Often, in European Union and Romanian legal documents or in research reports, the term ‘vulnerable group’ is 

used similarly to disadvantaged, marginalized, excluded or risk group; all these concepts are related to the broader 

phenomenon of poverty. The common sense for vulnerability is ‘weakness’, ‘lack of defense’, ‘lack of means’. 

Vulnerable groups are groups without support, which are often in a chronic state of poverty, being unable to take 

advantage of opportunities or to defend themselves against problems that may arise. 

This paper presents a brief analysis of the structure and size of vulnerable groups in the European Union and 

an analysis of their particularities for Romania. 

The paper also proposes a systematic treatment, but not of all the consequences of the global crisis on 

Romanian vulnerable groups. The main features of the Roma minority and vulnerable women from Romania, their 

demographic profile and spatial distribution, the employment policies for these vulnerable groups are highlighted

BRÎNDUŞA RADU

MARIANA BĂLAN

RALUCA IOANA IORGULESCU

Directory of Open Access Journals

Annals of the „Constantin Brâncuşi” University of Târgu Jiu, Economy Series, Issue  3/2014  „ACADEMICA BRÂNCUŞI” PUBLISHER, ISSN 2344  – 3685/ISSN-L 1844 - 7007    CURRENT COORDINATES OF ROMANIAN VULNERABLE GROUPS IN THE EUROPEAN CONTEXT*    MARIANA BĂLAN PROF.UNIV.DR. CS I, INSTITUTE FOR ECONOMIC FORECASTING, BUCHAREST, ROMANIA, e-mail:dr.mariana.balan@gmail.com  BRÎNDUŞA RADU DRD. CS, INSTITUTE FOR ECONOMIC FORECASTING, BUCHAREST, ROMANIA, e-mail:bmradu@yahoo.com  RALUCA IOANA IORGULESCU DR. CS II, INSTITUTE FOR ECONOMIC FORECASTING, BUCHAREST, ROMANIA,  e-mail:raluca._i@lycos.com   Abstract Often, in European Union and Romanian legal documents or in research reports, the term ‘vulnerable group’ is used similarly to disadvantaged, marginalized, excluded or risk group; all these concepts are related to the broader phenomenon  of  poverty.  The  common  sense  for  vulnerability  is  ‘weakness’,  ‘lack  of  defense’,  ‘lack  of  means’. Vulnerable groups are groups without support, which are often in a chronic state of poverty, being unable to take advantage of opportunities or to defend themselves against problems that may arise. This paper presents a brief analysis of the structure and size of vulnerable groups in the European Union and an analysis of their particularities for Romania. The  paper  also  proposes  a  systematic  treatment,  but  not  of  all  the  consequences  of  the global crisis on Romanian vulnerable groups. The main features of the Roma minority and vulnerable women from Romania, their demographic profile and spatial distribution, the employment policies for these vulnerable groups are highlighted.  Keywords: vulnerable groups, Roma population, women as a vulnerable group, labor market insertion.  JEL Clasification: A14, J70   1.Introduction  Usually,  the  identification  of  vulnerable  groups  is  based  on  the  socio-demographic  characteristics  of  the population: gender, age, ethnicity, geographic location, education, occupation, etc. Often,  official  documents,  legal  documents  or  research  reports,  use the term „vulnerable group‟ similarly to disadvantaged, marginalized, excluded or risk group, all these concepts being related to the broader phenomenon of poverty. This represents a category cumulating risks regarding all the dimensions of life, a category unable to cope with difficulties. At European level, the Lisbon European Council agreed, in 2000, to fight social exclusion; the adopted policies consider the interdependence between the economic and the social fields. In the official documents of the European Union, although there is no formal definition of vulnerable groups, the  term  is  often  used  in relation to the concept of social inclusion, which implies that individuals have access to opportunities  and  resources  necessary  to  fully  participate  in  the  economic,  social  and cultural life and to enjoy a standard of living considered normal / desirable in the society in which they live [1].    In the Romanian legislation can be identified a number of terms related to vulnerable groups and their social inclusion / exclusion: poor people, marginalized, socially excluded people or at risk of social exclusion or vulnerable persons. Regarding social inclusion, the main objective of the Romanian government is to continue the efforts to develop an  inclusive  society  by  providing  integrated  services  for  social  inclusion  based  on  a  genuine  assessment  of  the                                                  * This paper presents partial results of the research theme for 2013: "Structures and sizes of vulnerable groups and ethnic minorities in Romania. Impact on socio-economic development. Analysis and Forecasts ", coordinator Dr. Mariana Bălan, within the research program of the Institute for Economic Forecasting-NIER, Romanian Academy. 