The database of the Research Institute for Quality of Life from Romania (RIQL) has collected over the years, an appreciable number of economic and social indicators in various stages of centralization or processing. The work carried out was imposed by the needs of different projects and not only. In this sense, a sustained effort has been made to search, collect and systematize some indicators taken from the Statistical Yearbooks (NIS), but also from other sources, in order to obtain a long series of indicators to track the dynamics over time of various economic and social phenomena. In this sense, so far, several relatively long series of economic and social indicators have accumulated, orienting us through the specific areas of interest, mainly in the field of living standards, income of the population and consumption of goods and services. The size of a household's income directly affects the other dimensions of the standard of living. Within the base there are also numerous comparative economic and social indicators, for the global and European level: income indicators; minimum consumption basket indicators; the values ​​of the monthly consumption basket of the households of employees and pensioners updated to the level of December 2021. Beyond the examples presented above, we mention that the base of indicators constituted by our initiative contains numerous accumulations from the past years, and for updating some, periodically, we carry out activities to search and study potential data sources in the country and abroad.

 Keywords: official data, indicator, income, expence, consumption basket, family, child

A decisive chapter in the standard of living of any population is the analysis of the income level. The size of a household's income directly affects the other dimensions of the standard of living. In the following we will analyze the evolution of the main income indicators from the RIQL database (Figure 1).^1–3

Figure 1 Dynamics of the average net salary / minimum net salary, in the period October 1989 - January 2022.

Average real salary by economy, data series, time interval 1989 - January 2022, October of each year (average net salary / price index, 1989 = 100%)

Salary is the most important indicator of a person's economic activity. The real power of this indicator is manifested in the confrontation with the market, through the possibility for the employee to purchase the goods and services necessary for his or her family's existence. During the period 1989, taken as the reference year and January 2022, the average net salary was below the base year level, between 1991 and 2007, due to the increase in prices, especially for clothing and footwear, chemicals, hygiene items, cosmetics, medicines, building materials and cultural products. The most difficult moments were the years: 1993 (59.9%), 2000 (60.8%) and 1999 (61.1%). Otherwise, the indicator was above the reference year, recording a doubling of its purchasing power, after 2015.^4–6

Minimum real wage by economy, data series, time interval 1989 - 2022, October of each year (minimum net salary / price index, 1989 = 100%)

The critical moments for employees paid at the level of the minimum wage in the economy were the years: 1999 (25.4%) and 2000 (24.1%). From 1994 to 2002 it can be estimated that the level of purchase of the minimum wage was about one third of the products and services that could be bought in 1989, the base year, taken into account, a decrease reflected by the increase in prices at fuels, energy and water. The situation is improving since 2014 (79.9%). Towards the end of the analysis period, the purchasing power of the minimum wage indicator should remain relatively constant, around 130% of what could be bought in the 1989 reference year.

Dynamics of the average net salary / minimum net salary, in the period October 1989 - January 2022.

Child allowances, data series, time period 1989-2022, October of each year (child allowances / price index, 1989 = 100%)

The state child allowance also has the lowest purchasing power between 1992 and 2014. The complete elimination of subsidies in 1993 led to a real explosion in prices, which increased more than 4 times. In October 1995 there were large price increases mainly for some foods: vegetables, fruits, edible oil, flour, eggs, sugar, tobacco, medicines and some services: health care, sanitation, water consumption, transportation, fuel consumption. The child allowance is experiencing a second real decline, after 1999, with the largest decrease being recorded in 2000 (22.2% for the first child and 36.6% for the second child).^7–9

The situation of the allowance improves after 2019, when its value doubles, continuing to increase until the end of the analyzed period.

 International official data

If we take into account only the member countries of the European Union, we have the second lowest gross and net salary, only Bulgarians with lower salaries. However, at European level, Romania ranks 30th out of 45 countries, both in terms of average gross salary (1151 Euro) and in terms of average net salary (708 Euro). We are across Eastern and South-Eastern European countries - Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Moldova and Ukraine. We are above the Russian Federation and above Bulgaria (the only country below us in the EU). At the same time, we are quite close to Central European countries such as Slovakia, Hungary, Latvia and Croatia.

The median salary at the level of the 45 European countries analyzed is € 2180 gross, respectively € 1549 net. The median net salary is:

€ 1748 per month, for countries that are part of the European Union;

€ 1876 per month, if we consider only the Schengen countries;

€ 2657 per month, if we consider only the states of Western Europe.

In terms of purchasing power expressed in USD, it is noted that Denmark, Switzerland and Luxembourg lead this ranking, with an equivalent purchasing power of over 4,000 USD. On the other hand, at the bottom of the rankings are Albania, Georgia, Kosovo, Armenia and Moldova, with a purchasing power equivalent of less than $ 1,200.^10–12

Romania ranks last in the EU in the median income of its citizens expressed in euros, according to data published by Eurostat. The disposable income per adult-equivalent is the total income of a household, after tax and other deductions, that is available for expenses or savings, divided by the number of members of the household converted into equal adults; Household members are equalized or equalized by age weighting, using an OECD equivalence scale.

Poverty as measured by the “at-risk-of-poverty and social exclusion” (AROPE) indicator indicates quite clearly the economic vulnerability of households. However, in order to indicate more precisely the causes and social effects of such a vulnerability, other material dimensions can be explored, such as the low level of consumer spending that may or may not be determined by monetary poverty.

Poor people by definition are common and at the same time vulnerable in terms of their level of spending, which can be of interest because it combines several dimensions of poverty.

However, Romania stands out among the European states, due to the relatively low share of the population which, although it achieves a sufficient level of income, still maintains a relatively low amount of spending - this fact indicates the relatively high propensity to consume of the population in our country with other European populations.^13–15

The second most important indicator of the standard of living, according to the income level, is that of household expenses. In general, they reveal the share of economically vulnerable households, especially if we consider households where the level of spending exceeds the level of income.¹⁶

Statistically, the fact that a household cannot finance its entire consumption from income can be a good indication of its financial difficulties. However, more restrained economic behavior in terms of spending does not always indicate a lower level of income or even a higher risk of poverty (Tables 1–5).

None.

There are no conflicting interests declared by the authors.

None.

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