The Illegitimate Public Debt – A Short Conceptual Discussion

The Illegitimate Public Debt – A Short Conceptual Discussion Economy Near Us (XLVIII)

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

The public debt formation is the direct effect of a causal mix containing at least the following factors: a) the weak capacity of the private sector to push the economy towards its potential, that requires state intervention by increasing the public expenditures beyond the internal possibility to cover such an increase (in a keynesian or post-keynesian pattern); b) the weak capacity of the public sector (state/government) to collect the taxes and other revenues in society (no matter that this incapacity is due to incompetence or a competent corruption), that requires an alternative source of public revenue, public debt (either internal or external); c) the illegitimate exuberance of the politicians (either Parliament or, especially, the Government) with regards to indebting the nation within a populist (that is, in an unjustified way, without mentioning its unsustainable character) framework of politics (no matter the reasons for such a populism).  More

Romania’s GDP, 1.6% of EU Total in 2020

Romania’s GDP, 1.6% of EU Total in 2020

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

Romania’s gross domestic product in 2020 was 218.2 billion euros, which puts us at 13th place among the economies of the EU, according to data published by Eurostat. In the previous year, we were just under Czechia (223,2 billion euros vs. 225,6 billion euros), which had a stronger decline and went down to 215,3 billion euros .  More

Poetic Inquiry into Human Thought Foundations (III)

Poetic Inquiry into Human Thought Foundations (III) – With Textual Additions –

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

Shortcuts to riches possibly include unlawful activity, damaging to uninvolved parties. Understandable motivation can degenerate into overreaction or well-thought countercurrents directed against structural power centres. Spite and scorn mix with a feeling of furious helplessness and the ethical helm of conduct is abandoned. If beautiful summits are unreachable, then the very base is shaken by all possible means. The final outcome depends on the collective power of these abhorring such “unthankfulness” and refusal to make the best of their own abilities or continue their development. Raging overthinking can easily be confounded with inaction, and more often than not a dangerous spillage of negative emotions floods a society.  More

Memories from the Future of the European Union

Memories from the Future of the European Union Forecast, foresight, foretelling – with some economic interpretations

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

The “science of future” (future studies, futurology) represents, at least, a paradoxical expression. Before anything else, the future’s flaw is not the fact that it is a too complex web of events, but that it… has yet to happen; we can see it/dream about it, but we cannot “know it” because it neither disseminates “news”, nor emanates “science”. Afterwards, the future is (will be) just one, although there are a lot of probable and plausible futures in the minds of the professional visionaries; and, ironically, absolutely all of them are cursed to never match the real future.  More

Reflections 30 Years after the Dissolution of the USSR

Reflections 30 Years after the Dissolution of the USSR The impact of political changes in the Soviet Union on the Bucharest regime in the last years of the communist era

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

This article evaluates the impact of political changes in the Soviet Union in the second half of the 1980s on the external and internal situation of the communist regime in the Socialist Republic of Romania. We contend that the outward opening policy launched by Mikhail Gorbachev cancelled the usefulness of the Ceausescu regime to the West after 1985. In this context, the cooling of relations with the West, added to the frosty pre-existing relationship with Moscow, led to the external isolation of the communist regime in Bucharest and to a worsening domestic economic situation. Thus, the loss of both support blocs (Western and Eastern) coupled with the poor domestic situation precipitated the collapse of the indigenous national-communist regime.  More

Economic Fireside Stories Revisited

Economic Fireside Stories Revisited

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

The winter holidays is the time for gifts, carols, for meeting with loved ones, for stories near the fireplace and for memories, for mulled wine with cinnamon and warm cake. I propose to you that you read three stories, woven around the teachings of some famous economists from the past centuries. Although they are a product of imagination, the stories describe phenomena that had and continue to have an overwhelming influence on people’s lives. I hope that what you will read further will remind you of the stories you read in childhood, beside the Christmas tree, beyond the economic lessons.  More

The Specter that Haunts Economists – Social Justice

The Specter that Haunts Economists – Social Justice Economy Near Us (XLVII)

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

I occasionally read, not in a systematic or deliberate fashion, articles or larger studies on economic inequality, poverty, the free-market (or, by way of opposition, less free), democracy, freedom, and the like. It is obvious that a reflection, especially at this high level of generality and abstraction is conducted quite metaphysically, that is, based on pre-reflective assumptions going to beliefs, on the one hand, and theory-laden, on the other hand. I am aware of these two unavoidable conditionalities and I am trying, as much as possible, to compensate for them in the analyses and the conclusions I draw, so establishing a degree of honesty for the authors in case. But the problem is of another kind, namely that the pretentious concepts mentioned above are, at most times, discussed in a common (“civilian”) framework, with a thin background of political theory, or social philosophy, or ethics or, above all, social justice theory. This means either the authors deliberately use a pop style (although, in my opinion, popularization is a more difficult labor than the original one, because it must make compatible both the correctness of concepts/issues discussed and the accessibility of ideas for non-experts) or simply those authors do not hold the minimum necessary background in the matter at hand. It is known that the imprecision (and, sometimes, even the misunderstanding) has the potential to illuminate ideas or directions not intended by the original work, and is just as true that, often, ones who know little in a field can enact revolutionary ideas, exactly because they did not (yet) “gain” the prejudices of that field. But such eventualities are extremely rare and I cannot (no matter how much goodwill I would have) give credit to writings that lead so very important subject into an unintentional (I hope) desultoriness.  More

The Saga of Income Inequality: A Three-Dimensional Problem and a Non-Existent Solution?

The Saga of Income Inequality: A Three-Dimensional Problem and a Non-Existent Solution?

