Datoria publică a Republicii Moldova – tendinţe şi probleme

Abstract

Debt is an important component of a functional economy. Central authorities in different countries borrow money to finance major projects, as well as financing the state budget deficit. Public debt consists of a complex of internal and external financial obligations by the state at a given moment, coming from loans contracted directly or guaranteed by Government, Ministry of Finance or local public administration authorities from various resident or non-resident creditors (individuals or legal entities). As an analogous notion, the notion of state debt is often used, expressed by the total debts of state to various categories of creditors in the country or abroad. As public debt instruments are financial instruments placed on domestic financial market as well as on international financial markets, including: loans, securities, deposits, Special Drawing Rights, guarantees. In Republic of Moldova public debt consists of state debt, debt of National Bank of Moldova, debt of public sector enterprises and debt of administrative territorial units. Related to different indicators (such as GDP, population size, etc.), public debt can be analyzed in different sections. Public debt management is important in compliance with the public debt ceiling. The analysis of public debt should take into account costs and benefits of using borrowed capital to solve complex state problems. In the conducted study on official data of Ministry of Finance and related bibliographical sources, the public debt of Republic of Moldova was examined in terms of structural and specific indicators, which allowed to draw some related conclusions. At present the indebtedness of Republic of Moldova is not the highest compared to other countries. This allows us to conclude on the possibility of increasing the mobilization of borrowed funds, but caution is needed, as it is not acceptable for the country's economic development to become dependent on external remittances and loans. It should be noted that the increase of public debt of Republic of Moldova takes place mainly for consumption purposes. Also, conditionalities of attracting loans at state level, which are seen by experts in a contradictory way, should be noted. In our opinion, it would be rational for this process to have a systemic character, ie to be harmoniously integrated into the general system of economic and financial policies promoted by central authorities of Republic of Moldova. First of all, the mobilization of borrowed funds must be coordinated with the capability of economy of capital assimilation and potential of economy to grow by increasing GDP. Secondly, it is necessary to optimize policies to promote exports and attract foreign investment in country to ensure continued economic development and, respectively, debt reimbursement capacity. Thirdly, there is a need to increase the financing, including borrowed funds, of productive investment projects. Fourthly, it is necessary to combat tax evasion in order to increase the country's ability to serve public debt. JEL: E61, E62, H26, H62, H63