The Market For Ideas

Octavian-Dragomir Jora Alexandru Georgescu

The social contract (no matter its type: contractarian – John Rawls, of capability – Martha Nussbaum, or of resilience – Robert Nozick) was born precisely to eliminate or avoid the private violence or, at least, to guarantee protection against it, with the state as... More

The Year 2050, the Imaginary and the UnimaginableWe do not know what tomorrow will bring, but we are getting ready for the day after

No. 33, Jan.-Feb. 2022

Both “imaginariums” and “histories”, while differing on essential ingredients, visions and vestiges respectively, share an essential imperfection – incomplete information and/or bounded rationality. We compose mosaics (using also our... More

The Illegitimate Public Debt – A Short Conceptual DiscussionEconomy Near Us (XLVIII)

No. 32, Nov.-Dec. 2021

The public debt formation is the direct effect of a causal mix containing at least the following factors: a) the weak capacity of the private sector to push the economy towards its potential, that requires state intervention by increasing the public... More

Romania’s GDP, 1.6% of EU Total in 2020

No. 32, Nov.-Dec. 2021

Romania’s gross domestic product in 2020 was 218.2 billion euros, which puts us at 13th place among the economies of the EU, according to data published by Eurostat. In the previous year, we were just under Czechia (223,2 billion euros vs. 225,6... More

Poetic Inquiry into Human Thought Foundations (III)– With Textual Additions –

No. 32, Nov.-Dec. 2021

Shortcuts to riches possibly include unlawful activity, damaging to uninvolved parties. Understandable motivation can degenerate into overreaction or well-thought countercurrents directed against structural power centres. Spite and scorn mix with... More

Memories from the Future of the European UnionForecast, foresight, foretelling – with some economic interpretations

No. 32, Nov.-Dec. 2021

The “science of future” (future studies, futurology) represents, at least, a paradoxical expression. Before anything else, the future’s flaw is not the fact that it is a too complex web of events, but that it… has yet to happen; we can see it/dream about it, but... More

Reflections 30 Years after the Dissolution of the USSRThe impact of political changes in the Soviet Union on the Bucharest regime in the last years of the communist era

No. 32, Nov.-Dec. 2021

Cezar Teclean

This article evaluates the impact of political changes in the Soviet Union in the second half of the 1980s on the external and internal situation of the communist regime in the Socialist Republic of Romania. We contend that the outward opening policy.... More

Economic Fireside Stories Revisited

No. 32, Nov.-Dec. 2021

Bogdan Tatavura

The winter holidays is the time for gifts, carols, for meeting with loved ones, for stories near the fireplace and for memories, for mulled wine with cinnamon and warm cake. I propose to you that you read three stories, woven around the teachings of.... More

The Specter that Haunts Economists – Social JusticeEconomy Near Us (XLVII)

No. 32, Nov.-Dec. 2021

Ioana Diaconescu Sebastian Bălănică

I occasionally read, not in a systematic or deliberate fashion, articles or larger studies on economic inequality, poverty, the free-market (or, by way of opposition, less free), democracy, freedom, and the like. It is obvious that a reflection.... More

The Saga of Income Inequality: A Three-Dimensional Problem and a Non-Existent Solution?

No. 32, Nov.-Dec. 2021

Income and wealth disparity is one of the defining problems of our time. In sophisticated economies, the wealth gap between the rich and the poor is at an all-time high. Inequality developments in emerging markets and developing nations have varied.... More

Poetic Inquiry into Human Thought Foundations (II)– With Textual Additions –

No. 32, Nov.-Dec. 2021

Modern power dynamics are a continuation of a past in which liberty was not a principle to be taken into account by then-leaders. Former times constituted a division between dictatorial societies and authoritarian civilizations. The variation.... More

“The Market for Polities”: On International Institutional CompetitionReflections occasioned by the 7th International Conference on the Role of State in Varieties of Capitalism (SVOC), Budapest, 29-30 November 2021

No. 32, Nov.-Dec. 2021

Georgiana Constantin-Parke

The Role of State in Varieties of Capitalism conference – SVOC2021 – was organized by the Institute of World Economics of the Centre for Economic and Regional Studies, Budapest, Hungary and Democracy Institute of Central European.... More

