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Inflation is a concern for both businesses and people, and it is affected by many factors. In this paper, we tried to touch on the effect of the Russia - Ukraine war on inflation. The research questions are: "Is inflation higher after the war began?", "Is the inflation higher in Romania after the war began?" and "Is the inflation higher in countries who are near to the war?" The data analyzed in this paper was extracted from Eurostat for 34 countries, for the period of 2017-2022. The conclusion is that inflation was higher in all analyzed countries after the war started and was more substantial for Romania and for the countries that were near the conflict. This paper can contribute to the literature on the effect of the war on inflation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research paper analyses a series of indicators which characterize eight European capital markets and their respective countries during 2012-2022, as well as the relationship between capital markets’ size and economy. Capital markets play a vital role in facilitating capital flows, supporting investment projects, and contributing to economic growth. Vice versa, macroeconomic influence on the capital markets is also thoroughly researched and the respective paper sets grounds for further analysis of the link between the two: macroeconomy and capital markets. When discussing capital markets, variables we look at usually measure its size, in terms of market capitalization, or its relative size to the economy, as market capitalization to GDP, used more often as comparable between markets. One can note that the recovery after the global financial crisis was different by country or region, with various speeds of growth. On the contrary, COVID-19 pandemic hit all the markets disregard of the size or stage of development. All countries recorded increase in the GDP during the analysed period, largest being for Poland and Hungary. The size of capital markets in nominal values increased in 5 out of 8 markets, leaving on the negative territory market capitalization of Spain, United Kingdom, and Poland. Largest size growth of the capital markets was in Romania. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The digitalization of public administration is a pertinent and significant subject matter at the European Union level, and by extension, at the national level in Romania. The primary goal of this study is to examine the process of digitalization in public administration and assess the implications generated by the adoption of e-government services on several macroeconomic variables, namely economic growth, quality of life and potential growth. In this perspective, we shall undertake an analysis of the advantages that digitalization confers, as well as the trajectory that digitalization follows within Romania's public administration. Also, the paper shows several models of best practices with varying levels of digitalization observed within public administration and public services at the European Union (EU) level, as a possible direction that Romanian policy makers can adopt, considering the current level of digitalization and the competitiveness environment al EU level when it comes to the future of IT&C. The paper concludes that countries that had a forward-looking perspective and adopted digitalization measures for public administration in the past will now use the Recovery and Resilience Funds to develop Internet 4.0 elements to solve problems and compute data, as a way of revolutionizing how governments operate and serve their citizens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The digital economy has become a key issue for both theoreticians and practitioners worldwide, especially in the last decade. It is based on various forms of technology, such as the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and blockchain. The aim of the paper is to briefly present and analyse the evolution of the digital economy in Romania in the period 2019-2022. In this respect, the authors used a qualitative research method. The results show that the period 2019-2022 witnessed a slight decrease in Romania's performance related to the Digital Economy and Society Index. The paper indicates that despite its efforts, Romania has scored well below the other EU countries. However, the adoption of several measures in favor of digitalisation proved its clear commitment to building a functional digital economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the Romania's state aid policy after the country joined the European Union (EU) in 2007. With its membership, Romania's economic and regulatory environment underwent a dramatic change, bringing its policies into compliance with EU norms and laws. This research examines several types of state aid that Romania has put in place, such as grants, tax incentives, and guarantees, with the goals of promoting economic expansion, improving competitiveness, and reducing regional disparities. The study presents the government's response to the recognised market failures and the alignment with European trends through an extensive examination of official reports and statistical data. The results demonstrate that Romania's application of EU state aid regulations was in line with the EU framework and that the goals that many of the EU member states consider most significant are followed in the distribution of public support. The Romanian state aid policy recognises market failures (agriculture, energy savings and environmental protection, regional development) and attempts to direct public efforts to close the gaps, even though the total aid granted is not impressive when compared to developed economies and the aid's share of GDP is at a moderate level. In order to provide a comprehensive understanding of Romania's place in the European context, an overview analysis of member states state aid disbursments from 2007 to 2022 is provided. The paper inserts some policy recommendations to optimize state aid distribution and effectiveness, emphasizing the need for robust monitoring mechanisms, greater transparency, and alignment with broader EU objectives. This analysis provides valuable insights for policymakers, researchers, and stakeholders interested in the dynamics of state aid in Romania’s post-EU accession period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Foreign direct investment (FDI) is to an increasing extent given credit for the economic development of a country along with the creation of new jobs, foreign capital, technology and knowledge transfer, generating positive spillover effects or the opportunity of joining global value chains. In the current paper the authors aim to investigate the impact of the subsidiaries of transnational companies (TNCs) which operate in Romania and carry out foreign trade activities on the trade balance of Romania during the period 2014-2022. The analysis demonstrates they generate a significant surplus in the case of services and a deficit in the case of goods, the surplus surpassing the deficit until 2018. Beginning with 2019, the high growth rate of deficits can no longer be balanced through a slower growth rate of