Search

Given that the studies conducted so far reveal a wide range of conflicting results concerning the potential transmission channels of income inequality, the following questions arise: Is there a ß-convergence process at the European level that is influenced by financial and social inequalities? What is the relationship between economic growth and inequality in Romania and other emerging Eastern European countries, given that there is mixed evidence in the literature? Therefore, in carrying out this research, we aim to assess the specificity of the economic growth-income inequality nexus in 5 ex-communist CEE states over the period 2010-2019 using spatial econometric techniques. On one hand, the main results support the existence of a ß-convergence process in Europe that is conditioned by absolute poverty phenomena. This argues for considering poverty as an additional channel that may hamper the economic performance of EU members. On the other hand, our findings reveal a predominantly negative relationship between variables that is determined by variations in the initial income level and the degree of poverty. Additionally, by conducting sub-national analyses, we observe that, in Romania, the growth-poverty-inequality triangle is influenced by severe socioeconomic disparities. From a policy perspective, economic growth can be a useful instrument in reducing regional poverty in Romania if it is supported by consistent increases in the population's revenues (i.e. the case of North-West and Centre regions), while a higher pace of income growth compared to the regional productivity growth rate tends to foster future rises in poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing economic inequalities between Romanian counties triggered a wealth of research on this topic, including many theoretical and empirical studies focused on assessing the divergence process. While previous studies addressing the regional economic convergence/divergence in Romania applied various methods of investigation, some even acknowledging the spatial dependence and employing specific spatial econometric models, our study aims to advance the empirical analysis by using a more powerful investigation tool, namely the dynamic spatial panel model, important for capturing the spatial spillover effects. Drawing on data from 2000–2020, issued by the Romanian National Institute of Statistics (NIS), our study finds that tertiary education has a convergence accelerating effect on GDP per capita, while secondary education seems to be statistically insignificant in most models. Far from implying that secondary education is not important, this result simply reflects the fact that its territorial distribution is rather uniform relative to the population, therefore it does not bring evident comparative advantages. Our study highlights the importance of highly educated (hence more efficient and productive) workforce in reducing economic growth disparities. Nevertheless, we argue that investing only in education and not creating complementary job opportunities may lead to internal and external migration. Our results provide valuable insights for Romania's territorial policy on education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Meat consumption in Romania is increasing, but domestic production is stagnant. Although animal husbandry is a basic branch of the Romanian economy, its share in agricultural production has had a downward trend in recent years. This important component of agriculture has a high potential for development, which is supported by a number of factors, including access to raw materials, the upward trend in domestic meat consumption, the record level of trade in meat, the prospect of further European economic convergence, and the consequences of the pandemic-induced shock. Domestic meat consumption has shown an upward trend in recent years, supported by an increase in household income. Meat production in Romania is below meat consumption, in the analyzed period 2015 - 2019, so it cannot ensure the necessary consumption of meat from its own production. In 2015, the production of meat per capita has a value of 54.75 kg, and the value of meat consumption per capita is 66.02 kg. In 2019, the production of meat per capita has the lowest value, of 54.72 kg, the consumption of meat per capita has the highest value of this analyzed period, of 69.85 kg. Meat consumption has been steadily rising, but Romania's GDP, urbanization and the FAO Food Price Index have had very little influence on it. In terms of meat consumption in the European Union, it is found that Belgium has the lowest value of 54.71 kg/capita (it is the fourth largest meat producer in the EU with 158.94 kg / capita), and the highest meat consumption is in Spain with 98.79 kg / capita, and Romania is ranked twenty-fourth. Meat production / capita in the European Union has the highest value in Denmark with 326.14 kg/capita and the lowest value is in Malta with 27.32 kg/capita, Romania ranks seventeenth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aims to analyze the degree of convergence of the horticultural sector in Romania with other EU member states taking into consideration the competitiveness indicators. In order to be able to establish a causal link between the factors of competitiveness in determining the degree of convergence of the horticultural sector, certain indicators of competitiveness were considered such as the family income of the holding per annul work unit (AWU) and the net added value per unit of annual work. In addition, other indicators were calculated, such as gross value added/AWU and the total value of production. These indicators were calculated based on FADN data, covering the period 2013-2018 including for several other member states of the European Union in