

- Bracing for Hurricane Democracy Alexandru Georgescu
- Zombified Finance and the Walking Dead Economy Alexandru-Ștefan Goghie
- Romania’s Recovery According to the World Bank Dan Pălăngean
- The 2008 and 2020 Global Crises – Differences and Similarities Grațiela-Denisa Iordache
- Europe’s Paradigmatic Dilemmas amidst Pandemic Woes: How the COVID-19 Crisis May Reshape EU’s Geostrategy Adrian-Ioan Damoc
- Annotating the Paris Agreement Henrique Schneider

- Conservatism and Spiritual and Social Recovery Richard J. Bishirjian
- NASA & SpaceX Launch – A New Milestone in Space Exploration Olga Bodrug, Kassandra Maduzia, James Snedden,Michael Migaud, Mohammad Ahmadi, Justin Bullock
- COVID-19 Distributions and Balances of Power. Interview with Professor Cezar Mereuță Adelina Mihai
- Some Thoughts on COVID-19 Pandemic Shock Emil Dinga
- Charter Cities: Vernian Fantasy or Human Reality? Alexandru-Costin Udrea
- The Inconsistency of Biological Analogies in Economics Vlad Popescu

- The COVID-19 Pandemic – Changing the Paradigm Florin Paul
- The Race to the Bottom in Oil Alexandru Georgescu
- On the Self-Testability of the Minimum Wage Gabriela-Mariana Ionescu
- Brâncuși’s Endlessness and the Scarcity of Some Means Octavian-Dragomir Jora
- Communicative Action, Subjective Perception and the Hermeneutics of Capital Structure Alexandru-Ștefan Goghie
- Was the Islamic State a Real State? Răzvan Munteanu

- The Anthropocene-Fallacy: Learning from Wrong Ideas Henrique Schneider
- Technology and Ethics: Of Man and Wisdom Georgiana Constantin-Parke
- On Brexit and Other Exits Andreas Stamate-Ștefan
- With Regards to Government Charity for the Private Sector Emil Dinga
- Political and Economic Fallacies: A Tribute to Sir Roger Scruton Steven Alan Samson
- Russian Relations with North Korea Stephen R. Bowers and Kelli M. Nab

- From Marxism to the Ideology of Free Society in 1989 Romania – Transition or Rupture? Ștefan-Dominic Georgescu
- The Power of Vague Things: A Cautionary Tale Steven Alan Samson
- Playing on High Difficulty: The Trade Barriers of Modern Video Gaming Vlad Moraru
- 21st Century Ethics and the New Jus Vitae Necisque? Georgiana Constantin-Parke
- Modern Monetary Theory and Its Poisonous Implications Silviu Cerna
- Gazprom as Policy Instrument Stephen R. Bowers

- The Earthly Algorithms of the Heavenly Affairs Octavian-Dragomir Jora
- Sicut in Caelo, Et in Terra Adrian-Ioan Damoc
- The Supreme Unity, the Unity of the Species Dumitru-Dorin Prunariu
- To the Moon and Back Alexandru Georgescu
- The Steering Wheel with Free Will Ana-Maria Marinoiu
- In Memory of Romania’s Last King: His Royal Majesty Michael I (1921-2017) Bogdan C. Enache

- INFatuated, INFuriated, INFlexible? Narciz Bălășoiu
- Future Tense in the Job Market Mihnea Alexandru Ciocan
- Some Thoughts on the Criteria of Nominal Economic Convergence in the EU Emil Dinga
- State Role vs. State Size Gabriela Ionescu
- The Return of Microeconomics Alexandru Georgescu
- The Passions of France Adrian-Ioan Damoc

- New Developmentalism, Old Ideas Bogdan C. Enache
- Karl Marx and Switzerland Henrique Schneider
- Drifting Away Vlad Roșca
- Simion Mehedinti and the Romanian Geopolitics
- A New Way of Solidarity within NATO Florin Luca
- The Impact of Russia’s Strategic Interest in the Black Sea Region on the Imbalance of the Russian Economy Leonela Leca

- The Professionalization of the Public/Political Decision-Making Emil Dinga
- Is Small still Beautiful? A Swiss Perspective Henrique Schneider
- The Romanian National Cathedral: The Voice of a People Freed Georgiana Constantin
- Wisdom and Perseverance Ahmed Abdulla Saeed bin Saeed Almatrooshi
- The NEET Tag and Intergenerational Existence on Labour Market Monica-Florica Dutcaș
- The Regional Resources of Ukraine and New Opportunities for Economic Development Until 2030 Ganna Kharlamova Nina Chala Olexandra Gumenna Tetyana Osinchuk

