ROMANIA - PORTUGAL: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE TWO COUNTRIESâ€(tm) LABOUR MARKETS

Our choice was justified by the fact that between the two countries exist some features that make them interesting to study from the employment point of view. Thus, both countries are Latin and this is why we consider they are comparable, because employment means people, more precisely mentalities and attitudes to work. We considered that it is interesting to see how the labour market from the east Latin Europe has evolved, in a comparable, crucial period, with its counterpart from west Latin Europe. First of all, we would like to point out the fact that our intention is to analyse the periods which from the economic history point of view have influenced in a decisive manner the present evolution of the two countries. The Portugal labour market is a subject of real scientific interest (we would like to mention that even Michael Porter was interested by this topic). Our paper tries to emphasize the common and different features of the two labour markets, in order to facilitate an experience sharing process on this topic. To achieve the paperâ€(tm)s objectives statistical and cluster analysis have been used. This is one of the best ways to capture the influence of determinant factors on labour market performance. The degree of originality is given by the assumed objectives, namely studying some very up-to-date problems from an interconnected perspective (historical similarities, structural changes, labour market performance) and analyzing the Romanian situation compared to other EU countries, i.e. Portugal. The main impact of the paper will be on the practical level through the model outcomes and conclusions. One of the objectives is to look for solutions to the problems identified and to persuade policy makers to give them a greater importance. Our main contribution is represented by the fact that we have approached this topic from an economic and historical perspective, trying to find explanations for the present situation in the modern past of the two nations.labour market, structural changes, education, cluster analysis, EU accession

REGIONAL COMPETITIVENESS DEVELOPMENT BASED ON HUMAN RESOURCES

Into the actual social and economic context, characterised by the challenges of the globalisation process, the need of redefining the state role in the economy, the switch to the knowledge based economy, the problem of increasing the national and regionalcompetitiveness, regional development, human resources, statistical analysis, econometrical models

THE ROLE OF EDUCATION IN EXPLAINING YOUTH LABOUR MARKET IMBALANCES IN CEE COUNTRIES

The main aim of this paper is to investigate the determinants of youth labour market performances and their influence on the future economic and social development of a country. The objectives refer to the assessment of demographic and labour market trends for young people, the analysis of the factors responsible for increasing youth unemployment and for the differences between skilled and unskilled young people concerning unemployment rates. To achieve the paper’s objectives several statistical and econometric models (descriptive statistics, correlation and regression analysis) have been used. The main interest was to look for the key driver of youth labour market sustainable performances. The degree of originality is given by our choice to analyse youth labour market dynamics from an interconnected perspective (demographic trends, youth unemployment, education) and to apply the model for 10 CEE countries (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, and Slovakia) in order to compare their performances

Labour Market and Educational Mismatches in Romania

AbstractThe objective of this paper is to study Romanian employees’ perceptions on the relationship between education system performance and labour market requirements. The research was focused on the analysis of the labour market in Romania in terms of the skills required by the current job. The questions were aimed at studying three main aspects related to the current jobs of Romanian employees: general characteristics (length of service, source of information about current job, the degree of satisfaction related to different aspects of it), mismatches between the level or type of education and job requirements (time to become effective, how they acquired knowledge and skills held, the contribution of education and training to improve performance in current job, over-qualification versus under-qualification, over-education versus under-education), situation in terms of skills held and those required by the workplace (skill obsolescence, skill shortages, skill gap). The results show that even in a crisis period when unemployment is at high values, employers have difficulties in finding appropriate qualifications for some jobs, or the right candidate for the vacancies. Even current employees lack some important abilities or skills such as: motivation, loyalty or responsibility

Competitivitatea regiunilor din România in contextul integrarii in Uniunea Europeana

When the determinants of regional competition (RC) are discussed two categories of studies can be distinguished: the first category approaches RC as a cumulative result of more determinant factors, while the second one focuses on a particular driver of competitiveness. The factors most frequently taken into considerations refer to employment and productivity level, sectorial structure of employment, demographic trends, investments, investment in knowledge economy assets, infrastructure endowment, level and nature of education, innovation and R&D. In the current debates about European economic and social cohesion RC represents a key issue. As pointed out in a paper by Nijkamp (1997) and confirmed by the international experience, in an increasing regional competition there will be always winners and losers but “it is important to recognize the difference between absolute and relative winners (or losers)”. Based on these overall considerations this paper proposes an insight into Romanian regions’ competitiveness, mainly from human resources perspective. Employing data offered by both Romanian and EU official statistics it aims to provide a hierarchy of Romanian regions from their competitiveness viewpoint in national context as well as to identify the competitive advantages of Romania’s human resources in the new context generated by its accession to the EU.regional competitiveness; human resources; Romanian regions; competitive advantages; European Union

Green entrepreneurship in challenging times: a quantitative approach for European countries

The aim of the study is to deep dive into the potential of green entrepreneurship and its drivers in a time of multiple challenges when green growth seeks to reconcile economic and sustainable development goals. The need for responsible business models has become evident in recent years, and companies that offer green products or services are creative, eco-friendly growth incubators and important economic actors that can change the future of society. We used a logistic regression model for 7326 companies from 36 European countries to identify what influences the decision to go green, including supply and demand factors, measures for resource efficiency and targeted policies. We found that the company’s age, its financial performance, the country’s level of development, as well as the incentive measures have a significant potential of stimulating green entrepreneurship. Our results highlight the overwhelming importance of financing. Firms in less developed countries face difficulties in developing green products and services, so support programs are needed to build green entrepreneurship in some regions. Many entrepreneurs in less developed countries are highly educated, creative, and innovative, so they can successfully run sustainable business models if the transfer of good practices is accompanied by an infusion of capita

