IDENTIFYING THE INDUSTRY BUSINESS CYCLE USING THE MARKOV SWITCHING APPROACH IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

In this article we use a Markov Switching model with two lags to identify and to compare the business cycle in Romania, Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland using data on industrial production for the 1991-2011 period. We use a model with two regimes that reflect the economic expansions and contractions. The Markov Switching models have been widely used in order to detect and to date the business cycle turning points. However, it should be pointed out that the industrial production may have a little bit different dynamics than the quarterly gross domestic product which is the main measure of economic activity. Based on the smoothed regime probabilities the model track three recessionary periods of the Romanian economy in 1991, 1997 and 2009 and two recessionary periods for the other countries in 1991 and 2009. Mean yoy growth of IPI is 5.01% during expansion periods, while it switches to -18.6% during contraction periods for the Romanian economy. In comparison, mean yoy growth of IPI is 7.25% during expansion periods, while it switches to -13.4% during contraction periods for the Poland economy. Furthermore, in Romania, the duration of the three recessions in months was 25, 25 and 9 months. In Poland, the duration of the two recessions was 16 and 10 months. The results of the study may be used in order to compare the business cycle in Central and Eastern European countries with the Euro Area business cycle

THE IMPACT OF POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC NEWS ON THE EURO/RON EXCHANGE RATE: A GARCH APPROACH

Within this study we try to capture the impact of political news and economic news from euro area on the exchange rate between Romanian currency and euro. In order to do this we used a GARCH model. As we observed, both variables influence the exchange rate, this fact implying national currency depreciation and a volatility growth. The political news and the economic news positively affect the euro/ron exchange rate volatility. The two factors conjugation, as it has happened in the recent period is to be avoided because it can have financial and economic consequences with a very high cost for Romania

Researches and studies regarding brazed aluminium alloys microstructure used in aeronautic industry

Brazing is applied to the merge of the pieces which are most required, tensile strength of the solder can reach high values. By brazing there can be assembled pieces of most metals and ferrous and nonferrous alloys, with high melting temperature. This paper presents an analysis of the microstructure of materials from a brazed merge of aluminum alloy L103 which is often used to produce pieces of aeronautical industry. Brazing material was performed using several technologies, and after examination of the microstructure of materials from the merge area it was established as optimal technology the technology which consist of pickling in Aloclene 100 solution with the deposition of filler material on both sides of the base material and the use of spectral acetylene and neutral flame. Key words

Geochemistry and tectonic development of Cenozoic magmatism in the Carpathian–Pannonian region

This review considers the magmatic processes in the Carpathian–Pannonian Region (CPR) from Early Miocene to Recent times, as well as the contemporaneous magmatism at its southern boundary in the Dinaride and Balkans regions. This geodynamic system was controlled by the Cretaceous to Neogene subduction and collision of Africa with Eurasia, especially by Adria that generated the Alps to the north, the Dinaride–Hellenide belt to the east and caused extrusion, collision and inversion tectonics in the CPR. This long-lived subduction system supplied the mantle lithosphere with various subduction components. The CPR contains magmatic rocks of highly diverse compositions (calc-alkaline, K-alkalic, ultrapotassic and Na-alkalic), all generated in response to complex post-collisional tectonic processes. These processes formed extensional basins in response to an interplay of compression and extension within two microplates: ALCAPA and Tisza–Dacia. Competition between the different tectonic processes at both local and regional scales caused variations in the associated magmatism, mainly as a result of extension and differences in the rheological properties and composition of the lithosphere. Extension led to disintegration of the microplates that finally developed into two basin systems: the Pannonian and Transylvanian basins. The southern border of the CPR is edged by the Adria microplate via Sava and Vardar zones that acted as regional transcurrent tectonic areas during Miocene–Recent times. Major, trace element and isotopic data of post-Early Miocene magmatic rocks from the CPR suggest that subduction components were preserved in the lithospheric mantle after the Cretaceous–Miocene subduction and were reactivated especially by extensional tectonic processes that allowed uprise of the asthenosphere. Changes in the composition of the mantle through time support geodynamic scenarios of post-collision and extension processes linked to the evolution of the main blocks and their boundary relations. Weak lithospheric blocks (i.e. ALCAPA and western Tisza) generated the Pannonian basin and the adjacent Styrian, Transdanubian and Zărand basins which show high rates of vertical movement accompanied by a range of magmatic compositions. Strong lithospheric blocks (i.e. Dacia) were only marginally deformed, where strike–slip faulting was associated with magmatism and extension. At the boundary of Adria and Tisza–Dacia strike–slip tectonics and core complex extension were associated with small volume Miocene magmatism in narrow extensional sedimentary basins or granitoids in core-complex detachment systems along older suture zones (Sava and Vardar) accommodating the extension in the Pannonian basin and afterward Pliocene–Quaternary inversion. Magmas of various compositions appear to have acted as lubricants in a range of tectonic processes

BANK EFFICIENCY AND PRODUCTIVITY PATTERNS IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

In this paper we use data envelopment analysis and Luenberger index to estimate the efficiency and the productivity, respectively, of the credit institutions in the banking systems of Central and Eastern Europe over the period 2004 to 2013. In recent years, the global financial crisis has significantly affected the banking systems of the transition countries. Hence, efficiency is of major importance for the stability of the credit institutions. The results of our research highlight some important aspects. The metafrontier efficiency scores reveal significant differences among commercial banks, indicating a potential to increase these scores, as well as a high heterogeneity. Our findings show a higher performance for the banking systems in the Czech Republic and Baltic countries, while those in Croatia and Romania are lagging behind. We also find very low productivity growth rates over the sample period, which signalize stagnation

An Analysis of Emerging Banking Systems in Central and Eastern Europe

This study intends to provide a descriptive analysis of the efficiency of the credit institutions from Central and Eastern European ́s emerging countries during 2004-2013. To this purpose, we have used a series of indicators to quantify efficiency, but at the same time we focused on determining the risk level undertaken by the credit institutions, and on the macroeconomic characteristics of the analysed countries. The results have shown a high level of heterogeneity for the banking systems included in our study. Thus, significant differences were observed between the efficiency of the credit institutions, and also between the levels of risk undertaken by these