development priorities of primary, lower secondary and upper secondary schools, and to create an environment where the social accountability initiatives could develop. In this context, the data opening in educational system is both a condition and a factor in the development of the social audit of schools. Thus, taking into account the crucial importance of the data opening in the social audit of schools, the aim of this assessment is to present a complex picture of the availability of open data in education, which could be used first of all to foster development of social audit in schools.

REPORT. Mid-term Evaluation of Natioanl Development Strategy »MOLDOWA 2020«. Key Findings

REPORT. Mid-term Evaluation of Natioanl Development Strategy »MOLDOWA 2020«. Key Findings

Author(s): Adrian Lupuşor,Ion Gumene,Alexandru Fală,Ina Coseru,Dumitru Pîntea,Denis Cenuşă,Veronica Sandu,Adrian Ermurachi,Andrei Brighidin / Language(s): English

Keywords: national development strategy;

This document presents the results of the evaluation and analysis of the National Development Strategy (NDS) "Moldova 2020" implementation, which is the main national strategic planning document drafted by the Government and adopted by the Parliament in July 2012 for the period until 2020. In accordance with the provisions of the NDS, the Government, with the support of UN Moldova, initiated the process of evaluation of the implementation of the NDS for the period 2012-2015. The objectives of this assessment included: establishing how NDS fulfilled its function as a central strategic planning document in the field of sectoral policies and budgetary allocations; analysing the impact of NDS in areas of priority policies through predetermined monitoring and evaluation indicators; and identifying the lessons learned. All these activities were undertaken in order to design a new national development strategy "Moldova 2030".

Cost-Efficiency and Responsibility towards the Environment in the Rehabilitation of Roads in the Republic of Moldova

Cost-eficiență și responsabilitatea față de mediul înconjurător la reabilitarea drumurilor din Republica Moldova

Author(s): Vitalie Rapcea / Language(s): Romanian

Keywords: road construction;

This document represents a comparative study of the public policy options for ensuring the useful mineral substances needed for the rehabilitation of the roads in the Republic of Moldova, in accordance with the objectives of efficiency, reducing the impact on the environment and unwanted externalities. The problem of the use of useful mineral substances for earthworks in the construction of roads, railways, dams and for the prevention and stopping of dangerous geological phenomena has always been topical, making it the subject of journalistic investigations or audit reports of the Court of Accounts, and the procrastination of its solution brought numerous damages to the environment and the state budget, being documented multiple cases of illegal exploitation of the basement by private and state enterprises.

Social Policies: pro or against the school uniform? The third way – the dress code

Social Policies: pro or against the school uniform? The third way – the dress code

Author(s): Constanţa Popescu / Language(s): English

Keywords: school-uniform;

This note is made public in the context in which the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research (MECR) of Moldova examines at present the recommendations regarding the school uniform and requests opinions through an online questionnaire on its webpage (with a deadline by May 02, 2018); these are to be followed later on by wider public consultations and an analysis of impact/ costs. The survey made online by MECR questions many aspects, but the questions discussed so far did not include questions on the costs involved and the maximal budget of the parents.

Youth Score Card. Methodological Note

Youth Score Card. Methodological Note

Author(s): Iurie Morcotîlo / Language(s): English

The successful integration of young people in socio-economic processes is a prerequisite for any country’s sustainable development. This was also acknowledged at international level by embedding age-disaggregated data in the 2030 Global Development Agenda and transposing them into the Sustainable Development Goals. In fact, data disaggregation stimulates evidence-based policy making in this area. However, a large number of age-disaggregated indicators have the drawback to distract the attention of decision-makers and of the general public. A solution would be to use composite indices that would integrate more youth development indicators into one single figure that could be used to guide public policies and discussions. This report is meant to close the methodological gap related to the development of composite indices on the situation of youth at local level. The key purpose of the methodology is to estimate the situation of the youth in administrative territorial units of second level of the Republic of Moldova in order to facilitate policy-making and monitoring over time. The report contains both the calculation aspects of the composite index according to the best international practices, and the practical application taking an administrative territorial unit as an example. Finally, the Annex contains both area-disaggregated scores for all administrative units of second level, and the final scores of the composite index.