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

Income and wealth disparity is one of the defining problems of our time. In sophisticated economies, the wealth gap between the rich and the poor is at an all-time high. Inequality developments in emerging markets and developing nations have varied, with some countries experiencing declining inequality while others continue to experience entrenched disparities in access to education, health care, and finance (Gradín, 2021). As a result, governments and scholars are debating the extent of inequality, its origins, and what to do about it. More

Poetic Inquiry into Human Thought Foundations (II)

Poetic Inquiry into Human Thought Foundations (II) – With Textual Additions –

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

Modern power dynamics are a continuation of a past in which liberty was not a principle to be taken into account by then-leaders. Former times constituted a division between dictatorial societies and authoritarian civilizations. The variation of the degree of statism depended on political movements succeeding one another. History tells us that this perpetually change does not follow a logical slide from a democratic government form to an authoritarian, then dictatorial one. Regardless of this, the giving up of freedoms is an “encouragement” for corruptible power centres to go on with their policies, until a state of anxiety, then fear, instils into a disoriented people. Whatever a “golden pencil” writes is holy, is “for the people” and can hardly be contested, unless one wants to become an enemy of state commanders. More

“The Market for Polities”: On International Institutional Competition

“The Market for Polities”: On International Institutional Competition Reflections occasioned by the 7th International Conference on the Role of State in Varieties of Capitalism (SVOC), Budapest, 29-30 November 2021

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

The Role of State in Varieties of Capitalism conference – SVOC2021 – was organized by the Institute of World Economics of the Centre for Economic and Regional Studies, Budapest, Hungary and Democracy Institute of Central European University.At this years’s edition, I have delivered a presentation entiled “The Market for Polities”: Citizens’ Welfare (as Consumers of Public Goods) by Way of States’ Competition (or Cartelization), that was based on a paper written together with Mihaela Iacob. More

Those Old, Outdated Symbols

Those Old, Outdated Symbols

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

Z was walking down the path to the old, ragged buildings he had visited some time ago. He was eager to show his friend the intriguing site. The weird old gate and the crumbling edifices always held some fascination for him. He was anxious every time he was there, but he did not understand why. So, instinctively, he felt he wanted to see if his friend might have the same reaction.  More

Inability to Govern or Ability Not to Govern?

Inability to Govern or Ability Not to Govern? Economy Near Us (XLVI)

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

These days, our society is the hapless witness of an odd (although not absolutely novel) behaviour of the political class regarding the act of governing – an irrepressible desire and willingness to govern for the good of society, which springs from public declarations, and, at the same time, a stubbornness in designing the government/governing for their own private interest and good, which is easily inferable from the (more or less public) actions. Although the politicians must, most of the time, deliver on their promises to the public, based on the confidence from that public that they will accomplish what has been promised, this time we see, in fact, only a competition between the two parts which are engaged in the political fight, to better convince the public regarding their true intentions and purposes (which are, of course, well masked). More

The American Empire: A Subtle Transition

The American Empire: A Subtle Transition

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

My study, Rise and Fall of the American Empire to be published in January 2022 by En Route Books and Media, publisher of my recent book, Ennobling Encounters, is based on a premise: The country that was new in 1789, when its Constitutional order was ratified, no longer exists.As a consequence, the written Constitution of the United States which intended to order and organize our politics has been challenged to a breaking point.That development was hastened by the collapse in 1991 of America’s nemesis, the Soviet Union. But tensions and divisions in American society had been long coming largely as a consequence of the many wars of the 20th century. More

The Geopolitical Gamble Between Global Digitalisation and Green Trends

The Geopolitical Gamble Between Global Digitalisation and Green Trends

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

Ever since mankind first began applying its reasoning and inventiveness towards manipulating the elements of its natural environment to suit his needs and want, humanity became engaged in a profound, mutually transformational relationship with nature. Man’s surrounding environment heavily influenced man’s views and beliefs about his origins, role and purpose in this world as well as the origins, role and purpose of the world and the cosmos. While man’s needs and beliefs led him to explore new ways of meeting his existential (food, shelter etc.), individual (artistic expression, occupational needs etc.) and transcendental needs (religion, cosmogony, the search for ultimate meaning and what lies at the roots of reality etc.), the impact of the human species on the planet began to take shape, slowly but surely over many millennia and generations, growing ever more complex as man’s knowledge, tools and needs grew in breadth and depth. More

Poetic Inquiry into Human Thought Foundations (I)

Poetic Inquiry into Human Thought Foundations (I) – With Textual Additions –

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

The argument for a multidisciplinary approach to comprehension of human thought and its translation into action seems to be irreproachable, as it demonstrates a thorough knowledge of sociohistorical phenomena and their propagation across times marked by remarkable events aplenty. However, the crossover of arts – of which da Vinci probably is the most telling example – is not as common as this much more common and mere “intellectual multilateralism” of appealing and borrowing from different fields of knowledge. Could there possibly be anything more beautiful and sublime than a sculpture represented in a wondrous painting More

Russia’s Game in the Sea of Azov

Russia’s Game in the Sea of Azov

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

Since its declaration of independence in 1991, Kiev has identified the situation in Crimea as a national security vulnerability in the wake of the Russian Black Sea Fleet’s presence in Sevastopol.Negotiations with Moscow, completed in 1997, laid the groundwork for a treaty that would resolve the Soviet legacy, with Russia receiving 81.7% of the fleet while Ukraine only 18.3%, or 87 vessels and one submarine. More

Is Bitcoin the Costly Highway?

Is Bitcoin the Costly Highway?

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

Bitcoin has recently reached a new all-time high in terms of USD, going over $ 62,500. Just as every other time it has happened, this time again there are voices that rejoice the feat and numerous others that decry its sheer volatility, bubble behaviour, deflationary character and, most of all, humongous costs and energy consumption.One tool that monitors Bitcoin’s energy consumption, Cambridge Bitcoin Energy Consumption Index estimates that Bitcoin’s share of the world consumption of electricity is 0,49%, close to 109 TWh annually. More

Through Scientism to Neo-Paganism. On Millennialism of the Ecological Rite

Through Scientism to Neo-Paganism. On Millennialism of the Ecological Rite

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

The environmentalist ideology tends, in my opinion, to supplant what was referred to as “political education” during the communist era (Marxist humanism or the Marxist concept of education). It is explicitly or implicitly covered in the kindergarten and elementary school curricula. However, neither high school nor college are spared. Furthermore, few believe that this fact warrants attention because, after all, what could be wrong with environmental awareness? Environmentalism appears to be a completely harmless discipline that encompasses all aspects of life: nature, animal species, pollution prevention and cleanup, tree planting, waste reduction, and recycling. Teamwork, “extra-curricular” activities, activism, walks, outdoor excursions and volunteerism are all included. Irresistible to children, adolescents, and decent, sensitive women. Once again, there is no way to fail. It is especially true as preoccupations can develop an aura of serious activity, public commitment, and even a genuine green apostolate over time. Moreover, when it comes to the apostolate, even for religious persons or believers, the concept does not appear – and can hardly appear – to be in the slightest bit suspicious[1]. It is all due to the idea that man is merely God’s messenger at the helm of the created world, which he should treat with respect and reverence rather than mockery. More

