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The Pandemic and the Standard of Living
A recent report was issued by the Research Institute for Quality of Life of the Romanian Academy, titled The pandemic and the standard of living. Social policies. Its authors were Daniel Arpinte, Sorin Cace, Simona Mihaiu, Iulian Stanescu, Simona Maria Stanescu and Sebastian Toc.The main objectives of the report were to identify the social outcomes of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic and to provide public policy recommendations.Romania faces two crises at the s More
Alibaba and the Opened Treasure of Online Trading
Ali Baba is an Arabian folktale hero, conjured up by Scheherazade in one of her 1001 tales, “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves”. But how do you get from this fairy tale character to naming a company after him? Perhaps it has something to do with an entrepreneur’s knack for knowing how to say “Open, Sesame!” when it comes to discovering a company’s hidden treasures and “Close, Sesame!” to keep them safe. By the way, staying out of sight is Jack Ma’s current ruling concern. The Chinese capitalist-entrepreneur has been living in Tokyo for the past six months, after communist authorities in Beijing tightened their grip on what was becoming a much too liberal domestic high-tech sector. More
The Press – Social “Mediator” or “Instigator”?
On the 3rd of May we celebrate World Press Freedom Day. The power of the Press (hereinafter deliberately written with capital P, in speaking precisely of its societal vocation) and its impact on the average citizen and on the wider masses of the people is prodigious. As far as we are concerned, mass-media must act as a carrier and spreader of democracy, its values and of peace all over the world. The accuracy of reporting significant events to people around the globe is the most important factor when talking about what really matters regarding the primary role of the Press. War correspondents, sport reporters, photographers, columnists and journalists alike form a particular guild, mediating the transfer and processing of information from myriad sources and from event in most secluded corners of the world. The influence of mass-media, as the “fourth estate”, is significant. It takes only one article, one “breaking-news”, one new leak of information in order to stir up entire populations and raise the temperature of the entire world. And so, we might ask the question: what is the role of the mass-media? Is it to merely report events or to provoke and incite discussions, to engage in public debate in a deep way, in other words, to create dialectical forces and to push the boundaries on individual choice and social norms? More
The Value of Agricultural Output in Romania, Up by 25% in 2021
The value of agricultural output in Romania increased by 25% in 2021, according to the economic accounts for agriculture (EAA) for 2021 published by Eurostat. The sharpest rate of increase was recorded in Bulgaria (+37%) and the third best performance belonged to Czechia (+16%). By contrast, the values of agricultural output in Finland, Malta and Cyprus remained broadly unchanged in 2021 from their respective levels in 2020, and decreased in Denmark (-2%) and Slovenia (-4%). More
International Digital Conference on Multidisciplinary Research and Perspectives for Innovative Higher Education 2020
University of South Asia, Lahore, Pakistan, presents the International Digital Conference 2020 on Multidisciplinary Research and Perspectives for Innovative Higher Education on July 24-25th, 2020. The main topics include: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotics, Machine Learning (ML), Internet of Things (IoT), Quality in Higher Education, Health Tech, Legal Services, Entrepreneurship, Digital Business, and so forth. More
The Future of the Outer Space Economy: Powerful States and Visionary Entrepreneurs in the Exoeconomic Paradigm
The analysis of the economic integration of the off-planet space in the sphere of human activities is an arduous and complex process, a crucial, even vital one. The exploitation of the outer space has become a decisive component of the technologically advanced economies, offering capabilities that result from applications linked to critical goods and services with millions of users and billions of beneficiaries. More
Evergrande – a Test of China
For several months, the financial world has been watching with concern the evolution of Evergrande Group in China, whose financial problems have conjured up the specter of an economic contagion that can destabilize not only China's opaque financial system but also that of a world in which China has assumed a central role of the economic engine. China's biggest real estate company is, in some ways, emblematic of its explosive business model in the world's most dynamic economy. The company has more than 770 projects in 200 Chinese cities and has nearly two million apartments to deliver to buyers who, in some cases, have pre-paid the delivery price in the overheated real estate market of this country. The non-delivery of these units could generate social disturbances and affect the trust of the population in the economic governance of the country provided by the Communist Party, whose "Chinese dream" and "national regeneration" have an important economic component based on ensuring the prosperity of the common Chinese. After a series of delays in due bond payments, Evergrande found last-minute resources to make some payments and resume construction, sparking theories of government involvement. At the same time, even policies of the government precipitated this crisis against the background of the attempt to restore financial order in an economy characterized by speculative bubbles, primarily in real estate. More
Sovereignty, Security, Prosperity, and the Future of the Eurasia Project
It is time to think big, far beyond China’s Belt and Road. From the Arctic Circle bordered by the Nordic nations in Europe to the steppes of Central Asia, the peoples that live and work across the breadth of the world’s oldest trade routes have an opportunity to secure their own future, dictated not by the whims of great powers, but by a common bond, seeking shared prosperity, security derived from stability and peace, and respect for national sovereignty. More
Three Seas Initiative: New Direction Foreign Policy Council
Since its founding in 2015, the Three Seas Initiative has grown in importance in the region, uniting the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, and becoming the primary forum for discussion of investment opportunities and energy security. However, in the last few years it equally begun to represent the collective interests of nations that have most strongly voiced their objection to Russia’s expansionist foreign policy. The Three Seas Initiative now represents a golden opportunity to boost the economies of the region, and defend the interests of its members on the world stage. More
The Digital Economy – Generating Opportunities or Vulnerabilities?
I have argued several times (including in papers published in TMFI) that technological progress can be approached as an opportunity, since, through education and the training of new skills on the labour market, it creates circumstances conducive to the growth of the country and the development of the inclusive nature of the labour market. Digital technology plays a key role in transforming the economy, but also society. On the one hand, impending changes (both emerging and planned) can be very promising; on the other hand, the influence of technologies on production, consumption and employment patterns can provide major challenges that require understanding and managing change from the level of the individual to that of the government. More
Romania: The Highest Shares of Children in Poverty or Social Exclusion in the EU
Among the EU Member States in 2021, the highest shares of children at risk of poverty or social exclusion were recorded in Romania, according to Eurostat data. The percentage of 41.5% was well above those for Spain (33.4%) and Bulgaria (33.0%). On the other hand, the lowest shares were reported in Slovenia (11.0%), Finland (13.2%) and Czech Republic (13.3%). More
Some Reflections on My Experience of Romania
My first direct contact with Romania took place in July 1965. It was choreographed in such a manner that opportunities to meet members of the public were limited. An inescapable feature of life in Romania under the Communist regime was the ubiquity of the Securitate or the security police, known officially for much of the period as the Department of State Security of the Ministry of the Interior. I realised as much from this visit and that realisation was reinforced during my subsequent experience of the country. My professional and personal involvement with Romania encompassed the entire duration of Ceausescu’s rule, from 1965 until 1989, and it was inevitable that this familiarity and my friendship with historians and writers should attract the Securitate’s attention, as confirmed by my consultation in 2007 of my Securitate file. More