The American Empire: A Subtle Transition

No. 32, Nov.-Dec. 2021

Richard J. Bishirjian

My study, Rise and Fall of the American Empire to be published in January 2022 by En Route Books and Media, publisher of my recent book, Ennobling Encounters, is based on a premise: The country that was new in 1789, when its Constitutional.... More

Those Old, Outdated Symbols

No. 32, Nov.-Dec. 2021

Z was walking down the path to the old, ragged buildings he had visited some time ago. He was eager to show his friend the intriguing site. The weird old gate and the crumbling edifices always held some fascination for him. He was anxious.... More

Inability to Govern or Ability Not to Govern?Economy Near Us (XLVI)

No. 31, Sep.-Oct. 2021

These days, our society is the hapless witness of an odd (although not absolutely novel) behaviour of the political class regarding the act of governing – an irrepressible desire and willingness to govern for the good of society, which springs from public.... More

The Geopolitical Gamble Between Global Digitalisation and Green Trends

No. 31, Sep.-Oct. 2021

Adrian-Ioan Damoc

Ever since mankind first began applying its reasoning and inventiveness towards manipulating the elements of its natural environment to suit his needs and want, humanity became engaged in a profound, mutually transformational.... More

Poetic Inquiry into Human Thought Foundations (I)– With Textual Additions –

No. 31, Sep.-Oct. 2021

The argument for a multidisciplinary approach to comprehension of human thought and its translation into action seems to be irreproachable, as it demonstrates a thorough knowledge of sociohistorical phenomena and their propagation.... More

Russia’s Game in the Sea of Azov

No. 31, Sep.-Oct. 2021

Răzvan Munteanu

Since its declaration of independence in 1991, Kiev has identified the situation in Crimea as a national security vulnerability in the wake of the Russian Black Sea Fleet’s presence in Sevastopol. Negotiations with Moscow, completed in 1997, laid the.... More

Is Bitcoin the Costly Highway?

No. 31, Sep.-Oct. 2021

Tudor Gherasim Smirna

Bitcoin has recently reached a new all-time high in terms of USD, going over $ 62,500. Just as every other time it has happened, this time again there are voices that rejoice the feat and numerous others that decry its sheer volatility, bubble behaviour.... More

Through Scientism to Neo-Paganism. On Millennialism of the Ecological Rite

No. 31, Sep.-Oct. 2021

Mihai-Vladimir Topan

The environmentalist ideology tends, in my opinion, to supplant what was referred to as “political education” during the communist era (Marxist humanism or the Marxist concept of education). It is explicitly or implicitly covered in the.... More

The Need for Resilience in the EU EconomyEconomy Near Us (XLV)

No. 31, Sep.-Oct. 2021

Sorin-Nicolae Curcă

The concept of resilience (lat. risiliere) became frequently used in public discourse in recent years. Originally used by scientists, it has a long history in various disciplines (physics, materials science, engineering, psychology, ecology) before the .... More

Investiți în România! [Invest in Romania!] – A New Season at TVR International

No. 31, Sep.-Oct. 2021

The Market for Ideas

Economics has the benefit of representing a “popular” science, a non-exclusivist one, being accessible to all those who are accustomed to judging with their own minds. But investments, guided by economic common sense, have a “heroic”.... More

Technology’s Dominion: An Ever-Tightening Web of Dependency

No. 31, Sep.-Oct. 2021

Octavian-Dragomir Jora Mihaela Iacob

Although some degree of indeterminacy circumscribes perception and communication, it does not follow that the information which filters through our perceptual screens must be false or illusory. Norbert Wiener characterized it as “the devil of confusion.... More

ASE reconfirms, for the third consecutive year, the first place in Romania, according to the prestigious Times Higher Education World University Rankings, 2022 edition

No. 31, Sep.-Oct. 2021

The Market for Ideas

The Bucharest University of Economic Studies (Academia de Studii Economice din București – ASE), the leader of economic and public administration education in Romania, is listed for the third time in a row as the best university in Romania, according.... More