Investiți în România! [Invest in Romania!] – A New Season at TVR International

Investiți în România! [Invest in Romania!] – A New Season at TVR International

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

Economics has the benefit of representing a “popular” science, a non-exclusivist one, being accessible to all those who are accustomed to judging with their own minds. But investments, guided by economic common sense, have a “heroic” component, accessible to those who, additionally, have courage.As economists-journalists, we apply, as we understand that it is constantly applied to us, the very “logic of economics” – it is within us and we are part of it. More

ASE reconfirms, for the third consecutive year, the first place in Romania, according to the prestigious Times Higher Education World University Rankings, 2022 edition

ASE reconfirms, for the third consecutive year, the first place in Romania, according to the prestigious Times Higher Education World University Rankings, 2022 edition

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

The Bucharest University of Economic Studies (Academia de Studii Economice din București – ASE), the leader of economic and public administration education in Romania, is listed for the third time in a row as the best university in Romania, according to the 2022 edition of the prestigious Times Higher Education World University Rankings, published on September 2, this year. More

The Need for Resilience in the EU Economy

The Need for Resilience in the EU Economy Economy Near Us (XLV)

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

The concept of resilience (lat. risiliere) became frequently used in public discourse in recent years. Originally used by scientists, it has a long history in various disciplines (physics, materials science, engineering, psychology, ecology)[1] before the crises that have emerged worldwide in the last decades led to its appropriation by international organizations (UN, OECD, IMF, World Bank etc.) and various decision-makers. They integrated it into their strategies, guidelines and transformed resilience into a public policy desideratum.  More

Technology’s Dominion: An Ever-Tightening Web of Dependency

Technology’s Dominion: An Ever-Tightening Web of Dependency

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

Although some degree of indeterminacy circumscribes perception and communication, it does not follow that the information which filters through our perceptual screens must be false or illusory. Norbert Wiener characterized it as “the devil of confusion, not of willful malice.” His concern was with the loss or distortion of information – analogous to entropy – in the process itself. It is a problem which bedevils our best efforts to find a common ground for understanding.  More

An Economic Perspective on the Ant Colony

An Economic Perspective on the Ant Colony

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

Ever since I explored the surrealism around Salvador Dali’s creative universe, I have been fascinated in particular by one of his prevailing iconographic motifs symbolizing death, putrefaction, moral degradation as well as his dark spectrum of sexual desires: the swarming ants. Dali’s artistry largely consisted of exposing his subconscious imagery through these seemingly unobtrusive symbols. Despite this, however, what do we actually know about ants? More

Three “Mister K” and Our Recovery from Eastern European “Kafkian” Absurdum

Three “Mister K” and Our Recovery from Eastern European “Kafkian” Absurdum On the Lives and Writings of L. Kołakowski, J. Kornai and V. Klaus

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

In Kafka’s novel, Das Schloß [The Castle], there is a gentleman bearing the name “K” who unsuccessfully tries to obtain a hearing with the enigmatic ruler of a bureaucratic citadel dominating, physically and psychically, an alienated village community, to secure a living in that surreal neighbourhood. In Der Prozess [The Trial], a certain Joseph K. gets arrested and accused by an obscure authority for a crime never unveiled, either to him or anyone else (including the millions of readers of the novel). In Amerika [America], the main character, Karl Rossmann, lives a David-Coppefield-ian life within an illusive and deluding “new world”. All three novels are part of the “absurdist literature”, are unfinished and are posthumous. Even though Kafka didn’t experience communism, his novels can be seen as a crude premonition of that epoch. In the present essay we shall speak, however, about three different characters whose names start with the Kafkian effigy “K” and whose professional careers were devoted to the extraction of Eastern Europe from the absurdum of communism: the Polish philosopher and historian of ideas Leszek Kołakowski (1927-2009), the Hungarian economist János Kornai (1928-2021) and the ex-President of the Czech Republic Václav Klaus (b. 1941). More

Social Justice – A Key Tool to Fight Against Social Inequality

Social Justice – A Key Tool to Fight Against Social Inequality Economy Near Us (XLIV)

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

By considering that social justice is a principle for generating the basic structure of the society, three such approaches to social justice theory are known in the specialty literature: the approach based on fairness, the approach based on capability and the approach based on entitlement. Some considerations about each type of approach will be presented below.  More

The Macroeconomic Dashboard: From Financial to Corona Crisis

The Macroeconomic Dashboard: From Financial to Corona Crisis

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

Worldwide, economies periodically face cyclical evolutions, economic crises, shocks generated by exogenous factors of the economic system, as is happening right now amid the health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The common ground of these developments is the need for policies able to support the economy and to establish the necessary corrections, in accordance with imbalances. Nevertheless, solutions must be accurately identified and adapted to the real causes of crises, otherwise economic treatment will fail.  More

The Lords of the Olympic Rings

The Lords of the Olympic Rings On the obverse and reverse of coins and medals

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

The idea of ​​sport is associated with peace in an almost reflexive manner. At the same time, prosperity is being called into the arena of sport’s allies. But if we overcome the reflexes and become reflective, we can take into account the counter-opinions to the standard pleadings according to which sports competitions, for example the Olympic Games, both in their original, ancient expression and in modern and contemporary forms, would be, politically, victories against war, and, economically, it would mean triumphs against (of?) waste. More

Requiem for the Forever War

Requiem for the Forever War

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

The Biden Administration, contrary to its partisans’ and detractors’ expectations that it would dither or outright renege on the previous Administration’s plans to exit Afghanistan (overtly), pulled the trigger on a ramshackle retreat that created incredibly bad optics and elicited negative reactions from around the world, especially from allies. The problem of whether to take in Afghan refugees and how many is already starting to rear its head in the domestic politics of Western countries, and will assume center stage once all of the countries have removed their nationals from Afghanistan. The latter is an incredible oversight given the transparent nature of the term for American retreat from Afghanistan, and illustrates both the incredulity, up until the last minute, that the Biden Administration would keep to the deal and the shocking nature of the Taliban’s series of victories over the Kabul Government.  More