- Football-ism – The Ultimate Global Ideology Savian Boroancă Vlad Roșca
- “Search Neutrality” Is Not Possible Henrique Schneider
- Excess Democracy? Andrei Sandu
- Freedom Under Assail Tanja Porčnik
- From the Queen to the Tsar: on Trump’s Travels to Europe Adrian-Ioan Damoc
- Operational Research of the Libyan Civil War and the EU Neighborhood Policies George Zgardanas

- Are Planned Economies Our Destiny? Prince Michael of Liechtenstein
- The Bear Stearns of Romania Bogdan C. Enache
- China’s Belated Spring Cleaning Nicoleta Stoianovici
- Toward Understanding the Balkan Economic Thought Nikolay Nenovsky
- On the Minimal Wage, with Responsibility Gabriela Ionescu
- How Did Horses Become a Luxury? Maria-Mirona Murea

- Romanian Capitalist Economic Thought. Brief notes on pre-1989 diasporic and post-1989 domestic debates Octavian-Dragomir Jora
- Rebuilding Economics Emil Dinga
- The One-Size-Fits-All of the World Bank’s “Ease of Doing Business” Reports Emmanuel Olusegun Stober
- “Are Central Banks Literally Independent?” Silviu Cerna vs. Ion Pohoață
- Some Thoughts on the “Global Competitiveness” Costea Munteanu
- Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose Mary Lucia Darst

- Pandora’s Botnet Alexandru Georgescu
- On the Nature of the Concept of Tolerance Emil Dinga
- Romania’s “Sonderweg” to Illiberal Democracy Bogdan C. Enache
- A Community in Search of Unity, a Union in Search of Communion
- Defence and Security: The UK and Romania after Brexit Adam Sambrook
- Orient and Occident – Perceptual and Complementary Macro-Regions Viorel Mionel

- European Construction. Intellectual Project vs. Emergence Emil Dinga
- Challenges and Opportunities for the Future of Competitiveness Dragoș Preda
- Womenomics – Is It Worth Talking About Gender? Mariana Nicolae
- The Youth Atlantic Treaty Association and Its Role in Promoting Euro-Atlantic Values John Jacobs
- Water – the Ultimate Geostrategic Resource Viorel Mionel
- North Korea: “Reading the Tea Leaves” Alexandru Georgescu

- Cultural Goods and Cultural Welfare: Some Praxeological and Proprietarian Notes Octavian-Dragomir Jora
- Trump and the Paris Agreement Alexandru Georgescu
- The Risks of the Belt and Road Initiative in the Construction of Eurasian Economic Corridor Liu Zuokui
- Music Industry Development – Future Global Trends on the Rise Paul Niculescu-Mizil Gheorghe
- Cultural Diversity: Same Question, but a Different Answer. The Story of Azerbaijani Multiculturalism Raluca Șancariuc
- Planning for Freedom in Central and Eastern Europe: Mises’s Proposal for Political Integration Matei-Alexandru Apăvăloaei

- Shakespeare & Eminescu – Measure for Measure Adrian George Săhlean
- Ethnogenesis in Davos Alexandru Georgescu
- The Clash of Realism and Liberalism: Understanding the Nature of Cooperation on Energy Security between Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia Ayhan Gücüyener
- Robots and Empire(s) Adrian-Ioan Damoc
- Debating the EU's Fiscal Union Filip Clem
- Space Debris – Visualizing the Risk and Informing Stakeholders Adrian Gheorghe

- The Long Slide towards Autocracy János Kornai interviewed by Zoltán Farkas
- Trumponomics – A New “New Deal” for the American people? Alexandru Georgescu
- The Costs and Benefits of Endowing the Romanian Army George Tăslăuanu & Marius Zgureanu
- Musk v. Hawking Andreea Paul
- The Chinese Dream – An Exhortation to Achieve Daniel Tomozei-Dimian
- The 12 Labours of Narendra Modi – India’s Demonetisation Saga Raluca-Andreea Manea