WAR BY OTHER MEANS. Kremlin’s Energy Policy as a Channel of Influence - A comparative assessment and case studies from Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Romania and Hungary

WAR BY OTHER MEANS. Kremlin’s Energy Policy as a Channel of Influence - A comparative assessment and case studies from Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Romania and Hungary

Author(s): Ana Otilia Nuțu,Sorin Ioniță / Language(s): English

Keywords: Russian politics with energy;

The EU has been increasingly caught up in its own internal struggles over the past years - migration, populism, Brexit - and is facing fundamental challenges to its core principles and values from problematic member states such as Poland, Hungary or Romania. Russia stands only to benefit from such internal divisions. As usual, Moscow has its instruments to exert significant political influence in its “near abroad”, but also to expand it in the formerly communist Central Europe and further towards the West. As the prospects to finalize Kremlin’s pet energy projects Nord Stream 2 and Turkish Stream loom ever closer, this report is meant to ring the alarm bells: excessive reliance on Russian energy is a real threat, not only to energy security of Central and Eastern Europe, but also for the broader, fundamental objective of improving governance across the region, as many of the Eastern Partnership countries can testify. The five case studies we present in this report cover a broad range of problems and very different situations.

The Challenges of the Oil Products Market in the Republic of Moldova: Prices vs. Quality

Provocările pieței produselor petrolierele din Republica Moldova: prețuri vs. calitate

Author(s): Ion Gumene / Language(s): Romanian

The dissatisfaction expressed by consumers towards the increase in the prices of the main petroleum products (gasoline and diesel) already has a systemic character. The increase of about 5% in the prices of these products, operated by the oil companies in the middle of May of the current year, was not an exception, thus causing a new wave of polemics in society. According to the explanations, which were not expected from the oil companies, the increase was caused by the increase in prices on international exchanges, but also by the depreciation of the Moldovan leu in relation to the US dollar. … In this context, we set out to analyze the latest developments that took place on the domestic and foreign petroleum products markets, while highlighting their defining elements.

Demographic Resilience. Demographic profile of Chișinau Municipality

Rezilienţă Demografică. Profilul demografic al Municipiului Chișinău

Author(s): Ecaterina Rusu / Language(s): Romanian

The analysis was developed on the basis of the revised data of the population and migration at the territorial level estimated by the National Bureau of Statistics in the year 2022 and the data of the Generations and Gender Study (GGS), which is the first and most complex longitudinal demographic study carried out to date in more than 24 countries of the world. The GGS is part of the international program coordinated by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI). The conclusions of this study are intended to provide local authorities in the Republic of Moldova with disaggregated data about demographic changes in the Republic of Moldova, so that the authorities can develop demographic policies centered on people and adjusted to their real needs. At the same time, the conclusions of this analysis will be used by the authorities to identify measures to transform the demographic crisis into an opportunity, to support the country's development and promote demographic resilience in Moldova.

Demographic Resilience. Demographic profile of Bălţi Municipality

Rezilienţă Demografică. Profilul demografic al Municipiului Bălţi

Author(s): Marina Soloviova / Language(s): Romanian

The analysis was developed on the basis of the revised data of the population and migration at the territorial level estimated by the National Bureau of Statistics in the year 2022 and the data of the Generations and Gender Study (GGS), which is the first and most complex longitudinal demographic study carried out to date in more than 24 countries of the world. The GGS is part of the international program coordinated by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI). The conclusions of this study are intended to provide local authorities in the Republic of Moldova with disaggregated data about demographic changes in the Republic of Moldova, so that the authorities can develop demographic policies centered on people and adjusted to their real needs. At the same time, the conclusions of this analysis will be used by the authorities to identify measures to transform the demographic crisis into an opportunity, to support the country's development and promote demographic resilience in Moldova.

