Mind you there was one time at Chisinau airport, when a "security" chap noticed the £1 and £2 coins I removed for the metal detector, and claimed his son collected coins...
A bit of quick thinking, and I loudly said that "We must get him a full set then!" And stood there very obviously going through my change, and giving him coins one at a time, taking my time to find the small copper coins.
The look on his face convinced me I'd judged the situation correctly!
I don't notice much day to day, most commonly my wife notices when we pay for something (like going into a park), and don't get a ticket. And she observes, "That money is going in his pocket!"
Thanks, David, for providing helpful details and suggestions for those like me who are aware of the corruption but have lacked the understanding that your experience and thoughtful sharing give us. And I'm hopeful that due to the efforts of folks like you--including Moldovan entrepreneurs we know--the slow process will continue and Moldova will some day be a great place to have a business. A question--it seems like there are more stories of Moldovans returning to start a business (I'm including agriculture related businesses). Are "more" returning or are the few returning just getting more attention?
Hi Gary, thanks for the comment and question! I don't have any concrete numbers on people returning to do business but anecdotally, I understand what you are talking about. I've met a number of people who came back and I've read stories about others. I think there is a trend here to some degree, but I also know of people who came back for opportunities and then left again a year or so later feeling jaded.
The bigger trend though is labor migration. Without workers and with an adverse economic climate getting more entrepreneurs isn't sufficient in itself even if it happened in big numbers. It's a fine balancing act looking at where the "main" issue is for sure. But more new companies and people bringing their experience from the diaspora back is undoubtedly a good thing and likely to create more well paying jobs.
So I think there's some truth to the story, but the story isn't one of economic revitalization (yet) so much as hope for the future and the starting of some trends.
Thanks, David...what you say makes sense and having "hope for the future and the starting of some trends" is so good, even though there are still so many challenges. On the labor migration, I'm wondering if it has decreased any in recent years (compared to my impression that it was much more serious in the past). It used to be (10-25 years ago) that there wasn't good data; are the currently available numbers more reliable? (and it's fine if you don't have time to respond to that!)
So it's unfortunately much worse now. I wrote about this in a roundup over the summer linking to a study that showed the last 2 years saw an unprecedented acceleration in migration. I'm sorry but I don't have time to find the link now, but you can go back in the roundups if you want.
COVID and the war, as well as the economic permacrisis spawned by both, are the main drivers. The combination of economic shocks and a deteriorating security situation in early 2022 cause a lot more people to leave. The study estimated that Moldova has 2 years more to reverse the trend before various parts of the economy become economically unviable. Businesses are already feeling the crunch and as I wrote finding enough workers is now the #1 problem facing almost all companies in Moldova.
Dave, Firstly, Congratulations and respect for your bravery in dealing with this extraordinary devastating problem, which if not brought to light and dealt with, will definitely see Moldova fail economically and morally.
Basically, everyone "benefits" through this byzantine network of corruption. Benefits? The corruptors have power and gain money, the victims, is the only way to survive or give up and leave the country.
Unfortunately, many MPs who initiate laws will, not as history proves, change them as they are beneficiaries of this plague.
Nothing ever changes until a shocking blow. The West is so anxious to pull Moldova away from Russian influence they poor funds blindly, knowing very well corruption rules. A shocking blow would be - an end to funds till anti corruption laws are in place and followed/and or prosecuted. Only then you will see change. My analogy, The Ukraine War will only end when Putin is gone. Again, great and brave series!
Thanks for your comment. I don't agree though on the need for a "shock." I think that the shocks are here all around us right now.
In this article I primarily talk about structurally produced corruption and in future articles in this series I'll dive into the kinds of reforms that can help it. But we're not talking about anti-corruption courts or judicial reform with this. More often we're talking about restructuring the types of receipts that businesses are required to give and reforming the tax code. This has to be done carefully and slowly weighing many competing priorities. In a lot of cases the international support from the EU and USAID are critical in helping with the technical expertise to such reforms.
When we're talking about justice reform I also think that the situation is really challenging. International donors provide expertise and support but also restrictions - the Venice Commission in particular has taken a lot of positions that favor an "independent but wildly corrupt" judiciary over one which is too controlled by the government. That's a careful balance but if we understand that things are wildly corrupt then the only place we can't be is where we are.
If all the donors pulled out and said "clean up your own mess" I think things go one of 2 ways. Things could consolidate under a new oligarch, or reformers could take radical action which Europe would call "undemocratic." Lacking some rush to a resolution it will likely be a slow and tedious process.
... I don't think things need to be as slow as they are, but I understand why they are slow.