- To Be or Not to Be... Charlie! Camil A. Petrescu
- The Dissolution of the Communities Alexandru Georgescu
- The Banks in the Economy Silviu Cerna
- Geo-economics and Geopolitics of Brexit Crisis Napoleon Pop
- The Piketty-ism – A Childhood Illness for the 21st Century Ion Pohoață
- Simion Mehedinți – A Man of Fulfilled Ideas Silviu Neguț

Conservatism and Spiritual and Social Recovery
As I read newspapers, popular magazines, listen to National Public Radio, watch cable television, attend Catholic Mass, and work with American academics at the deracinated institutions called colleges, I am conscious that American secular culture has had at least one hundred years to effect a closing not only of the American mind but of the American soul as well. That is visible in large protests and vandalism and looting in the context of something called “Black Lives Matter.” Few if any except the revolutionaries who teach “community activists” in such matters are aware that the ideal to which they are responding was first conceived by Lenin in his 1902 essay, “What is to be Done?” In that essay Lenin outlined the methods that he believed would achieve a successful revolution in Czarist Russia. His methods included a) maintaining large non-Party organizations with mass membership controlled by communists; b) concentration on agitation of single ideas to foment discontent; and c) organized activism aimed at “the masses,” not exclusively the “proletariat.” More

NASA & SpaceX Launch – A New Milestone in Space Exploration
Over the years, space has proven to be one of the few topics that captivated people from all around the world to follow the same TV programming or online event at the same time. Individuals with different backgrounds, ethnicities, races, and religions were united by the same curiosity of the unknown. Even in our most difficult moments, space has succeeded in bringing us a hope light for a better future. Earlier this year, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and private American space company, SpaceX, provided the world a glimmer of hope at a time where people around the planet are suffering through the COVID-19 pandemic and are protesting systemic racism. Saturday, May 30, 2020, will forever be significant in history as a giant leap forward in cosmic exploration because it marked the first time a commercial company launched humans to space, and it was the first crewed launch from America in the last nine years. NASA and SpaceX have written history, and the 10.3 million online viewers are part of it, as it was the most-watched NASA event online ever.[1] More

COVID-19’s Distributions and Balances of Power Professor CEZAR MEREUȚĂ: “Understanding this is the new challenge the most powerful leaders in the world have to face”
Who would have thought that precisely the most powerful countries on the planet, which invested the most in their health systems, registered the most cases of contamination with the new coronavirus? Well, an analysis by Professor Cezar Mereuță, Ph.D., reveals this apparently counterintuitive correlation. And it comes with a novel perspective: the pandemic plays the part of a parallel world, which seems to push the countries of the globe into an “odd” competition as if they would contest in “getting” as many contaminations as possible. More

Some Thoughts on COVID-19 Pandemic Shock Economy Near Us (XXIX)
On the nature of COVID-19 pandemic shockWe think the COVID-19 pandemic shock “verifies” the following features:the shock is atypical: it has the particularity that it bypasses the standard “path” – that is, it does not affect the nominal flows of the economy (especially the financing or re-financing mechanisms) – but directly affects the real economy:
the reduction/limitation of economic activities involving human agglomerations (in order to avoid the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus) has led to a decrease in the labour factor in the production function, thus to a decrease in domestic supply; More

Charter Cities: Vernian Fantasy or Human Reality?
In 1895, the French novelist Jules Verne launched one of his many visionary ideas that either became reality or something future next generations are expected to achieve. Propeller Island follows the story of four musicians whose services are demanded on Standard Island, a floating fabricated island which is the home of Milliard City, the capital city inhabited only by remarkable and eccentric American millionaires and wealthy and adventurous Yankees who gathered into what can be considered a self-governing city-state. Notwithstanding the particular adventures of the quartet, the requirement of being a millionaire and certain technologies which facilitate life in the fictional Milliard City, the idea of an independent city, built from the ground up in this way, with its own jurisdiction and socio-economic system, may not be so ahead of our times. History is littered with city-states and there are some still existing today, but since all land outside of Antarctica is claimed by sovereign entities, it seems impossible to create such a city by design. Standard Island is still unrealizable for us and, while we applaud Verne’s imagination, we should turn to the closest form of organization that could resemble this island – that of the charter city. If fully realized, the masterminds behind this audacious project can end up with their own novel and with the satisfaction of having advanced the good of humanity, as the objective of charter cities is declared to be. More