4Annals of the „Constantin Brâncuşi” University of Târgu Jiu, Economy Series, Issue  3/2014  „ACADEMICA BRÂNCUŞI” PUBLISHER, ISSN 2344  – 3685/ISSN-L 1844 - 7007   individual, through the development of the tertiary sector and ensuring equal opportunities for all citizens with a special emphasis on vulnerable groups [2]. This paper presents a brief analysis of the structure, size and demographic distribution of vulnerable groups: the Roma minority and women as a vulnerable group.   Across Europe, Roma are 10-12 million people, the largest ethnic minority to be found in each of the 28 EU Member States. In Romania, Roma is the only ethnic group that has increased over the years, representing, at the 2011 census, 3.2% of the total population. Also, data from 1930-2011 censuses shows that, despite the fact that Roma had to change their living habits, their demographic characteristics have not changed. The 2011 Population and Housing Census data shows that the Roma minority is spread fairly evenly throughout the territory, with a minimum of 1.1% in Botosani County and a maximum of 8.8% in Mures County. Most Roma are found in the Central Region which includes Mures County where there is the highest percentage of minority Roma population  compared  to  the  total  population  of  the  county.  At  the  opposite  end  is  the North-East Region where Botosani County has the lowest percentage of Roma among all counties. At EU level, women are implicitly defined as a vulnerable group, their situation being a priority in most areas of regulatory action. In this case, vulnerability is understood as the absence of defenses, as well as being more likely to face certain risks. In  Romanian  official  documents,  the  woman appears in a particularly vulnerable position with regard to the issue  of  violence  and  to  employment  opportunities  in  the  labor  market.  Vulnerable  women  are  usually  victims  of domestic violence, subject to abuse, exploitation and trafficking  and „disadvantaged‟ women in the labor market.    2. General characteristics of the Roma in Romania  With  a  stable population of 20,121,641 people at the 2011 census, Romania is a country where a significant number of nationalities / ethnic groups (approximately 10.4% of total population) coexist and are officially recognized. Census data from 2011 [3] shows that the Hungarian population represents 6.1% of the total stable population of the country  and  621,573  thousand  (3.09%)  people  declared  Roma  as  their  ethnicity.  The 2011  census preliminarily recorded as stable population, based on their mother tongue, 245,677 thousand Roma people representing 1.43% of the total  resident  population;  they  are  relatively  evenly  distributed  in  the  territory,  with a share ranging from 0.1% in Covasna County and 9.32% in Mures County. Roma represent more than 6.0% of the resident population in Calarasi (8.1%),  Salaj (6.9%)  and Bihor (6.1%)  counties. However,  the  debate  over  the  real  number  of  this population continues, some researchers [4] claiming that approximately  4.3%  of  the  population  would  self-identify  as  Roma,  while  using  hetero-identification  a  number  of 1,515,600  people would be Roma. Comparative  analysis  of  2011,  2002,  1992,  1977,  1966,  1956  and  1930  census  data  regarding  the  Roma population in Romania  shows a significant increase after 1992  [5].  Figure 1 Share of Roma  by Romanian  Development  Regions in 2011 (%) North - West18%Center19%North - East7% South - East11%South - Muntenia16%Bucharest - Ilfov7%South - West Oltenia12% West10% Source: Rezultate definitive_RPL_2011, www.recensamântromania.ro, INS  5Annals of the „Constantin Brâncuşi” University of Târgu Jiu, Economy Series, Issue  3/2014  „ACADEMICA BRÂNCUŞI” PUBLISHER, ISSN 2344  – 3685/ISSN-L 1844 - 7007   Regarding the territorial distribution of the Roma, as 2011 Population and Housing Census results show, most Roma are found in development regions Muntenia South, Central and North West (Figure 1). With respect to the share of the Roma minority population relative to the total population, first ranks the Central Region which includes Mures County where there is the highest percentage of minority Roma population relative to the total county population (8.78%), followed by the North West, including Bihor and Salaj counties where the share of the Roma population in total population of the county exceeds 6% (6.13% in Bihor County and 6.95% in Salaj County). The lowest rankings are for the North-East Region and for Botosani County (1.06%).  