Evolution of Regional Disparities in Romania – A Shift-share Analysis

The paper aims to assess the evolution of the development disparities (output, employment, overall and by sectors) in the regions and counties of Romania. Using classic and spatial shift-share analysis tools, we investigate the extent to which the existing interregional and, especially, intra-regional and inter-county inequalities can be attributed to different factors, such as industry mix, regional specific factors, and interregional interactions. The results reveal a diverse milieu and offer useful insights both for general and specifically targeted policies in the area of regional development. Keywords: Romanian regions, regional disparities, shift-share analysis, regional development JEL Classification: O18, R11, R12, R15

Entrepreneurial Developments and Challenges in the Sud Muntenia Region of Romania

Entrepreneurship is crucial for the economic development of a region. Using entropy, cluster and shift-share analysis techniques, the authors present a detailed picture of the entrepreneurial milieu of the Sud Muntenia region of Romania, pointing both towards the presence of an overall development process, and also to inter-county and intra-county sectoral imbalances, evolutionary discrepancies and lack of adequate use of territorial resources. Policy recommendations are proposed to address the future challenges for the balanced development of the Sud Muntenia region of Romania. Keywords: entrepreneurship, territorial development, regional business demography, sectoral structure, regional policy JEL Classification: O18, R11, R12, R30

Towards an Autonomous Walking Robot for Planetary Surfaces

In this paper, recent progress in the development of the DLR Crawler - a six-legged, actively compliant walking robot prototype - is presented. The robot implements a walking layer with a simple tripod and a more complex biologically inspired gait. Using a variety of proprioceptive sensors, different reflexes for reactively crossing obstacles within the walking height are realised. On top of the walking layer, a navigation layer provides the ability to autonomously navigate to a predefined goal point in unknown rough terrain using a stereo camera. A model of the environment is created, the terrain traversability is estimated and an optimal path is planned. The difficulty of the path can be influenced by behavioral parameters. Motion commands are sent to the walking layer and the gait pattern is switched according to the estimated terrain difficulty. The interaction between walking layer and navigation layer was tested in different experimental setups

European Performances regarding Flexicurity in the New Member States and Their Regions

In 2005, the revised Lisbon Strategy decided upon an integrated program of policy reforms envisaging the labor market in the context of globalization, demographic changes and fast technological progress, transposed into integrated guidelines. Such reforms aimed at increasing the employment rates, at improving work quality and labor productivity and social and territorial cohesion; in other words, at updating and upgrading the European labor markets. In order to reach such aims, the flexicurity concept was considered and employed as a key strategic framework. Flexicurity itself may be defined as an integrated strategy aiming to improve both the labor market flexibility and job security, implying successful switching between educational system and labor market, between jobs, between unemployment and inactivity and employment, and between job and retirement. We propose a possible assessment of the performances of the flexicurity policies by using certain composite indicators that allow for a multidimensional appraisal of flexicurity in the EU countries, providing also elements for comparison between the EU countries and regions (especially the New Member States and their regions).labor market, flexicurity, composite indices, New Member Stateslabor market, flexicurity, composite indices, New Member States

Self-Objectification, Eating Attitudes, And Sexual Coercion In College Women

The theory of self-objectification, developed by Fredrickson and Roberts (1997) explains how women view their bodies as objects. Studies have looked at self-objectification and its associated negative effects, such as cognitive decline, body shame, disordered eating, and low self-esteem in a number of different populations; however, no study to date has utilized path analysis to examine the role that self-objectification plays in unwanted sexual contact. If self-objectification does lead to decreases in self-esteem and increases in viewing one\u27s body as a sexual object, then women may feel they have little choice when faced with sexual coercion. The present study examined a path analysis model of self-objectification, body dissatisfaction, body shame, low self-esteem, eating attitudes, and sexual experiences self-reported by sorority and non-sorority college women. It was hypothesized that the path analysis would be supported more by the sorority participant data than the non-sorority participant data. Participants were asked to complete web-based questionnaires pertaining to the variables of interest. Separate path analyses were conducted to compare the model of fit between the sorority and non-sorority participants. The results suggested that the predicted model was a good fit for both samples, but that that the model was a better fit for the college women who were not in sororities. Implications and reasons for this are considered in the discussion section

ROMANIAN FOREIGN TRADE WITH THE EUROPEAN UNION-DINAMICS AND TRENDS

The paper presents briefly the evolutions in world trade and Romanian foreign trade, especially with the EU. A significant increase in exports, but also in imports was recorded over the interval 2000-2011, accompanied by major structural changes: decline in the shares of low value added and labor intensive products and advance of the more technologically advanced products. However, Romania's trade balance with the EU and most countries in this region remained negative, similar to other new Member States, which generally import more from than export to the EU. Years 2009-2011 marked a sharp drop and a relative stabilization of the trade deficit with the EU, due to significant reduction in exports, but especially in imports, and to the adjustments induced by the crisis after 2008

Some Perpetually Old and New Development Issues in the EU Regions: Competitiveness, Resilience, and Convergence: Where Do the New Member States Stand?

Competitiveness, resilience, and convergence were topics that for decades were listed among the hot issues that have animated the scientific and political debates in the area of economic growth and economic development. For the new member states (NMS) of the European Union, which have accessed the Union since 2004, competitiveness and cohesion became from the first days of their EU membership key topics on their national policy agendas, both as directives of the EU policies to be transposed and implemented nationally and as genuine domestic concerns to be addressed by each of the NMS, while resilience revealed its importance a little bit later, on the occasion of the global economic crisis of 2008–2010 and subsequent recession. Considering their importance for the current and future socioeconomic development of the new member states, the authors present and briefly analyze the topics of competitiveness, resilience, and cohesion in a joint framework, at regional level, based on their common roots within the economic growth and development theories, with the help of a minimal, but powerful, set of relevant indicators, over three significant recent periods: ante-crisis, crisis, and post-crisis. The findings point toward both different and similar competitiveness, resilience, and convergence developments within the new member states and across countries, regions, and periods, also revealing growth and adaptation patterns similar to those found in the more developed regions and countries of the EU, especially in the wake of the global economic crisis

THE BAROMETER OF THE ROMANIAN ECONOMY

The Barometer of the Romanian Economy" intends to be a mirror of the evolution of the Romanian economy and, at the same time, to be its global indicator of state and trend. "The Barometer of the Romanian Economy" was first published some years ago in Microeconomia aplicatã, on the initiative and under the co-ordination of Professor Cezar Mereuþã. Quarterly, during 1997-1999, eight issues were published until December 1999, when the publication ceased to exist. In 2000, "The Barometer of the Romanian Economy" reappeared as a semester topic in the Romanian Journal of Economic Forecasting, Nos.1-2. * Parts of the articles published on the site Barometer of the Romanian Economy, Internet Securities Inc., ISI Emerging Markets, http://www.securities.com.economic barometer, national economy, macroeconomic indicators and aggregates, economic analyses