The Inconsistency of Biological Analogies in Economics
I often tend to use biological analogies either as a simple heuristic or an explanatory model in an analysis, or as a purely illustrative model in support of certain ideas by constructing argumentative structures. For instance, in an attempt to understand how the mechanism of import-export operations at the level of an economy works, I have associated this bidirectional mechanism with the sodium-potassium pump found in the plasma membrane of almost every human cell. But can such analogies actually be used in economics? Can we deal with complex phenomena in economics through such a reductionist approach as biological analogies or, conversely, biological metaphors are a consequence of the complementarity between economics and biology, designed to give rise to a new more complex field, such as evolutionary economics? Nevertheless, one thing is certain: there are reasons for the scepticism towards biological analogies, and the heuristic value of evolutionary biology for economics is still a matter for debate. More

MIND(s that filled) THE GAP(s) A media campaign of junior reporting on INNOVATIVE / INDUSTRIOUS / INSPIRING, free-market, barrier-breaking, world-spreading, LIBERATING ENTREPRENEURSHIP
The Market for Ideas initiated an editorial project in which “international business and economics” students, besides being consumers of quality information, become (co)producers of this “good”. The concept aims for a quadruple gap-filler, with young people, from all over the world, story-telling, in a non-“homework”, but “freestyle” manner, on the value and values of entrepreneurship. More

Make Education Relevant Again! MIND(s that filled) THE GAP(s) [I]
“The times they are a-changin’” and, along with them, the people’s needs and desires are changing as well. This is reflected in many ways throughout the economy, but perhaps the most interesting example we can ponder are the transformations that have occurred in labour markets. For instance, the place of the “pinsetter” of yesterday has been taken over by robots. Also, the fresh milk that used to be delivered upon our doorstep by the milkman is now part of history, as the supermarkets situated just around the corner have superseded him. However, these mutations in the labour market are not new. As time passes, new technologies inevitably replace some jobs while creating others. Coupling these transformations with the expansion of the division of labour, we can observe that, for most of the history of the modern period, jobs become better paid, and the general standard of living rises. At least this is what happened until now, but things seem to be changing. More

Apple’s Handheld Evolution: From the Newton MessagePad to the iPhone MIND(s that filled) THE GAP(s) [II]
Ever wonder how some things came to be? Just look at your phone. We cannot even imagine life without it anymore, but it is not always that we think of how much sweat and tears were put into achieving this particular invention. To be more specific, let us take Apple’s inspiring story. You have most certainly heard of an iPhone. The smartphone that most of us are so familiar with and which has a personal note given by the first-person pronoun “I” is, technologically speaking, based on the touchscreen concept which makes reading, writing and watching videos much easier to carry out. It certainly is a key that opens up a tremendous number of doors for user interactivity and we probably would not be able to give single-word answers when asked “what advantages does the iPhone bring us?” More

ADI DASsler’s “Impossible is Nothing” and “The Miracle of Bern” MIND(s that filled) THE GAP(s) [III]
“It’s over! Over! Over! Germany are the World Champions!”, Radio reporter Herbert Zimmermann’s jubilant words still resound in the hearts of many Germans, as a newly-created West Germany conquered the most coveted trophy in international football, having beaten the famous “Golden Team” of Hungary in the 1954 World Cup Final. Thus, one of the greatest surprises in the history of the sport opened up new horizons for post-war Germany. What is often overlooked, though, is how Adolf Dassler’s entrepreneurial spirit paved the way for this remarkable performance, for his famous sports shoes helped the German players attain a decisive advantage over their rivals, since the football field from Bern was soaking wet at the hour of the match because of the heavy rain that had fallen that day. More

Innovation in the Eye of the Beholder: Optical Breakthroughs MIND(s that filled) THE GAP(s) [IV]
The commonplace objects that we surround ourselves with are just as indispensable for our everyday businesses as they are, individually and collectively, piecemeal retellings of different parts of our civilization and the progressive attempts by mankind to better answer its ever-growing needs. As Jose Luis Borges once put it, many of our inventions are extensions of ourselves: “the microscope, the telescope, are extensions of [man’s] sight; the telephone is the extension of his voice; (...) the book is an extension of memory and imagination”. These extensions have enabled us to better master our environment and enrich our lives. More

Mr. Sam’s Walmart Empire in Uncle Sam’s American Republic MIND(s that filled) THE GAP(s) [V]
Samuel Moore (or how people liked to call him later on, “Mr. Sam”) was born in 1918 in Kingfisher, Oklahoma, and lived there until 1923 with his parents, Thomas Gibson Walton and Nancy Lee Lawrence Walton. He had a brother, James Lawrence Walton, born in 1921, who later became a co-founder of the Wal-Mart business. More