Demographic Resilience. Demographic profile of Ialoveni District

Rezilienţă Demografică. Profilul demografic al Raionului Ialoveni

Author(s): Ecaterina Rusu / Language(s): Romanian

Keywords: Ialoveni;

The analysis was developed on the basis of the revised data of the population and migration at the territorial level estimated by the National Bureau of Statistics in the year 2022 and the data of the Generations and Gender Study (GGS), which is the first and most complex longitudinal demographic study carried out to date in more than 24 countries of the world. The GGS is part of the international program coordinated by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI). The conclusions of this study are intended to provide local authorities in the Republic of Moldova with disaggregated data about demographic changes in the Republic of Moldova, so that the authorities can develop demographic policies centered on people and adjusted to their real needs. At the same time, the conclusions of this analysis will be used by the authorities to identify measures to transform the demographic crisis into an opportunity, to support the country's development and promote demographic resilience in Moldova.

Analysis of the demographic Dividends of the Republic of Moldova

Analiza dividendelor demografice ale Republicii Moldova

Author(s): Alexandru Fală / Language(s): Romanian

In order to favor economic dynamics, public policies need to address the influences determined by both demographic dividends. For example, in the case of occupational policies, it would be welcome to extend the possibilities of keeping people who have passed the retirement age at work, if the elderly want to continue their activity and their state of health is satisfactory. These measures would increase the labor income of the elderly and reduce the gap between consumption and labor income. At the same time, the period during which adults are net producers would be extended and the number of net producers would increase, which would consequently reduce the effects associated with the loss of the advantages offered by the first demographic dividend. In order to increase the opportunities generated by the second demographic dividend, it is necessary to diversify the possibilities of investing savings, which would favor the accumulation of assets and, implicitly, would increase the capital stock. Another important policy direction concerns the promotion of a broad set of reforms that would boost the return on capital, which would boost economic growth and enhance the benefits of capital accumulation.

WHITE BOOK OF GOOD GOVERNANCE. Policy priorities for the next 12 months for the Government of the Republic of Moldova

CARTEA ALBĂ A BUNEI GUVERNĂRI. Priorități de politici pentru următoarele 12 luni pentru Guvernul Republicii Moldova

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): Romanian

In the context of the formation of the new Government and considering the urgent need to promote a series of policies and reforms to strengthen good governance in key development sectors, the Independent Analytical Center Expert-Group, the Institute for European Policies and Reforms and the Legal Resources Center from Moldova joined their efforts to develop the White Book of Good Governance. The document presents a succinct summary of the main policy recommendations and reforms in the fields of economic, social, justice, foreign policy, security and defense, public administration reform, as well as the implementation of the Association Agreement (AA) and the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA ) with the EU, which are recommended to be implemented in the next 12 months by the Government. These were identified as a result of multiple analyzes and policy studies combining 3 basic principles: (i) urgency of implementation (needs to be implemented as soon as possible; (ii) financial and technical feasibility of implementation; and (iii) expected impact short and long term. The authors do not insist on the exhaustiveness of the recommendations, but recommend to the Government that they be included in the consolidated Action Plan. At the same time, the authors declare themselves open in offering the expertise they have in order to promote and implement them, including in partnership with other representatives of civil society and the community of development partners.

WHITE BOOK OF GOOD GOVERNANCE. Policy priorities for the next 12 months for the Government of the Republic of Moldova

WHITE BOOK OF GOOD GOVERNANCE. Policy priorities for the next 12 months for the Government of the Republic of Moldova

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

The paper represents a short synthesis of the main policies and reforms related to economic, social, justice, foreign policy, security, defence and public administration reform sectors, as well as the implementation of the Association Agreement (AA) and of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) with the EU, which are recommended to be implemented by the Government during the next 12 months. These were identified following a number of policy analyses and studies conducted by Expert-Grup, IPRE and LRCM that combine three core principles: (i) urgency of implementation (need to be implemented as soon as possible); (ii) financial and technical feasibility of implementation, and (iii) expected short- and long-term impact.

Opportunities of European Standards and Destiny of GOSTS PPORTUNITIES OF EUROPEAN STANDARDS AND DESTINY OF GOSTs (»gosudarstvennyy standart«)

Opportunities of European Standards and Destiny of GOSTS PPORTUNITIES OF EUROPEAN STANDARDS AND DESTINY OF GOSTs (»gosudarstvennyy standart«)

Author(s): Denis Cenuşă / Language(s): English

Keywords: standards; norms;

The full use of economic opportunities offered by the European Union Association Agreement requires imminent alignment with the European legislation, which implies application of technical regulations and progressive adoption of the European Standards (EN), as well as simultaneous removal of conflicting national standards. The successful take over and use of the European Standards depend on the adaptation capacity of business entities, the support provided by authorities, as well as the assistance (both financial and technical) offered by the European partners. At the same time, implementation of the European Standards in the production process is crucial to increase the capacity and volume of Moldovan exports on the EU market and other sales markets.