3. The demographic  structure of the Roma population  The Roma population has a very young demographic structure determined by higher values of mortality and fertility rates for Roma compared to the general population.  At the 2002 census, 36.33% of the Roma population was represented by children (0-14 years), while the share of elderly / dependent people (65 +) was about 3.33%. Compared  with  the  Romanian  population,  the  age  distribution,  at  different  moments,  shows  that  Roma population is much younger than the majority of the population; population pyramid for the Roma, unlike a normal one, has an extremely  wide base and it becomes "sharp" after age 55 (Figure 2).  Therefore, the population that could be considered as active and of working age (15-64 years) represents 60.3%, which demonstrates the high potential of this population's participation in the labor market, including the development of local social economy projects.  Figure 2 Population  Pyramid  for Romanians  and  Roma  in 2002 Romanians  Roma -1000000 -800000 -600000 -400000 -200000 0 200000 400000 600000 800000 10000000-45-910-1415-1920-2425-2930-3435-3940-4445-4950-5455-5960-6465-6970-7475 and overFemale Male -40000 -30000 -20000 -10000 0 10000 20000 30000 400000-45-910-1415-1920-2425-2930-3435-3940-4445-4950-5455-5960-6465-6970-7475 and overFemale Male Source: Rezultate definitive_RPL_2011, www.recensamântromania.ro, INS  Gender distribution for this segment of the population (15-64 years) was almost identical: men 60.55%, women 60.11%. The analysis of age distribution data by gender shows that, in 2002, for age groups 45-49 years and 50-54 years the number of men was very close to that of women in these groups (a difference of 28, respectively 11 people). Before this age there is a dominance of males: accentuated for age groups 0-29 years (on average, the number of Roma men was higher than the number of Roma women with 1,700 people), the difference being reduced for age groups 30-44 years, on average, to 780 people. Starting with age group 55-59 years, women‟s share is dominant.  4. Women as a vulnerable group  Equality  between  women  and  men  is  considered  a  fundamental  right,  a  common  value  and  a  necessary condition for achieving EU growth, employment, labor and social cohesion. Women are considered vulnerable on the grounds  of:  lower  female  employment  rate  compared  to  men  (58.6%  vs.  70.7%  ),  although  women  have  a  higher educational level; a large number of women work part-time; women are paid less than men, on average 18% less per hour of work; the risk of poverty is higher for women than for men since 17.1% of women are poor compared to 15.3% of men, and for seniors 65 and over, the difference is even higher (20.1% for women and 14.9% for men); women are underrepresented in positions of economic and political decision-making, although their share in these areas is high; the sharing out of family responsibilities is still strongly unequal; more often women are victims of violence and human trafficking. 6Annals of the „Constantin Brâncuşi” University of Târgu Jiu, Economy Series, Issue  3/2014  „ACADEMICA BRÂNCUŞI” PUBLISHER, ISSN 2344  – 3685/ISSN-L 1844 - 7007   The Romanian National Development Plan 2007-2013 states that "the risk of social exclusion is more strongly manifested for women than for men in all stages of life, as a reflection of their low participation in the labor market. The  risk  of  poverty  is  particularly  higher  among older women and single parents with dependent children, women representing the predominant group" [6]. In  Romania,  women‟s  employment  situation  can  not  be  regarded  as  overall  problematic.  As  a  result  of  a tradition strengthened during the socialist regime, women have relatively high education and labor market participation levels. However, for certain categories of women, the sector and the type of occupations involved, the type of contract and other similar issues can lead to a situation of vulnerability. For them, the social economy can be a form of support, an opportunity to solve their professional integration and development needs. Female employment follows the general pattern of employment in Romania (valid also for men) with low levels and a declining trend. In 2012, the employment rate of women (20-64 years) in Romania had one of the lowest values in  Europe:  53.3%  (the  EU  average  is  62.3%).  