Representatives of the Armenian Ministry of Finance led by Deputy Minister Avag Avanesyan participated in the discussion on the National Transfer Accounts (NTA) tool.
Population aging, which is characteristic of almost all developed countries, brings many challenges and can have a serious impact on economic development. To assess that impact, The United Nations has developed the National Transfer Accounts (NTA) tool, which shows the income and expenses for each age group in the population.
The tool makes it possible to assess the impact of changes in the population structure for the purpose of developing economic policies, in particular, it is used to assess the effectiveness of taxes, public finances, labor market, education and public health spending over time. It is also very important from the point of view of demographic forecasts, because it shows what kind of economic challenges the increase in the share of the older generation in the population will cause in the future, so that it is possible to take timely steps to mitigate or prevent them.
With the support of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Armenia and the United Nations Population Fund and the Institute of Demography of the "Higher School of Economics" in Moscow, the "Ameria" consulting center built the first National Transfer Accounts tables of Armenia and carried out their analysis, which were presented to more than 40 representatives of various departments.
During the discussion, Deputy Minister of Finance Avag Avanesyan expressed hope that the current departments will utilize the NTA tool to address strategic problems stemming from the aging of the population.
- The tool should also help us to understand where our future problems will come from and direct funding there before these problems become unmanageable, - noted the Deputy Minister of Finance.
