Performance Dissimilarities in the Activity of Foreign and Romanian-Owned Companies: What Lessons to be Learned?

Our paper addresses the activity of the foreign-capital controlled companies versus domestic companies in Romania, in order to highlight the differences in performance between the two categories of firms, given the increased importance of foreign-owned companies in the Romanian economy in recent years. The research and analysis are based on data available from Eurostat FATS - Foreign Affiliates Statistics. The comparative analysis of performance between foreign-owned and Romanian-owned companies is carried out for the period 2008-2014 on two levels: (i) The total performance of foreign-owned and Romanian-owned companies; (ii) The determination of the “average”-sized foreign-owned and Romanian-owned company attributes. Our main findings show that foreign-owned companies generate higher cash flows that are essential for business development, backed up by a higher value of production, higher turnover and higher gross operating profits, despite a higher number of employees and higher personnel costs compared to Romanian-owned companies. At the same time, Romanian-owned companies claim higher profitability ratios due to their reduced dimensions

The Future is Near: On the Prospects of Central Bank Digital Currency Adoption in Central and Eastern European Countries

Central banks around the world have started exploring the possibility of issuing Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC). A CBDC would be similar to digital cash and could, in theory, substitute for commercial bank deposits as the money used by households and businesses. This paper explored the potential implications for financial stability and monetary policy stemming from potential CBDC adoption in Central and Eastern European countries (CEEs). We conducted an empirical analysis using publicly available data from the European Central Bank’s database to assess how introducing a CBDC could impact the business models of the largest CEE banks. Our findings indicated that a CBDC could support financial stability by accelerating the adoption of digital payments in CEEs, improving anti-money laundering, and thus supporting banks’ ability to finance the economy. We found that the impact of a CBDC on the profitability of commercial banks would be impacted more by any change in interest rates than by the quantity of CBDC replacing stable bank funding. Furthermore, a CBDC could be beneficial for monetary policy by improving the control over inflation and accelerating the implementation of countercyclical instruments when classical monetary policy instruments are no longer effective. Hence, non-Euro CEE countries would benefit the most from the introduction of a CBDC. Keywords: central bank digital currencies; financial stability; monetary policy; financial institution

The Influence of Oil Price on Renewable Energy Stock Prices: An Analysis for Entrepreneurs

This study investigates the relationship between oil price fluctuations and renewable energy stock returns using daily data on Brent crude oil prices and global renewable energy stock market indices between 29 November 2010 and 18 February 2020. The investigation is based on the existing evidence on positive correlations between stock prices and oil prices, but it also considers the shift from non-renewable to renewable sources of energy. A two-stage GARCH(1,1) model and a Granger causality test were applied. Our results show that volatility clustering is present in the renewable energy companies‘ stock prices, but, oil price volatility does not seem to induce any significant effects on returns‘ volatility. This might suggest that oil markets and renewable energy markets are rather disconnected, which means that the development of renewable energy businesses is less affected by potential shocks in the oil prices and markets. As a result, the exposure of companies and entrepreneurs in the renewable sector to an important source of macroeconomic volatility is reduced

Improving Local Governments’ Financial Sustainability by Using Open Government Data: An Application of High-Granularity Estimates of Personal Income Levels in Romania

The availability of open government data has expanded considerably in recent years. This expansion is expected to generate significant benefits not just for increasing government transparency, but also for the economy. The aim of this study is to illustrate the use of open government data in estimating personal income levels for all 3181 municipalities, towns, and communes in Romania. The novelty of our work comes from the high granularity of the estimates obtained. We use tax revenues collected by local governments in Romania on vehicles and buildings owned by natural persons, as well as data on energy subsidies. The classification is conducted using the k-means clustering algorithm. We find three distinct clusters of communities, which we map. The results can benefit both businesses and policymakers. The former can use the income level estimates for market intelligence purposes, while for the latter, these may aid in determining the financial sustainability of local governments and a better allocation of central government resources at the subnational level