Mind you there was one time at Chisinau airport, when a "security" chap noticed the £1 and £2 coins I removed for the metal detector, and claimed his son collected coins...
A bit of quick thinking, and I loudly said that "We must get him a full set then!" And stood there very obviously going through my change, and giving him coins one at a time, taking my time to find the small copper coins.
The look on his face convinced me I'd judged the situation correctly!
:-)
I don't notice much day to day, most commonly my wife notices when we pay for something (like going into a park), and don't get a ticket. And she observes, "That money is going in his pocket!"
Excellent commentary. Admire your perseverance.
Thanks, David, for providing helpful details and suggestions for those like me who are aware of the corruption but have lacked the understanding that your experience and thoughtful sharing give us. And I'm hopeful that due to the efforts of folks like you--including Moldovan entrepreneurs we know--the slow process will continue and Moldova will some day be a great place to have a business. A question--it seems like there are more stories of Moldovans returning to start a business (I'm including agriculture related businesses). Are "more" returning or are the few returning just getting more attention?
Hi Gary, thanks for the comment and question! I don't have any concrete numbers on people returning to do business but anecdotally, I understand what you are talking about. I've met a number of people who came back and I've read stories about others. I think there is a trend here to some degree, but I also know of people who came back for opportunities and then left again a year or so later feeling jaded.
The bigger trend though is labor migration. Without workers and with an adverse economic climate getting more entrepreneurs isn't sufficient in itself even if it happened in big numbers. It's a fine balancing act looking at where the "main" issue is for sure. But more new companies and people bringing their experience from the diaspora back is undoubtedly a good thing and likely to create more well paying jobs.
So I think there's some truth to the story, but the story isn't one of economic revitalization (yet) so much as hope for the future and the starting of some trends.
Thanks, David...what you say makes sense and having "hope for the future and the starting of some trends" is so good, even though there are still so many challenges. On the labor migration, I'm wondering if it has decreased any in recent years (compared to my impression that it was much more serious in the past). It used to be (10-25 years ago) that there wasn't good data; are the currently available numbers more reliable? (and it's fine if you don't have time to respond to that!)
Hi Gary,
So it's unfortunately much worse now. I wrote about this in a roundup over the summer linking to a study that showed the last 2 years saw an unprecedented acceleration in migration. I'm sorry but I don't have time to find the link now, but you can go back in the roundups if you want.
COVID and the war, as well as the economic permacrisis spawned by both, are the main drivers. The combination of economic shocks and a deteriorating security situation in early 2022 cause a lot more people to leave. The study estimated that Moldova has 2 years more to reverse the trend before various parts of the economy become economically unviable. Businesses are already feeling the crunch and as I wrote finding enough workers is now the #1 problem facing almost all companies in Moldova.
Ah, yes...of course. Thanks!!
Dave, Firstly, Congratulations and respect for your bravery in dealing with this extraordinary devastating problem, which if not brought to light and dealt with, will definitely see Moldova fail economically and morally.
Basically, everyone "benefits" through this byzantine network of corruption. Benefits? The corruptors have power and gain money, the victims, is the only way to survive or give up and leave the country.
Unfortunately, many MPs who initiate laws will, not as history proves, change them as they are beneficiaries of this plague.
Nothing ever changes until a shocking blow. The West is so anxious to pull Moldova away from Russian influence they poor funds blindly, knowing very well corruption rules. A shocking blow would be - an end to funds till anti corruption laws are in place and followed/and or prosecuted. Only then you will see change. My analogy, The Ukraine War will only end when Putin is gone. Again, great and brave series!
Hi Basil,
Thanks for your comment. I don't agree though on the need for a "shock." I think that the shocks are here all around us right now.
In this article I primarily talk about structurally produced corruption and in future articles in this series I'll dive into the kinds of reforms that can help it. But we're not talking about anti-corruption courts or judicial reform with this. More often we're talking about restructuring the types of receipts that businesses are required to give and reforming the tax code. This has to be done carefully and slowly weighing many competing priorities. In a lot of cases the international support from the EU and USAID are critical in helping with the technical expertise to such reforms.
When we're talking about justice reform I also think that the situation is really challenging. International donors provide expertise and support but also restrictions - the Venice Commission in particular has taken a lot of positions that favor an "independent but wildly corrupt" judiciary over one which is too controlled by the government. That's a careful balance but if we understand that things are wildly corrupt then the only place we can't be is where we are.
If all the donors pulled out and said "clean up your own mess" I think things go one of 2 ways. Things could consolidate under a new oligarch, or reformers could take radical action which Europe would call "undemocratic." Lacking some rush to a resolution it will likely be a slow and tedious process.
... I don't think things need to be as slow as they are, but I understand why they are slow.