Press Review - December 28, 2017

The development of small and medium-sized businesses in the country, the minimum wage, the difference between the salaries of officials and ordinary citizens are the leading topics of today's press.

The newspaper Azerbaijan writes about the state care and support of small and medium business, since it is impossible to achieve economic growth without development of the private sector. The author makes a short digression into the history of the development of private entrepreneurship in the country and state programs in this field, covering 1993-2000. According to statistics, this year the subjects of small and medium-sized businesses increased by 7.7%; as of October 1, 2017 this figure was 115,651, small and medium-sized enterprises own 81.2% of the newly created enterprises. During the reporting period, 29.2% of private enterprises were registered in Baku, and 20% were registered in the central regions of the country.

The website Azadliq.info touches upon the issue of the minimum wage, noting that in this issue Azerbaijan is ahead of even Chad. The well-known economist Gubad Ibadoglu shares his views on this. He recalls that now the minimum wage is 130 manats, which is equal to 76 dollars or 64 euros. The economist compares this amount with the hourly pay rates in European countries. The comparison looks rather pathetic. Even in a country like Chad, the hour of the minimum wage is over $ 1. In European countries, the minimum wage ranges between 235-470 euros. In Azerbaijan, the average monthly wage is 262 dollars, and in Georgia it is 350 euros.

The newspaper Novoye Vremya published an article titled Poor MPs Raised Their Salaries. The author describes in some detail all the privileges enjoyed by the MPs, even after leaving the post. Such a detailed description is connected with rumors about an increase in the salary of MPs, who do not care that pensioners cannot even afford buying medicines. -0-