Determinants of E-Government Use in the European Union: An Empirical Analysis

Efficient governments, defined as those that provide digital public services and effectively support their citizens through modern tools and channels, can be the result of a variety of factors, including education, urbanization, infrastructure, and economic growth as measured by GDP per capita. Existing research, however, has not provided a convincing answer to this question. At the same time, there is an undeniable increase in the availability and use of digital government services, with disparities in the range of services offered and access to infrastructure. Based on an empirical data set from 2008 to 2020, we propose an investigation into the determinants of e-government use in European Union countries. We use quantitative analysis based on the generalized method of moments (GMM) to explain why people use e-government. Furthermore, we substantiate the results found using the GMM methodology applied to panel data with Granger causality, which shows the contribution of variables to the current values of the other variables over time, highlighting the powerful influences between them. We discovered that education is the most important determinant factor for e-government use in the European Union, but there are some surprising findings, such as the negative correlation between internet use and e-government indicators, or the fact that a better government does not automatically result in economic growth. Rather, a developed country establishes the foundation for its citizens to use public services efficiently

Real-World Data Analysis of Pregnancy-Associated Breast Cancer at a Tertiary-Level Hospital in Romania

Background and objectives: Breast cancer is among the most common cancer types encountered during pregnancy. Here, we aimed to describe the characteristics, management, and outcomes of women with pregnancy-associated breast cancer at a tertiary-level hospital in Romania. Material and Methods: We retrospectively and prospectively collected demographic, oncological, and obstetrical data for women diagnosed with cancer during pregnancy, and who elected to continue their pregnancy, between June 2012 and June 2020. Complete data were obtained regarding family and personal medical history and risks factors, cancer diagnosis and staging, clinical and pathological features (including histology and immunohistochemistry), multimodal cancer treatment, pregnancy management (fetal ultrasounds, childbirth, and postpartum data), and infant development and clinical evolution up to 2020. Cancer therapy was administered following national guidelines and institutional protocols and regimens developed for non-pregnant patients, including surgery and chemotherapy, while avoiding radiotherapy during pregnancy. Results: At diagnosis, 16.67% of patients were in an advanced/metastatic stage, while 75% were in early operable stages. However, the latter patients underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy rather than up-front surgery due to aggressive tumor biology (triple negative, multifocal, or HER2+). No patient achieved complete pathological remission, but only one patient relapsed. No recurrence was recorded within 12 months among early-stage patients. Conclusions: In this contemporary assessment of real-world treatment patterns and outcomes among patients with pregnancy-associated breast cancer, our findings were generally consistent with globally observed treatment outcomes, underscoring the need for a multidisciplinary team and reference centers

Programmatic Advertising and Online Publishers: The Case of Libertatea.Ro

Programmatic advertising rose in the early 2000s, aiming at streamlining the online media buying process. It offered marketers the means to buy millions of advertising impressions instantly and helped publishers increase their revenues. The deployment of automated algorithms for media trading led to a significant decrease in campaign setup and management costs and created a new revenue stream for online publishers. However, by the late 2010s, the emergence of ever more complex algorithms and the opaque practices of the Advertising Technology (AdTech) companies in charge of them have led to complaints that programmatic advertising functions largely as a “black box”. This article inquires into the programmatic media trading process, with a focus on the impact of the algorithms’ increased sophistication on the monetization strategies of online publishers. We analyze the case of Libertatea.ro, a leading Romanian newspaper, in its attempt to offset the decrease of revenue from printed circulation by increasing revenues generated through its online website. The findings show that publishers are forced to apply increasingly complex website monetization strategies. This can, in turn, lead to a loss of control over their advertising inventory and decreased bargaining power when facing AdTech companies, thus threatening the economic models of online publishing

The Future is Near: on the Prospects of Central Bank Digital Currency Adoption in Central and Eastern European Countries

Central banks around the world have started exploring the possibility of issuing Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC). A CBDC would be similar to digital cash and could, in theory, substitute for commercial bank deposits as the money used by households and businesses. This paper explored the potential implications for financial stability and monetary policy stemming from potential CBDC adoption in Central and Eastern European countries (CEEs). We conducted an empirical analysis using publicly available data from the European Central Bank's database to assess how introducing a CBDC could impact the business models of the largest CEE banks. Our findings indicated that a CBDC could support financial stability by accelerating the adoption of digital payments in CEEs, improving anti-money laundering, and thus supporting banks' ability to finance the economy. We found that the impact of a CBDC on the profitability of commercial banks would be impacted more by any change in interest rates than by the quantity of CBDC replacing stable bank funding. Furthermore, a CBDC could be beneficial for monetary policy by improving the control over inflation and accelerating the implementation of countercyclical instruments when classical monetary policy instruments are no longer effective. Hence, non-Euro CEE countries would benefit the most from the introduction of a CBDC. Keywords: central bank digital currencies; financial stability; monetary policy; financial institution