order to make comparisons with Romania. The results show a low level of competitiveness compared to all countries analyzed, which indicates that the horticultural sector in Romania is not yet close to achieving the economic convergence with the main EU horticultural sectors of some countries which represent Romania's competitors in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2020 pandemic has led to economic recession in the European Union, rising unemployment, falling purchasing power among the majority of citizens and has forced national institutions to intervene with many measures that have led to rising budget deficits and public debt. As of 2021, the Recovery and Resilience Facility has been approved at EU level, to the purpose of economic recovery and increasing the economic resilience of EU Member States. This paper analyses Romania's fulfilment of the nominal convergence criteria, the evolution of Romania's gross domestic product pre- and post-pandemic, the main measures foreseen in Romania's National Recovery and Resilience Plan to ensure a green, digital transition and economic and social resilience, as well as the funds available to Romania through the NRRP for investments and structural reforms necessary for economic growth and nominal convergence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is essential that a high level of real convergence is achieved before joining the euro area, as major differences can lead to difficulties in managing the business cycles, in the absence of an independent monetary policy. Therefore, each country should ensure a sufficient level of GDP per capita before the accession. But what can be considered sufficient? Looking back, most euro candidates had a GDP per capita level of 70%-80% of the EU level when adopting the euro currency. Although Romania has made significant progress lately, the following still need to be achieved: labor market reforms, massive infrastructure investments, reducing the regional gaps, increasing innovation investments, and growing budget revenues. The purpose of this paper is to identify the economic and social factors that influence real convergence in Romania, as we believe that working towards increasing real convergence will create the right framework for improving nominal convergence performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Convergence and economic and social cohesion remain priorities for the EU, beyond failures to achieve the objectives of the 'Europe 2020' strategy. Convergence and territorial cohesion, as a prerequisite for sustainable and durable development, have been the fundamental objectives that generated and developed the strategic planning in the EU, including through the two global strategies, 'Lisbon' and 'Europe 2020'. The sustainability of these processes, even in periods of high economic growth, is questionable since real national convergence is based in many countries, including Romania, on large and widening divergences between regions and counties. In recent years, Romania has seen one of the most enhanced improvements in convergence compared to the EU average, from 60% in 2016 to 69% of the European average in 2019 respectively. During the same period, disparities between regions and counties have deepened. More than 10 years after EU accession and participation in the Community cohesion policy, there is still a third of the counties with less than 70% of the national average of gross domestic product per capita. The health crisis has deeply affected economic activity, but in a differentiated way, depending on the specific territorial economic structures. As a result, the objective of improved and sustainable real convergence, by bringing regions and counties closer together in terms of their level of development, is receding. The economic situation in the counties in 2020 indirectly provides support for assessing the impact of the pandemic on the territorial cohesion process. The implicit conclusion revealed by the latest statistical data is that the level of development has been the support for better resilience to the health crisis. Although the restrictions on international movement and the closure of tourist and industrial capacities have had general validity, the counties with a higher degree of disparity have been more affected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union is faced as of the beginning of 2020 with a pandemic compared ofttimes with the Spanish Flu by the beginning of the 20th century, and despite technological progress, it seems not much has changed as regards containing the pandemic, and implementing effective measures, especially as regards non-pharmaceutical interventions. At the same time, the ongoing pandemic has revealed several vulnerabilities regarding global health systems, and the ones within the European Union. The pandemic only emphasized several issues already acknowledged, and highlighted new ones. There are two particular core-issues, on short-, medium- and long-term: (a) the financing of the system, as to satisfy both the needs of the providers and of the beneficiaries, and (b) attracting and retaining healthcare workers, the latter especially in countries of central and eastern Europe who tend to migrate for work abroad. Romania is faced with these challenges at several levels, while from demographic perspective it presents features comparable with the ones of developed memberstates, and of former member-states of convergence and cohesion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The choice of the research topic is due to the national challenge, that the entry of our country into the euro area will have mainly positive consequences for the Romanian economy. The article presents the evolution of the Romanian current account deficit in relation to the European