Foundation: The Very Basis in Makeup MIND(s that filled) THE GAP(s) [VI]
Perhaps everyone who uses makeup has wondered at least once about its origins? Every little thing has its own past but not a lot of people know the history of foundation. Surprisingly, its antecedents are not as pretty.Foundation traces its origins back to Ancient Greece and Rome. Its first name was “white lead” due to the fact that it was used to make Mediterranean skin appear “fairer”. It was actually made from poisonous chalk which remained through the Middle Ages and Renaissance. In Queen Elizabeth I’s time, the “white lead” became “Venetian ceruse”, which was then formed of lead and vinegar in order to cover up smallpox scars. Unfortunately, this product had horrible side-effects such as hair loss, rotten teeth and permanent skin discoloration. Because of the toxic formula, makeup took a turn in the 19th century, making foundations out of zinc oxide, glycerine and calamine lotion. Still having the same purpose as the “Venetian ceruse”, it only came in three shades: white, pink and red. More

BTS – The Freedom of Musical Expression Remains Unlimited MIND(s that filled) THE GAP(s) [VII]
In the past, there was The Beatles. In the second half of the 20th century, The Beatles became the most popular band in the entire world. Time passed and the 21st century brought new legends to the music industry. Most likely the biggest boy band in the world, BTS scored, in only 7 years since their debut, numerous records worldwide and they will not stop here. More

The “Avenger” from SpaceX and Tesla MIND(s that filled) THE GAP(s) [VIII]
The main purpose of this essay is to highlight the life and the entrepreneurial journey of one the most influential people of the moment and how he permanently changed the world with his abilities and perception of things.Elon Reeve Musk was born on June 28, 1971, in Pretoria, one of South Africa’s three capital cities. His father is a wealthy and hard-working South African engineer and his mother is a Canadian former model (the oldest woman to appear in Covergirl campaign) and a nutritionist. In his early life, he grew up with his siblings, his brother Kimbal (currently an environmentalist and venture capitalist) and sister Tosca (now an award-winning producer and director). More

WaitSafe in the Pandemic: How to Fluently Reconcile Social Distancing with Personal Mobility MIND(s that filled) THE GAP(s) [IX]
The easing of the lockdown ignited with the advent of COVID-19 pandemic is still subject to strict conditions, as communities need to accommodate sanitary safety concerns with solutions for the freedom of movement for individuals, as the latter is a crucial feature for the “health” of the socio-economic fabric. More

Centuries of “Concrete”-Solid Discoveries of the Humankind: From Building the Roman Empire Towards Contemporary Buildings MIND(s that filled) THE GAP(s) [X]
Have you ever questioned what lies at the basis of the so-called highly-developed cities, at the foundation of the tallest buildings worldwide or how the infrastructure came to life? The answer is directed towards… concrete. It built the modern world step by step. The rock-solid history of the material we all know today was embodied in mystery since it is not known where it started or who exactly came up with the brilliant idea behind it. Various empires presided over an immense contribution towards finding the perfect recipe for building the concrete structures which remain a complex enigma for the architects or engineers today. The grey building slabs are considered to be a source of inspiration for many of the bricklayers in history that contributed with numerous attempts to discover the utopian recipes that the Romans for the specific built landscapes that characterized their empire. Currently, almost everything around us that is “tangible” and “real”, from the sidewalks to the bridges, are reliant on concrete. But very few of us acknowledge that. We might take it for granted, but this mixture comprises much of the constructed environment of modern civilization. More

Think Fast: Interactive Filmmaking Puts Consumers in the Spotlight (Or Is It Just an Illusion?) MIND(s that filled) THE GAP(s) [XI]
In 1967, the cinephiles attending that year’s edition of Expo Montreal were left with the experience of a lifetime, having been submerged into a new dimension of film-making. Radúz Činčera’s vision brought the audiences a new perspective, as his new movie, Kinoautomat, enabled the viewers to take a stand on the chance to direct the scenario by themselves. Thus, the trajectory of the film could be chosen and so, the viewers used voting buttons to decide the course of events in One Man and His House, a black and white satire on democracy written and directed by members of the Czech New Wave cinema (BOZAR 2020). A few generations later, as the technological revolution is unfolding, so does the shift towards a more digitized shape of the interactive movie. The now-renowned director’s daughter, Alena Činčerová, has carried on the work of her father, having restored and adapted the voting system by making it wireless, thus allowing any intrigued viewer to choose his own plot from the comfort of his home. More

