Case – study Concerning the Effects of the Macroeconomic Variables on the Loan Portfolios Quality of the Romanian Banking Sector Using the VAR Model and Least Squares Method

The purpose of this article is to analyze the effects of Romania's macroeconomic variables of the loan portfolio quality of the banking sector. Specifically, the study seeks to emphasize the interdependent macroeconomic elements that influence the evolution of credit portfolio quality for commercial banks. To achieve these correlations we use both the VAR model and the method of least squares. Monetary and structural influences are highlighted by using cumulative impulse – answer functions. The results show that monetary factors have contributed greatly to the intensity of financial crises. Beyond these results, it can be concluded that the interest rate and real exchange rate play an important role in sizing the loan portfolio quality at the banking system level

Linking financial development to environmental performance index—the case of Romania

To make steps in society towards a more sustainable future, countries must meet the targets established by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Thus, factors that could impact the environmental indicators should be analysed. Therefore, this study aims to identify the correlations between financial development and environmental performance in Romania, during the period 1995–2018. Using composite indexes to assess financial development and the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) to express environmental performance, important results are obtained through the Canonical Cointegrating Regression (CCR) method. The explanatory variables used in the study are specific to the evaluation of the financial development of a country: access, depth and efficiency. The results show that, in the case of financial institutions, the access index and the depth index have a negative influence on the environmental performance index, while in the case of financial markets, the negative impact of the access index of financial markets can be observed. The efficiency index, both in the case of financial institutions and financial markets, generates a positive influence on environmental performance in Romania. Financial markets also address positive influences on the evolution of the environmental performance index

Online education management: a multivariate analysis of students' perspectives and challenges during online classes

The aim of the present study is to find solutions for better management of online education, starting from students’ perspectives regarding the challenges they encountered in the last two years when online courses were imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research methodology we used was partial least squares structural equation modelling based on data collected by applying a survey among students in Romanian universities. The novelty of our study consists in the proposed model, which has five variables: communication problems specific to online education, professors’ skill in conducting online classes, the quality of online education, the stress felt by students during online education, and the technical requirements of online education. The results revealed that despite challenges during online classes students benefited from a high-quality education because they had the support of their professors, all the educational resources that they needed, a device to connect from, and a very good internet connection. These findings are helpful for managers in the higher education system to create better educational strategies meant to satisfy the educational needs of students in the digital age

E-Commerce and the Factors Affecting Its Development in the Age of Digital Technology: Empirical Evidence at EU–27 Level

The purpose of this study is to identify the factors influencing e-commerce and to evaluate the long and short-term impacts on the development of e-commerce activity. After establishing the hypotheses to verify, we use multiple panel regressions to test the influence of education level, consumer’s residence, consumer’s labour market status, internet banking, mobile and non-mobile users on the development of e-commerce. For this matter, in this paper, by adopting the fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) method and a vector error correction model (VECM), we performed an empirical analysis of the nexus between education level, consumer’s residence, consumer’s labour market status, internet banking and mobile and non-mobile users and e-commerce, based on panel data for EU–27 countries from 2011 to 2020. The results of the study indicate that all the variables involved in the two econometric models and associated with education level, consumer’s residence, labour market status, internet banking, mobile and non-mobile users, all have significant impacts on the development of e-commerce. Most of the variables positively influence the development of e-commerce except for internet purchases by individuals un-employed and for internet purchases by non-mobile users that are negatively correlated with e-commerce activity

Risk Factors in Euro Adoption by Romania

The costs and benefits of adopting a unique currency have been studied and outlined by the optimum currency areas theory. This theory of Mundell has suffered modifications, a series of economists identifying and introducing a series of subsequent or additional criteria in the analysis. Starting from the costs indicated by the optimum currency areas theory and its further developments, I have identified a series of factors that I believe to represent future risks for the Romanian economy within the process of adopting the unique euro currency

Financing the Agri-Environmental Policy: Consequences on the Economic Growth and Environmental Quality in Romania