surpluses resulting from the trade in services. Other findings reveal the sectors contributing the most to these imbalances: the manufacturing industry, telecommunications and information technology, manufacturing services and transportation generate a large surplus and trade generates a huge deficit. Data was extracted from BNR FDI annual reports, issued during 2013-2022, based on Combined Nomenclature and the IMF's Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual, 6th edition (BPM6) methodology. The research might be extended with the identification and evolution of TNCs at the microeconomic level, and subsequently studying the case of key multinational companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The overlap of crises that most countries in the world are currently facing generates the need to increase tax revenues, so the analysis of the factors that influence tax revenues is useful and important. There are many factors that influence the level of tax revenues, but those related to the activity of the tax administration and the tax behavior of taxpayers are of great importance. The multifactorial linear regression model developed in this paper demonstrates the existence of a direct and positive correlation between tax revenues: % of GDP and the number of tax inspections, the number of tax penalties and the degree of tax compliance, and a direct and negative correlation between tax revenues: % of GDP and the cost of tax revenue collection. The developed model offers the possibility to make predictions for approaching tax administration strategies aimed at increasing tax compliance and streamlining the activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the connection between the change in 10-year government bond yields, as a proxy of the long-term interest rates and the stock returns for Romania, between April 2020 and December 2023. The stock prices were represented by the reference index BET (Bucharest Exchange Trading) of the Romanian stock market, Bucharest Stock Exchange (BSE). The regression analysis showed an inverse linear connection, of medium intensity, between the exogenous variable, the change in government bond yields, and the dependent variable, the stock returns listed by BSE. The increase in interest rates will lead to a decrease in the price of the companies' stocks, the increase in the cost of financing for companies will decrease the value of their investments, and therefore the investors will anticipate the decrease in future cash flows. On the other hand, the lower interest rates will appreciate the companies' market value, because the investors anticipate the increase of corporate investments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present context, the consumption and saving patterns are subjected to change both locally and worldwide. The evidence on consumption reveals the importance of data handling and processing using the most relevant tools available. This research paper looks into official statistics data of Consumer Price Indexes (CPI) for milling and baking products and is based on seasonal adjustment. As such, JDemetra+ software is selected as officially recommended by Eurostat for seasonal adjustment. First section presents the official software recommended by Eurostat for seasonal adjustment, while section two discusses the characteristics and functionalities of the software. Furthermore, the following section presents the selected seasonal adjustment technique and describes the usage of monthly data. Section four analysing the results of all the seasonality tests for the selected series is followed next by a brief concluding remarks and observations section. Moreover, in terms of the conducted analysis, the paper examines to test JDemetra+ 3.0.0 pre-release version against JDemetra+ 2.2.4. Evidence favouring JDemetra+ 2.2.4 is obtained, the results showing that some new strategies might be needed in order to obtain better results on seasonal adjustment process using TRAMO-SEATS in JDemetra+ 3.0.0. Seasonal adjustment practitioners in official statistics should be aware and recognize the impact of statistical package selection. In this respect, optimal selection of analysis procedures is needed in the evaluation of a series and thus migrating from JDemetra+ 2.2.4 to JDemetra+ 3.0.0 is problematic without employing resources in developing appropriate strategies for improvement of the obtained results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the evolution and trends of agritourism in Romania in the year 2022, supported by statistical data. Agritourism, the fusion of agriculture and tourism, has been steadily growing in Romania, offering unique rural experiences to tourists and contributing to the development of rural communities. Using a rich dataset from 2022, this study employs statistical methods to uncover key insights into the current state of agritourism in Romania. In summary, this research paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the evolution of agritourism from a statistical perspective, revealing key trends and insights that can inform future strategies and decisions in the field of agritourism and rural tourism development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the banking industry faced numerous challenges (the sudden and total closure of physical units, exclusively remote relations with customers) and was pushed to accelerate the digitalization process started in the 2000s. In this context, digital banking services became of paramount importance and the factors that influence consumer satisfaction with digital banking services were at the centre of attention of both industry and academia. The aim of this paper is to determine a ranking of the determinants that influence consumer satisfaction with digital banking services, at the start of the pandemic. To this end, we conducted a quantitative research based on a questionnaire in Constanta County. Using graphical visualization to observe the impact of a series of independent variables (the level of education, the characteristics of banks, accessibility, the frequency of using the digital banking services, the level of technology of the bank, and consumers’ trust in the bank with which they frequently relate) on the dependent variable - customer satisfaction with digital banking services, and training an artificial neural network (ANN), we obtained a hierarchy of the influence factors. The research results revealed that customer satisfaction with digital banking services is primarily influenced by their trust in the bank they work with and the bank's level of technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financial education is necessary for people of all ages, because every day they make decisions that can have financial implications. Thus, whether we talk about earning money, choosing savings solutions, investments, loans or simply about spending money, financial education is the basis for making appropriate decisions. Good financial education of the members of a society will lead to more responsible behaviour, better management of each household's financial resources and more economic stability. The complexity of today's economic life poses new