The Lockdown-Quagmire

The Lockdown-Quagmire

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

Economics tells us that every decision comes at a cost, an opportunity cost. In the same period of time that I am writing this article, I could have done other things. Deciding to spend time writing automatically entails missing out, for example, on watching TV, reading a book, or writing other pieces. The missed opportunities are the costs of writing this article. More

New Institutional Economics, the Anthropomorphization of Institutions and Pathologies of Organisations

New Institutional Economics, the Anthropomorphization of Institutions and Pathologies of Organisations

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

One of the main weaknesses of New Institutional Economics (NIE), identified by Herbert Alexander Simon (1991), is the inability of NIE to understand organizations, and thus the institutions themselves, on account of the fact that the mechanisms and tools used in this sense had been derived from neoclassical economics and from the market.  More

Benedetto Croce – Liberal, Idealist, Activist (In This Order)

Benedetto Croce – Liberal, Idealist, Activist (In This Order)

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

Many people throughout history are known for acts of great courage and grand conquests. Some live by through immortal creations forever bearing their name. Others were examples of irreproachable ethics and conduct, strength of character and Olympian serenity. They are usually separated in men which demonstrated either active or passive involvement in asserting dedication to their ideals, much more rarely both. But even far less are those who showed they had achieved all these signs of distinction during their lifetime, troubled by the fatality of history and hazardous game of eras. In the shade of the dusk of epochs rise strong characters ready to resist the darkness of upcoming times and bring back the light spread by the flame of liberty. After years of spiritual wickedness, ethical scarcity and social cowardice, it is possible that justice be made. If so, those who once took up their role as freedom fighters and tirelessly took action in favour of what they believed to be just shall get their sincere recognition from their admirers.  More

Penetrating the Fog of Culture War

Penetrating the Fog of Culture War

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

Protracted conflict is a historical phenomenon. It attends upon every systemic breakdown and the ensuing quest for a new equilibrium. Every revolutionary movement issues from a position of physical inferiority vis‑a‑vis the defender of the status quo. The revolutionary movement, to assure its final victory, must perforce rely more upon the breadth of its vision than the strength of its arms. Its strategy derives from a superior understanding of the total historic situation; the spectrum of revolutionary conflict techniques is as wide as the entire scale of social change. Within that spectrum, a central intelligence organizes and phases the instruments of conflict ‑‑ political, economic, psychological, technological and military. That central intelligence discerns potential weapons where the defender of the status quo sees only the tools of peace; in short, it turns plowshares into swords.[1]  More

The Obese State – A Political Metaphor or a Milestone?

The Obese State – A Political Metaphor or a Milestone? Economy Near Us (XLIII)

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

This is not the place and the occasion to deeply discuss the crucial (and endless) issue of the size of the state and its involvement in society (especially in the economy). From the minimal state shaped by the invisible hand (Nozick), to the contractual state instituted on basic principles (Rawls), to the socialist state constituted as the big brother, all of these versions have their pros and cons. However, regarding any of these types of state, a common topic could be of interest: the efficacy and/or efficiency of the works of the state. Regarding the public money, the efficacy of the state intervention (either through regulation/deregulation or through public spending) seems to be of interest (both politically and ethically) – thus, if an objective of common interest must be accomplished, the question of efficiency is not relevant at all; the only relevance is carried by the efficacy of the intervention. I strongly and irremediably believe that the money public should be associated with efficacy only. But is this belief beyond any doubt? Honestly, I have to accept that it is not. The main reason to doubt consists in the very structure of the public sector (nb: the private domain of the state is another issue entirely). I shall provide some considerations in this area.  More

Crypto-Kim: Blockchain, Yes; Break Chains, No

Crypto-Kim: Blockchain, Yes; Break Chains, No

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

The incredible speed with which technology has developed has often left a gap in the regulation of their use. The lack of regulation has become extremely visible in the field of cryptocurrencies, which can be termed as “virtual money” lacking intrinsic value like gold or state backing like fiat currencies. While they are mostly known for their speculative potential, virtual currencies are also used for practical purposes, facilitating e-commerce but also for less orthodox purposes such as illicit trafficking, terrorism, masking illicit earnings and tax evasion. North Korea has taken full advantage of the lax regulations and by using them the Pyongyang government has been able to secure luxury goods that it could not have had access to because of Western economic sanctions. As a determined and sophisticated international player in terms of cybersecurity, in a constant search for financial resources to meet its needs and ambitions, North Korea is expected to continue its efforts to identify ways in which to obtain and spend cryptocurrencies. The prospect of Pyongyang engaging in large-scale operations to avoid sanctions and using virtual currencies as a means of paying for luxury goods and services, or for easing import prohibition, is a risk that could increase in the future and needs to be addressed accordingly. Southeast Asian states are extremely vulnerable to the various types of illicit activities in which North Korea engages using virtual currencies. The ineffective approaches to regulating virtual currencies in the region create a galling systemic risk in the cryptocurrency industry that North Korea will try to make full use of.  More

On Conspiracy Theories and Theorizing

On Conspiracy Theories and Theorizing

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

We are inundated with both conspiracy theories and warnings to recognize them as such and ignore them. These instructions come from legitimate elites employing legitimate media sources that feel they are being crowded out by “alternative facts” and other phenomena which have gained new (visible) breadth and scope through the rise of social media. Accompanying it is the individual who is not only a consumer but also a producer of media, if only through his ability to retweet or repackage messages for delivery to his own network. More

Why Nations Move Their Capitals

Why Nations Move Their Capitals

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

When asked about the capital city of a country, the obvious answer may not be the correct one and there are plenty of examples for this. Usually, we tend to think of cities like Istanbul, Sydney, Lagos or Rio de Janeiro as being capitals, but in fact, they are not. Sometimes the biggest city is not the seat of government and the list might grow as both Egypt and Indonesia announced they plan to build new ones from scratch.  More

Adaptive Preferences in the Labour Market

Adaptive Preferences in the Labour Market Economy Near Us (XLII)

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

We are currently witnessing a reconfiguration of labour market requirements both in terms of employment and in terms of significant changes in skills and knowledge required by digital technologies, with an effect on contractual work arrangements. Under the influence of technology, especially digital technology, some jobs change, others disappear, others are created, thus we are witnessing a phenomenon of polarization of employment with implications, including on wages, leading to increasing inequalities in society.  More