The aim of this research is to point out the impact that the application of the agri-environmental policy has on the economic growth and on the quality of the environment, these being the main aspects targeted by the practice of a sustainable agriculture. The research is conducted based on the agri-environment indicators for Romania for the period of time between 1997 and 2019. In order to answer the objectives of this whole research, we performed stationarity tests, a cointegration test and used the Fully Modified Least Squares (FMOLS) method to estimate the relationships between the variables included in the three proposed models. The obtained results highlighted the positive influence exerted by the area that was arranged for irrigation and the agricultural area that was arranged with drainage works on the GDP, but also the negative influence of the amount of natural fertilizers used in agriculture. The use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides generates an increase in environmental degradation, meaning CO2 emissions, while an increase in the agricultural area arranged with erosion control and land improvement works, leads to reducing environmental degradations. The limitations of this research lie in the fact that the agri-environmental indicators are specific to each country in the European Union and, therefore, it is difficult to make comparisons with other member states or to apply the measures recommended for Romania to other states with similar agricultural and economic systems

Digitization and Financial Performance of Banking Sectors Facing COVID-19 Challenges in Central and Eastern European Countries

The COVID-19 pandemic deeply impacted not only human wealth but also all segments of the economy as well as the field of technology. Thus, the purpose of this paper was to analyze the effects that the pandemic crisis and digitization have had on the financial performance of banks in Central and Eastern European Union countries (CEEC) during the 2010–2021 period. In order to capture an overview of the financial performance of the banking systems in the 10 CEECs, we used three variables—ROA, ROE and NPL—as reference indicators. In order to highlight the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the performance of banking systems, we used the number of reported cases as a variable, and to highlight the impact of digitization, we used as indicators the number of automated teller machines (ATMs) per 100,000 adults, number of certificates of secure internet servers, number of credit cards, number of debit cards, percentage of individuals using internet banking, and the number of commercial bank branches per 100,000 adults. Thus, the impact of digitization and the pandemic crisis generated by the COVID-19 virus on the performance of the banking systems in the 10 CEECs is outlined through three regression models using the robust regression model. The obtained results show that, as the infection rates with COVID-19 increased, the performance of banks measured by ROE and ROA decreased. Regarding the impact of digitization on performance, we note that an increase in the use of internet banking and the security of bank servers generated positive effects on the performance of banks. The results of the study are useful for banking product development departments, who should consider the important role of digitization in increasing the performance of banking services and thus design new digital products or ways to expand existing ones on a larger scale

Does Banking Accessibility Matter in Assuring the Economic Growth in the Digitization Context? Evidence from Central and Eastern European Countries

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the nexus between financial (banking) accessibility and economic growth in the context of the digitization process. Thus, we built a panel model to evaluate the correlations between the banking accessibility and economic growth during 2010–2021 period for the Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC). Furthermore, we applied the Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) method with eight independent variables measuring the degree of banking accessibility and the dependent variable for economic growth. The results show that improving financial accessibility positively influences economic growth and greater access to banking services does not necessarily stimulate economic growth. In the digitization context, the results are relevant for the policymakers outlining that investing more in digitization is important, but this does not necessarily help people to have more access to banking services because there is also a lack of will and financial education that restrain them from embracing the digital changes

Sustainable Development of Mountain Hotels through the Implementation of International Management Standards: The Romanian Case

This paper aims to identify the current level of implementation of the principles of sustainable development among hotels in the mountain area of Romania, how these standards influence the occupancy rate with the help of communication strategies, and to what extent the implementation of international management standards leads to an increase in the profitability rate. The research was carried out on the basis of questionnaires addressed to the hotels in the mountain areas of Romania, with information being collected from a number of 77 hotels, rated between 2 and 5 stars. The results obtained from the research highlighted the existence of positive correlations, both between the use of a communication strategy on the sustainable development objectives and the occupancy rate, as well as between the implementation of international management standards and the increase of the profitability rate