Poverty in Moldova

POVERTY IN MOLDOVA: THE SOCIAL DIMENSIONS OF TRANSITION June 1996 - May 1997 The views contained herein are those of the author only, and do not represent the opinions of the World Bank nor of its Board of Directors, nor of any individual country member, nor federal, nor local government. by Hermine G. De Soto ECSSD and Nora Dudwick ECSSD TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...............................................................................................................v EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................... vi INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................................1 Research objectives..............................................................................................................2 Research methodology.........................................................................................................2 Interview sites and choice of households.............................................................................3 WHAT IS POVERTY?....................................................................................................................5 Comparisons with the past ..................................................................................................5 Insecurity and shame ...........................................................................................................6 Generational differences .....................................................................................................6 Who became rich and who became poor? ...........................................................................7 Conclusions..........................................................................................................................8 THE MATERIAL DIMENSIONS OF POVERTY .........................................................................9 Hunger..................................................................................................................................9 Comparing past and present.....................................................................................9 Cutting back...........................................................................................................10 Food vulnerability: pensioners and children..........................................................11 Housing conditions ............................................................................................................12 The problem of utilities......................................................................................................13 Heating and cooking ..............................................................................................13 Paying for utilities and services .............................................................................14 Water and waste ....................................................................................................14 Poverty and ill health .........................................................................................................15 Paying for hospitalization ......................................................................................16 Chronic or serious illness.......................................................................................17 Folk healers............................................................................................................17 Dentistry.................................................................................................................17 Maternal and child health...................................................................................................18 Abortions ...............................................................................................................18 The cost of childbirth.............................................................................................18 Child health............................................................................................................19 Conclusions........................................................................................................................19 Technical Paper 1 EDUCATION ................................................................................................................................20 Education and poverty. ......................................................................................................20 Deteriorating infrastructure; inadequate teaching materials .............................................20 Rising school absenteeism .....................................................................................21 Teaching: declining salaries and prestige; rising workloads..................................22 The role of bribes...................................................................................................23 How students see their future.................................................................................24 Education in Romania ...........................................................................................24 Conclusions........................................................................................................................24 THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR ...............................................................................................26 The impact of land reform .................................................................................................26 Restructuring the collective: Background .............................................................26 Working conditions on collective farms................................................................28 Farm worker - farm management relations............................................................30 Leaving the collective farm: fears and intimidation ..............................................31 Farm reorganization...........................................................................................................33 Attitudes toward American assistance: the experience of Maiak ..........................33 Zavoieni Peasant Farmers Association, Manta village ..........................................34 Private farming: risks and benefits ........................................................................36 Changing attitudes and interests ............................................................................38 Conclusions: Who privatizes? ...........................................................................................38 SUBSISTENCE FARMING..........................................................................................................40 Farming on household plots...............................................................................................40 The importance of husbandry ............................................................................................40 Marketing crops .................................................................................................................41 Stealing ..............................................................................................................................42 Urban gardening.................................................................................................................42 Conclusions........................................................................................................................43 CHANGING LIVELIHOOD STRATEGIES ................................................................................44 Introduction........................................................................................................................44 Formal employment ...........................................................................................................44 Finding and keeping jobs .......................................................................................45 Youth unemployment.............................................................................................46 Employment, illness, and disability.......................................................................46 Women: juggling jobs and child care responsibilities ..........................................47 Informal employment.........................................................................................................48 Buying and selling .................................................................................................48 Small-scale retail vending......................................................................................50 Petty enterprises .....................................................................................................50 Capitalizing on skills and hobbies .........................................................................50 Renting out rooms..................................................................................................51 Selling vouchers.....................................................................................................52 ii Poverty in Moldova: The Social Dimensions of Transition Illicit forms of income-generation .....................................................................................52 Prostitution.............................................................................................................52

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