Abstract: Applying the principles of sustainable development and ensuring sustainable economic development are of primordial actuality for the Republic of Moldova. Promoting sustainable development presupposes correlating economic growth with improving the quality of life and health, education, social development and environmental protection. The issue of sustainable development as a complex phenomenon is approached under the conditions of the influence exerted by some constraints and restrictions, of the existence of some serious economic, social and technological gaps in regional and European context. The analysis of the external commercial flows of goods highlights the predominance in exports of products from the traditional economic sectors. Improving competitiveness of export is regarded as the decisive factor of sustainable economic growth. For the chapter regarding the reform of the investment climate, modest successes are recorded which did not give the necessary impetus to massive foreign capital entries under the form of foreign direct investments as compared with other Central and Eastern European countries. The low attractiveness for foreign direct investments is attenuated by the small size of the local market and the low purchasing power of the population. Ensuring economic sustainable development is approached within the context of creating the necessary premises and valuing the opportunities provided by the prostects for European integration of the Republic of Moldova.
Keywords: Macroecomics and Monetary Economics; Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance.
Abstract: The 2007-2013 programming period of the EU focuses on economic and social cohesion via three fundamental objectives: convergence - competitiveness and employment - European territorial co-operation. The horizontal dimension of cohesion policy refers to diminishing the regional disparities and solidarity with the lagging regions' population. Considering the big regional disparities in the New Member States (NMS) as well as the gap between their GDP per capita at national level and the EU average, these countries are the main beneficiary of the EU financial allocations, especially via convergence objective. However, two interrelated questions are entailed by this issue. One of them refers to the capacity of these countries to absorb effectively the EU funds. The other one concentrates on the impact of the absorbed EU funds, in other words to the qualitative aspects of the absorption capacity. Our paper discusses these aspects mainly from the viewpoint of regional disparities in the NMS, proposing a typology of their regions based on the main regional growth characteristics. The implications of the structural assistance on regional disparities are also addressed, taking into consideration economic and social criteria and requirements at EU, national, regional and local levels.
Keywords: EU enlargement; cohesion policy; regional disparities; regional typology; convergence; EU funds; absorption capacity.
Abstract: In Romania, gross domestic product dropped from a total of € 48.75 billion in 1989 to € 40.28 billion in 2000, and after 2002 a significant increase reached over € 79 billion in 2005. The overall decrease in the number of employed persons by 2.56 million people, between 1989 and 2005, led to an increase in productivity of around €1,222 per employed person - representing 28.4% of the total productivity increase. A central factor of work-life balance policies is the issue of time. However, for many Romanians ‘time is money', and the low level of income earned by the majority of Romanian workers means that the issue of free time tends to be a low priority. Such issues represent particular features of working time in Romania and imply a very specific perspective in terms of the balance between working life and family life.
Keywords: Economic trends; Wage; Households Income; Work-life balance.
Abstract: This article starts with some observations on changes in the power balance between clients and suppliers in the service industry. The main forces between these changes are more information in the hands of clients (by use of internet and personal experiences) and less information received by suppliers (by less contact with potential clients because of cost reduction). These changes can be translated into the replacement of a demand oriented market by a demand driven market. For suppliers of services to individuals in such a market two aspects are highly relevant. First the client will formulate his wishes in a kind of "Terms of Reference" and the supplier has to search for interesting requests. This instead of the client searching on internet or somewhere else for the best standard offer. In the second place the client will formulate his wishes often in a way that a single enterprise cannot deliver what is wanted. In order to survive chains of enterprises have to be formed. I mentioned a few of the vulnerable points of chains, points which need to have attention in the contract between the links of the chain.
Keywords: demand-driven market; client power; business to business services; chains of enterprises; contracts between links.
JEL Classification: L86; M31; O33.
Abstract: The reform of labour market and the modification of the human capital management model evolved unsteadily, much behind the demand from the economic and social environment. Labour market was pushed to a secondary plane, considering that the adjustment of the other markets would cause necessary changes for ensuring the functioning of the labour market. Now, Romania is involved in consolidating the market economy, which requires integrated procedures of dealing with the policies able to respond efficiently to challenges. Similarly to the economic reform, the chances in the labour market were gradual but there were no coherence and no correlation of the measures taken, which caused non-typical behaviours, often contrary to reforms.
Keywords: Demographic Economics; Mobility, Unemployment and Vacancies; Labour Standards, national and international.
JEL Classification: J1; J3; J5; J6; J8; J18.
