Why do young people leave the Republic of Moldova?

One of the main causes of young people leaving Moldova is the lack of opportunities at home. Another problem is low wages. That is why we decided to analyse the ratio between the minimum wage and the average wage in the economy, on the one hand, and the wage income that would allow an adult (in this case a family of two young people living in Chișinău) to have a decent social and economic standard of living according to the standards of neighbouring EU countries, on the other. To this end, we calculated the average monthly expenses of a couple of two young people living in Chișinău. We started from the premise that they would have expenses for rent, utilities, transport, a balanced diet and social expenses. To this end, we calculated the average monthly expenses of a couple of two young people living in Chișinău. We started from the premise that they would have expenses for rent, utilities, transport, a balanced diet and social expenses. To calculate food expenses, we took into account the international standards of the World Health Organization, the so-called Dietary Guidelines, as well as the European Union’s Recommendations, and a series of technical recommendations that made it possible to calculate what exactly we should eat to ensure a maximum intake of nutrients. The calculations were made according to the classic scheme, to ensure a caloric intake of 2,500 kcal for a man and a diet of up to 2,200 kcal per day for a woman. The expenses were calculated on the basis of prices in wholesale distribution networks. They account for 43% of total expenses. The second most important category of expenses is rent. It makes up 24% of the total. We also assumed that for getting around the city they would use the trolleybus (2 passes and possibly 5 taxi rides), so they would spend MDL 510 per month. Expenses for maintenance and services average 14.3%. In calculating them, we took into account the difference between the cold months of the year and the rest of the year, so this amount represents an annual average. We also tried to show where we stand relative to the reference countries. In the Republic of Moldova, as in Romania, Russia and Lithuania, the minimum wage does not cover the subsistence minimum. Ireland and France took a different approach and adopted pay policies under which the minimum wage ensures the subsistence minimum for their citizens. The income needed for their citizens to have a decent social standard of living, in a tolerant, multicultural and fair environment, was calculated in the same way.