An Economic Perspective on the Ant Colony

No. 31, Sep.-Oct. 2021

Vlad Popescu

Ever since I explored the surrealism around Salvador Dali’s creative universe, I have been fascinated in particular by one of his prevailing iconographic motifs symbolizing death, putrefaction, moral degradation as well as his dark.... More

Three “Mister K” and Our Recovery from Eastern European “Kafkian” AbsurdumOn the Lives and Writings of L. Kołakowski, J. Kornai and V. Klaus

No. 31, Sep.-Oct. 2021

In Kafka’s novel, Das Schloß [The Castle], there is a gentleman bearing the name “K” who unsuccessfully tries to obtain a hearing with the enigmatic ruler of a bureaucratic citadel dominating, physically and psychically, an alienated village.... More

Social Justice – A Key Tool to Fight Against Social InequalityEconomy Near Us (XLIV)

No. 30, Jul.-Aug. 2021

By considering that social justice is a principle for generating the basic structure of the society, three such approaches to social justice theory are known in the specialty literature: the approach based on fairness, the approach based on capability and.... More

The Macroeconomic Dashboard: From Financial to Corona Crisis

No. 30, Jul.-Aug. 2021

Cosmin Marinescu

Worldwide, economies periodically face cyclical evolutions, economic crises, shocks generated by exogenous factors of the economic system, as is happening right now amid the health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The common.... More

Requiem for the Forever War

No. 30, Jul.-Aug. 2021

Alexandru Georgescu

The Biden Administration, contrary to its partisans’ and detractors’ expectations that it would dither or outright renege on the previous Administration’s plans to exit Afghanistan (overtly), pulled the trigger on a ramshackle retreat that created.... More

The Lockdown-Quagmire

No. 30, Jul.-Aug. 2021

Henrique Schneider

Economics tells us that every decision comes at a cost, an opportunity cost. In the same period of time that I am writing this article, I could have done other things. Deciding to spend time writing automatically entails missing out, for example.... More

New Institutional Economics, the Anthropomorphization of Institutions and Pathologies of Organisations

No. 30, Jul.-Aug. 2021

Sebastian Bălănică

One of the main weaknesses of New Institutional Economics (NIE), identified by Herbert Alexander Simon (1991), is the inability of NIE to understand organizations, and thus the institutions themselves, on account of the fact that the mechanisms.... More

The Lords of the Olympic RingsOn the obverse and reverse of coins and medals

No. 30, Jul.-Aug. 2021

The idea of sport is associated with peace in an almost reflexive manner. At the same time, prosperity is being called into the arena of sport’s allies. But if we overcome the reflexes and become reflective, we can take into account the.... More

The Obese State – A Political Metaphor or a Milestone?Economy Near Us (XLIII)

No. 30, Jul.-Aug. 2021

This is not the place and the occasion to deeply discuss the crucial (and endless) issue of the size of the state and its involvement in society (especially in the economy). From the minimal state shaped by the invisible hand (Nozick), to the contractual.... More

Benedetto Croce – Liberal, Idealist, Activist (In This Order)

No. 30, Jul.-Aug. 2021

Many people throughout history are known for acts of great courage and grand conquests. Some live by through immortal creations forever bearing their name. Others were examples of irreproachable ethics and conduct, strength of character.... More

Penetrating the Fog of Culture War

No. 30, Jul.-Aug. 2021

Protracted conflict is a historical phenomenon. It attends upon every systemic breakdown and the ensuing quest for a new equilibrium. Every revolutionary movement issues from a position of physical inferiority vis‑a‑vis the defender of.... More

Crypto-Kim: Blockchain, Yes; Break Chains, No

No. 30, Jul.-Aug. 2021

Narciz Bălășoiu

The incredible speed with which technology has developed has often left a gap in the regulation of their use. The lack of regulation has become extremely visible in the field of cryptocurrencies, which can be termed as “virtual money”.... More

Why Nations Move Their Capitals

No. 30, Jul.-Aug. 2021

Mihai Răzvan Nedelcu

When asked about the capital city of a country, the obvious answer may not be the correct one and there are plenty of examples for this. Usually, we tend to think of cities like Istanbul, Sydney, Lagos or Rio de Janeiro as being capitals, but in.... More

The Place of Football in the Political Culture of the Twentieth-Century British Working Class