The Place of Football in the Political Culture of the Twentieth-Century British Working Class

The Place of Football in the Political Culture of the Twentieth-Century British Working Class

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

Today, football is one of the world’s most popular cultural phenomena. But in order to understand how this ball game has managed to transcend virtually all physical and cultural boundaries, we must take a quick look at its origins – namely, the emergence of a recognised national sport of British workingmen, reflecting their aspirations for social inclusion, political empowerment, and fairness.  More

Pleas for Trade Remain Trendy in the Midst of Globalization

Pleas for Trade Remain Trendy in the Midst of Globalization (Review of Adrian Constantinescu’s, Mechanisms and tools for export stimulation [in Romanian: Mecanisme şi instrumente de stimulare a exporturilor], Expert Publishing House, the Romanian Academy, Bucharest, 2021)

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

As an economist, I share the belief that, when it comes to realistic alternative systems of social organization, we always choose between the state and the market, between coercion and private property, bureaucratism and entrepreneurship. Thus, depending on the criterion of property rights – the most important, after all –, economic systems can only be either the free market (or the system of private ownership of the means of production), or socialism (or the system of public, state, “non-private” ownership of the means of production), or interventionism (the system in which certain sectors – or certain options for the use/allocation of scarce resources – are managed in the private sector, while others in the public one)[1] More

The Great Reset: Rethinking the Future of Work

The Great Reset: Rethinking the Future of Work

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

In retrospect, the year 2020 will certainly be seen as the Great Reset. This theme is one that have been echoed repeatedly from different quarters. It is almost certain that post-Covid, the world of work will no longer be geographically bound.  More

Transatlantic Exchange: Introducing Francis Lieber

Transatlantic Exchange: Introducing Francis Lieber

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

It is remarkable how quickly America was transformed from an isolated agrarian republic in 1800 into a hegemonic industrial power by 1900. Intellectual and cultural changes that began taking root in the early half of the century yielded a cornucopia of new fruits in the latter half, including tax-supported public libraries, the rise of the scientific professions, and German-style graduate education. The impact of democracy, nationalism, industrialization, the reform crusades, sectionalism, urbanization, commerce, and immigration together gave new urgency to Crevecoeur’s old question: “What is this new man, the American?”  More

Tackling Climate Change and the COVID-19 Pandemic Crisis

Tackling Climate Change and the COVID-19 Pandemic Crisis Economy Near Us (XLI)

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

The issue of climate change has been a global concern in recent years. Based on the theory that global warming is caused by human activity, in the context of industrialization in the last century, governments, corporations, non-governmental organizations, international actors, have actively engaged in an unprecedented effort to mitigate the negative effects of greenhouse gases and to reduce emissions.  More

How Spare Time Legislation Impacts the Workforce in the West

How Spare Time Legislation Impacts the Workforce in the West Is the labour market capable of regulating itself?

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

With today’s modern world being as complex and susceptible to constant change as it is, it is safe to assume that few people, if any, would be able to envision a lifestyle without some basic form of balance. Said balance is sure to include a set of principles, values and rules within which our existence is not only shaped, but also sustained and enabled, while maintaining predictability, order and continuity in our social and economic lives. More

Piketty-Saez v. Lakner-Milanovic: Visions on Income Inequality

Piketty-Saez v. Lakner-Milanovic: Visions on Income Inequality A comparative analysis

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

The issue of labor in contemporary Economics and society is a very interesting one. First of all, the rapid changes such as the accelerated evolution of technology and the emergence of new economic paradigms have radically influenced the vision on labor. Secondly, with all of these changes, some positive, labor still faces many issues, some of which are very old, such as forced labor or even slavery – even now, with its contemporary forms – and some which are a direct result of modernization, such as low job matching efficiency or welfare systems. These are related to another set of problems, which go hand in hand with those of labor, namely inequality issues, especially those of an economic nature.  More

Five “Good” Reasons to Hate Economics

Five “Good” Reasons to Hate Economics

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

We live in a world where hating something is trendy. Some hate Hawaiian Pizza, some others hate the rich, some hate immigrants, some people hate rap music, etc. Some people hate economics. What is economics about? I would refer to it as a social science that studies the economy from a well-defined perspective – that resources are scarce, that choices must be made in using them, that most of the time people use some thinking in making these choices, and that the market mechanism helps carry out this resource allocation. Thus, economics is first and foremost about the functioning of the market economy, and about the role of prices in allocating resources. If one wants to get an idea on what economists do study, he/she might look to the table of contents top-5 journals of the field, including the American Economic Review and Econometrica; the collection of Schools Brief in the Economist is also representative of the “hot topics” in today economics. One might be surprised by the methodological homogeneity of the field. Econ-haters will probably disagree with my definition, since when you really hate something, you sometimes end up by denying its existence. I agree, this can raise some logical problem (should I hate something that does not exist?), yet hate is about emotions, not about logical thinking.  More

Deciphering Timelessness through Ephemeral Numbers

Deciphering Timelessness through Ephemeral Numbers In memory of Professor Cezar Mereuță (1936-2021)

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

I first made the acquaintance of Professor Cezar Mereuță in the most natural way a young novice economist can meet a master of the profession: as a name on a textbook. In the Professor’s case, his exposure to “the market for ideas” has always been deliberately bimodal: both in the realm of academia and in economic mass-media. I, too, have chosen to heed this tenet of dualism, for although scientific truth is sublime, its social value is only apparent once it is communicated: the “economy” of (the economic) science is inevitably a “mixed” one, its nature being both “public” (in the sense of its popularisation, not politicisation) and “private” (in the sense of being responsible for the appropriateness of one’s terminology and the adequacy of one’s methodology). Among economists, discussions can veer into opaqueness, yet it is clear that disseminating the fruits of economic research via mass-media has always been a goal of Professor Mereuță, for the sake of civility and the civil population at large. I worked alongside him for roughly twelve years, first as a reader, then as editor, foreword author and, lastly, co-author.  More