Union. It can be seen that the degree of commercial integration of our country with the European Union is at a high level, and that the commercial relationship with the European Union countries is the main cause of Romania's trade deficit. Using qualitative and quantitative assessments, interpretations and comparative analyses, the article shows that Romania is not in a situation favourable to the economic convergence with the European Union countries in terms of the current account deficit. The analysis is performed for the period 2006-2018, in order to compare the current situation (from 2018) with that in the year before our country entered the European Union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our research paper is part of the larger-scale study regarding the readiness assessment of Romania and other five Central and Eastern European countries (CEE-6) for accession to the Eurozone in terms of the real convergence. We extended the analysis of the real economic convergence to the area of social convergence. The purpose of the extended analysis is to compare the living standards in Romania, CEE-6 and other European Union member states (EU-28) and to draw conclusions on the social convergence as a complement to real economic convergence. Using an analytical tool, the Social Progress Index 2018, at different levels of disaggregation, the work reveals the dynamics of social progress and also the gaps between Romania, CEE-6 and the EU, while identifying strengths, and weaknesses to achieve social progress on the road to real convergence with the EU. The outcomes could provide valuable inputs to the decision-makers highlighting some milestones to remove weaknesses and to turn threats into opportunities in the future social and economic policies of Romania. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to present an image of the main economic and social indicators of Romania in the perspective of 2040. Its purpose is to set possible targets according to the real potential of the Romanian economy in order to create a viable long-term development strategy. Our analysis starts from the current situation of Romania - the insufficiently structured economy, burdened by the existing development gaps compared to other EU member states, while aiming to expose a series of hypotheses regarding Romania's future European path. The paper will also highlight other important topic for the future development of Romania: the evolution of population, overcoming divergences between the state and markets, the impact of adopting the euro, the impact of shifting power balances between the main developed economies, as well as the possible consequences of EU's future enlargements. From a methodological perspective, the forecasts were based on previous evolutions of indicators, using the extrapolation method. The last part of the paper contains a series of recommendations for policy-makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study focuses on highlighting the current status of rural tourism and of the tendencies in its development in terms of some tourist indicators and the relationship between them and the tourist potential of the parishes, even from the disadvantaged areas. The inquiry of the statistics data and of the different situations at the level of county and parish / parishes, their analysis and interpretation outlines spaces of Romania characterized through emphasised dynamics or through a weakly developed one of tourism, probably also as a direct answer to the various actions of implementation of the documents connected with the policy of rural space at the level of counties or even within the same county. There are rural areas where entrepreneurship (farmers / owners of agroturist boarding houses) plays an important role in the development and diversification of tourist activities through cultural and economic convergence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Euro area (EA) accession should mainly depend on the achievement of a critical mass of real and structural convergence, which should diminish the risks to operate in an incomplete monetary union. Accession would also be enhanced by reforms in the functioning of euro area institutions and policies which should deal with asymmetric shocks. We argue that the true stake of euro adoption in Romania should be neither "if'' nor "when", but "under what terms" and "how it will be done". The essential prerequisite for real convergence is raising competitiveness. Our analysis shows common problems regarding competitiveness in new member states in terms of infrastructure, institutional development, business sophistication, innovation; it points out the scale of risks attached to a premature euro area accession. This accession does not require the achievement of the euro area average level of GDP/capita (in PPP terms). As we argue, one can imagine Romania's accession after having achieved a minimum of 75% of euro area GDP/capita average and the fulfilment of a series of structural conditions against the backdrop of euro area reforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Romanian accounting rules (RAR) had followed a convergence process with International Accounting Standards/International Financial Reporting Standards (IAS/IFRS) since 1999, and the level of convergence has increased over time. The Romanian accounting regulator continues to follow IAS/IFRS in internalizing the Accounting Directive 2013/34/EU. Only a few major differences still exist (some of them due the restrictions in the Accounting Directive 2013/34/EU) between RAR and IFRS. However, RAR lack the level of detail existing in IFRS, and IFRS cannot be used in practice as a source of guidance and interpretation. While major stakeholders have a positive attitude towards the convergence with