Making History While Snacking: Microwave Meets Marketplace MIND(s that filled) THE GAP(s) [XII]
World War II, going on between 1939 and 1945, was one of the bloodiest confrontations in the world. It cannot be overstated how much this conflict changed the course of history, for better (if anything good can be related to wars) or worse. For instance, many of our modern inventions directly originate in the war period. More

The Million Dollar Pixels: How a Student’s Idea Changed the Internet for the Better MIND(s that filled) THE GAP(s) [XIII]
The internet. A place where (almost) everybody can see (almost) everything (almost) for free. An incredible technological asset of humanity as a whole. But how can we find everything? Do we pay these people? How many people would agree to make the internet a bigger and better place for free? The answer is simple: a few. The main source of online income comes from advertising. We got used to them on television, radio and even on the streets but who came with the idea of implementing them online? In this article, I will uncover the story behind internet advertisements and the minds behind it. More

Power Through Play: Thinking Energy Outside the Box MIND(s that filled) THE GAP(s) [XIV]
According to the World Bank (2019), roughly 1 billion people have no access to electricity whatsoever, but a Nigerian-American entrepreneur thinks football might be the solution. How is it possible? The story begins with Harvard graduate Jessica O. Matthews. While in her junior year of college, Matthews co-created the Soccket, a soccer ball that can transform the kinetic energy created from being played with into electricity. Half an hour of motion will create about 3 hours of energy and this could be just the sustainable solution needed to end personal energy poverty. Now the founder and CEO of Uncharted Power, the company named by Forbes “The Anti-Silicon Valley Energy Startup”, Matthews aims to help developing countries achieve sustainability through play. More

Will We 3D-Print Medicine at Home? MIND(s that filled) THE GAP(s) [XV]
It is around 7 AM, little Jim has just been woken up by his mom. He can distinguish clatter of softly gyrating gears from rain taping at his windowsill. There was no reason to focus more on those everyday sounds especially because he heard the same demand again “Can you come to breakfast, finally?” When he gets to the table, he spots his medicines, like usually, little and “zero” shaped. He has problems with swallowing the bigger ones. While looking at them he could spot little difference between layers. The bluish part is preventing him from epilepsy attacks that he has been suffering for years, the other one is navy blue; he was told that those were vitamins. On social media, he saw some anti-medicine printers posts again. That those are causing Down Syndrome or something, he is not about to read this till the end, in his mind is only one thing: if it was not for the 3D printed heart that his father received after the heart attack, they would have never played football again, never hug again and have no more breakfasts together. More

Coco & Chanel: Creating Herself and a Whole Universe, from Croquis to Couture MIND(s that filled) THE GAP(s) [XVI]
Imagine the epitome of an elegant, stylish woman of modern times. Is she sporting chic suit pants and a matching blazer, or maybe a timeless black dress? Is her jewellery exquisite without overbearing opulence, perfectly assorted to her handbag and shoes? In this case, she is most surely also wearing a fine perfume, a subtle but essential element for her demeanour, demeanour that states – not whispers, nor screams – concinnity and confidence. More

Bringing Lasting Positive Change for Women
Any change brings both positive and negative consequences. Therefore, a development planner should respect various principles to promote change that minimizes negative effects. Also, certain priorities or values should be reflected. This paper shows what are the principles, priorities, and values a development planner should respect to ensure lasting positive changes for women. It also includes a case study of an Eastern European country, the Republic of Moldova. More

The COVID State
In 1976, an ABC movie entitled “The Boy in the Plastic Bubble” recounted the tragic story of a child suffering from severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID). Although the child died when he was twelve, doctors have since found a cure for this disease. Consequently, while SCID still occurs, the fear engendered by this condition has been alleviated. More

Pandemic: How to Avoid What Is Worse
In addition to major health issues, COVID-19 creates major economic problems. The risk of a deep global recession is very high. It is a shock that reduces supply, especially through the shock on the labour force, through illness or social distancing, resulting in the closure of many activities in different industries. Some activities were closed by private decisions, others were closed as a result of social distancing measures imposed by the authorities. Regardless of their source, these decisions triggered a supply-side shock, which translates into a shock on the demand side. The two shocks may be self-reinforcing and can lead to disaster. More

