I ate lunch yesterday with an American, Mike, who is working with a small microfinance company here in Chisinau. He was hired for a six-month term to help create a strong company via process improvement, team building, organizational development, etc. It was very interesting to learn from him about this industry here.
Micro-lending is exactly what it sounds like…simply providing access to capital on a small scale, typically for individuals to get resources to start or expand a business. Mike said there are about 50 such firms here (which seems like a lot for a population of approximately 3 million), and these firms are not like banks in terms of how they invest.
Mike’s firm primarily lends to individuals working in the agricultural sector (many with mom-and-pop gardens or small plots of land), and the lending process is interesting because they do not yet have a credit rating system as we do in the US. So, individuals seeking a loan must put references on their application as well as have a co-borrower. Mike told me that the loan officers must check with the references and simply ask whether the borrower is a trustworthy person, if they owe anyone money, do they go to church, are they in good standing in their community, etc. It sounds a lot like rural community banking in the US a few decades ago.
Most of those seeking these micro-loans are trying to sustain their small business of growing and selling fruits and vegetables at a market (and not necessarily selling to a wholesaler), and Mike said it seems that most are not likely to grow their business in a significant way. This begs the question: what is the goal of the loans, in the long-run, for these borrowers?
Micro-lending is a very big and growing industry around the world, and it has done much to provide capital at reasonable interest rates to individuals who are trying to make it, yet I wonder about the long-run effect on economic development. Not that it will hinder development, but here in Moldova, Mike’s firm in particular is simply providing capital to small family growers that appear to be on a simple path of sustainability.
The broad goal of micro-lending is to bring in poorer borrowers who don’t have access to capital, which will then generate economic growth from those borrowers. The effects are said to be direct (purchasing capital equipment or services), indirect (use of those dollars downstream by vendors or others), and induced (overall spending of a region increases because overall earned income rises). It would be interesting to study what the impact of micro-lending is here in Moldova, because some studies indicate that micro-lending in certain regions generates a doubling of the dollar-lending impact (or a multiplier of two). Thus, every dollar lent to local businesses spurs about two dollars in economic activity. The problem though with this type of analysis is that it is very difficult in a developing country where the data are much harder to come by. It may be that this sort of impact is more likely to occur in a developed county where micro-lending is also very prominent.
This is another research project that would be interesting to dive into…
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Trust in Post-Soviet Moldova
There are a lot of remnants of the Soviet past here in Moldova and many challenges to living and working in a developing country. We are in the capital city, so while these challenges exist, they are nothing compared to the underdeveloped villages and towns throughout the country. Many places lack clean water (or running water), suitable infrastructure, access to healthcare, etc.
Another aspect of life here, which in part is due to the Soviet past, is the lack of trust among the people. This lack of trust is coupled with a very low income level (approximately $3,300 per capita in US dollars), and the result is that simple things that I take for granted in America take a lot of my time here.
Francis Fukuyama has written extensively on trust and the development of social capital, and it is very evident how important these concepts are for a stable and development economic system. Social capital arises out of strong horizontal relationships between people beginning with the family but extending beyond to the myriad relationships developed through various ties (friends, colleagues, associations, religion/church, etc.). In the Soviet system these relationships were undermined in favor of the vertical relationships of individual/party/and state. Consequently, trust beyond the family is still significantly lacking in post-Soviet economies.
An example of this from my teaching: my current course requires that I give three lectures each week to a large group of students and then I meet with four separate smaller groups twice a week each --all packed into three weeks. Each of these meetings is in a different classroom and often I have to move to different buildings. Some of the classrooms for the seminars and all of the lecture rooms have overhead projectors for displaying PowerPoint slides and thus are kept locked. OK…this is fine so far. The issue is that at the entrance of each building there is a desk staffed by different men (I would say most are in their 60s), and at this desk the professor must obtain the key to enter the classroom containing the projector. In the larger building (which is actually very new and quite nice) there is a set of seven books, one for each floor, where the professor must sign in and out the key each time they use a classroom. The students typically gather in the hallways waiting to enter the rooms as the professor must arrive key in hand.