No. 30, Jul.-Aug. 2021

Ioana Diaconescu

Today, football is one of the world’s most popular cultural phenomena. But in order to understand how this ball game has managed to transcend virtually all physical and cultural boundaries, we must take a quick look at its origins.... More

Adaptive Preferences in the Labour MarketEconomy Near Us (XLII)

No. 29, May.-Jun. 2021

We are currently witnessing a reconfiguration of labour market requirements both in terms of employment and in terms of significant changes in skills and knowledge required by digital technologies, with an effect on contractual work.... More

On Conspiracy Theories and Theorizing

No. 29, May.-Jun. 2021

Alexandru Georgescu

We are inundated with both conspiracy theories and warnings to recognize them as such and ignore them. These instructions come from legitimate elites employing legitimate media sources that feel they are being crowded out by “alternative facts”.... More

Pleas for Trade Remain Trendy in the Midst of Globalization(Review of Adrian Constantinescu’s, Mechanisms and tools for export stimulation [in Romanian: Mecanisme şi instrumente de stimulare a exporturilor], Expert Publishing House, the Romanian Academy, Bucharest, 2021)

No. 29, May.-Jun. 2021

Costea Munteanu

As an economist, I share the belief that, when it comes to realistic alternative systems of social organization, we always choose between the state and the market, between coercion and private property, bureaucratism and entrepreneurship. Thus.... More

The Great Reset: Rethinking the Future of Work

No. 29, May.-Jun. 2021

Emmanuel Olusegun Stober

In retrospect, the year 2020 will certainly be seen as the Great Reset. This theme is one that have been echoed repeatedly from different quarters. It is almost certain that post-Covid, the world of work will no longer be geographically bound.... More

Transatlantic Exchange: Introducing Francis Lieber

No. 29, May.-Jun. 2021

Ioana Diaconescu Sebastian Bălănică

It is remarkable how quickly America was transformed from an isolated agrarian republic in 1800 into a hegemonic industrial power by 1900. Intellectual and cultural changes that began taking root in the early half of the century yielded a.... More

Picketty-Saez v. Lakner-Milanovic: Visions on Income Inequality

Piketty-Saez v. Lakner-Milanovic: Visions on Income InequalityA comparative analysis

No. 29, May.-Jun. 2021

The issue of labor in contemporary Economics and society is a very interesting one. First of all, the rapid changes such as the accelerated evolution of technology and the emergence of new economic paradigms have radically influenced the vision.... More

Tackling Climate Change and the COVID-19 Pandemic CrisisEconomy Near Us (XLI)

No. 29, May.-Jun. 2021

Sorin-Nicolae Curcă

The issue of climate change has been a global concern in recent years. Based on the theory that global warming is caused by human activity, in the context of industrialization in the last century, governments, corporations, non-.... More

How Spare Time Legislation Impacts the Workforce in the WestIs the labour market capable of regulating itself?

No. 29, May.-Jun. 2021

Petru-Răsvan Iatan

With today’s modern world being as complex and susceptible to constant change as it is, it is safe to assume that few people, if any, would be able to envision a lifestyle without some basic form of balance. Said balance is sure to include a set of.... More

Five “Good” Reasons to Hate Economics

No. 29, May.-Jun. 2021

Radu Vrânceanu

We live in a world where hating something is trendy. Some hate Hawaiian Pizza, some others hate the rich, some hate immigrants, some people hate rap music, etc. Some people hate economics. What is economics about? I would refer to it as a social.... More

Deciphering Timelessness through Ephemeral NumbersIn memory of Professor Cezar Mereuță (1936-2021)

No. 29, May.-Jun. 2021

I first made the acquaintance of Professor Cezar Mereuță in the most natural way a young novice economist can meet a master of the profession: as a name on a textbook. In the Professor’s case, his exposure to “the market for ideas” has always been.... More

IP, Fire, and Other Dangerous Things

No. 29, May.-Jun. 2021

Henrique Schneider

Why is there more money being invested in the development of (video) games than in research of new drugs and medicine? Well, the claim underlying the question may be overblown. But there is evidence for the gaming industry being larger than the.... More