IAS/IFRS, the Romanian accounting regulator intends to keep the control over RAR and avoid differences in interpretations that might have tax consequences. Despite the good level of convergence of RAR with IFRS, practitioners tend to continue to utilize the tax approach as a source of guidance and interpretation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to identify a possible risks generated by the Euro adoption for the Romanian economy, starting from the costs identified by the Optimal Currency Area theory. In this respect, we analyse the degree of convergence of Romanian economy related to the Euro Area. We use for this comparison of the Structural Convergence Index and the Index of Occupational Convergence, the Commercial Integration Degree using the trade intensity, and the Synchronization Degree of Business Cycles of Romania with the Euro Area through the analysis of correlation coefficients for business activity indicators i.e. GDP and Industrial Production Index. The background of the economic crisis was a test for the perspectives of Euro adoption by Romania; where, the negative external shock was transmitted through the trade channels with foreign partners. The monetary policy of the country proved to be inefficient in neutralizing the corresponding negative effects. The solution envisaged by the authorities was the use of an external adjustment mechanism rather than an internal one. However, in this case, the negative effects of the crisis will persist in the economy and will increase the adoption costs under the circumstances of a structural divergence between the Romanian economy and the Euro Area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historical research includes themes and topics that are exclusively reserved to experts in the field and themes of general interest that are open to all interested parties. The latter ones are included in what the social representation theory (Moscovici, 1961) calls "social objects." The interwar period has this status, including interwar Romania. In a bidisciplinary approach--contemporary history and social psychology (TRS)--we were interested in three aspects: 1. to indicate the structure of the convergence-divergence pattern in the approaches used by the specialists on this topic; 2. to identify the configuration of the social representation of interwar Romania--in the case of an audience qualified in this topic by their academic specialization (history and economic sciences) and profession; and 3. to measure its variability, determined by the distance to the object--in its various operationalizations (this article, the first in a series, stops at gender differences). The opinions of 11 specialists and the answers o f202 subjects (50% F, 50% M) were analyzed. The first conclasions refer to finding the structure of the convergence-divergence pattern in the specialists' works as well as in the case of the social representation of interwar Romania and in the existence of significant differences introduced by the gender variable. Both findings are premises in subsequent stages: the investigation of the variability of this representation depending on specialization, the age categories of the subjects of this type of audience, and also at the common sense level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this research is to determine the stage where stands the new Member States of the European Union, that are not part of the euro area, in terms of nominal convergence. Based on comparative analysis, the research has highlighted that Romania, along with Bulgaria, Poland and the Czech Republic meet the criteria imposed by the Maastricht Treaty and are prepared from this point of view to join the euro area. The study also revealed the need to reform the nominal convergence criteria, because of their limitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main aim of the article is to analyse the economic convergence between the NUTS 3 level units (counties) in Romania during a period of intensive economic growth (1999-2011). The main added value of the paper consists in the measurement of the multi-dimensional convergence and in adding a spatial dimension to the convergence analysis by testing the spatial autocorrelation. We have found no economic convergence for the analysed period, the economic growth process being polarized by the capital region. But in contrast, we have evidenced a social convergence process, starting with 2008 for the education component of the HDI and starting even earlier, in 2004, for the life expectancy component. In addition, we have tested the convergence club hypothesis, which has evidenced the club convergence phenomena in Romania as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are historical gaps regarding economic and social development between the nucleus of old European Union members (EU-15) and the new Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) member states. As a result, one of the EU main objectives is to minimize the discrepancies between countries and to assure their harmonious development, a process known as real convergence, which is long and will take place gradually (as stipulated by the Maastricht Treaty). The purpose of this research report is to analyze the trend of economic gaps between Romania and the EU and to measure the speed of real convergence and dispersion of income per capita in Romania compared with EU average and other 5 CEE countries, outside the Euro Area: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Poland and Hungary. Results are based on dynamic comparative analysis of the level Indicators (GDP per capita) in Romania, the EU-28 average and each of other five CEE outside the Euro Area. We will use the output of our analysis to advance 2 probable variants of the euro adoption schedule in Romania, according with real economic convergence dynamic, and with the assumption that nominal convergence criteria are fulfilled in 2015. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Starting with the 1st of January 2014, the Romanian public sector has undergone a long transformation process: the change in the order of the organization and management of public institutions accounting, the chart of accounts and the instructions for its implementation, the implementation of an electronic reporting system for financial statements, the automatic verification within the system of whether the payments are within the budget or not, providing information on revenue achievement and payments made. Other measures are to be implemented such as the electronic signing by the credit release authorities of the revenue and expense budget. Even if these measures were for testing purposes in 2014, they influenced the work of the public sector professional accountant, on the one hand, and the public sector as a whole, on the other hand. In the present paper, we will present the effects of these changes on the budget transparency and especially on budgetary efficiency and the accounting reports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the following period, both the fiscal policy and the budgetary policy must be subordinated to the central objective of economic policy set by the Government Programme, for revival of economic growth to achieve the convergence criteria in order to continue and accelerate economic and financial development of Romania. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Romania's decision to join the European Union was a strategic orientation embraced practically all the political forces of the country and the overwhelming majority of the population. Romania's accession to the European Union determined invariably joining the euro area, which gives full content integration in EMU. Joining the euro area is forcing Romania to meet the conditions set by the Maastricht Treaty in mitigating and eliminating gaps as quickly as possible. Article demonstrates that the single currency, the euro, is a strategic objective of great importance when the decision is actually implemented will be evaluated carefully to see what are the advantages, and limitations that this approach entailed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this paper is to perform a comparative study regarding the theory and practice of financial statements in Romania and Spain. To achieve this goal, we performed a documentary research of the main papers of this area and of the applicable accounting regulations from Romania and Spain, research that allowed us to identify convergences and divergences about financial statements in both countries. The main conclusion of this study is that, while Romania experiences improving its financial reporting system by conformism, respectively by assigning through legislation forms adapted to European accounting regulations, Spain chooses a flexible development, trying to realize a complete presentation of the accounting information published in the annual financial statements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With initial low levels of income per capita, a declining population and relatively modest economic growth rates, there are little prospects of diminishing the gap between Romania and the EU countries. Nevertheless, in the long term, convergence is expected. The question then arises, "What are the drivers and their likely potential to boost economic growth and the catching-up process?". This paper presents shortly the theoretical background of economic convergence and then focuses on the assessment of possible paths of Romania's convergence towards the EU. Based on the existing long-term macroeconomic projections and the assessment of the possible future developments of the drivers of economic growth, we have built three scenarios of economic convergence, highlighting the possible timespan of convergence. We have employed growth accounting methods to decompose output growth rate into production factors' contributions (capital and labour) and total factor productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our study consists in a dual perspective on corporate values, which relates core corporate values expressed by Romanian companies with corporate values deemed desirable by the Romanian society. To assess the corporate values expressed by companies, the corporate websites of ninety Romanian companies have been surveyed to collect the statements of core corporate values, which were then content analyzed and classified according to their meaning in thirteen general categories. For the purpose of assessing the corporate values desired by the Romanian consumers, a questionnaire was developed based on the categories of values previously identified, and was further sampled to male and female Romanian citizens of all ages. The questionnaire asked the respondents to choose four corporate values (the average number of corporate values expressed by companies) which they considered desirable in the organizational culture of Romanian private and state-owned companies. Based on the observed results, meaningful conclusions and potential recommendations have been formulated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The five criteria of nominal convergence practically constitute the essential pillar for adoption of the euro currency. If Romania fails to meet all five criteria, it can not adopt the single currency. Since 2007, the year of integration in the Union, Romania attempts to solve problems of inflation, the nominal long-term interest rate and exchange rate fluctuations. This article examines all five criteria between 2007-2012, focusing on the major issues of Romania. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides a retrospective and a summary of the convergence of Romanian economy to the model of the European economy, from the transition to a stable market economy, through the pre-accession period, and also the post-accession to the European Union since 1 January 2007, with the declared intention of eventually joining the euro space or area. The retrospective is accompanied by an instrumental-statistical or reasoned introspection based on key indicators. Tourism, and especially its seasonality, is analyzed from the angle of their present and future impact on the national economy. The conclusions highlight the need for programs and policies meant to promote tourism development and diminish the seasonal character of tourist activities, with a higher contribution of mountain and rural tourism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the economic convergence between the regions in Romania and the European Union (EU) from 2000-2010. It states that the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita was used to investigate the economic convergence between the regions. It also mentions the evident convergence between Romania and the EU and the widened inter-regional disparity in the country.

This paper is a screening process of the Romanian opportunities in order to create a Knowledge Platform as a foundation for Centre of Excellence in water technology sector, as a pilot cooperation programme in order to disseminate the best knowledge in a specific field which serve as an example of best practice for increasing the rate of absorption for European Funds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the major challenges of the Romanian economy as a result of integration is to achieve the fastest possible convergence of economic and social transformation of national policies to the European Union. As demonstrated in practice, the most sensitive and important area, according to the European Union was that of agriculture, which is why this article highlights progress and problems that our country has had both before and after integration. Article deals with concrete matters relating to the prospects of agricultural reform in Romania after 2013 and future objectives which CAP propose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent crisis evolutions have changed both the hypothesis in terms of monetary integration inside the Euro Zone for future members, but also the type of approach needed in order to achieve two major objectives' sets. These aims can be described as sustainability and medium and long term macroeconomic volatility control. This paper envisages pointing out Romania's necessary approach concerning the Euro adoption process based on a set of variables determining a so called convergence array. Components are determined leaving from the depth of the real convergence and catching-up process, from the structural analysis of the Romanian economy and its GDP evolution during recent years and getting to the out-put variation, foreign debt directing towards more or less productive investments. In order to get a clearer perspective of Romania's growth perspective, we test the OeNB's Forecasting Model for Selected CESEE Countries for Romania. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The latest Commission Convergence Report about the progress made by the Member States in fulfilling their obligations regarding the achievement of economic and monetary union highlights that Romania does not fulfil the conditions for the adoption of the euro. Furthermore, Romania is at present the subject of Council Decision on the existence of an excessive deficit. The aim of this paper is to point out the weight of Intellectual Property in achieving economic growth and, consequently, its role in decreasing the national budget deficit. Analysing the information in the field, we conclude that Intellectual Property is a crucial contributor to economic growth and competitiveness, especially in fields of technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecotourism is a chance to diversify the Romanian tourism industry while protecting the environment and benefiting local communities. The present paper focuses on ecotourism as a possible contribution the fulfilment of the real convergence criteria for euro adoption in Romania by stimulating the economic growth of rural communities. The main benefits that ecotourism brings to rural communities are highlighted as well as the main initiatives of national organisations aimed at stimulating the local economy in different ecotourism destinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper carries out a comparative analysis across five European countries of the impact of internal migration on regional income convergence process at NUTS 2 level. Convergence can be defined as the process by which poorer regions catch up richer regions and, as a consequence, regional disparities decrease. The phenomenon is appreciated using the concepts of sigma- and beta-convergence. Theoretically, human migration is one vital adjustment mechanism of regional disequilibria which contributes to enhancing convergence. The study uses the methodology of two-way fixed effects panel data model and its main results point out at sigma-divergence in income evolution in Hungary and Romania and at sigma-convergence trends in Austria, Spain and rather constancy in Sweden. Instead, all countries but for Sweden exhibited beta-convergence. Hungary, Sweden and Spain recorded relatively higher gross migration rates. But despite this fact, internal migration's impact on beta-convergence was quite small (Romania and Spain) or inexistent (Austria, Hungary and Sweden). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This article aims to use the appropriate models based on dispersion method, variance, to identify the dynamics and amplitude differences in the level of regional development in European Union and Romania, expressed by the GDP, per capita and total. In the present paper, we limit the approach area to two important aspects: identifying the main convergence trends at regional level within EU-27 with the help of GDP/capita, and the analysis of the trends registered at the level of regional disparities in Romania. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: By analysing the evolution of FDI in Romania during 2007-2011, the present paper try to highlight some of the challenging aspects related to the fiscal policy and FDI relation from the viewpoint of the sustainable development requirements for Romania''s economy and of increasing its performance with respect to convergence and competitiveness after its EU integration. In this purpose the paper focuses on two different fiscal tools for influencing a foreign investor''s location decision, i.e. corporate tax rate and/or provision of public inputs. The paper provides a new perspective on the issue of why FDI are attracted or not by the emergent countries. The study is based on the hypothesis that the competition among countries for attracting FDI does not represent the final goal, but a means for sustainable development and economic-social welfare. In this perspective, the final objective of the paper is the answer to the following question: “Under what conditions Romania will win in the competition for FDI with other (asymmetric) country?”. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper it was studied the cyclical and structural convergence between Romanian and Euro Zone''s economies in a Minnesota Priors framework. For this purpose we called the Bayesian econometrics to estimate a Structural Vector Autoregression model SVAR with Gibbs Sampling. The methodological framework called in this paper is proposed by experts from the Federal Reserve Bank of Minnesota and from here the name of Minnesota Prior where a priori were introduced the hypothesis that endogenous variables follow different forms of a Markov first order autoregressive model, namely a Random Walk or an AR model. Focusing here especially on consumption cycles and using the relations provided by the theory, I was intended in study the asymmetries between supply and demand shocks in the case of Romanian and Euro Area economies. A higher correlation of shocks between the two studied economies indicates a structural similarity. In addition, for this purpose I involved several methods to ensure robustness checks in regard with the correlation of the two types of structural shocks. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The accession to the European Union for Central and Eastern Europe countries involved their requirement to start the process of the European Monetary Union integration. The desire to enjoy the benefits of EU membership has made both the 10 countries that joined EU in 2004 and Romania and Bulgaria which became EU member in 2007 to engage on the path to join the European single currency endeavoring to meet not only the nominal convergence criteria but also real convergence. This paper makes an analysis of the Romania's capacity to achieve the nominal convergence criteria in the current context. The change of the financial and economic conditions due to the crisis that spread worldwide during 2007 - 2008 changed the issue from "Romania can fulfill the nominal convergence criteria?" in "Is it advisable for Romania to adopt the Euro, given the uncertainty clouds over the currency's future?" The analysis is made by considering the comparative situation of other countries that are in the process of joining the single currency. The objective of the research undertaken in this paper is to investigate Romania's capacity to approach the nominal convergence criteria and so realistic goal of joining the Euro it is. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The political and economic changes that occurred at the end of the 1980s brought about considerable changes in the spatial structure of Romania. The goal to achieve a rapid economic growth overshadowed the objectives of social equity, economic and territorial cohesion, contributing to the increase in regional disparities. The main goal of the study is the presentation of the spatial structure of the European Union and the analysis of the regional disparities using two basic indicators: GDP/capita and the Human Development Index. In this framework a distinct attention will be given to the position of Romania and of the Romanian regions in the spatial structure of the European Union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adopting the euro currency implies the fulfilment of Maastricht convergence criteria, which implies a number of challenges for the macroeconomic policy mix, due to the existence of the conflict between them. The paper analyzes empirically the main monetary policy strategy in the context of euro in Romania. The results of the study show that inflation targeting is an optimal monetary policy strategy to achieve real and nominal convergence criteria [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following its accession to the European Union, Romania has started an ongoing process of convergence towards the European standards. This was the case in almost every field, starting with law, public services, etc. One of the most important tasks was put on the Romanian agenda by the European Union, the adoption of the Single European Currency. Of course no deadline was set, but through the Accession Treaty Romania is obliged to introduce the Single European Currency at the time it will meet the Convergence Criteria. The current paper analysis the stage of fulfillment of the 5 Convergence