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Reading Between the Lines
The macroeconomic situation of Romania is a subject of considerable debate inside the country. The important development of the country is, nevertheless, marred by imbalances and underwhelming reforms, constantly raising the specter of outsized impact of crises both internal and external. What follows is a selection of quotes from the Council Recommendation on the 2020 National Reform Programme of Romania and delivering a Council opinion on the 2020 Convergence Programme of Romania. The document was published on May 20th in 2020 and contains interesting tidbits, despite the Brussels language that may lead to readers’ eyes glazing over. More
Is Neutrality the Answer?
Ever since before the establishment of the first settlements, people engaged in wars for various reasons, at first for survival and territorial expansion and then out of economic, political, religious and ideological reasons. When talking about war, one would automatically think of its destructive repercussions in terms of the human, cultural and economic losses suffered by the belligerent states and less to their supposed gains. Thus, in the light of the negative consequences brought by armed conflicts over the course of history, it is only natural that some countries decide to avoid war, step aside and choose neutrality. More
Romania – the Fourth EU Economy in the Share of Foreign Capital Enterprises
Romania ranks fourth among EU Member States in terms of the share in gross value added (GVA) of enterprises with foreign capital (controlled from abroad) – FCE –, according to a study published by Eurostat, based on data from 2017. Although they represented only 1.3% of the total number of European companies, FCE generated 26% of GVA. More
The Fashion of War
The wars that our parents and grandparents fought and died for in the last century drastically changed the people’s minds and views in regards to many aspects, from creating special rules for the conduct of war to reaching goals through peaceful means rather than through the barrel of a gun. War not only affected the economies of the world, but also the wardrobe of the people, changing the clothing industry in a blink of an eye, causing uproars that led to the modern fashion of clothing. More
The Risk of Poverty by Age-Groups in Romania
The risk of poverty recorded in Romania for the entire population was higher in 2019 than in 2008, according to data published by Eurostat. Almost one in four Romanians (23.8%) had an equivalent level of disposable income less than 60% of the national median.It should be noted that this critical indicator for living standards had lower values during the crisis period 2009-2013 than after the return of economic results to the level of 2008 and has stabilized in the last three years at a level similar to that before the previous crisis. However, there were significant changes by age-groups. More
R&D Expenditure of Major Economic Actors. Romania, Last Place in the EU
In 2021, the EU spent €328 billion on research & development (R&D), up by 6% compared with the previous year (€310 billion). Compared with 2011, there was a 43.9% increase. These rates of change are in current prices, meaning they reflect both price changes and real changes in the level of expenditure. More
A Primer on Political Economy
Economist Walter E. Williams learned a principle of success by missing lunch. “At 13, I was a typical barbarian growing up in the slums of Philadelphia”, he recalls. “My mother supported us by working as a maid. Frivolous consumption often meant that I’d used up my school‑lunch funds by midweek, so I’d go to Mom to borrow money. Finally, one day Mom said ‘You knew you’d have to buy lunch when you spent the money’ and refused to fork over a dime. Saddled with what I was sure was the most callous mother on Earth, I went without lunch the rest of the week. I never frittered away my food money again – taking my first step toward civilization.” More
What Cost Disinflation?
The debate over the causes of the 2021 worldwide surge in inflation has been superseded by events without having furnished a consensual conclusion. Many economists and policymakers still hold that the key determinants are supply-side distortions, shortages generated by the pandemic lockdowns, which were accentuated by Russia’s war against Ukraine, particularly in energy markets. Others insist that it is essentially a demand-side phenomenon, generated by a miscalculation in monetary policy: prolonged expansionary credit policies, put in place in the decade following the Great Recession, were too keenly extended and in many cases supplemented by generous fiscal stimulus measures with the onset of the pandemic, leading to increased money balances chasing too few goods once vaccination against the virus – which can be viewed as a positive demand shock – was available and quarantine measures were gradually lifted, while the war in Ukraine played only a secondary role, primarily through hoarding, congestion and panic in oil and gas markets often dependent on sanctions-hit Russian infrastructure and supply. More
Revolt of the Disdained: Sovereignty or Submission
The 2016 presidential election hinged on the return of overlooked or marginalized middle-class and working-class Democrats and independents – many of whom had earlier supported Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan – to reinvigorate traditional patriotism and help form a new “populist-conservative fusion in rural and industrial areas” within the Republican party. Donald Trump’s political fortunes rest to a considerable degree on his ability to secure broad public support while maintaining the loyalty of his original coalition of the disdained. More
The Dark Side of Black Friday: Expensive Cheapness
Black Friday has become a well-known commercial event, but how many of us know what it means? Is it a boon to our pockets or is it really just a way for the big retailers to sell their products?People believe that Black Friday is named after the concept that businesses operate at a loss until the day after Thanksgiving, when massive sales help them make a profit. Although, this does not apply. More
Stealing into Power by Opposition to Power
Two acute observers of the American system and its decentralized character were Alexis de Tocqueville, who with his friend Gustave de Beaumont traveled through America for around nine months while studying America’s prisons, and Francis Lieber, a German émigré who met with them in Boston over the course of several days in September 1831.[1] The first published fruits of their budding relationship were Lieber’s translation and notes to Beaumont and Tocqueville’s On the Penitentiary System in the United States (1833) followed by Lieber’s Letters to a Gentleman in Germany (1834), which reproduced and embellished at least one of their conversations.[2] Lieber sent along with them several completed volumes of his Encyclopaedia Americana (13 vols., 1829-1833). Tocqueville likely drew on some of this material for his two-volume Democracy in America (1835, 1840).[3] More
Robotize This! The (Im)Personal Care Industry
In recent years, there has been more and more talk about digitalization and the use of robots in redundant activities, and the discussions also touch on people’s fear of being replaced by robots. Specialists appreciate, however, that robots do not come to replace humans, but to bring value to a company. At the same time, there is a greater openness on the part of decision-makers on the integration of the digital technologies in the activities of companies. Robots can bring a certain degree of satisfaction even to employees, since they no longer have to do certain repetitive tasks and have more time to learn something new, develop in another direction or simply focus on their basic work. More
