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Study: Although Romania had economic growth over the last years, the gains got to the richest 1% of the citizens
Although Romania recorded a solid annual economic growth over that of Bulgaria and several times higher than the annual growth of the European Union, the economic gains recorded in this country were not equally distributed, but they got to the richest 1% of the citizens, according to the new infographic launched my the Social Monitor, project of Friedrch-Ebert-Stiftung Romania (FesRomania).
The inforgraphic refers to the material income of the poorest 10% of the Romanian citizens by comparison to other European states, after accession to the European Union.
According to a press release of FesRomania, the info-graphic comes to argue that the evolution of the poorest 10% of the citizens was the difference between Romania and Bulgaria, although the two states had a similar economic convergence evolution.
‘In 2007, the annual average of the material gain for the poorest 10% of the citizens of the two countries was close, 556 euro per year for Romania and 548 euro per year for Bulgaria. However, in 2015 the sums were very different, with an annual average of material gains for the poorest 10% of the Bulgarian citizens at 1,339 euro while the same average for Romania was only 714 euro per year, namely 60 euro/month, ten times lower than the EU average. Thus, while the income of the poorest 10% of the Bulgarian citizens increased by 144%, the income of the poorest 10% of the Romanians increased only by 28%. The European average of the gains of the poorest 10% of the citizens is 8,025 euro per year’ the press release says.
The infographic shows the intermediary evolutions of the material gains for this category of citizens, and this suggests that the difference between the two countries came as a result of a different strategy of adaptation to the economic crisis. While the recovery of Bulgaria had in mind the growth of the income of the poorest 10% of the citizens, this action was not a priority and for Romania, according to the quoted source.
‘This disproportion of the material income for the poorest 10% of the citizens of Romania and Bulgaria was kept and as regards the report with the income of the richest 1% of the citizens of those states, taken as a percentage of the national total income. Thus, if in 2007 the poorest 10% of the Romanians got 1.9% of the national income, while the first 1% of the Romanians got 6% of the national income, the report in Bulgaria was almost similar with 1.8% for the poorest and 6.2%for the richest. In time, Bulgaria kept the same rate and in 2015 the poorest 10% got 2.2% of the national income while the richest 1% got 6.4%. By comparison, the rate between the poorest 10% of Romanians and the richest 1% of the Romanians changed a lot, getting to 1.5% of the national income for the poorest and 8.3% for the richest 1% of the Romanians’ the document says.
Similarly, the comparison to the European Union shows that in Romania the poorest 10% of the citizens get far less with 1.5%. The EU average for this indicator is 2.8% of the national income for the poorest 10% of each member state.
‘These figures show that in spite the fact that Romania recorded an economic growth in general over that of Bulgaria and several times the highest annual growth of the EU, the economic growth recorded by Romania were not distributed equally, but they got disproportionally by the richest 1% of the Romanians’ the conclusions of the info-graphic say.