Abstract: It is a well-known fact that a country or other becomes richer or poorer to a large extent depending on the character of the country's international specialisation. For centuries, the world's countries have permanently changed their specialisation type in order to obtain higher incomes and become more prosperous. From the theoretical viewpoint, currently, under the conditions of globalisation, the countries of the world may change their type of specialisation under the influence of foreign capital investments. It is indeed true, and yet, the opinion that FDI any time and anywhere, under any circumstances are beneficial to the host country is somewhat exaggerated. In the vast majority of cases, FDIs "pull" the host country towards progress, and in some cases, these still can change a formerly prosperous country into a simple exporter of raw materials. We expect that FDI shall make us richer, shall increase the economic development level of the country. We are still expecting it today, even if with less enthusiasm. Why?
Keywords: foreign direct investments; international specialisation.
JEL Classifications: F0; F1; F4.
Abstract: The emerging vision of the modern, innovative Hungarian economy, which can compete successfully in the global arena, made it absolutely necessary to encourage business firms to be innovation-oriented and to encourage universities to develop, beyond their traditional teaching mission, also their research performance and their capabilities to transfer research results and new knowledge to convert them into commercially relevant innovations. The role of government was to create a suitable legal environment and proper incentives to stimulate and support change and to enable collaborations between Public and Private Sector actors. Despite all efforts in launching relevant programmes, the competency and attractiveness of universities for strategic research partnerships with the private sector remained heterogeneous and partially unsatisfactory because of shortcomings in their knowledge base and their capability to act as well-performing research partners in collaborative projects. In 2004 Hungary established a new complementary programme which addressed particularly these shortcomings, the Pázmány Péter - Regional University Knowledge Centre programme. This paper describes shortly the programme and then investigates the experiences of two initial calls. This Public-Private-Partnership model, where the state is not the single supporter of the programme, the participating Private Sector actors provide complementary funding. In addition, the centres can also attract external funding from various other sources. In addition, Private Sector enterprises make advanced technical equipment available for use by members and non-members. By the first experiences this programme is a good frame to support overcoming on one of the failure of the system, weak knowledge distribution capability. This initiative, the Pázmány Péter programme provides a potentially transferable example for other countries with shortcomings similar to those of Hungary's National Science and Innovation System. It was the first policy measure which has attracted a large number of actors and united them in joint regional research activities. This form of Public Sector - Private Sector research collaborations is crucial for the flow of knowledge, the seamless transfer of research results to commercially relevant innovation and for feedback loops in development. The centres offer a stimulating environment for innovators and potential innovators, thus contributing to make the Hungarian economy more competitive.
Abstract: The study presents the main characteristics for Romania regarding the labour market participation of the population in the context of the high employment of the aged population in the agriculture, linked to the lake of pension or any other form of social protection for the largest part of this social group. Through the analysis that this study is making, it emphasises the legislative problems and of statistical methodology of the Romanian environment by comparison to the European standards regarding the standard retirement age, which is different in the Romanian case from women (60) to men (65), while the European standards has an undifferentiated system for men and women, with an age of 65+.
Keywords: Labour market - particular features; Elderly population, Structure of the active population.
JEL Classification: J40; J14; J21.
Abstract. The purpose of this paper is to reveal the correlation between the gross capital formation and the gross domestic product in countries of the European Union in 2007, during the period 1999-2006. The evaluation is made both on demand side and on supply side. On the demand side we take into account the gross capital formation dynamics and structure and the gross domestic product dynamics. On the supply side calculate the capital accumulation efficiency, through modification of the formulae resulted from Domar's economic growth model in order to emphasise the impact of domestic demand and net export changes. In the end we present some conclusions and proposals for gross capital formation contribution to economic growth methodology improvement.
Keywords. Economic growth, gross capital formation dynamics and structure; internal and external capital accumulation efficiency.
JEL Classification: B41; C19; E22; O47.
Abstract: Based on an ample documentation and on novel analysis, the study exceeds the current opinions existing in the literature about the delayed character of mechanisation absorption within Romania's agricultural economy. Based on statistical data, it deals with the dynamics of a rapid and massive process of introducing mechanization in production and transports due to the contribution of the foreign capitals and of the Romanian state. On this background the change in the old industrial system, based on manual technique and labour into the modern industrial system was triggered - the mechanized industry gaining predominance in just three decades 1886-1914 within the system.
Keywords: industrial revolution; industrial system; mechanized technique; change; industrialisation.