Economy

Armenia’s minimum wage is set to increase in 2020. When setting the minimum wage, governments need to take a balanced and evidence-based approach that considers the needs of workers and their families on the one hand and economic factors on the other.

China’s revolutionary and controversial Belt and Road Initiative, meant to link East and West, has dipped its toes into Armenia.

Deep tech startups are built on scientific and engineering discoveries and innovations. In the Armenian startup ecosystem, there are only a handful of deep tech startups. One of them is Krisp.

Economist Samson Avetian takes a brief look at the history of complicated relations between the U.S. and Iran. He argues that economic relations between Armenia and Iran are unlikely to see significant changes even in light of Iran’s escalating tensions with the West.

Armenia’s Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant, located in a seismically active area, was designed to be decommissioned in 2016. It has been a topic of debate and discussion in Armenian society for decades. Justin Tomczyk takes a closer look.

Economist Ani Avetisyan looks at the recent decision by Armenia’s government to switch to a flat income tax system and argues that cutting tax rates is not an efficient tool for decreasing shadow economy if a country is institutionally underdeveloped.

Armenia’s Information and Communication Technologies sector has been steadily growing over the past decade. Tatev Mkrtumyan focuses on three spheres that will impact Armenian hi-tech industries and place it on the global tech map.

Samson Avetian looks at a number of variables that can impact Armenia’s economic growth outlook and writes that despite the challenges, the Velvet Revolution has catalyzed and facilitated meaningful improvement and thus raised longer run GDP growth projections.

There is potential for an increase in investment activity in Armenia. Expectations of entrepreneurs need to be carefully managed in order to see this acceleration happen already as early as 2019, writes Samson Avetian.

In the second of a multi-part series, Dr. Lucyann Kerry writes that as other countries set examples and move forward to solve transport problems, Armenia may have an opportunity to use its energized political will and seek innovative solutions to its transport system.