After each class meeting, the professor must make sure every student has exited the room (and keep out all the students waiting for the next class period) and walk back down to the front desk to sign the key back in. In the meantime, the next professor is often there waiting to sign the key back out in order to conduct the next class. This all must happen, typically, in 10 minutes (the time between each class period), and it often requires walking down/up many flights of stairs due to very slow and very overcrowded elevators (no ADA in Moldova – or all of Europe for that matter).
I am often rushing up and down seven flights of stairs and between buildings in order to get and give keys and begin the process again. Of course the men guarding the keys don’t speak English.
An easy solution: how about use the same key for all the classrooms and give one to each professor? Or why not put key-code locks on the doors and give the professors the code?? Again, the trust factor simply has not been established here…professors are not trusted, students are not trusted, and there is no trust that one will not pay off the other to obtain access.
It is fascinating to live in a place that has so many evolving institutions -- both formal laws etc. and informal behaviors – like trust --especially compared to my experience back in America. We Americans take many things for granted which provide a certainty in our lives that many countries simply do not experience.
Another aspect of life here, which in part is due to the Soviet past, is the lack of trust among the people. This lack of trust is coupled with a very low income level (approximately $3,300 per capita in US dollars), and the result is that simple things that I take for granted in America take a lot of my time here.
Francis Fukuyama has written extensively on trust and the development of social capital, and it is very evident how important these concepts are for a stable and development economic system. Social capital arises out of strong horizontal relationships between people beginning with the family but extending beyond to the myriad relationships developed through various ties (friends, colleagues, associations, religion/church, etc.). In the Soviet system these relationships were undermined in favor of the vertical relationships of individual/party/and state. Consequently, trust beyond the family is still significantly lacking in post-Soviet economies.
An example of this from my teaching: my current course requires that I give three lectures each week to a large group of students and then I meet with four separate smaller groups twice a week each --all packed into three weeks. Each of these meetings is in a different classroom and often I have to move to different buildings. Some of the classrooms for the seminars and all of the lecture rooms have overhead projectors for displaying PowerPoint slides and thus are kept locked. OK…this is fine so far. The issue is that at the entrance of each building there is a desk staffed by different men (I would say most are in their 60s), and at this desk the professor must obtain the key to enter the classroom containing the projector. In the larger building (which is actually very new and quite nice) there is a set of seven books, one for each floor, where the professor must sign in and out the key each time they use a classroom. The students typically gather in the hallways waiting to enter the rooms as the professor must arrive key in hand.
After each class meeting, the professor must make sure every student has exited the room (and keep out all the students waiting for the next class period) and walk back down to the front desk to sign the key back in. In the meantime, the next professor is often there waiting to sign the key back out in order to conduct the next class. This all must happen, typically, in 10 minutes (the time between each class period), and it often requires walking down/up many flights of stairs due to very slow and very overcrowded elevators (no ADA in Moldova – or all of Europe for that matter).
I am often rushing up and down seven flights of stairs and between buildings in order to get and give keys and begin the process again. Of course the men guarding the keys don’t speak English.
An easy solution: how about use the same key for all the classrooms and give one to each professor? Or why not put key-code locks on the doors and give the professors the code?? Again, the trust factor simply has not been established here…professors are not trusted, students are not trusted, and there is no trust that one will not pay off the other to obtain access.
It is fascinating to live in a place that has so many evolving institutions -- both formal laws etc. and informal behaviors – like trust --especially compared to my experience back in America. We Americans take many things for granted which provide a certainty in our lives that many countries simply do not experience.
Friday, February 17, 2012
Another Russian Protestant Church
This past Sunday I took Rayna and Colsen to another Russian-speaking church where our landlord, Victor, is one of the pastors. He, and another gentleman I met named Paul, have asked me to come and visit their church and they would translate for me. They have a really nice church building (built by Victor’s father), and so on a cold Sunday it was nice to have a warm place to visit. Many buildings, especially where there are large spaces, are not adequately heated.
