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[From RIA Novosti's digest of the Russian press]
United Nations Development Program has downgraded Russia from 57th position last year to 62nd in its developing countries rating, due to low life expectancy and economic instability. High tariffs and subsidies detract billions of dollars from human development, the document on Russia that will be published October 10 said. Russia's Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) estimates that average income soared by 8.3% this year on 2004. Moreover, average wages increased by 23.3%.
However, UNDP experts claim that Russian poverty has been exacerbated.
UNDP considers poverty to be the main problem of developing countries. Instead of merely providing aid, we must completely change all forms of international cooperation in order to fight poverty, its experts note.
"Traditional trade is no longer enough. We must liberalize markets and move away from primitive commodity and service exchanges," Alexander Daniltsev, Head of the Trade Policy Institute, stressed. The new stage of globalization requires that each country should share its wealth with the entire world.
This implies specific resources, rather than end products. In other words, if Russia cannot independently master the potential of crude oil, if it is unable to convert oil into modern fibers and other ready-made products, more cost-effective performers should do this.
It is still unclear whether this approach will cure Russia and some developing nations from the so-called Dutch Disease. But the global policy must change, no matter what.
UNDP economists believe that the situation will hardly change, if Russia continues to rely on petro-dollars. Russian citizens will still rank among 40% of the world's poorest population spending less than $2 a day.
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