OREANDA-NEWS. December 23, 2013. The economy will significantly increase in the next 12 months, believe 17 per cent of the respondents in a poll titled: “Survey on perception of national economic situation”, conducted by Moldova’s National Marketing Association.

“Great changes have not been noticed in the last six months, after the May poll. Most residents, 54 per cent, said that the situation would not change”, the head of the above-mentioned association, Igor Melnic, said.

He added that it was for the first time that the investigation had included the Transnistrian region too. The results do not differ essentially, and correspond in some areas.

Asked how they appreciate the economic reforms carried out by the current government, only 0.4 per cent of respondents said that they were very effective, and 15.8 per cent – efficient. About 51 per cent of interviewed believe that the reforms are ineffective and very ineffective, whereas in the Transnistrian region, 55 per cent of the people are of the same opinion.

Among the measures that need to be taken immediately to improve the national economic situation, nearly half of the polled people think that,. first of all, the corruption should be combated, after which foreign investments are to be attracted, tax evasion should be fought, public expenses cut and private investments stimulated.

Both respondents from the left bank of the Dniester and those from right bank believe that the embargo imposed by Russia on the Moldovan wines and fruits is unjustified and is more a political decision. This opinion is shared by 87 per cent of the polled people from the right bank of the Dniester and 65.6 per cent from the Transnistrian region.

In the opinion of the respondents from both banks of the Dniester, the first priority of the government must be the creation of jobs, attraction of investments in the agricultural sector, services etc. As much as 73 per cent of interviewed from the right bank and 60 per cent of the respondents from the left bank of the Dniester said they failed to make savings.

The poll was carried out in November 2013 on a sample of 1,355 respondents with a 2.66-per cent-margin of error.

Moldova had the strongest economic growth in the region and Europe in the third quarter, amounting to 12.9 per cent, and 8 per cent in the first nine months of 2013, according to data by the National Statistics Bureau. In January-September 2013, the Gross Domestic Product was estimated at 73 billion 312 million lei, at current market prices, up by 8 per cent against the same period of 2012.

The Economics Ministry, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank are expecting a 5.5-per cent- rise in Moldova’s economy in 2013, above the average in the region. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has recently improved Moldova’s economic growth forecast for 2013 to 3.5 per cent, from 2.5 per cent, forecast in last May. The EBRD forecasts over the last years were the most pessimistic against those of other international financial institutions. The National Institute of Economic Researches was the most optimistic, as it anticipated a 6.5-per cent-increase in economy in 2013 after a recent revision of the predictions.