challenges for the average citizen, who needs to keep up with technological progress on the one hand and understand the opportunities and challenges in the financial field on the other. Information sources today are diverse and information users need to be able to interpret the messages they receive in order to make the right choices and avoid falling victim to fraud. The impact of financial literacy and education on economic development is major because a person without even basic financial knowledge will make wrong choices that will affect their household's financial situation, with consequences for the national economy. This paper presents a number of aspects of the financial behaviour of Romanian citizens and includes a comparative presentation of the turnover of companies whose activity is "Gambling and betting activities" and the amounts spent by citizens on housing insurance and voluntary pensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a systematic review of the specialized literature related to tourism companies in Romania, which have implemented European funds. We used the bibliometric analysis with information from 70 articles published in the mentioned journals and magazines, taking into account the key terms established at the beginning of this article. Our article focused on highlighting the problems, influencing factors and specific consequences, according to the established terms. The limits of this article will be reduced in the future, when we will supplement the theoretical information in it with practical data, based on the answers to the questionnaires sent to the tourist service providers who have implemented projects with European funds and to the 8 Regional Development Agencies. The results of our research will help theorists and practitioners, as well as decision-makers in Romanian tourism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of the accelerated globalization of digital commerce, Romania's integration into the international e-commerce ecosystem is a relevant case study. This paper explores the evolution, current state and future perspectives of Romania's e-commerce activities. We examine the main factors behind its success in this field, the challenges faced in the process and how technological innovations and strategic initiatives have been instrumental. We also analyze the wider implications of Romania's e-commerce growth on its economy and society. The research concludes by offering perspectives on future trends, highlighting the potential and opportunities ahead. This analysis serves as a basis for understanding how emerging economies can use e-commerce as a tool for global integration and economic advancement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finance plays a major role in all economies by providing the necessary funds for economic activities and implicitly for all sustainable investments. Financing for sustainable development foregrounds directions for major investments in longer-term activities. In my opinion, one of the major problems of the sustainable development of the Romanian economy is closely related to the tendency and capacity to absorb European funds with a dominant investment and multiplier impact. The absorption rate of European funds can be an important factor in terms of economic growth. Effective use of these funds can stimulate investment, innovation and infrastructure development, which in turn can contribute to economic growth. These funds can also help create jobs and increase the economic competitiveness of a country or region. The study is based on the comparative analysis of Romania, as an emerging country of Central and Eastern Europe, with the other countries of the European Union in order to know the stage of sustainable development of our country and to emphasize the major role of European funds in this regard, in the countries of the Union European and we also used the theoretical research method and the method of reading the specialized bibliography, to outline the conceptual aspects addressed in the paper. This study emphasizes the fact that it is very important that the absorption of European funds is as high as possible to be a factor of economic growth and implicitly to support sustainable economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

These challenging economic times put most countries in a position to stimulate and strengthen economic growth through fiscal policy measures. We all know that fiscal policy aims to raise as much revenue as possible for the state budget in order to stimulate economic growth. As a result, Romania adopts fiscal policy measures such as: stimulating investments, stimulating consumption, controlling inflation, reducing the budget deficit, etc. Economists (Musgrave Richard & Musgrave Paggy, 1984) identified three functions of fiscal policy which are inter conditioned and related to the state economy: allocation, distribution and stabilization.[13] The paper aims to address in a suggestive manner the impact of fiscal policy on economic growth, and the main objective of the article is to highlight the evolution of economic growth in Romania in the last 10 years as a result of the application and implementation of fiscal policy measures in order to maximize the positive impact on economic growth. Fiscal policy is the basis for a state's economic actions, interacting with all other policies, i.e. monetary policy, social policy, development policy, budgetary policy, etc. This interaction must be translated into a set of economic growth measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The business digitization is a priority process these days both at the enterprise level and at the economic level. This digitization action is both an opportunity and a priority and must be completed quickly by businesses that want a quick efficiency of their activity but also a better positioning on the market in which they exist. At the same time, all the organizations that come into contact with the companies must in their turn be able to respond through their actions to a digitalized economic environment. This paper is the object of study of a project financed by "Constantin Brancusi" University of Targu Jiu and aims to present some aspects related to the concept of digitization, the ways and opportunities of financing, the current state of digitization of the business environment in Romania and perspectives of digitization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use and implementation of digital technologies related to the current economy will allow to the professionals in the financial and accounting field to become creators of added value, through the quality services provided. However, the digital revolution brings important changes in the work of the specialist in this field, forcing him to continuously improve his skills. Taking into account the implications and consequences of the digitization of the accounting profession, this paper actually represents a case study regarding the perception of accounting professionals regarding the future of the accounting profession in the digital economy. Its final conclusions highlight the fact that the accounting profession is not dominated by information technology, but is influenced by the level of digitization of the economic environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to present an empirical analysis of unemployment spells and exit states of the Roma population living in Romania. A dataset of unemployment spells of Roma individuals with ISCED4, ISCED5 and ISCED7 level of education, registered as unemployed at the National Agency of Employment Romania, during January 1st 2014 until 31st December 2017 is analysed. Personal characteristics such as age, gender, education, urban/rural area of living, county and region, previous work experience, reason for leaving unemployment are analysed in association with unemployment duration and exit destinations. The obtained results can be useful for policy makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