Nezaposlenost i nepodudarnost tržišta rada u zemljama Europske Unije

The purpose of this paper is to investigate some of the main drivers of high unemployment rates in the European Union countries starting from two sources highlighted in the economic literature: the shortfall of the aggregate demand and the increasing labour market mismatches. Our analysis is based on a panel database and focuses on two objectives: to measure the long and short-term impact of GDP growth on unemployment over recent years for different categories of labour market participants (young, older and low educated workers) and to evaluate the relationship between mismatches related to skills (educational and occupational) and unemployment. One of the main conclusions is that unemployment rates of young and low educated workers are more responsive to economic growth variations both in the long and short run, while unemployment rates of older workers show a greater capacity of adjustment. In addition, occupational mismatches seem to have a significant long-term impact on the changes in unemployment of all categories of unemployed, whereas the short run effect is rather mixed, varying across countries. One explanation is the fact that during crisis, economy’s structure tends to change more rapidly than labour market and educational system can adapt.Svrha ovog rada je istražiti neke od glavnih uzroka visoke stope nezaposlenosti u zemljama Europske unije polazeći od dva ključna izvora u ekonomskoj literaturi: nedostatak ukupne potražnje i sve veće nepodudarnosti na tržištu rada. Analiza je provedena na temelju panel podataka i fokusira se na dva cilja: izmjeriti kratkoročni i dugoročni utjecaj rasta BDP na nezaposlenost za razne kategorije sudionika na tržištu rada (mladi, stari i radnici s nižom stručnom spremom) i ocijeniti odnos nepodudarnosti između vještina (obrazovnih i profesionalnih) i nezaposlenosti. Jedan od glavnih zaključaka jest da su promjene u stopama nezaposlenosti mladih i nisko obrazovanih osoba uvelike pod utjecajem dinamičnog ekonomskog rasta kako dugoročno, tako i kratkoročno, dok stope nezaposlenosti među starijima ukazuju na veću mogućnost prilagodbe. Nadalje, izgleda da profesionalna nepodudarnost ima značajan dugoročni utjecaj na promjenu u stopi nezaposlenosti svih kategorija nezaposlenih, dok je kratkoročni utjecaj mješovit i varira od zemlje do zemlje. Jedno objašnjenje je činjenica da se ekonomska struktura za vrijeme krize može mnogo brže mijenjati nego što se tržište rada i obrazovni sustav mogu prilagoditi

Digital divide, skills and perceptions on digitalisation in the European Union - Towards a smart labour market

The new technologies, the digitalisation of processes and automation of work will change the manner of doing business, working and living. The effects of digitalisation on the economy, society and quality of life imply significant challenges of the labour market. All the participants will be concerned: authorities, companies and ordinary people. The objective of this research is to analyse the perceptions of the EU citizens about digitalisation and to highlight the differences among specific socio-demographic groups. The analysis is grounded on a composite methodology, comprising several statistical and econometric methods that provide scientific support to achieved conclusions: statistical analysis (with the primary goal to shed light on the EU citizens' perceptions about their digital technology skills), TwoStep Cluster Analysis (TSCA) (with the purpose to identify the ‘digital vulnerable groups’ and then the ‘digital vulnerable countries’ in terms of the exposure to digital divide) and logistic regression (with the main aim to quantify the impact of the relevant factors on citizens’ perceptions about digitalisation). We identified a group of respondents evaluating themselves as having meagre digital skills, very afraid that robots could steal their jobs and with low usage of the internet. They are elderly, with a low level of education, manual workers or not working, with a relatively low level of income and little Internet use. The originality of our approach is given by the fact that we focused on investigating if digital divide leads to the creation of vulnerable groups (citizens and/or countries) and if there are specific patterns in terms of the perception on being skilled in the use of digital technologies in daily life or at work and of the understanding that robots replace human on the labour market. We aim to find relevant factors for the labour market to assume targeted measures that should be taken for a better match of supply and demand on the labour market and for creating a smart labour market. It is highly needed to increase the people's confidence in their skills level and to make the most of digitalisation of the societies. The results show consistent patterns in term of socio-demographic characteristics and perception towards digitalisation. The latter will have a meaningful impact on the economy and the society in the European Union in the next period. That is why a positive attitude towards digitalisation is essential for transforming this relatively new challenge into an excellent opportunity for the future

Unemployment and sectoral competitiveness in Southern European Union countries. Facts and policy implications

This article addresses the problem of the main factors driving sectoral unemployment in the Mediterranean countries most affected by this phenomenon. The choice of the four countries (Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal) relies on the fact that they are dealing with the highest unemployment rates in the European Union and a certain typology of the economic structure. The originality of our research is offered by its direction, less tackled until now, namely the focus on the particularities of the economic sectors, trying to capture differences between them. The importance and the impact of the results are supported by the methods used to produce them, indicators and econometric models that are on trend and bring extra information to available studies. Descriptive statistics and mismatch indexes are used to outline the economic and labour market structure, while the econometric models built on panel data capture the impact of factors such as GVA growth, specialization and labour market mismatches on the unemployment rate at six economic sectors level. Our paper makes three contributions to the literature. First, we have demonstrated that agriculture is the sector of activity less sensitive to output fluctuations in terms of unemployment and can become a buffer for the jobless in times of recessions. Second, we have proved that industry, as a whole, is highly responsive to economic developments and bad specialization could worsen unemployment situation in this sector. Third, we showed that educational mismatches have a significant impact on unemployment in those sectors of activity that employ low educated workforce