As the service started, I was pleasantly surprised that after singing the first song in Russian the second song was sung in Romanian. This was “pleasant” because we are learning Romania and I could actually understand some of the song and read some of the words that were projected on the screen. Looking at Russian words with Cyrillic letters is like Greek to me (as the saying goes). I’m sure there are many obvious grammar rules and songs in the Russian language that are consistent (unlike English), but reading and listening to Russian song or speech is still a mystery to me.
Anyway after a couple of songs and a couple of long poems in Russian (apparently anyone can notify the pastor if they want to recite a poem during the church service), a man stood up and presented a sermon in Romanian. This was another pleasant surprise. My friend Paul translated this sermon to me and I could make out some of it on my own. It was a short, concise sermon and relatively to the point. I learned during this part of the service that the church is trying to reach out to Romanian speakers so they are conducting part of the service in Romanian. BUT, to my surprise this Romanian sermon was not a substitute to the standard Russian parts of the service.
After the kids were dismissed to Sunday school, I thought “This is odd…the kids are leaving so close to the end of the service,” and then there was a time of announcements where a gentlemen told of an upcoming women’s meeting that day at noon (the service began at a little after 10 and it was about 11:20 at this point). Rayna and Colsen stayed with me because Sunday school in Russian would be a challenge, and I thought the service was about over. To my surprise after a time of prayer the SECOND sermon began in Russian (the Romanian sermon was simply an addition to the standard service). Well, I thought that this is OK…I can handle another sermon with two kids starting to get a little impatient (because they can’t understand anything), for the service should be over soon…the women have to meet in 30 minutes and they will need time to get to where they are going. Well to my surprise the Russian sermon was a little over an hour, and then we had to have a closing hymn and prayer.
We ended up hanging out in the lobby for the last 30 minutes as the kids had to go to the bathroom and it was too disruptive to get in and out of the service (and they had lost patience listening to a very passionate man speak unintelligible words for 30 minutes).
Another interesting cross-cultural experience…
As the service started, I was pleasantly surprised that after singing the first song in Russian the second song was sung in Romanian. This was “pleasant” because we are learning Romania and I could actually understand some of the song and read some of the words that were projected on the screen. Looking at Russian words with Cyrillic letters is like Greek to me (as the saying goes). I’m sure there are many obvious grammar rules and songs in the Russian language that are consistent (unlike English), but reading and listening to Russian song or speech is still a mystery to me.
Anyway after a couple of songs and a couple of long poems in Russian (apparently anyone can notify the pastor if they want to recite a poem during the church service), a man stood up and presented a sermon in Romanian. This was another pleasant surprise. My friend Paul translated this sermon to me and I could make out some of it on my own. It was a short, concise sermon and relatively to the point. I learned during this part of the service that the church is trying to reach out to Romanian speakers so they are conducting part of the service in Romanian. BUT, to my surprise this Romanian sermon was not a substitute to the standard Russian parts of the service.
After the kids were dismissed to Sunday school, I thought “This is odd…the kids are leaving so close to the end of the service,” and then there was a time of announcements where a gentlemen told of an upcoming women’s meeting that day at noon (the service began at a little after 10 and it was about 11:20 at this point). Rayna and Colsen stayed with me because Sunday school in Russian would be a challenge, and I thought the service was about over. To my surprise after a time of prayer the SECOND sermon began in Russian (the Romanian sermon was simply an addition to the standard service). Well, I thought that this is OK…I can handle another sermon with two kids starting to get a little impatient (because they can’t understand anything), for the service should be over soon…the women have to meet in 30 minutes and they will need time to get to where they are going. Well to my surprise the Russian sermon was a little over an hour, and then we had to have a closing hymn and prayer.
We ended up hanging out in the lobby for the last 30 minutes as the kids had to go to the bathroom and it was too disruptive to get in and out of the service (and they had lost patience listening to a very passionate man speak unintelligible words for 30 minutes).
Another interesting cross-cultural experience…
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Getting around
This morning I had two major goals when I left the house:
1.) Go to the university to teach my classes
2.) Go to the coffee shop afterwards to buy some sandwiches for dinner.