Romania’s Loss of Competitiveness Compared to Hungary and PolandThe real effective exchange rate – a critical indicator

No. 29, May.-Jun. 2021

Romania has improved its competitiveness compared to the Czech Republic and Bulgaria at the regional level in recent years but lost ground compared to Croatia, Poland and Hungary, according to data released by Eurostat. With an index.... More

The Advantages of an Adequate Minimum WageEconomy Near Us (XL)

No. 28, Mar.-Apr. 2021

We find today, in the specialty literature, analyses and studies that focus on the quality of life, and these frame the concept of wellbeing as concerning the individual and referring to a state. In these works, the semantic features of the concept of.... More

Seven Things the Suez Canal Incident Taught Us about Globalization

No. 28, Mar.-Apr. 2021

Alexandru Georgescu

The recently resolved Suez Canal incident was the second high profile crisis in global logistics since the beginning of the pandemic. It underscored the significant vulnerabilities of an interdependent world in which supply and production.... More

Professor Cezar Mereuță’s Paretian Odyssey ContinuesThe unexpected results of a research that analyzes two parallel worlds, the economy and the pandemic: 10% of the countries of the world generate 80% of the world GDP, but also 80% of the total COVID-19 contagions

No. 28, Mar.-Apr. 2021

Adelina Mihai

A paradox confirmed by statistical data: the nodal analysis, used in economics to show that the strongest 10% of the players in a market generate 80% of the total sales in that market, also applies in the field of... the pandemic. This is revealed.... More

Public Schools, a Rival for Racism and Xenophobia

No. 28, Mar.-Apr. 2021

Gabriel Voicu

Some believe that we live in a world that is advanced and effortlessly evolving in so many different ways, yet it is also stuck and old-fashioned in other ways. Paradoxically, the modern world that we live in is still exposed to racial conflicts.... More

The Long-Lasting Effects of Colonial PoliciesWhy some post-colonial nations succeed while others do not

No. 28, Mar.-Apr. 2021

Mihai Răzvan Nedelcu

Whenever we talk about Canada, New Zealand, Libya or Indonesia, we need to bring up the colonial empires which dominated much of the modern world up until the beginning of the Cold War. The periods under colonial rule differ, with.... More

The 2020 GDP of RomaniaEqual to the 2019 GDP in nominal terms and the 2018 one in real terms

No. 28, Mar.-Apr. 2021

The National Institute of Statistics confirmed the signal result of the economic growth for 2020 at the level of -3.9%, in the first preliminary version made public. The nominal value resulting from the overall calculation for the last year was RON.... More

A Few Considerations about the Gender Gap in the COVID-19 Impact on the Labour MarketEconomy Near Us (XXXIX)

No. 28, Mar.-Apr. 2021

Monica-Florica Dutcaș

March marks one year since Romania entered a state of emergency and remained on alert due to the pandemic. The Romanian state, like all of the states of Europe and the world, is still looking for solutions to limit its spread. The priority.... More

A Reactionary Response to a Likewise FootballFrom Conference League to Super League

No. 28, Mar.-Apr. 2021

Context: TheChampions League (CL) is the greatest inter-club football competition in Europe and the entire world. Organised every year, it includes the best 32 European football club teams: 26 qualified in advance, while six of them have to go.... More

The Evolving Identity of the Firm. Cognitive Peculiarities and Idiosyncratic Perceptions

No. 28, Mar.-Apr. 2021

Alexandru-Ștefan Goghie

Research into the theory of the firm began with the publication of “The Nature of the Firm” (Coase, 1937), which led to the appearance of four essential questions about the nature of the firm. Why do firms exist? Why are these organized the.... More

The Intersection of Religion and Economic Behaviour

No. 28, Mar.-Apr. 2021

Bogdan Tatavura

The World Bank published two years ago a study conducted by two Bulgarian economists, Simeon Djankov and Elena Nikolova, which shows major differences in attitudes toward state authority and the adoption of new ideas between Orthodox, on.... More

The Road to a Free EconomyOnce upon a time in 1989. And the journey is on going

No. 28, Mar.-Apr. 2021

János Kornai

János Kornai needs no introduction to our readers. He is an intellectual force to be reckoned with in the service of liberty. The following pages are an extract from his memoirs specifically selected from a time of great change in Hungary, to.... More