Female  employment  in  Romania  is  comparable  to  that  in  southern countries such as Spain, Greece, Italy (with a traditional pattern of low participation of women in the labor market), but much lower than in the Nordic countries (with shares over 70%) and even compared to most of the former socialist countries [7]. Women were affected by the decline in the rate of employment in a higher proportion than men. The difference in employment rates for women and for men is considerable and constant in time. In recent years, it has increased, probably due to the economic crisis that has affected more the female population. Compared to men, a lower employment rate is recorded mainly for the female population with a low or average education level, the difference being constant over time. Women with higher education are as likely as men to fill a job opening; this is indicated by the small difference in employment recorded for the two population groups . In 2012, for women unemployment rate was 4.9%,  lower than for men (6.1%). In Romania, compared to other European countries, the wage gap between men and women is not high and it has a downward trend. If in 2004 it was 14%, today it is less than 9%, considerably lower than the average of 17.2% for the Member States (according to Eurostat). Romania falls into the category of countries with a low difference, less than 10%, along with Italy, Malta, Poland, Slovenia, Portugal and Belgium. Over two thirds of women in Romania have a paid job. Part-time employment is predominantly a characteristic of  the  female  population  (for  EU-27,  about a third of women are employed part-time, compared to less than 8% of men).   5. Conclusions  Both at European level and in Romania, the Roma minority population is one of the most vulnerable groups at risk of social and labor market exclusion, with recorded employment rates substantially lower than the figures available for the majority population. Among the factors contributing  to the social and economic exclusion of Roma could be mentioned: the low level of education and lack of professional qualifications, and prejudice and discrimination. The analysis of the demographic evolution and spatial distribution of Roma communities, based on data from population censuses starting with 1930, allow for some conclusions, among which may be mentioned:  regarding  the  population  size  of  the  Roma minority: there is an increase of approximately 15% during 2002-2011,  of 33.5%  during 1992-2002  and an overall increase of 53.6%  for the period 1992-2011;  when ranking Romanian regions by the share of the Roma minority population relative to total population, the Central Region ranks first followed by the North West Region;  the Roma population pyramid, unlike the normal one, has an extremely broad base and its "sharpening" is accentuated after age 55, indicating that it is a much younger population than the majority; Among the arguments in favor of women's vulnerability could be considered:  a lower female employment rate than for men (58.5% vs. 74.5%), although women have a higher level of education;  a large number of women work part-time;  women are paid less than men, on average 18% less for each hour of work.  6. Bibliography  [1] *** “Ce poate face politica socială pentru dvs.” European Comission, Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, 2010,  Incluziunea şi egalitatea, pd. 23, www.ec.  europa.eu/social; [2]  ***  Raportul  Naţional  Strategic  privind  protecţia  socială  şi incluziunea socială 2008-2010, Guvernul României, 2008,  www.gov.ro; [3] *** Rezultate definitive_RPL_2011, Institutul Naţional de Statistică www.insse.ro; [4] Zamfir,  C. & Preda, M. (coord.), Romii  în România,  Editura Expert,  Bucureşti, 2002; [5] *** Statistici, Agenţia Naţională pentru Romi, www.anr.gov.ro; 7Annals of the „Constantin Brâncuşi” University of Târgu Jiu, Economy Series, Issue  3/2014  „ACADEMICA BRÂNCUŞI” PUBLISHER, ISSN 2344  – 3685/ISSN-L 1844 - 7007   [6] *** Planul Naţional de Dezvoltare 2007-2013,  www.aippimm.ro,  p. 297;   [7] *** Statistici Eurostat, ec.europa.eu/eurostat. 8

CURRENT COORDINATES OF ROMANIAN VULNERABLE GROUPS IN THE EUROPEAN CONTEXT

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Directory of Open Access Journals