IP, Fire, and Other Dangerous Things

IP, Fire, and Other Dangerous Things

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

Why is there more money being invested in the development of (video) games than in research of new drugs and medicine? Well, the claim underlying the question may be overblown. But there is evidence for the gaming industry being larger than the movie or sports entertainment sectors.[1] There is also evidence suggesting a surge of innovation in gaming and a simultaneous decline of innovation in the pharma sector.[2] This begs the question: What does all this have to do with intellectual property or IP? More

Romania’s Loss of Competitiveness Compared to Hungary and Poland

Romania’s Loss of Competitiveness Compared to Hungary and Poland The real effective exchange rate – a critical indicator

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

Romania has improved its competitiveness compared to the Czech Republic and Bulgaria at the regional level in recent years but lost ground compared to Croatia, Poland and Hungary, according to data released by Eurostat. With an index calculated at 96.77 (2010 = 100), we were slightly better than our neighbor from the South of the Danube (97.32), with the note that a lower value shows an improvement in competitiveness.  More

The Advantages of an Adequate Minimum Wage

The Advantages of an Adequate Minimum Wage Economy Near Us (XL)

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

We find today, in the specialty literature, analyses and studies that focus on the quality of life, and these frame the concept of wellbeing as concerning the individual and referring to a state. In these works, the semantic features of the concept of wellbeing are formulated as follows: wellbeing refers to the person (the individual) – it considers the individual himself, not a certain social-historical individual; wellbeing refers to a state (static profile) – it is a “photograph” of the components of a state vector considered appropriate, representative, relevant and practicable for researching such a concept; wellbeing refers to a moment – the establishment of empirical values ​​of the state vector that refers to the individual, at a certain moment. This is observed, from a theoretical and philosophical point of view, both at the level of the individual, as individual wellbeing with a strong idiosyncratic accent, and at the level of society as social welfare with an objective character. The concept of wellbeing remains in our attention also in this period when we attach great importance to individual safety issues, and I am referring here to health issues.  More

Seven Things the Suez Canal Incident Taught Us about Globalization

Seven Things the Suez Canal Incident Taught Us about Globalization

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

The recently resolved Suez Canal incident was the second high profile crisis in global logistics since the beginning of the pandemic. It underscored the significant vulnerabilities of an interdependent world in which supply and production chains are distributed over vast distances and are reliant on the near perfect and constant functioning of a complex transport apparatus through vulnerable bottlenecks. The Suez incident was caused by a super large container transport vessel becoming lodged in a sandbar and blocking the Suez Canal itself in one of its narrowest points. Until traffic could be restored, hundreds of ships were stationed outside the canal, waiting for their opportunity to cross, while racking up billions of dollars in global economic losses and contractual fines. More than 10% of global container shipping passes through the Suez Canal, which links the important Southeast Asian and East Asian producers to markets in Western Europe. It is also an important highway for energy transport, though land routes have been coming online to diversify these flows. The crisis came at a moment when the Egyptian Government is busy upgrading the Suez Canal, to enable it to accommodate 50% more traffic than it did in 2014. The growth in the intensity of the use of the Suez has several consequences – more traffic tolls for Egypt, greater importance for Egyptian ports and their attendant production and storage capabilities, greater geopolitical importance for the Suez Canal, which was the site of an attempted takeover by British and French forces within living memory.  More

Professor Cezar Mereuță’s Paretian Odyssey Continues

Professor Cezar Mereuță’s Paretian Odyssey Continues The unexpected results of a research that analyzes two parallel worlds, the economy and the pandemic: 10% of the countries of the world generate 80% of the world GDP, but also 80% of the total COVID-19 contagions

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

A paradox confirmed by statistical data: the nodal analysis, used in economics to show that the strongest 10% of the players in a market generate 80% of the total sales in that market, also applies in the field of... the pandemic. This is revealed by an analysis made by Prof. Dr. Cezar Mereuță, who, for a year, monitored the parallels between the economic power of countries and the number of infections with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The result shows that the two indicators are mirror-like: 9.35% of the countries of the world generated 80% of the world GDP in 2019; and 9.91% of the countries of the world accounted for 80% of all the contagions in 2020. Based on the results of the research, Prof. Dr. Cezar Mereuță provided a set of explanations and recommendations.  More

A Few Considerations about the Gender Gap in the COVID-19 Impact on the Labour Market

A Few Considerations about the Gender Gap in the COVID-19 Impact on the Labour Market Economy Near Us (XXXIX)

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

March marks one year since Romania entered a state of emergency and remained on alert due to the pandemic. The Romanian state, like all of the states of Europe and the world, is still looking for solutions to limit its spread. The priority in the concerns of all governments remains health, but we cannot ignore the economic and social effects of the health crisis, and knowing that crises are seldom gender neutral when it comes to economic effects, this moment seems opportune for an analysis of the relationship between the health crisis and gender equality and its long-term consequences.  More

Public Schools, a Rival for Racism and Xenophobia

Public Schools, a Rival for Racism and Xenophobia

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

Some believe that we live in a world that is advanced and effortlessly evolving in so many different ways, yet it is also stuck and old-fashioned in other ways. Paradoxically, the modern world that we live in is still exposed to racial conflicts. Combining different cultures, nationalities or ethnicities still brings anger and discomfort to numberless people. In this sense, I like to believe that such mentalities and lifestyles can be easily changed or adjusted during childhood, including through education and exposure to multicultural activities. Furthermore, I believe children should be constantly facing diversity from a young age. More

The 2020 GDP of Romania

The 2020 GDP of Romania Equal to the 2019 GDP in nominal terms and the 2018 one in real terms

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

The National Institute of Statistics confirmed the signal result of the economic growth for 2020 at the level of -3.9%, in the first preliminary version made public. The nominal value resulting from the overall calculation for the last year was RON 1,053,881.4 million, above the recent forecast and almost identical to that of 2019 (RON 1,053,884.8 million). However, it was lower in euro by about 4.22 billion, due to the increase in the average annual exchange rate (from 4.7452 RON/euro to 4.8371 RON/euro). The result – redistributed between quarters. Beware of base effect! More

The Long-Lasting Effects of Colonial Policies

The Long-Lasting Effects of Colonial Policies Why some post-colonial nations succeed while others do not