THIS PAPER EXAMINES THE GREAT ECONOMIC DIFFERENCE IN TERMS OF GDP EVOLUTION IN ROMANIA SINCE 1989, WHEN THE COMMUNIST REGIME COLLAPSED, WITH THE AIM TO ANSWER THE RESEARCH QUESTION RELATED TO THIS GREAT ECONOMIC DIFFERENCE. IN 1989 ROMANIA HAD A GDP OF $41.45 BLN. COMPARED WITH $301.26 BLN. IN 2022, WHILE THE AIM OF THIS PAPER IS TO ANSWER THE QUESTION OF "WHY IS SUCH A DIFFERENCE?" BASED ON THE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK PROVIDED BY THE NEW INSTITUTIONAL ECONOMICS, IN THE PERSPECTIVE DELIVERED BY DARON ACEMOGLU AND JAMES A. ROBINSON, MY ANSWER TO THE RESEARCH QUESTION, WHICH REPRESENTS THE PAPER HYPOTHESIS, IS THAT THE POST 1989 DEVELOPMENT OF ROMANIA WAS DRIVEN BY ADOPTING INCLUSIVE ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

THE HEALTH STATUS OF THE ROMANIAN POPULATION AND THE HEALTH SYSTEM RESOURCES ARE BEHIND THE EU AVERAGES, SITUATION WHICH COULD BE SIMILAR TO OTHER MEMBER STATES FROM CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE, BUT MORE DETRIMENTAL IN SOME AREAS. A HEALTH SISTEM PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT (HSPA) HAS NOT ROUTINELY PERFORMED IN ROMANIA AT PRESENT. THIS PAPER AIMED TO DESCRIBE THE EVOLUTION OF THE CONCEPTS AND METHODS USED GLOBALLY FOR THE HEALTH SYSTEMS’ PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT AND TO EXPLORE THE COUNTRY CONTEXT FOR CREATING A NATIONAL FRAMEWORK IN THIS SENSE. WE PERFORMED A LITERATURE REVIEW OF THE INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC PAPERS AND GREY LITERATURE RELEVANT FOR THE TOPIC AND ALSO AN EXPLORATION OF THE NATIONAL LEGISLATION ON HEALTH AND HEALTH SYSTEM AND OF THE NATIONAL DATABASES INCLUDING HEALTH DATA. WE FOUND THAT HSPA IS A TOPIC OF HUGE INTEREST AT INTERNATIONAL LEVEL AND IN EU, WITH MANY EXAMPLES OF FRAMEWORKS FOR HSPA DEVELOPED DURING THE LAST TWO DECADES. MANY COUNTRIES ARE PERFORMING HSPA AT PRESENT, BUT WITH WIDE HETEROGENEITY. ONE TOPIC INCLUDED RECENTLY IN HSPA IS HEALTH SYSTEM’S RESILIENCE. IN ROMANIA, DESPTE A WELL STATED PROCESS OF QUALITY ASSESSMENT, ESPECIALLY FOR THE HOSPITAL LEVEL, THE HSPA PROCESS IS IN AN EARLY STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT. THERE IS NOW AN EXTREMELY FAVORABLE MOMENTUM TO DEVELOP A NATIONAL HSPA FRAMEWORK DUE TO THE POLITICAL COMMITMENT FOR IMPROVING HEALTH SYSTEM RESILIENCE AND PERFORMANCE. AND ALSO DUE TO THE EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITIES TO FINANCE THE REFORM OF THE HEALTH SYSTEM AND ITS DIGITALIZATION THROUGH DIFFERENT EU FUNDED PROGRAMS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IN THE LAST DECADE MANY INTELLIGENCE SERVICES INTEGRATED TECHNOLOGY IN THEIR DAYTO-DAY WORK WHILE THE CITIZEN THAT NEEDS TO BE PROTECTED USES TECHNOLOGY IN ALMOST EVERY ASPECT OF THEIR LIFE. SURVEILLANCE AND ELECTRONIC SURVEILLANCE HAVE BECOME A SUBJECT OF GREAT INTEREST FOR CITIZENS OR OTHER NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS BECAUSE OF MEDIA ATTENTION. MUCH SCHOLARLY ATTENTION IS PAID TO THE WAY INTELLIGENCE SERVICES ARE USING TECHNOLOGY TO PERFORM THIS ACTIVITY OR THE INTRUSIVE CHARACTER OF THIS PHENOMENON. HOWEVER, WE KNOW VERY LITTLE ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS AT CITIZENS’ END, HOW CITIZENS PERCEIVE THIS ACTIVITY. THIS PAPER ADDRESSES THIS GAP IN LITERATURE AND ANALYZES WHAT ARE YOUNG CITIZENS LEGAL CONCERNS ABOUT ELECTRONIC SURVEILLANCE. THE STUDY USES ROMANIA AS A SINGLECASE STUDY AND SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS CONDUCTED IN MARCH – APRIL 2022 WITH YOUNG CITIZENS OF DIFFERENT SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE. THE PAPER SEEKS TO UNDERSTAND WHAT ARE THE MAIN FEARS RELATED TO THE LEGAL ASPECTS OF THIS PHENOMENON, MORE EXACTLY THE RIGHTS THAT YOUNG CITIZENS SEE AS VIOLATED. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

THIS PAPER IS DEVOTED TO A NEOINSTITUTIONALIST ANALYSIS OF THE POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS FROM THE INTERWAR ROMANIA, MORE EXACTLY BETWEEN 1918 AND 1938. EVEN THOGH ROMANIA HAD AN INCLUSIVE INSTITUTIONAL SETTING IN FORMAL TERMS, THE POLITICAL PRACTICE OF THE ROMANIAN POLITICAL ELITES WAS NOT DEMOCRATIC. THE QUESTION OF THE PAPER IS THAT: GIVEN THE FORMAL DEMOCRATIC CHARACTER, DO THE ROMANIAN POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS FROM 1918-1938 PASS THE TEST OF INCLUSIVENESS? IN FACT, THE HYPOTHESIS OF THE PAPER IS THAT THE ROMANIAN POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS BETWEEN 1918-1938 DO NOT PASS THE TEST OF DEMOCRATIC CHARACTER, BECAUSE THEY HAD AN EXTRACTIVE CHARACTER. THE THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE ADOPTED IN THIS PAPER COMES FROM DARON ACEMOGLU AND JAMES A. ROBINSON, AS REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NEW INSTITUTIONAL ECONOMICS. THE CONCLUSION OF THIS PAPER IS THAT THE ROMANIAN POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS FROM THE INTERWAR PERIOD WERE DEMOCRATIC (INCLUSIVE) AT A FORMAL LEVEL, BUT EXTRACTIVE AT AN INFORMAL LEVEL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental engineering is one of the key areas of sustainable development. However, at some universities in Romania there is a decrease in the number of students in this field, respectively in the interest of high school graduates for it. This is also the situation of the Engineering and Environmental Protection in Industry specialization at the Faculty of Engineering of the "Lucian Blaga" University in Sibiu. The most important objectives of the paper were: centralizing the opinions of the students from the analyzed specialization regarding the elements that make it attractive or less attractive, collecting their suggestions for improvement and confirming the fact that young Romanians consider this specialization of great importance for the future of the planet. The replicated research method was extremely useful for the research carried out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Waste is a major environmental, social, and economic issue. Consumption growth and economic development continue to create significant volumes of trash, requiring further measures to reduce and avoid. A thorough understanding and description of the characteristics of polluting spots, particularly those outside the waste management system, is essential in order to take action to eradicate these deposits. Despite the fact that there are legislative