These seem like simple goals, but I had not accounted for the foot of snow on the ground and the complicating factor this would be for all the public transportation in this city.
After digging myself out of the house and trudging through the unplowed streets, I made it to the stop to catch the meshruka (mini-bus), but all the buses on my route were full. So I walked another quarter-mile to the next bus stop and got on a regular bus, which I thought would drop me off about 5 blocks from the university. But instead, the bus went part of the way there, and then went in a different direction. I got off this bus and stomped through more snow, about two blocks, to get on another mini-bus, which then took me to my usual final stop. I arrived at my class just a few minutes before it was scheduled to start, after my 65-minute journey. (The trip usually only takes me about 20 minutes.)
After my classes were over, I headed back out into the streets, which were bordered with snowbanks up to 5 feet high on both sides. I went to the ATM, only to discover that it was out of service. Fighting through more drifts, I reached another ATM, which worked, and then hailed a mini-bus for a ride to the coffee shop. As the driver sped crazily, as if trying to establish his position in a NASCAR race on the slippery roads, I soon realized that I was not going to end up where I wanted to be. I bailed off this bus and took another 5-block snowy walk to reach the coffee shop.
After finally accomplishing Goal # 2, I trudged another 5 blocks to the grocery store, and then, with 6 bags in tow, I gave up on public transportation, and negotiated a taxi ride home with my remarkable Romanian skills (saved myself 10 Lei). Somehow the cab driver managed to drive up our very deep street, and Strider had spent some time shoveling our walk, so the last part of the trip was the easiest of the day. Eight hours after I left the house, I was happy to finally return home alive, contemplating how much money I could make selling snow-plows in this town.
1.) Go to the university to teach my classes
2.) Go to the coffee shop afterwards to buy some sandwiches for dinner.
These seem like simple goals, but I had not accounted for the foot of snow on the ground and the complicating factor this would be for all the public transportation in this city.
After digging myself out of the house and trudging through the unplowed streets, I made it to the stop to catch the meshruka (mini-bus), but all the buses on my route were full. So I walked another quarter-mile to the next bus stop and got on a regular bus, which I thought would drop me off about 5 blocks from the university. But instead, the bus went part of the way there, and then went in a different direction. I got off this bus and stomped through more snow, about two blocks, to get on another mini-bus, which then took me to my usual final stop. I arrived at my class just a few minutes before it was scheduled to start, after my 65-minute journey. (The trip usually only takes me about 20 minutes.)
After my classes were over, I headed back out into the streets, which were bordered with snowbanks up to 5 feet high on both sides. I went to the ATM, only to discover that it was out of service. Fighting through more drifts, I reached another ATM, which worked, and then hailed a mini-bus for a ride to the coffee shop. As the driver sped crazily, as if trying to establish his position in a NASCAR race on the slippery roads, I soon realized that I was not going to end up where I wanted to be. I bailed off this bus and took another 5-block snowy walk to reach the coffee shop.
After finally accomplishing Goal # 2, I trudged another 5 blocks to the grocery store, and then, with 6 bags in tow, I gave up on public transportation, and negotiated a taxi ride home with my remarkable Romanian skills (saved myself 10 Lei). Somehow the cab driver managed to drive up our very deep street, and Strider had spent some time shoveling our walk, so the last part of the trip was the easiest of the day. Eight hours after I left the house, I was happy to finally return home alive, contemplating how much money I could make selling snow-plows in this town.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
My first week of teaching
I started teaching a course in comparative economic systems this week to a large group of 3rd year undergraduate students. Moldova has adopted the standard European process of higher education which means that students earn their license degree (read bachelor’s degree) in three years post high school. So my students are in their final term and are set to graduate in June. This course is a very condensed semester course that I’m teaching in three weeks, which means I meet with these students a lot in these three weeks and they have quite a bit of work to do in a short time. This week I adapted what I would normally do back in America to the course structure that they asked me to do here, which meant I met with the large group for three 80 minute lectures. Also, I had four seminar sections that I met with two times each for 80 minutes each time. It was a busy week...
