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Economic growth in Armenia!
This isn't related to the genocide, but I still wanted to share it with you guys. Armenia's GDP rose by 10.2% in the first half of 2005! If things don't change, Armenia will have a double-digit economic growth rate for 5 years in a row! And as a result, the poverty rate in Armenia has noticeably decreased. Anyway, I'll let you do the reading...
Armenia’s continuing robust economic growth is winning accolades from Western donors. A consensus is building among economic experts that the tiny South Caucasus state is finally emerging from its post-Soviet doldrums.
Officials from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other donor organizations now believe that decade-long growth in Armenia has produced a sizable reduction in poverty. "Armenia is on a promising path toward sustained high growth and the alleviation of poverty," Agustin Carstens, the IMF’s deputy managing director, said at the end of a mid-July visit to Yerevan. In May, the IMF expressed its approva of Armenia’s economic directionl by offering a three-year, $34-million loan agreement.
According to official statistics, Armenia’s Gross Domestic Product rose by 10.2 percent in the first half of this year. The GDP growth has averaged 11 percent during the previous four years. Carstens strongly endorsed the Armenian government’s economic strategy. "The IMF stands ready to continue to assist Armenia with policy and technical advice, as well as financial support in implementing its reform agenda," he said, adding that the Armenian economy is expanding so fast that it now runs the risk of "overheating."
Brian Kearney, who runs a US government-funded project to reform Armenia’s social security system, said economic growth has had a visible impact on living standards, adding that it has also lifted the public mood. "There is a new buoyancy and a new confidence that wasn’t here five years ago. It might seem a small thing but, for me, just the change in people’s demeanor and approach to life is remarkable."
"Five years ago it was very much hanging on," Kearney added. "Now I see people striding forward."
Household income surveys regularly conducted by the Armenian government show that the proportion of Armenians living below the official poverty line shrunk from 55 percent in 1999 to just below 43 percent in 2003. The poverty rate would stand at 32 percent if it were calculated using World Bank methodology that uses consumption expenditures, as opposed to income. Each income survey is based on data collected from about 5,000 households. Officials say the results of similar research conducted last year and to be released this fall will show a further drop in poverty.
"There are very few countries that have achieved such important progress in such a short period of time," the IMF’s Carstens said.
However, some economic analysts view official figures with skepticism. For instance, many analysts believe the official poverty line of about 13,000 drams ($30) per month is set too low given the rising cost of living. The National Statistical Service of Armenia (NSSA) estimated in a 2003 report that the average Armenian family spent two thirds of its income on food -- a telling indicator of persisting hardship. "The consumption of high-priced food products such as meat products, milk products, fruits and eggs is very low," the report said. The government agency also asserted that many Armenians still cannot afford adequate healthcare as "only one in three persons with health problems applied to a doctor for medical care."
There is also a mounting income gap dividing the rich and poor, as well as Yerevan residents from those living elsewhere. Many rural areas have hardly seen any development since the economic collapse of 1992-1993, when Armenia’s GDP shrunk by half due to the outbreak of wars in Nagorno-Karabakh and elsewhere in the South Caucasus. The social polarization reflects a highly uneven distribution of benefits of economic growth, some experts contend. The gap is widened further by widespread tax evasion among the wealthiest citizens. The Armenian government’s tax revenues are on track to rise by about 30 percent this year, but they will still make up a very modest 16 percent of the GDP.
More importantly, the rate of job creation has lagged behind the economic expansion, failing to alleviate the country’s number one social problem -- unemployment. The official unemployment rate, measured by the Armenian Ministry of Labor, stands at just over 10 percent. But the real figure is probably much higher, many economists estimate. The NSSA, for example, puts the unemployment rate at a staggering 30 percent, citing a 2003 labor force survey.
Nevertheless, anecdotal evidence of increased prosperity is strong. This includes skyrocketing real estate prices, a growing number of cars, shops and other small businesses as well as a construction boom in central Yerevan. Economists still cannot explain what exactly has driven economic growth over the past decade. First-half growth in 2005 appears to be connected with a 43 percent surge in the construction sector. Another important factor is cash remittances from hundreds of thousands of Armenians working abroad. The Armenian Central Bank says remittances jumped by 50 percent to $750 million in 2004.
