Economist: Economic growth of 3.2% is unrealistic (video)
The draft budget for 2017 has the same proportion and logic as the budgets of the past several years and it is difficult of expect radical and sharp changes, says economist Karlen Khachatryan. He has observed a negative trend in the draft budget: more funds are channeled to the settlement of the state debt. In 2016, the sum totaled AMD 100 billion while in 2017 it became AMD 119 billion. “Gradually, we are allocating more money from the state budget to public debt clearing, which, I think, is a negative trend,” the economist said. Karlen Khachatryan also sees a positive trend in the draft budget. The allocations to the executive and legislative bodies have been curtailed by AMD 10 billion. The economist thinks the GDP growth rate of 3.2 percent promised by the government for 2017 is unrealistic.
