Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on Local Communities in Moldova

This study was commissioned to the EXPERT-GRUP think-tank by the UNDP-Moldova with the purpose to assess qualitatively, and to the extent possible, quantitatively, the impact of the global financial crisis and associated economic downturn on Moldovan local communities and to identify possible responses that local communities can adopt to cope with the crisis. The report identifies the main weaknesses that have made local communities in Moldova vulnerable to the financial crisis and explain how the crisis boils down to the community level. Authors have analyzed quantitatively the impact of the crisis on labor market. In a separate part, the report assesses the situation of the local budgets in the context of the crisis. Another section deals with the impact of the crisis on economic and social situation of the households and individuals. The report also evaluates to what extent local companies have been affected by the crisis. The final part makes general conclusions and some policy recommendations to the government, local public administration and all other stakeholders that can influence the development policy.