laws in Romania regarding the disposal of domestic garbage, it remains a continuous environmental concern. In this paper we want to establish general and specific objectives regarding the evaluation of the quality of environmental components in areas located in the vicinity of landfills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educational accreditation guarantees the quality of the educational processes, products and services. Both the National Evaluation and Accreditation Agency (NEAA) in Bulgaria and Romanian Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ARACIS) in Romania are members of the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education ENQA). They follow strict professional standards, methodologies, procedures, and criteria. It is common that the quality management systems in universities are based on ISO 9001. The specific standard for educational organizations such as universities and research institutes ISO 21001 is far less popular than ISO 9001. The purpose of this paper is to highlight opportunities for improvement of the internal quality management systems of educational organizations based on international standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the paper was to study the effects of the Russian -Ukrainian conflict on Romanian inflation using the energy shock's pass-through effect to inflation in Europe after the invasion. A monthly time series dataset is used for econometric analysis, and the data was collected from EUROSTAT, IMF and BNR databases. Using a Cochrane-Orcutt AR (1) regression with iterated estimates that control for autocorrelated error terms, we measured how variations in the price of coal, gas, and oil affected the harmonized consumer price index (HCPI). Our results suggest that oil price increases will lead to an increase in HIPC in Romania. Gas prices had an inverse relationship with HIPC in the analyzed period. The data however did not suggest a relation between coal price and inflation, in the studied period. The energy shock that occurred in Europe accounted in higher prices for gasoline, heating, and electricity on the short run, but there is no evidence that this inflationary pressure will affect long run household inflation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic along with lockdowns, distancing measures and school closures affected individuals both at work and in their family. Disparities that existed before the pandemic have been amplified by the measures taken to combat this new disease. In this regard, a field in focus is the engagement of women in academic community of scientific research. Our study aims to assess the COVID-19 impact on papers published by the research teams in Romanian journals indexed WOS - Economics and to investigate whether the number of female authors of a paper influences the probability of the paper being cited in WOS. The statistical investigation comprised both descriptive analysis and logistic regression. The results highlight that approximately 60% of the research studies have a male first author. Moreover, most of the manuscripts have 2 to 4 authors and 24% of them have no female author and only 15% of them have no male author. The findings reveal that the share of papers with a female first author is approximately 40% in both pre and post pandemic years. The number of studies written by mixed teams increased in 2021 compared to 2020 and 2019, while the numbers show lower values for the ones written exclusively by females in 2019 and 2021 compared to 2020. Our results of the logit regression model suggest that the probability of a research paper being cited in WOS relies on the year of publication, the number of pages as well as the number of female authors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The territorial distribution of land resources and the characteristics of rural organizational structures highlight different conditions for agricultural land consolidation. Knowing these conditions by identifying and correlating the favorable and restrictive factors reveals the feasibility of implementing consolidation projects at local level. The potential for consolidation in this paper takes into account the most important factors that influencing the implementation of consolidation projects in rural areas. The determination of these factors integrates aspects of competitiveness and the reduction of disparities in order to have a balanced development of rural areas and to ensure a real impact at the territorial level. The aim of this paper is to provide a conceptual model for estimating the potential for consolidation in rural areas in Romania by investigating the feasibility of implementing consolidation projects at the local level. The results consist in identifying the favorable conditions at the commune level that would facilitate the application of consolidation projects and the conditions specific to our country that highlight the main structural problems at the local level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of the digital revolution, data is the most valuable resource which gains in value the more it is used. Freely available open source data and institutional data repositories encourage and connect, both academia and industry. The successful use of open data in creating educational resources better prepare the students as future workforce offering specific paths targeted to a job. In terms of research, open data from the government portals ensures additional path for creation of new knowledge and reveal patterns in the data structure. Nowadays, many public administration bodies produce and collect vast quantities of high structured data. The open data initiatives of sharing the information from organizations to citizens evolve into a global phenomenon. As a result, citizens, as well as researchers are more actively engaged in policy making. Our current research paper analyses the perspective of the impact of "data.gov.ro" open data portal on academic research. The main porpose of the research is to examine and evaluate what are the characteristics of the research papers present in Google Scholar returned to the query data.gov.ro, how many of the research papers are indexed in Google Scholar are also present in Web of Science and what are their characteristics in Web of Science. Our results show that although most of the research papers have only one author and are writen in English, only 20% of the papers indexed in Google Scholar are also present in Web of Science, based on Publish or perish software. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