Here at the Academy of Economic Studies courses are taught with a lecture section and then a separate seminar section (which I think is common in Moldova and many countries in Europe). Back at Wingate I would normally combine these formats into each class meeting. Another interesting aspect of the course is that the students in each of the distinct seminar sections have been together in their respective sections since they began their studies three years ago. When students enter the university they decide on a particular discipline, they are assigned a group of 25 or so peers, and they move through the entire program with these fellow students. Some of these students shared with me that this is one of the frustrations of their system compared to the American system. They must choose their field of study from day one and it is very difficult to “change your major” (something that American students do frequently). There is not a common core of courses that all students take, but each course is specific to one’s discipline (thus no movement between disciplines). One student shared that she thought she wanted to earn her degree in international economics, but after a year in the program she learned that it was not for her. She decided to stick it out and is hoping to earn a master’s in communication in the US.
I learned a lot this week about Moldova and Moldovan life. The perspective of this young generation of Moldovans is very interesting as they view life here as much better than it was just after independence in 1991 (when they were very young) and much better than life under communism. But, they all recognize that they still have a long way to go and there are changes that many people don’t like. Progress has brought in a lot of wealth, but there is still a lot of corruption and opportunities are still very limited for some. Most young people have a strong distaste for government as they see it…people who are trying to maintain control and power by limiting progress (for example it is very hard to start a business here especially if you are trying to compete in an industry that is being protected by the government). Many of these students want to be a part of making their country better. It was cool to hear that probably 60 percent of the students hope to stay in Moldova and work immediately or earn and master’s degree and then begin their career. It’s also interesting that around 70 percent of the students have been to America through a summer work and travel program.
It has been a great start to my teaching responsibilities, and I have really enjoyed my students thus far. They have been very energetic in the seminars, and both their written work and their dialogue has been very thoughtful. Also, as I have walked around the room in each seminar almost every student has a copy of the reading assignment for that day that is underlined and written on. I hope the novelty of having an American professor (and their willingness to work hard) remains for the next two weeks…
Here at the Academy of Economic Studies courses are taught with a lecture section and then a separate seminar section (which I think is common in Moldova and many countries in Europe). Back at Wingate I would normally combine these formats into each class meeting. Another interesting aspect of the course is that the students in each of the distinct seminar sections have been together in their respective sections since they began their studies three years ago. When students enter the university they decide on a particular discipline, they are assigned a group of 25 or so peers, and they move through the entire program with these fellow students. Some of these students shared with me that this is one of the frustrations of their system compared to the American system. They must choose their field of study from day one and it is very difficult to “change your major” (something that American students do frequently). There is not a common core of courses that all students take, but each course is specific to one’s discipline (thus no movement between disciplines). One student shared that she thought she wanted to earn her degree in international economics, but after a year in the program she learned that it was not for her. She decided to stick it out and is hoping to earn a master’s in communication in the US.
I learned a lot this week about Moldova and Moldovan life. The perspective of this young generation of Moldovans is very interesting as they view life here as much better than it was just after independence in 1991 (when they were very young) and much better than life under communism. But, they all recognize that they still have a long way to go and there are changes that many people don’t like. Progress has brought in a lot of wealth, but there is still a lot of corruption and opportunities are still very limited for some. Most young people have a strong distaste for government as they see it…people who are trying to maintain control and power by limiting progress (for example it is very hard to start a business here especially if you are trying to compete in an industry that is being protected by the government). Many of these students want to be a part of making their country better. It was cool to hear that probably 60 percent of the students hope to stay in Moldova and work immediately or earn and master’s degree and then begin their career. It’s also interesting that around 70 percent of the students have been to America through a summer work and travel program.