In addition, merchants have adapted to the continuing economic blockades by Azerbaijan and Turkey and the resulting high transportation costs. According to official statistics, the tiny landlocked country has doubled its GDP and tripled exports since the late 1990s. "In five years time people will reflect well when they look back at what has been done over the past five years," Kearney said.
http://www.eurasianet.org/departmen...v072905ru.shtml
Turkey I guess your blockade no longer hurts us as much as you hoped it would! 
The Armenian economy grew by 10.2 percent in the first half of this year helped by a continuing major upswing in the construction and service sectors, according to government statistics released on Wednesday.
The reported data puts Armenia on course to register a double-digit rate of economic growth for the fifth consecutive year. Its government says robust growth has resulted in a considerable fall in widespread poverty.
“Our forecasts on the main indicators have proven correct and we have had a growth rate exceeding 10 percent during the first six months of the year,” Trade and Economic Development Minister Karen Chshmaritian told reporters.
According to the latest macroeconomic data, construction remains the fastest growing sector of the economy, having surged by 43 percent from January through June. It is followed by the service sector where growth was reported at 15.5 percent. Armenia’s industrial output, by comparison, rose by just 5.3 percent.
The official figures also show a 31.3 percent rise in the volume of Armenian exports despite a dramatic appreciation of the national currency, the dram, against the U.S. dollar and the euro. However, the figure does not include cut diamonds, Armenia’s number one export item. The country’s net imports were up 24.2 percent.
“Our external trade has more than doubled in the last four years,” said Chshmaritian. “Exports alone have nearly tripled. These indicators testify to positive trends in the Armenian economy.”
Armenia’s macroeconomic performance was welcomed last week by a visiting senior official from the International Monetary Fund. “Armenia is on a promising path toward sustained high growth and the alleviation of poverty,” said Agustin Carstens, the IMF’s deputy managing director.
The Armenian authorities say that despite a highly uneven distribution of its benefits the economic growth has had a major impact on living standards. Household income surveys regularly conducted by them show the proportion of Armenians living the below the official poverty line falling from 50 to 43 percent between 1999 and 2003. The poverty rate calculated with a World Bank methodology is even lower: 33 percent.
http://www.armenialiberty.org/armeni...F9081002F7.asp
WESTERN DONORS LAUD ECONOMIC GROWTH IN ARMENIA
Armenia’s continuing robust economic growth is winning accolades from Western donors. A consensus is building among economic experts that the tiny South Caucasus state is finally emerging from its post-Soviet doldrums.
Officials from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other donor organizations now believe that decade-long growth in Armenia has produced a sizable reduction in poverty. "Armenia is on a promising path toward sustained high growth and the alleviation of poverty," Agustin Carstens, the IMF’s deputy managing director, said at the end of a mid-July visit to Yerevan. In May, the IMF expressed its approva of Armenia’s economic directionl by offering a three-year, $34-million loan agreement.
According to official statistics, Armenia’s Gross Domestic Product rose by 10.2 percent in the first half of this year. The GDP growth has averaged 11 percent during the previous four years. Carstens strongly endorsed the Armenian government’s economic strategy. "The IMF stands ready to continue to assist Armenia with policy and technical advice, as well as financial support in implementing its reform agenda," he said, adding that the Armenian economy is expanding so fast that it now runs the risk of "overheating."
Brian Kearney, who runs a US government-funded project to reform Armenia’s social security system, said economic growth has had a visible impact on living standards, adding that it has also lifted the public mood. "There is a new buoyancy and a new confidence that wasn’t here five years ago. It might seem a small thing but, for me, just the change in people’s demeanor and approach to life is remarkable."
"Five years ago it was very much hanging on," Kearney added. "Now I see people striding forward."
Household income surveys regularly conducted by the Armenian government show that the proportion of Armenians living below the official poverty line shrunk from 55 percent in 1999 to just below 43 percent in 2003. The poverty rate would stand at 32 percent if it were calculated using World Bank methodology that uses consumption expenditures, as opposed to income. Each income survey is based on data collected from about 5,000 households. Officials say the results of similar research conducted last year and to be released this fall will show a further drop in poverty.
"There are very few countries that have achieved such important progress in such a short period of time," the IMF’s Carstens said.