THE AIM OF THIS PAPER IS TO DISCUSS THE KEY ASPECTS OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW IN THE MEMBER STATES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION. THE ENFORCEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN THE MEMBER STATES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION WAS ALSO A NECESSITY ARISING FROM THE TREATY ON THE FUNCTIONING OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (TFEU). TAKING LEGAL ACTION IN ONE OR MORE EU COUNTRIES TO ENFORCE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IS A CHALLENGE. THE ADOPTION OF THE FRAMEWORK DIRECTIVE ON THE ENFORCEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS WAS INTENDED TO STOP THE CONSIDERABLE DISCREPANCIES IN NATIONAL LAWS THAT CAUSED UNCERTAINTY AND A DIFFERENCE IN THE APPLICATION OF THIS INSTITUTION BETWEEN EU MEMBER STATES. THE PRESENT PAPER FITS SUCCINCTLY INTO PANEL VIII - PRIVATE LAW AND PUBLIC LAW REGULATIONS AS GUARANTEES OF THE PROTECTION OF THE INDIVIDUAL IN ROMANIA, PRECISELY BECAUSE THE INSTITUTION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY IS IN ITSELF AN INSTRUMENT TO GUARANTEE THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN INTELLECTUAL CREATION. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of the tax authorities is to collect sufficient revenue to cover expenditure and to ensure that all taxpayers contribute to the government's funds in accordance with the provisions of the Tax Code. The aim of this paper is oriented towards a comprehensive and comparative assessment of the tax administration in Romania and that of Bulgaria, Poland and Hungary, as well as the positioning of Romania within the European Union in terms of the effects of tax policies. The present analysis is largely based on statistical data made public by eurostate.com. Regarding our country, in the medium and long term, a greater fiscal/budgetary adjustment is needed to ensure fiscal/budgetary sustainability and to face new challenges. It is clear that a large share of this large adjustment must come through measures that generate tax and budget revenue growth, with budget expenditure on an upward trend. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes Romania's level of economic development nationally and regionally. The Gross Domestic Product is the most representative indicator of the results achieved. Therefore, we made a comparison on how this indicator evolved in the eight development regions of Romania, showing the positive or less positive aspects specific to each region. The most relevant indicator that expresses the level of economic development of a region is certainly the regional Gross Domestic Product per inhabitant, but we also analyzed other aspects regarding the economic situation in a territorial profile given the national or European context. We also presented other statistical data significant for this study. The analysis of the evolution of the regional Gross Domestic Product compared to the national and European average represents another direction through which we highlighted the way regional disparities have evolved in Romania. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agritourism, a burgeoning sector that combines agriculture with tourism, has gained prominence as a means of fostering rural development and preserving cultural heritage. This research paper focuses on the potential and constraints influencing the sustainable development of agritourism in Gorj County, Romania. By analyzing figures related to the labor force, the economy, statistical data on Romanian tourists and foreign tourists, as well as the number of overnight stays, the research aims to provide a comprehensive perspective on the current and future state of agritourism in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

THE PRESENT PAPER AIMS AT DEMONSTRATING THAT COVID-19 PANDEMIC, WHICH IMPACTED THE WORLDWIDE IN ALL ITS ASPECTS, WAS, IN FACT "AN UMBRELLA", WHICH THE CORRUPTION FOUND "FERTILE SOIL" TO FLOURISH. THIS WAS THE CASE, MAINLY OF THE CORRUPTION IN THE HEALTH SYSTEM, WHICH THROUGH THE ACQUISITIONS OF SO-CALLED COVID-19 MEDICAL PRODUCTS FOR PRICES WAY BEYOND USUAL LED TO ENRICHING SOME AND IMPOVERISHING OTHERS. THUS, THE AUTHORS BRING TO THE READERS' ATTENTION, THROUGH SOME OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS, A REPORT OF TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL, AN AGENCY INTENDED TO FIGHT CORRUPTION. AFTER DOING RESEARCH ON THE OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS, ON BOTH GOOD PRACTICES, ASSESSING THE RISKS OF CORRUPTION AND THE INVESTIGATION JOURNALISM, WE REACHED THE CONCLUSION THAT THE EMERGENCY DECLARED IN MARCH 2020 FACILITATED THE CORRUPTION, BOTH THE CORRUPTION AT POLITICAL LEVEL AS WELL AS THE PETTY CORRUPTION. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The adoption of standards to ensure the quality of electricity delivered to medium and low voltage consumers was a desire of our country realized in 2004, with the ratification of the Association Agreement of Romania with the European Union, directive 89/336 EEC. The quality of the electricity distribution service to consumers connected to the electricity distribution networks is regulated by the Performance Standard approved by the National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE). In this sense, the paper aims to highlight the main parameters that characterize the quality of electricity supplied to consumers connected to the electricity distribution networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

THE AIM OF THIS PAPER IS TO ADDRESS THE SUBJECT OF THE ROMANIAN INTERVENTION IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR BY USING THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK ON BANDWAGONING AS DELIVERED BY RANDALL L. SCHWELLER. THE QUESTION THAT THIS PAPER IS TRYING TO ANSWER IS RELATED TO THE MOTIVATIONS BEHIND THE ROMANIAN INTERVENTION IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR IN 1916, BY SWITCHING SIDES AND ENTERING INTO AN ALLIANCE WITH THE ENTENTE AGAINST THE FORMER ALLIES FROM THE CENTRAL POWERS. STARTING FROM THE MEANING OF BANDWAGONING PROPOSED BY RANDALL SCHWELLER, THIS PAPER ARGUES THAT THE ROMANIAN INTERVENTION FROM 1916 WAS MOTIVATED BY PROFIT, AS AT THE FINAL OF THE WAR THE ENTENTE PROMISED TERRITORIES FOR ROMANIA, AS WELL AS A BETTER PLACE ON THE INTERNATIONAL ARENA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sport has come to have all these valences due to its global popularity and the major force it has in promoting the importance of movement for various aspects of a person's life, a community or a society. Thus emerged the concept of sport for social impact, which in a broader definition represents the ways in which sport and physical education can be used consciously and with intention as part of interventions that solve major problems such as pollution, discrimination, poor health, access to education, lack of civic involvement. Although we most often look at sports activities with a hat of performance, of large global competitions, of established athletes, sport for social impact has at least as consistent a dimension, only that most of the time it is marginal to some sports activities assimilated to sports of performance. This paper begins with a presentation of what social entrepreneurship in sports means, then continues with a small study carried out by those from Ashoka who analysed the local dimension of sports entrepreneurship and discovered hundreds of projects of this kind in Romania, and in the last part presents some of the successful project's representative of social entrepreneurship in the sports field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Planning and acting with empathy, responsibility, and care for humans and our planet creates a sustainable