Binding Leviathan: The Case for Institutional Liberty

No. 28, Mar.-Apr. 2021

In political theory, as in any inquiry, a question must begin with a perception or a premise. The question is this: How can the identity and integrity of a self-governing institution – whether a church, business, school, even a family – be maintained.... More

Realities and Perspectives of a New Social ParadigmEconomy Near Us (XXXVIII)

No. 27, Jan.-Feb. 2021

Ion Nicu Bălășoiu I.N. Bălășoiu Alexandra-Maria Bogdan A.M. Bogdan Ioana-Alexandra Pavel I.A. Pavel

Society is currently undergoing a series of transformations, as a result of the effects of the global pandemic, with consequences in all areas of our existence. Approaching from a conceptual point of view the present reality, the concept of entropy returns.... More

Pablo Neruda – Poetry, Polities, PeaceMasters of Diplomacy (III)

No. 27, Jan.-Feb. 2021

One of the greatest poets that have ever lived in the Latin America was none other than the Chilean Pablo Neruda (photo: right) born under the name Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto. He was born in Parral, Chile on July 12, 1904.... More

Beneath It All in Hungary Is Political Corruption

No. 27, Jan.-Feb. 2021

Máté Hajba

Hungary is the black sheep of the European Union. Its contrarian agenda offends the common opinion of other Member States. Just recently, the Hungarian government not only threatened to veto the EU recovery budget but also voiced its.... More

Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit – Casting a Flood of Light on IndiaMasters of Diplomacy (II)

No. 27, Jan.-Feb. 2021

Iuliana-Denisa Androne I.D. Androne Cătălina-Elena Anghelescu C.E. Anghelescu

What does it take to fight for the freedom of your country? Some may say it takes courage, strength of character or faith. Some may say you need to be a hero, but The Great Daughter of India, as Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit (photo: right) was often called.... More

Long-Term Interest Rate Fell Below 3%A courageous change of economic vision would be required

No. 27, Jan.-Feb. 2021

Andra Chiriță A. Chiriță Nadejda Cravcenco N. Cravcenco Livia Cujbă L. Cujbă

Long-term interest rates for Romania fell by almost one percentage point in just two months, according to data released by Eurostat. After increasing up to 4.83% in April 2020, at the end of June it reached a level below the threshold of four.... More

Vespasian V. Pella – A Peace FighterMasters of Diplomacy (I)

No. 27, Jan.-Feb. 2021

It is indisputably mandatory, Vespasian Pella (photo: second from the right, sitting at the table) asserted, to have the following in order to prevent and combat the state “collective crime” – a recognition of the war’s criminal nature, alongside the.... More

Automatic Stabilizers as Publicly-Oriented PredictorsEconomy Near Us (XXXVII)

No. 27, Jan.-Feb. 2021

In the economic process, the volatility of macroeconomic variables is not the true problem, but its unpredictability. In fact, this conclusion is equally valid for microeconomics. For example, under the EMH – Efficient Market Hypothesis – a.... More

When the Appetite for Entertainment Scores Goals

No. 27, Jan.-Feb. 2021

Vlad I. Roșca

Romania is attacking on the left side of the pitch, Răzvan Marin and Florin Tănase have a short exchange of passes in the corner of the penalty box, which opens some wide spaces for the latter to penetrate and make a decisive pass for Eric Bicfalvi.... More

The Pandemic Recession and Government Stimulus

No. 27, Jan.-Feb. 2021

Emmanuel Olusegun Stober

Never before has the global economy been deliberately put into an induced coma. Owing to the coronavirus pandemic, businesses are struggling to break even and unemployment is soaring high. The sudden shock called for a speedy and.... More

Romanian National Culture Day and the New Normal

No. 27, Jan.-Feb. 2021

Mariana Nicolae

Do not worry: this is going to be short and… bitter. Bitter is good. In drinks, according to personal taste, and in real life, because it prompts reflection.Therefore, here is what I want to reflect upon today – once again on the National Culture Day of us.... More

The Effect of Brexit on Romanian Foreign Trade

No. 27, Jan.-Feb. 2021