It has been a great start to my teaching responsibilities, and I have really enjoyed my students thus far. They have been very energetic in the seminars, and both their written work and their dialogue has been very thoughtful. Also, as I have walked around the room in each seminar almost every student has a copy of the reading assignment for that day that is underlined and written on. I hope the novelty of having an American professor (and their willingness to work hard) remains for the next two weeks…
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Winter
Of all the experiences we've had here in Moldova, and of those to come, I'm
quite sure we will remember the European winter of 2012. While we have been
reminded from family and friends back in Charlotte that "winter" in
NC is quite wonderful this year, we have been in the throes of a deep freeze. I
have talked to at least 7 or 8 Moldovans recently and all have mentioned at
some point in the conversation how cold it is. I imagined that these past 10
days were standard for the month of January, but everyone I meet indicates
these days are much colder than "normal."
One young woman that helps Amy around the house with the kids, etc. says that we’ll have this weather for little while and then winter will be over (next week). I’m not exactly sure what that means, but for her when the temps get back up into the 20s I guess we’re headed into spring.
In the meantime, we are enjoying mornings with this scene:
...where the window squeegee is stuck to the window due to ice INSIDE the house. Yes, Moldovan homes are very poorly insulated despite the fact that we are currently at 47 degrees north latitude (whereas Charlotte is 35 degrees north).
So, we will continue to make the most of this adventure especially as "winter" comes to a close this week while the forecast calls for highs in the teens and twenties. Strider is doing his best to remain tough and act as though the weather is like it is back home...
One young woman that helps Amy around the house with the kids, etc. says that we’ll have this weather for little while and then winter will be over (next week). I’m not exactly sure what that means, but for her when the temps get back up into the 20s I guess we’re headed into spring.
In the meantime, we are enjoying mornings with this scene:
...where the window squeegee is stuck to the window due to ice INSIDE the house. Yes, Moldovan homes are very poorly insulated despite the fact that we are currently at 47 degrees north latitude (whereas Charlotte is 35 degrees north).
So, we will continue to make the most of this adventure especially as "winter" comes to a close this week while the forecast calls for highs in the teens and twenties. Strider is doing his best to remain tough and act as though the weather is like it is back home...
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Language Learning
We started this week learning with a Romanian language tutor, Olga. She is a
really nice lady and, from our first lesson, a great tutor. Romanian is a
Latin-based language that has some similarities to other Romance languages such
as Spanish and French. As I indicated earlier, everyone here in Moldova speaks
or understands Romanian, while many speak Russian as well. We decided to study
Romanian because we are also studying Spanish (or at least it is part of the
kids school curriculum the next few years), and the alphabet is easier to grasp
then the Russian Cyrillic letters.
The language history of Moldova is another fascinating piece of cultural history here. Since the Moldovans have been under the control of the Romanians and the Russians (later the Soviets) they have borrowed from both the Russian and Romanian languages to create what can be referred to as Moldovan (yet is essentially Romanian today). The result is that in many places, especially in rural areas, you will find Romanian writing/signs etc. written in Romanian yet using Cyrillic letters. This is obviously very confusing for a non-native speaker.
One account of the Romanization of the language is that during the Soviet era Stalin actually encouraged the use of Romanian as the official language in order to gain influence in Romania (Russian controlled Moldova for much of the 19th century). Thus, Moldova has had times were the policy has shifted from children being taught in Russian and then times where children are taught only in Romanian. I may post later on Moldovan history, but this territory has had a long history of cultural influence from the Romanians even when the area was controlled by the Ottomans (1538-1812).
The language history of Moldova is another fascinating piece of cultural history here. Since the Moldovans have been under the control of the Romanians and the Russians (later the Soviets) they have borrowed from both the Russian and Romanian languages to create what can be referred to as Moldovan (yet is essentially Romanian today). The result is that in many places, especially in rural areas, you will find Romanian writing/signs etc. written in Romanian yet using Cyrillic letters. This is obviously very confusing for a non-native speaker.
One account of the Romanization of the language is that during the Soviet era Stalin actually encouraged the use of Romanian as the official language in order to gain influence in Romania (Russian controlled Moldova for much of the 19th century). Thus, Moldova has had times were the policy has shifted from children being taught in Russian and then times where children are taught only in Romanian. I may post later on Moldovan history, but this territory has had a long history of cultural influence from the Romanians even when the area was controlled by the Ottomans (1538-1812).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)