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“Comfort Woman” and an Uncomfortable History
More than 200,000 girls and women from Korea and other parts of Asia were kidnapped from their homes, trafficked, and held captive at front-line brothels by the Japanese army during World War II. These women and girls were given the euphemistic name “comfort women”. They were sexual slaves who endured rape, cruelty, and inhumane living conditions.Only after Kim Hak-sun, a comfort woman victim, gave her first-ever testimony about her ordeal as a Korean comfort woman in 1991 did these crimes receive widespread notice. Due to this testimony, the topic gained international attention. More
European (Dis)Integration During Pandemics
The big aspirations of “Unity in diversity” within European speeches seem to fade, as the supranational gathering around connection and cooperation is now, in the context of the pandemic, an ideal with less commitment than before. The necessity of intra-European Union coaction during this crisis has a significant impact on the current situation of EU integration and enlargement policy overall. The degree of polarisation has grown during the coronavirus pandemic as countries are isolating themselves and maintaining a continuous international “quarantine”. The question the present social and economic crises raise is whether the Union will be able to move towards greater cohesion, or rather decline irreversibly. Can the EU be considered a selfish association existing only for occasional national interests? Is the reaction to the pandemic a proof that the decrease of national sovereignty in the EU is an illusion? Is this a more devastating crisis than the ones the EU have faced before (the 2008/9 recession, the refugee crisis, Brexit)? More
On Sustainability Today
The current period characterised at global level by the action of economic, environmental, geopolitical, societal and technological crises is leading to the transformation of production and consumption systems, making it necessary to accept for a moment some compromises in the distribution of natural and human wealth in order to eliminate the economic and social inequalities that have appeared in our societies. The unequal distribution of prosperity is a factor that is currently generating growing political and social tensions. More
More than a Fifth of Romanians Are Employed by Multinationals
Germany (16.6%), France (12.4%) and Italy (9.2%) are the countries that hold the largest share in the Romanian economy by the number of employees operating in 80,591 groups of enterprises, according to the data processed and published by the National Institute of Statistics (INS) for 2018. Together with the USA (8.3%) and the Netherlands (7.6%), they control most of the existing enterprise groups in Romania. More
A Drive with the Devil
World War 2… When you think of it, you think of all the pain and destruction that it has caused from 1939 until 1945. Nazi Germany, the United Kingdom, Soviet Russia and the United States have been some of the most important participants in this worldwide conflict, but sometimes we need to look way beyond the battlefields and the bunkers in order to see how some of the biggest companies of the world have also fueled the war. One of the firms that drove the conflict forward was actually the famous Ford Motor Company. More
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