environment. A sustainable ecosystem requires access to a set of renewable resources with high availability. Such resources should be harnessed and used in harmony with the environment, without damaging the life of all beings. Excessive use of resources, even renewable ones, poses a real challenge in terms of environmental degradation and worsening climatic conditions. Such threats are realistic for humanity if consumer-led habits are not mediated with competences on sustainability. This research considers that education and training in the field of environment and sustainability are important, having a positive role in the decisive actions to be taken. Focusing on what Romanian students believe about the need to incorporate environmental education into university programs, the paper explores the importance of building complementary skills in the field of sustainability through educational initiatives and other industry-academia partnerships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public-private partnerships are one of the most debated issues at EU-27 level nowadays. The experience of the past two decades has shown that this European Union initiative has delivered results below expectations despite the opportunities for improved absorption of European funds based on setting up such partnerships. In our paper we argue that by investigating main definitions and institutional-regulatory frameworks, public-private partnerships could turn into a key tool for promoting and supporting sustainable development at both national and rural level (that is, at the level of the regions of development) by interacting and best suited to sustain the activities of start-ups and innovative SMEs. Romania's experience is still at its very beginnings, but the current economic, social and political climate is an argument for considering how public-private-partnerships and entrepreneurship might be interlinked for generating economic growth, and creating platforms even for encouraging social entrepreneurs who, due to their 'not-for-profit' objectives are more flexible in applying new perspectives and innovations faced with new opportunities, thus gaining experiences transferable to changing and improving the 'for profit' sector and contributing to improved perceptions about public-private partnerships, not as an objective per se, but as operational tool in ensuring economic growth, social development and increased sustainability and resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Romania is one of the countries that everyone should know to point on the world map. In this paper, figures will be those who will talk about the market, the transition, the crisis, the pandemic, and the crisis again. Opposed to other European countries, Romania was one where the policies have been taken for the sake of time and the development delayed to occur. Currently, Romania can boast with a weak market established, a market-oriented to the Europe or America than to the southern market who is closer and more similar to us. The transition in Romania is like a diamond with lots of facets: political, legal, economic and social ones. Unfortunately not everybody doing the political jump was able to recognize the value of that diamond. The first negative impact lasted three to five years. Once the glimpse started, a relative recovery was lightly designed to create a new system of economic, socio-political and cultural networks and relations; the big advantage was to base it democracy principles and competition and open market mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study looks at the multi-criteria hierarchy of Romanian regions from the standpoint of the digital economy using particular information and communication technology statistics released by EUROSTAT. The multi-criteria hierarchy of regions' practical application comes from the fact that it enables experts, national and local public authorities, to understand the actual situation and the place of each region in the ranking. In relation to these positions, the existing interregional disappearances are highlighted and necessary measures can be taken to reduce them at the expense of special and regional programs. What is specific to this paper is the application of methods other than those commonly used in regional analysis. It is about the methods of competitive analysis of companies, namely: the synthetic indicator procedure, the comparison matrix procedure, the distance procedure and the final ranking procedure. These procedures have been adapted to the regional analysis. The target time period was 2008-2020. The results of the analysis revealed once again the existence of the two regional poles of Romania from the perspective of the digital economy. It is about the Bucharest-Ilfov region positioned at the top of the ranking and the North-East region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More and more companies in Romania have started to adopt the solutions offered by an integrated ERP system. This paper is a case study of a multinational company, located in Romania, being a subsidiary of a large investment group, located in Germany. The adoption of solutions that use Artificial intelligence (AI) and RPA - Robotic Process Automation, has added value to this company, reducing as much as possible, the errors in repetitive work. In this case study, we will see what impact the choice of such solutions had and how they helped the company in sensitive areas of the production plant. At the same time we will see how these solutions were extended to the area of accounting and human resources, what influences they had, how they were received. Moreover, the integration of such solutions has highlighted another aspect that the author will want to discuss in this scientific paper, namely how the existing staff in the company has adapted to these new software, with other interfaces and integration capabilities, by age groups, what were the staff movements and how new hires were made in that company. One thing is certain from now on, we will face more and more such adoptions of IT solutions, even the economic climate in the world facilitates such insertions of new technology in companies that will want to survive and strengthen their market position in the field in which it operates. The appearance of such IT solutions also implies a much more advanced level of knowledge, which the education system in our country will have to offer to those who will later engage in such factories, the insertion on the labor market in such fields of activity, being a low one, for the moment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low-grade coal (lignite or brown coal) produces a significant impact upon the environment through multiple vectors (during mining, combustion and disposal and treatment of combustion by-products). With a power generation industry in which coal has still a significant weight a lot of research effort has been dedicated to identifying solutions to mitigate the impact upon the environment and place coal on the roadmap of circular economy. The paper discusses comparatively and present research data on two directions of recycling ash resulting from lignite combustion in Romania: (i) re-burning in mixture with coal in adequate proportions (due to the high content of unburned carbon, this has been proven to be possible) and (ii) obtaining highly valued raw materials for various industrial uses, such as graphite. Although completely different, each of the two recycling directions has particular advantages over the other one. The key property of the ash that both technologies exploit is the content of organic matter in the form of unburned carbon. The paper describes the two technologies, particular conditions for their applicability supported by experimental data and presents, comparatively, the advantages and disadvantages. A multi-criteria analysis is performed in order to point out the main differences between the two technologies. It is emphasized that a general solution does not exist and the most advantageous recycling direction depends on particular factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although banks have always been one of the engines of economic development, in such moments - a pandemic that affects the physical health of the population and the financial health of the economies - this role appears even more clearly outlined. The aim of this paper is to present the main financial government programs made available by banks from an emerging country to support its small and medium enterprises (SMEs) during the Covid-19 pandemic. The research is based on a quantitative method. The paper demonstrates that the Romanian banking and financial system is using dedicated government programs in order to financially support SMEs to survive during the difficult period generated by the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rhythm and content of the changes from the political-administrative, conceptual, legislative and technical-procedural point of view, in the context of which the fiscal system was realized, the radical transformation of the economic environment, have determined numerous adaptations and transformations of the fiscal apparatus from several points of view. The complexity of the activities has in time determined a professional specialization of the component structures and an increasingly clear separation of the activities in order to be managed and controlled. The fiscal apparatus consists of a set of institutional structures whose attributions, competencies and responsibilities are established by regulation and have as common objective the realization of fiscal revenues at the terms and under the conditions provided by law. Currently, in Romania, the public institution through which the Government fulfills its executive role in fiscal matters is represented by the Ministry of Public Finance, which functions as a specialized body of the central public administration subordinated to the Government. The objective of the paper is on the one hand to present the fiscal apparatus in Romania, as well as to highlight the indicators for measuring the efficiency of the activity carried out by the fiscal apparatus. The indicators highlighted in the paper for the assessment of the activity carried out by the fiscal apparatus are based on statistical data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of the paper is to examine the impact of foreign direct investment on the process of modernizing the Romanian economy and to develop recommendations on improving the investment climate and the efficient use of foreign investment to accelerate the pace of modernization of the national economy and Romania's effective participation in the European Union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public-private partnerships are one of the most debated issues at EU-27 level nowadays. The experience of the past two decades has shown that this European Union initiative has delivered results below expectations despite the opportunities for improved absorption of European funds based on setting up such partnerships. In our paper we argue that by investigating main definitions and institutional-regulatory frameworks, public-private partnerships could turn into a key tool for promoting and supporting sustainable development at both national and rural level (that is, at the level of the regions of development) by interacting and best suited to sustain the activities of start-ups and innovative SMEs. Romania's experience is still at its very beginnings, but the current economic, social and political climate is an argument for considering how public-private-partnerships and entrepreneurship might be interlinked for generating economic growth, and creating platforms even for encouraging social entrepreneurs who, due to their 'not-for-profit' objectives are more flexible in applying new perspectives and innovations faced with new opportunities, thus gaining experiences transferable to changing and improving the 'for profit' sector and contributing to improved perceptions about public-private partnerships, not as an objective per se, but as operational tool in ensuring economic growth, social development and increased sustainability and resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On December 12, 2015, 196 countries signed the Paris Agreement, including Germany and also Romania which has the purpose to limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1,5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels. To achieve this goal, countries aim to reach global peaking of greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible to achieve a climate neutral world by mid-century. One of the goals is to encourage states with a low level of development, to grow economicaly from green power or green hydrogen, like will show in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

THIS PAPER AIMED TO INVESTIGATE COINTEGRATION AND CAUSALITY EFFECT WITH BASE TO RUSSIAN FINANCIAL MARKET OVER UKRAINE, HUNGARY AND ROMANIA, (2) WHETHER IS THERE ANY OPPORTUNITY FOR HEDGE THE INVESTMENT IN ONE MARKET BY INVESTING IN ANOTHER MARKET. FOR THIS PURPOSE WE EMPLOY VECTOR ERROR CORRELATION MODEL (VECM) AND CCC GARCH ON THE SAMPLE DATA FROM JANUARY 2013 TO AUGUST 2022 COLLECTED FROM BLOOMBERG. AIC CRITERIA HAS BEEN USED TO DETERMINE THE IDEAL LAG DURATION, WHICH IS DETERMINED TO BE 8 DAYS FOR PFTS - UKRAINE AND MOEX - RUSSIA, 9 DAYS FOR BET - ROMANIA AND MOEX - RUSSIA, AND 8 DAYS FOR BUX - HUNGARY AND MOEX - RUSSIA. THIS IS BECAUSE COINTEGRATION RESULTS ARE SENSITIVE TO LAG LENGTH. CAUSALITY MUST EXIST IF TWO PARAMETERS (EXTRINSIC AND INTRINSIC) COINTEGRATE IN AT LEAST ONE DIRECTION (GRANGER, 1986). ADDITIONALLY, IT WAS ASSERTED BY GHOSH (1993), LIEN AND LUO (1994), AND LIEN (1996) THAT IF THE TWO PRICE SERIES ARE DISCOVERED TO BE COINTEGRATED, THEN THERE ARE VIABLE ERROR CORRECTION REPRESENTATIONS OF THE PRICE SERIES THAT CONTAIN BOTH SHORT-TERM DYNAMICS AND LONG-TERM INFORMATION. THE STUDY USES THE VECTOR ERROR CORRECTION MODEL (VECM) BECAUSE SPOT AND FUTURES PRICES ARE COINTEGRATED IN ORDER TO EXAMINE THE LEAD-LAG RELATIONSHIP, THE LONG- AND SHORT-RUN SPEED ALTERATION TOWARDS EQUILIBRIUM, OR THE LONG-RUN STEADY STATE (CAUSALITY), BETWEEN PFTS INDEX (UKRAINE) AND MOEX INDEX - (RUSSIA) STOCK MARKET PRICES OF SAMPLE VARIABLES. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]