The effect of the devaluation of the Belarusian ruble in 2011 on real incomes in Belarus

In 2011 Belarus suffered a currency crisis and an almost three-fold devaluation of the Belarusian ruble. As a result of the crisis, the real incomes of the population were reduced because of the high rate of inflation. This research note describes and analyses the results of a study of real incomes of the population in 2011. On average, the real household disposable income per head in the fourth quarter of 2011 fell by 15% compared to the same period in 2010. However, the most affected sections of the population, which, in the first quarter of 2011, were those which received a relatively higher income. While for those who fell within the lowest decile in terms of income in the first quarter of 2011 (10% of the population with the lowest income levels) did not have their real income decrease by the sixth quarter, for those with incomes falling within the tenth decile (10% of the population with the highest income levels), real income fell by as much as 30%. The research also explains that pensioners were also strongly affected by the crisis with the real income of pensioners decreasing by 16.7% from the fourth quarter to the first quarter of 2011.