Criteria in Romania and tries to make some suggestions concerning the Euro adoption. It is without a doubt to be said from the beginning that a unilateral adoption of the Euro is no solution for Romania. Without meeting the minimal nominal convergence criteria the effects of the introduction of the Euro in Romania would be much worse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Real convergence study began with the development of neoclassical models of growth and especially with the passage of econometric applications of these models. In this paper we present applications of indicators and patterns of convergence on the example of European Union member countries and some current economic impact assessments on European convergence process. The study deals with the economic convergence of the European countries and especially the convergence of the EU countries, including Romania. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Transformations in Business & Economics is the property of Vilnius University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Research on internal migration can be divided into two directions: identifying its determinants and/or assessing its consequences. Migration is bidirectional. i.e. can be affected by and can affect socio-economic disparities within a country. On one hand, the determinants of internal migration can be numerous and their analysis is very complex and, on the other hand, migration should have, at least theoretically, some influence on income and unemployment convergence, i.e. disparities reduction. The objectives of this paper are to evaluate the level of internal migration in Romania using county data and to assess its impact on convergence, using various methods, both statistical and econometric. The main results point out at: very low levels of migration and relative small differences among them, no influence of migration on GDP divergence and extremely low on unemployment convergence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses Romania's situation regarding the fulfillment of the nominal convergence criteria, but it also makes a comparison with the other countries being in different stages of this process of accession to the Monetary and Economic Union. It should be pointed out the fact that although the Maastricht Treaty does not explicitly include the real convergence criteria, these should not be neglected because they represent the objective to which the policies introduced by the Romanian authorities should be subordinated. The statistical data show that unlike the year 2009 Romania is meeting only one of the 4 nominal convergence criteria (the public debt). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims at presenting a new computation index, which simultaneously measures the time and space variation of the various economic indices. The elaboration method of the space-time index is based on a matrix construct, the time and space variation of the analyzed economic index being represented via a system of vectors in plane. The practical application of the compound index is exemplified by employing the data on the growth rate of the GDP/inhabitant, calculated for two spatial entities: Romania and the European Union, for the period 1999-2008. The obtained findings confirm the fact that the proposed space-time index is a good analysis tool for the measurement of the time and space variation related to the various economic indices, as well as for testing the economic convergence for discrete time moments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

My abstract is about the structural funds in Romania, how Romania has to spend them. Following accession in 2007, Romania is eligible for more than EUR 29.5 billion of the EU's structural and cohesion funds. However, open questions remain about the Romanian administration's capacity to make use of these huge amounts of money. Three objectives are set, at European level, for the 2007- 2013 programming period: 1. Convergence; 2. Regional competitiveness and employment; 3. Territorial cooperation. The entire Romanian territory is eligible for the Convergence objective and benefits from financing from the European Social Fund (ESF), from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and from the Cohesion Fund (CF) and for the Territorial cooperation objective, for which it received financing from the European Regional Development Fund. Following the Romania's accession to the EU, it shall receive, in the period 2007 -- 2013, community funds amounting to approximately EUR 29.5 billions, of which EUR 17.317 billions are structural and cohesion funds and EUR 12.183 billions are agricultural and rural development funds. Romania's contribution to the European Union budget, within the said period, shall be of approximately EUR 8.1 billions. A debate is emerging on whether the country's government and companies will be able to conduct the necessary projects and make use of the funds available from the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Real convergence study began with the development of neoclassical models of growth and especially with the passage of econometric applications of these models. In this paper we present applications of indicators and patterns of convergence on the example of European Union member countries and some current economic impact assessments on the European convergence process. The study deals with the economic convergence of the European countries and especially the convergence of the EU countries, including Romania. The impact of the economic crisis in Romania is studied using the "St.Louis" model. At the end, the study presents several economic scenarios for a faster and easier recovery from the current crisis in Romania. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]