However, some economic analysts view official figures with skepticism. For instance, many analysts believe the official poverty line of about 13,000 drams ($30) per month is set too low given the rising cost of living. The National Statistical Service of Armenia (NSSA) estimated in a 2003 report that the average Armenian family spent two thirds of its income on food -- a telling indicator of persisting hardship. "The consumption of high-priced food products such as meat products, milk products, fruits and eggs is very low," the report said. The government agency also asserted that many Armenians still cannot afford adequate healthcare as "only one in three persons with health problems applied to a doctor for medical care."
There is also a mounting income gap dividing the rich and poor, as well as Yerevan residents from those living elsewhere. Many rural areas have hardly seen any development since the economic collapse of 1992-1993, when Armenia’s GDP shrunk by half due to the outbreak of wars in Nagorno-Karabakh and elsewhere in the South Caucasus. The social polarization reflects a highly uneven distribution of benefits of economic growth, some experts contend. The gap is widened further by widespread tax evasion among the wealthiest citizens. The Armenian government’s tax revenues are on track to rise by about 30 percent this year, but they will still make up a very modest 16 percent of the GDP.
More importantly, the rate of job creation has lagged behind the economic expansion, failing to alleviate the country’s number one social problem -- unemployment. The official unemployment rate, measured by the Armenian Ministry of Labor, stands at just over 10 percent. But the real figure is probably much higher, many economists estimate. The NSSA, for example, puts the unemployment rate at a staggering 30 percent, citing a 2003 labor force survey.
Nevertheless, anecdotal evidence of increased prosperity is strong. This includes skyrocketing real estate prices, a growing number of cars, shops and other small businesses as well as a construction boom in central Yerevan. Economists still cannot explain what exactly has driven economic growth over the past decade. First-half growth in 2005 appears to be connected with a 43 percent surge in the construction sector. Another important factor is cash remittances from hundreds of thousands of Armenians working abroad. The Armenian Central Bank says remittances jumped by 50 percent to $750 million in 2004.
In addition, merchants have adapted to the continuing economic blockades by Azerbaijan and Turkey and the resulting high transportation costs. According to official statistics, the tiny landlocked country has doubled its GDP and tripled exports since the late 1990s. "In five years time people will reflect well when they look back at what has been done over the past five years," Kearney said.
http://www.eurasianet.org/departmen...v072905ru.shtml
Armenian Economy Continues Robust Growth
The Armenian economy grew by 10.2 percent in the first half of this year helped by a continuing major upswing in the construction and service sectors, according to government statistics released on Wednesday.
The reported data puts Armenia on course to register a double-digit rate of economic growth for the fifth consecutive year. Its government says robust growth has resulted in a considerable fall in widespread poverty.
“Our forecasts on the main indicators have proven correct and we have had a growth rate exceeding 10 percent during the first six months of the year,” Trade and Economic Development Minister Karen Chshmaritian told reporters.
According to the latest macroeconomic data, construction remains the fastest growing sector of the economy, having surged by 43 percent from January through June. It is followed by the service sector where growth was reported at 15.5 percent. Armenia’s industrial output, by comparison, rose by just 5.3 percent.
The official figures also show a 31.3 percent rise in the volume of Armenian exports despite a dramatic appreciation of the national currency, the dram, against the U.S. dollar and the euro. However, the figure does not include cut diamonds, Armenia’s number one export item. The country’s net imports were up 24.2 percent.
“Our external trade has more than doubled in the last four years,” said Chshmaritian. “Exports alone have nearly tripled. These indicators testify to positive trends in the Armenian economy.”
Armenia’s macroeconomic performance was welcomed last week by a visiting senior official from the International Monetary Fund. “Armenia is on a promising path toward sustained high growth and the alleviation of poverty,” said Agustin Carstens, the IMF’s deputy managing director.
The Armenian authorities say that despite a highly uneven distribution of its benefits the economic growth has had a major impact on living standards. Household income surveys regularly conducted by them show the proportion of Armenians living the below the official poverty line falling from 50 to 43 percent between 1999 and 2003. The poverty rate calculated with a World Bank methodology is even lower: 33 percent.
http://www.armenialiberty.org/armeni...F9081002F7.asp
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