How does the Association Agreement respond to the main challenges in the agriculture of the Republic of Moldova?

Cum răspunde Acordul de Asociere principalelor provocări din agricultura Republicii Moldova?

Author(s): Tatiana Savva / Language(s): Romanian,Moldavian

For the first time in the history of its statehood, the Republic of Moldova embarked on a complex economic reform and restructuring process with the signing of the Association Agreement. To be able to appreciate the impact on the agricultural sector we need to answer 2 questions: why have we not exported to the European market until now and how will signing the AA allow our producers to export to the EU?

Why do we need Trade Liberalization with the European Union?

Why do we need Trade Liberalization with the European Union?

Author(s): Adrian Lupușor / Language(s): English

The Association Agreement undoubtedly marks a higher level in the bilateral relations between our country and the European Union. This will grant Moldovan products a larger access towards the EU market and will involve a large-scale modernization process of state institutions and, lastly, will contribute to improving the population’s welfare. One of the main provisions of the Agreement is to create the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) with the EU, which entails removing barriers for bilateral trade from both sides. In this analytical note, we will analyze how DCFTA provisions will contribute to unlocking Moldova’s exports and we will bust some of the myths related to this subject.

Youth Index. Methodology for quantifying inequalities between young people and adults

Indicele de Tineret. Metodologia de cuantificare a inegalităților dintre tineri și maturi

Author(s): Iurie Morcotîlo / Language(s): Romanian,Moldavian

The given report complements the existing tools for quantifying the gaps between young people and adults. The main aim of the report is to develop a composite index of inequalities, which would quantify the gaps between the young and the old. The calculation methodology of this index will be based, including, on the 2015 Youth Index. In addition to the methodological aspects, which describe in detail the reasoning, stages and compilation method of the inequality index, in retrospect the value of the index will be calculated during the last years . The inequality index, calculated and regularly updated, will serve as an additional statistical benchmark for monitoring public policies in the field of youth.

The COVID-19 crisis: state-owned companies between uncertainty and opportunities

Criza COVID-19: companiile de stat între incertitudine și oportunități

Author(s): Dumitru Pîntea,Vadim Gumene / Language(s): Romanian,Moldavian

Keywords: COVID-19;

The need to impose social distancing measures directly affects the activity of some companies around the globe. The effects are observed on several dimensions – from the impossibility of carrying out the usual economic activity, to changes in the behavior of the consumer and that of the producer. These disturbances affect the economic system in general, the economy of the Republic of Moldova not being an exception. Thus, several sectors are already experiencing a drastic drop in sales, the labor market is gripped by uncertainty and public finances are being put to the test. On the one hand, we are witnessing a reduction in the receipts from fees and taxes, on the other hand, expenses to support the medical sector are increasing.

Regulatory cost: How to calculate the issuance fee for Environmental Permitting Acts?

Regulatory cost: How to calculate the issuance fee for Environmental Permitting Acts?

Author(s): Dumitru Pîntea,Iurie Morcotîlo,Rodica Iordanov / Language(s): English

This study aims to evaluate the way of establishing the issuance fees for environmental permits, including the permitting acts stipulated in the Nomenclature annexed to the Law no. 160/2011. The aim is to identify and describe a rational mechanism for setting fees based on provisions of the current regulatory framework and the government's commitments in this respect. As a result of this analytical exercise, a series of proposals and recommendations were formulated in the study, which, when used in a systemic way, can justify the application of a reasonable level of such fees, from the perspective of covering both the effort made by authorities and the compliance costs for beneficiaries. Also, the proposed mechanism can be extended to all environmental permits, taking into account that the issuance process of any such permit is based on the provision of a public service delivered by a state authority.