Corona-blues: A Brief Reflection on the Challenges of Managing the Coronavirus Pandemic
That the new coronavirus has taken the world by storm is no longer a surprise, causing significant casualties worldwide as well as civil unrest and disrupting economies, with ever grimmer prognoses. Much has been said about both the humanitarian impact as well the myriad effects it had on the political, social and economic levels. From a healthcare perspective, one might expect the world’s most developed economies to fare far better than their developing counterparts. Yet a quick look at the numbers reveals a rather intriguing picture: out of the world’s over 13.5 million confirmed cases of contamination, over 4 million come from some of the world’s most developed economies, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, France, Germany and Sweden. These same countries account for more than half of the deaths caused by the virus. Of course, these are absolute numbers that we are talking about, but even if we switch to looking at relative measures, such as the number of deaths or infections per 1 million people, developed countries still rank at the top. More

The Absorption of Uncertainty and Exiting from the Pandemic Economy Near Us (XXX)
The individuals (and, to some extent, the groups) make decisions based on their perception regarding the future, rather than on a rigorous calculus based on accurate models of rationality (such a conclusion has long been reached by the researchers, and, very curiously, even by some economists!). The perceptions are, in fact, an inextricable mix between information, experience and expectations. And, of course, all of the three ingredients are tinged with uncertainty. Uncertainty is very different from risk – while we can assign to the risk some probability distributions in order to “know” it at least probabilistically, this cannot be done with uncertainty – an obvious clarification given by Frank Knight almost a century ago. Even more, the question of uncertainty in the decision process arises when the public decision-making is involved because: More

Defined Contribution Pensions, But Not Really Economy Near Us (XXXI)
From a theoretical (and philosophical) point of view, the (defined contribution) pension in a pay-as-you-go system is an impersonal, non-coexistent, inter-generational, and mandatory quid pro quo. The referee which must assure that the quid pro quo is respected is the state (we have here a nice example of a hard core of public interest which would be desirable to be extended to others, i.e. national interests). As it is inter-generationally applied, such a “social contract” faces some accidents, some of which are objective, others not quite. For example, a current generation “i”, is paying social contributions during its active life to the generation „i-1” – I will do not complicate the discussion by taking into account that, in fact, there is an overlapping of generations both as paying social contributions and as benefiting from defined-contribution pensions (this would be useful if done for the public finance decision). In turn, the current generation “i” (which is the future “i+1” retired generation) will benefit for its pensions from the social contributions paid by generation “i+1”, and so on. This mechanism seems to provide a roughly fairness, because the pensions are calculated based on the effective social contributions paid during the active (that is, economically productive) life. Rawls, as pure contractarian, would say it should be designed and implemented in the legislative stage of making the social contract, not in the original position. Below, I ask myself whether such fairness is really effective and, if not, how we should to proceed. The discussion is inherently coupled to the debates regarding the increasing of the pensions in Romania. I will do not discuss the (judicial) fact that a normative act which was already been constitutionally enacted by the legislative authority leaves, I think, an extremely narrow room, if any, for doubts regarding its implementation, but, instead, I will deal with only some very simple economic and social questions (more exactly, of social justice). More

The Romanian Government’s Underwhelming Response to the COVID-19 Crisis
The Romanian Government’s response to the COVID-19 crisis has nothing exceptional, no original idea, no single individualized policy, no special or particular focus. If Sweden, no matter how controversial, dared to pursue an individualized strategy of keeping the country open so as to achieve a higher degree of immunity as well as minimize economic loss and social distress, or if Germany implemented a swift search-and-clean infection-cluster policy followed-up by an effective intensive care capacity and real-time viral research, Romania has simply copy-pasted some broad European and World Health Organization lockdown guidelines to stop the contagion risk. There is no active – in some cases even experimental – strategy, no special health care crisis unit, no real-time research and goal-oriented policy – just a rather ridiculously named “Group of Strategic Communication”, made up mostly of police and intelligence officers, which releases some basic statistics concerning the number of people infected, those hospitalized, confined or dead to some press outlets and, with long lags, publishes them on the website of Ministry of Internal Affairs. More

