Commentary
A recent report titled “Increasing investments and competitiveness for Latvia’s economic security” from the influential American Chamber of Commerce in Latvia (AmCham) calls, on page 3, for a “transition to a high value-added economy”.
Latvia's international competitiveness must be built on innovation in the digital sector, and the adoption of appropriate regulation could allow the Web3 and blockchain industry to become part of Latvia's economic identity. Next year will be crucial for Latvia's ability to position itself as a country open to innovation in financial sector, writes Reinis Znotiņš, Executive Director at the Latvian Blockchain Association.
The importance of digitalization in and of healthcare has been placed into focus for several years and although there are systems in many countries, the full potential of it has not been fully implemented. In Latvia, the process has intensified recently, but what does it mean in practical terms? Kadi Lubi, Kristaps Krafte and Ieva Dzirkale offer their thoughts on the matter on behalf of the American Chamber of Commerce in Latvia.
The very particular Latvian tradition of tending graves and burial plots is included in the nation's cultural canon and plays an important role in Latvian society. Although attitudes towards death, dying and burial have attracted a lot of attention from anthropoligical researchers around the world, surprisingly little is known about the practice of visiting cemeteries, according to Madara Oga-Timofejeva, a student of social anthropology at Riga Stradins University (RSU), who writes below about her research project.
Having lived in Latvia for almost 30 years and having witnessed the country’s remarkable transformation towards a market economy that is highly integrated within the European Union, I am saddened by the current political debate regarding the banking system, in particular the idea of capping the interest rates that banks can charge. Allow me to argue – and warn – against this suggestion.
The current events in the border area of Latvia–Belarus are a reason to create daily news centered on migrants, border crossing, fence, breaking through it, deterring migrants, or allowing migrants into Latvia. The process is justifiably described in the context of the hybrid war by the Belarusian regime. How to write about all this in the media professionally and ethically?
Once, when I – a Belarusian refugee in Latvia – was on a train from Rīga to Tukums, which has become my home in the two years I have lived in Latvia, an elderly woman approached me in the carriage. Dressed simply, with a flowery scarf on her head, she reminded me of my paternal grandmother, who was born in the Voronezh region. She came over and tried to ask me something… in English.
Although inflation receded in March compared to the record highs witnessed in the previous months, it is still elevated, and both headline inflation and price hikes in Latvia, excluding the variable energy and food prices, are among the highest in the euro area. In March 2023, the year-on-year price rise in Latvia was 17.3%, while the month-on-month price rise was 0.7%.
Latvian central bank economist Krista Kalnbērziņa takes a deep dive into gender inequality and its economic consequences in this piece from the central bank's macroeconomics.lv website.
Soon after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, LSM brought you a message from Olha, a young woman living in Kyiv as bombs and missiles rained down. Now she tells us how her life has changed in the last twelve months.
Latvian central bank economists Kārlis Vilerts and Matīss Mirošņikovs examine the economic consequences of Russia's warmongering in this new analysis for the central bank's macroeconomics.lv website.
Bank loans represent one of the investment sources ensuring economic development. It is difficult to imagine a situation where the economy can see a dynamic long-term development without lending; therefore, access to loans, especially among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), is of critical importance, writes Latvian central bank economist Andrejs Kurbatskis for Macroeconomics.lv.