Dan Pălăngean

Senior Expert, National Bank of Romania

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

Romania – the Fourth EU Economy in the Share of Foreign Capital Enterprises

Dan Pălăngean

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 Risk of Poverty by Age-Groups in Romania

Dan Pălăngean

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

Dan Pălăngean

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

The Value of Agricultural Output in Romania, Up by 25% in 2021

Dan Pălăngean

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

Romania: The Highest Shares of Children in Poverty or Social Exclusion in the EU

Dan Pălăngean

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

Material Consumption, a Key Problem for Sustainable Development in Romania

Dan Pălăngean

Romania is on the podium in the top 3 in terms of domestic material consumption between EU Member States and holds the first position in the category of non-metallic materials, which includes household garbage. The data were presented by Eurostat for the year 2021 and are calculated in tonnes per person, by resource category, which also includes biomass, metal ores and fossil-based materials. More

Romania, Last in the EU Regarding the Expected Duration of Working Life

Dan Pălăngean

Romania was placed last among the EU Member States regarding the expected duration of working life, according to data provided by Eurostat for 2021. The duration of 31.3 years was lower than in Italy (31.6 years), Greece (32.9 years), Bulgaria (33.1 years) and Croatia (33.5 years). The highest durations in the EU were recorded in the Netherlands (42.5 years), Sweden (42.3 years) and Denmark (40.3 years). More

How Many Healthy Life Years for Romanians in EU Context

Dan Pălăngean

In 2020, the number of healthy life years at birth in the EU was 64.5 years for women and 63.5 years for men. Romanians had a significantly shorter healthy life span, four years less for women and 4.2 years less for men. Nevertheless, we ranked at 17 for women and at 19 for men in-between the EU27 member states. More

Romania, Second Lowest Hourly Labour Cost in EU

Dan Pălăngean

Romania had the second lowest hourly labour cost in the EU in 2021, according to data published by Eurostat. The recorded value (€8.5) was higher than in Bulgaria (€7.0), but under the levels for Latvia (€ 11.1), Croatia (€ 11.2), Lithuania (€ 11.3) and Poland (€ 11.5). The highest labour costs were recorded in Denmark (€46.9), Luxembourg (€43.0) and Belgium (€41.6) (see infograph). More

The Increase in Energy Prices Puts Romania in the Middle of EU Member States

Dan Pălăngean

Romania ranked in the 13-14th place among EU Member States regarding the increase of prices for energy in January 2022, compared to the same month of the previous year. With a level of 24.1%, our country is below the European average of 27%, after Bulgaria (24.6%), tied with Finland and slightly above Sweden (23.8%). More

The Highest Proportion of Young People Who Were Severely Materially and Socially Deprived, Recorded in Romania

Dan Pălăngean

Among the EU Member States in 2020, the highest proportion of young people who were severely materially and socially deprived in 2020 was recorded in Romania (24%), followed by Bulgaria (21%) and Greece (16%). On the other hand, the proportion was less than 3% in 11 of the 26 Member States with available data: Luxembourg, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, Slovenia, Poland, Netherlands, Czechia, Cyprus, Sweden and Austria. More