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

Whenever we talk about Canada, New Zealand, Libya or Indonesia, we need to bring up the colonial empires which dominated much of the modern world up until the beginning of the Cold War. The periods under colonial rule differ, with the “scramble for Africa” taking place in the latter half of the 19th century, while American colonization began in the late 15th century, but the great European empires eventually had most of the world, at one time or another, under colonial rule. All those four countries share a similar past which involved being ruled by Europeans with varying degrees of autonomy, exploitation or even representation in democratic processes. However, the similarities stop there. Canada and New Zealand are both considered developed countries which hold economic and commercial power while Libya can barely be seen as a functioning state due to its internal unrest. Indonesia is somewhat in the middle, having an emerging economy status while controlling a loosely connected archipelago dominated by ethnic and religious heterogeneity. How did these countries turned up so different from one another despite their shared status as colonial subjects? More

A Reactionary Response to a Likewise Football

A Reactionary Response to a Likewise Football From Conference League to Super League

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

Context: TheChampions League (CL) is the greatest inter-club football competition in Europe and the entire world. Organised every year, it includes the best 32 European football club teams: 26 qualified in advance, while six of them have to go through a preliminary round, three qualifying rounds and a play-off round, all played over two legs (except in this “pandemic” year when only the play-off round was played over two legs). Eight groups are formed; each team plays every other team in its group twice (once home and once away). At the end, the first two teams of each group with the highest number of points progress to the knock-out stage, therefore 16 teams. The teams which finish 3rd in their CL groups relegate to the second-tier competition, the Europa League (EL), which works basically in the same way as the CL, except that the team that finishes third in its EL group goes nowhere (at least so far). Then, a draw takes place in Geneva. A kick-out style tournament commences, with double-legged matches until the last act of the competition is reached – the big final.  More

The Evolving Identity of the Firm. Cognitive Peculiarities and Idiosyncratic Perceptions

The Evolving Identity of the Firm. Cognitive Peculiarities and Idiosyncratic Perceptions

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

Research into the theory of the firm began with the publication of “The Nature of the Firm” (Coase, 1937), which led to the appearance of four essential questions about the nature of the firm. Why do firms exist? Why are these organized the way they are? Why are there firm boundaries? Why are firms heterogeneous? These questions led to the emergence of many research programs starting with the 1970s, in the seminal works of Alchian & Demsetz (1972), Jensen & Meckling (1976), in transaction-cost economics (Williamson, 1981), in behavioral theory (Cyert & March, 1963), a theory that considers that firms create value by compensating for individual cognitive limitations, and so on. But the effort to integrate firm theory and entrepreneurship is relatively young, especially when we emphasize that modern firm theory was based on the “production function view” (Langlois & Foss, 1999), assuming a predetermined set of production possibilities, starting from a homogeneous interpretation of the firm, in a binary input-output relationship. The firm begins to become dynamic with the emergence of the heterodox Austrian perspective, suggesting that firms create value through their ability to combine the judgments of numerous individuals (Penrose, 1959).  More

The Intersection of Religion and Economic Behaviour

The Intersection of Religion and Economic Behaviour

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

The World Bank published two years ago a study conducted by two Bulgarian economists, Simeon Djankov and Elena Nikolova, which shows major differences in attitudes toward state authority and the adoption of new ideas between Orthodox, on the one hand, and Catholics and Protestants, on the other hand. Differences in attitudes between Orthodox and Protestant Catholics are rooted in major theological differences between these branches of Christianity. Western Christianity (which gave rise to Catholicism and Protestantism) emphasizes reason, individualism, and questioning authority, while Eastern Christianity is associated with mysticism, affection, and community spirit, with less emphasis on law, reason, and questioning authority. [1]  More

Binding Leviathan: The Case for Institutional Liberty

Binding Leviathan: The Case for Institutional Liberty

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

In political theory, as in any inquiry, a question must begin with a perception or a premise. The question is this: How can the identity and integrity of a self-governing institution – whether a church, business, school, even a family – be maintained independently of the public agenda of a pervasively secular modern state? The perception that frames the question is that the American system of constitutional government, in particular, originated with specific reference to – and derived its essential character from – the covenant tradition of the Bible.[1]  More

The Road to a Free Economy

The Road to a Free Economy Once upon a time in 1989. And the journey is on going

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

János Kornai needs no introduction to our readers. He is an intellectual force to be reckoned with in the service of liberty. The following pages are an extract from his memoirs specifically selected from a time of great change in Hungary, to which he, working as a non-political man of science, brought a significant contribution. To his credit, he does not shy away from discussing his failures or from admitting the uncertainties regarding his true impact on historical proceedings. This thoughtfulness is found throughout the entire book. More

Realities and Perspectives of a New Social Paradigm

Realities and Perspectives of a New Social Paradigm Economy Near Us (XXXVIII)

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

Society is currently undergoing a series of transformations, as a result of the effects of the global pandemic, with consequences in all areas of our existence. Approaching from a conceptual point of view the present reality, the concept of entropy returns to the forefront. More precisely, the specialty literature approaches this concept from a new perspective, namely social entropy based on social justice, founded on the very close, logical relationship between social order and social entropy. Thus, considering that the three pillars on which our form of society is based are self-respect or moral dignity, freedom and democracy, then the concept of social order can be defined as a normative combination of freedom and democracy, which offers a certain measure of individual freedom.  More

Pablo Neruda – Poetry, Polities, Peace

Pablo Neruda – Poetry, Polities, Peace Masters of Diplomacy (III)

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

One of the greatest poets that have ever lived in the Latin America was none other than the Chilean Pablo Neruda (photo: right) born under the name Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto. He was born in Parral, Chile on July 12, 1904. His father, Jose del Carmen, was a railroad worker, and his mother, Rosa Neftali, was a teacher. Shortly after giving birth to her son, she passed away. Two years after his mother's death, the family moved to Temuco where his father remarried. As for Neruda, he started writing poetry at the age of 10. His father, being an ordinary worker, failed to understand the talent that his son had, so he never encouraged him to write and never cared about his burgeoning talent.  More

Vespasian V. Pella – A Peace Fighter

Vespasian V. Pella – A Peace Fighter Masters of Diplomacy (I)

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

It is indisputably mandatory, Vespasian Pella (photo: second from the right, sitting at the table) asserted, to have the following in order to prevent and combat the state “collective crime” – a recognition of the war’s criminal nature, alongside the genesis of international criminal law and legal institutions able to put standards into practice (Pella, 1925).  More

Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit – Casting a Flood of Light on India

Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit – Casting a Flood of Light on India Masters of Diplomacy (II)

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

What does it take to fight for the freedom of your country? Some may say it takes courage, strength of character or faith. Some may say you need to be a hero, but The Great Daughter of India, as Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit (photo: right) was often called, was of all these things. Only she did not solely belong to India, but to the whole world. By shedding light on the essential social and political issues of her country and promoting equality for all “subject races”, she gained the title of an international democrat. A walk through her life will therefore be an adventure unravelling far beyond India’s borders.  More

Beneath It All in Hungary Is Political Corruption

Beneath It All in Hungary Is Political Corruption

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

Hungary is the black sheep of the European Union. Its contrarian agenda offends the common opinion of other Member States. Just recently, the Hungarian government not only threatened to veto the EU recovery budget but also voiced its opposition to the Gender Action Plan, a foreign policy initiative to buttress the rights of women, girls and LGBTQI worldwide. But don’t be fooled: behind this maverick political performance of the Orban Government, lies a shrewd and calculated strategy.  More

Long-Term Interest Rate Fell Below 3%

Long-Term Interest Rate Fell Below 3% A courageous change of economic vision would be required

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

Long-term interest rates for Romania fell by almost one percentage point in just two months, according to data released by Eurostat. After increasing up to 4.83% in April 2020, at the end of June it reached a level below the threshold of four percentage points (3.89%). Beyond the obvious effects on future budget payments, this indicator is critical for convergence purposes and the adoption of the euro.  More

Automatic Stabilizers as Publicly-Oriented Predictors

Automatic Stabilizers as Publicly-Oriented Predictors Economy Near Us (XXXVII)

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

In the economic process, the volatility of macroeconomic variables is not the true problem, but its unpredictability. In fact, this conclusion is equally valid for microeconomics. For example, under the EMH – Efficient Market Hypothesis – a predictability, as low as it may be, provides to the (qualified) observer some opportunities to be exploited above the market average returns, without extra risks to assume or extra costs to pay. The volatility has the two “classical” causes: the invisible hand, that is, the aggregate behaviour of the economic actors in the market, and the visible hand, that is, the state (usually normative) intervention in that market (when the state behaves as economic actor, it is also part of the invisible hand). Consequently, as can easily be noticed, the majority of economic (quantitative) models of decisions are aimed at predicting the future market, usually in terms of price. The real and therefore useful predictions must be related to predictors, which are, conceptually, economic or institutional variables with a much lower volatility or, at the very limit, with no volatility, at least in short and medium term. For example, the risk of bonds is null or, at least, constant even if it is different from zero. Our topic in this article is the well-known predictors in the economy, namely the automatic stabilizers.  More

When the Appetite for Entertainment Scores Goals

When the Appetite for Entertainment Scores Goals

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

Romania is attacking on the left side of the pitch, Răzvan Marin and Florin Tănase have a short exchange of passes in the corner of the penalty box, which opens some wide spaces for the latter to penetrate and make a decisive pass for Eric Bicfalvi, who, at 32, scores his first goal for the representative team of Romania, at his eighth cap. It was the 81st minute of the UEFA Nations League match on Windsor Park in Belfast. Around the same time that Răzvan, Florin and Eric had their passing game combinations, allowing the latter to find the back of the net, Sorin, Florin and Cătălin were finding the back of the plate. They were, obviously, not on any football pitch, but they were starring, as chefs and judges, in a well-known cooking show in Romania. More

The Pandemic Recession and Government Stimulus

The Pandemic Recession and Government Stimulus

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

Never before has the global economy been deliberately put into an induced coma. Owing to the coronavirus pandemic, businesses are struggling to break even and unemployment is soaring high. The sudden shock called for a speedy and massive policy response. To support vulnerable businesses and increase economic output, governments have been forced to embark on an expansionary fiscal policy. This policy involves tax reductions and an increase in government spending as a tool to influence the level of aggregate demand and national output as well as to promote macroeconomic objectives such as full employment, economic growth, and price level stability (low inflation). But is rising public debt a cause for concern? New economic thinking suggests perhaps not, at least for now.  More

The Effect of Brexit on Romanian Foreign Trade

The Effect of Brexit on Romanian Foreign Trade

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

Over the last few years, the United Kingdom has been Romania’s most important foreign trade partner with whom we have managed to record a significant trade surplus. The island economy’s exit from the community bloc and the establishment of barriers in the trading of goods, even non-tariff barriers (the granting of zero customs duties was finally recorded during negotiations), will affect the trade balance of our country.  More

Romanian National Culture Day and the New Normal

Romanian National Culture Day and the New Normal

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

Do not worry: this is going to be short and… bitter. Bitter is good. In drinks, according to personal taste, and in real life, because it prompts reflection.Therefore, here is what I want to reflect upon today – once again on the National Culture Day of us, Romanians, that is January 15, and how this day connects to the new normal, that is life after the COVID-19 pandemic. Obviously, the connection is mostly in my mind, but considering my long experience in higher education, mainly in soft skills development, my constant discussions with master students from various universities on and beyond the syllabus, as well as my interactions with a large diversity of professional and personal contacts from all over the world, I might be justified in my attempt. More

Will Lithuania Reclaim Its Own Business Tax Model?

Will Lithuania Reclaim Its Own Business Tax Model?

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

The recent parliamentary elections in Lithuania have sparked hope that after 18 years the country will revisit its decision to give up a zero-tax rate on reinvested profits, a regime that gave an immense impetus to the country’s investment and economic growth while in effect from 1997 until 2002. Lithuania’s new coalition government comprised of the conservative Homeland Union-Christian Democrats, the Freedom Party, and the Lithuanian Liberal Movement has put this reform option back on Lithuania’s agenda.  More

Piloting Through the 2020 Corona-World:

Piloting Through the 2020 Corona-World: •An objectively subjective selection•

No. 27-32, Jan.-Dec. 2021

The much-lauded Chinese curse of living in interesting times has certainly applied to 2020. The year saw many disruptions, but also the fulfilment of key trends related to inter-state and intra-state conflict. While no one will mourn its end, we may be right to fear that this will only be a continuing act in the ongoing saga of the world’s remaking and the upending of previously cherished certainties, especially in the West.  More

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