A New Silk Road – Russia’s Position
The first version of the Silk Road is placed by analysts at the beginning of the westward expansion of the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD). Chinese products (silk, porcelain, spices or other goods) that were highly prized began to be delivered to Europe, with the Chinese importing precious metals, glass and other products in return. Trade routes were plied by caravans connecting to Europe through Central Asia. This region gradually became the epicenter of the first wave of globalization, which made it possible for the area to connect remote regions, generate prosperity and connect very complex cultural and religious traditions. The impressive economic growth and increased openness to the external environment that China registered in the latter part of the 20th century and in the first two decades of the 21st century, focused on export-led industrialization, brought China the resources and vision to consider the necessity of investing new trade routes. Paradigm shifts have also occurred at the political level, with China's top leadership publicly presented in 2013 the concept of a “New Silk Road” (morphed into the currently named Belt and Road Initiative through the addition of a Maritime Belt) as a complex and ambitious logistics network consisting of ports, railways and highways, supporting infrastructure, as well as oil or natural gas pipelines that will sustainably connect China with the states of Europe and East Africa. The EU has since become China’s largest trading partner. More

Placing the Central Asia Region in the Equation of Neo-Colonialism Promoted by Russia
The reconsideration of Russia’s foreign policy was made under the condition that, as a result of the steep increase in international prices for crude oil and natural gas, considerable financial resources flooded into the state treasury. With their help, the Russian authorities have slightly improved the standard of living of citizens and, on the assumption of the continuity of the windfall, it was considered appropriate to launch for public reflection the topic of the international role of the state entity inheriting the foreign policy issues of the former Soviet Union. At the centre of these efforts was an objective which was difficult to reject for the Russian citizens, to regain the historical honour and to preserve the integrity of the space in which Russia exerts its natural influence. At first, the international community did not attach much importance to these signals, taking some time to notice the pitfalls of these internal and foreign policy messages. There were also some concrete moves on the geopolitical arena. Russian troops were involved in a brief war in Georgia in 2008 over Georgia’s attempt to bring separatist regions back under Tbilisi’s authority, in 2010 the non-military pressure on Kyrgyzstan made itself felt, and in 2014 the first overt military actions in Ukraine started, after years of non-kinetic hybrid warfare and lawfare. More

Rights, Constraints, and Offsets in Handling the COVID-19 Pandemic Economy Near Us (XXXII)
The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us, among other things, that the development of human knowledge can entail a series of risks that can endanger both the existence of the individual and of the society in which we live. In this time of crisis, an important concern is to achieve an appropriate balance between freedom and safety both at the level of the individual and at the level of society. More

The Sustainable University: Concept and Conception
“Sustainable University” is a kind of phrase to emanate a semantic scent with connotations – traced back to an ages-old polarity, yet always at great fashion in social affairs – seemingly both conservative and progressive. Really? Can we so frivolously mix polarities, opposites, antinomies? Well, let’s see. We are talking about conservatism because university and sustainability are involved in activating if not an “instinct”, at least a “rationale” for preserving/perpetuating the knowledge within people and the resources needed to make it work. As we are also talking about progressivism because both try to do it not in ankylosis, but in advancing such knowledge (i.e., in economics, on the allocation of scarce resources) across generations, and the society learns to evolve through each and every member, who is educated to evaluate. Conservation and progress can work together. More

Three Paradoxes of the Territorial Distributions of Contaminations with COVID-19
A month ago, in the first episode regarding the pandemic, we identified the fact that the structural distribution of the spread of SARS-CoV-2 virus throughout the countries and autonomous territories of the world fulfils all the standards of the nodal analysis. The single difference from similar distributions in the case of world’s gross domestic product is the higher degree of concentration in the case of the pandemic. 13 countries, i.e., 6.19% of the number of countries and autonomous territories, cover 80% of the total number of infections. More

Twelve Countries Cumulate 80% of the Pandemic Deaths
The “parallel world” of the pandemic has two main coordinates: contagion cases and deaths, accompanied by the very important indicator of fatality rate relative to contagion cases (Rc/d).In our previous interventions – see here and here –, we demonstrated that the distribution of contagion cases has fully met the standards of nodal analysis. The comparative analysis by continents has identified three very important paradoxes: the United States, Asia and Africa. More

European (Dis)Integration During Pandemics Lessons for EU members about the convergence of interests
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

More than a Fifth of Romanians Are Employed by Multinationals France Took over from Germany
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

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 And an Interesting Paradox
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 History, on the verge of repeating itself after ten years
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

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

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

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

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

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

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