From a short-term perspective and ‘local’ view, this does not seem to change the environment considerably. According to such view, given the commitment of the authorities to monetary and financial stability (since 2015 it seems to be rather firm) the decay of the ‘recovery growth mark-up’ does not mean anything except weaker growth of incomes. However, from a longer-term perspective and a ‘big picture’ view, one can detect such kind of threats.

Since the mid-2000s, the fertility rate in Belarus was increasing and staying higher than optimistic forecasts of the UN. However, since 2017 the trend has turned around without any negative shocks from the economy or demographic and social policy. This discussion paper analyzes what happens to Belarusian fertility, why this happens and how social policy affects fertility.

In December 2018 – January 2019, the second Global University Entrepreneurial Spirit Students’ Survey was conducted in the Republic of Belarus by Belarusian Economic Research and Outreach Center (BEROC). The same survey was performed in 54 countries from all around the world.

This paper is a part of the research about attitudes of Belarusians to the system of social protection. The research is carried out by the IPM Research Center together with BEROC. It is based on ten focus groups conducted in June 2019.

The paper presents the results of the enterprises surveys regarding the barriers to the development of the circular economy. The analysis has revealed that in general the enterprises surveyed positively evaluate the existing legislation in Belarus that regulates issues concerning waste management, but identify a number of other significant barriers.