- I am professor of international competition at Bucharest University of Economic Studies (ASE). My papers cover the th... moreI am professor of international competition at Bucharest University of Economic Studies (ASE). My papers cover the thematic area of trade and development: market integration, international specialization, competitiveness and international competition. In 2007, I founded the Journal of Philosophical Economics, covering areas of interest connected with the reorientation of economics towards landmark philosophical ideas about society and modern thinking.edit
Philosophers may find too little philosophy in this collection and economists may find too little or peripheral economic content on the fundamental questions of their science. With this risk, which we do not minimize and which we hope to... more
Philosophers may find too little philosophy in this collection and economists may find too little or peripheral economic content on the fundamental questions of their science. With this risk, which we do not minimize and which we hope to prove unfounded, we offer this collection of published papers with two expected benefits. The first is to give a coherent and consistent view of the essence of economic reasoning, which we call historical reasoning. The second objective is to attract a wider audience interested in the subject by publishing them in English, the original language of publication. Some of the present contributions have been translated into Romanian in The Logic of Economic Reasoning (Cojanu 2010), but other published and unpublished texts have also been included in this volume.
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This White Paper for Unlocking the Economic Potential of the Cultural and Creative Sectors has started as an initiative of the Prime Minister Office, in February 2016, following the Proposal to Unlock the Economic Potential of the... more
This White Paper for Unlocking the Economic Potential of the Cultural and Creative Sectors has started as an initiative of the Prime Minister Office, in February 2016, following the Proposal to Unlock the Economic Potential of the Cultural and Creative Sectors in Romania.
The objectives of this Proposal, which this document attempts to approach, are as follows:
• Establish a cross-cutting framework for public policies at the government level, to support cultural and creative sectors;
• Description of new competencies the CCSs need or are expected to need in the near future;
• Encourage a wider systematic collaboration between the network of public cultural institutions and the network of private organisations, academic and scientific institutions and public-private initiatives to support creative initiatives;
• Create the conditions required to facilitate access to banking and non-banking financing. Investors and banks do not have a good enough understanding of the economic value and potential of the CCSs. Public awareness needs to be built with regard to the urgent need to put in place guarantee schemes and other financial mechanisms to encourage funding in the field of CCS;
• Catalyze the spillover effects of the CCS in as many economic and social contexts as possible, and in particular at local level.
Under these circumstances, the objectives of this White Paper are as follows:
• define the cultural and creative sectors,
• describe the current state of the CCSs,
• highlight the economic and social potential of the CCSs.
This White Paper aims at drawing a few guidelines, based on which specific interventions may be built in the future by each sector or domain. The White Paper is intended to gather together under the broader concept of Cultural and Creative Sectors the domains which are traditionally market-oriented and are therefore more likely to generate economic growth and other fields which, even if are less market-oriented, they play a more powerful social role (community cohesion and
inclusion). We are referring mainly to the network that provides unrestricted access of all citizens to the cultural act.
The objectives of this Proposal, which this document attempts to approach, are as follows:
• Establish a cross-cutting framework for public policies at the government level, to support cultural and creative sectors;
• Description of new competencies the CCSs need or are expected to need in the near future;
• Encourage a wider systematic collaboration between the network of public cultural institutions and the network of private organisations, academic and scientific institutions and public-private initiatives to support creative initiatives;
• Create the conditions required to facilitate access to banking and non-banking financing. Investors and banks do not have a good enough understanding of the economic value and potential of the CCSs. Public awareness needs to be built with regard to the urgent need to put in place guarantee schemes and other financial mechanisms to encourage funding in the field of CCS;
• Catalyze the spillover effects of the CCS in as many economic and social contexts as possible, and in particular at local level.
Under these circumstances, the objectives of this White Paper are as follows:
• define the cultural and creative sectors,
• describe the current state of the CCSs,
• highlight the economic and social potential of the CCSs.
This White Paper aims at drawing a few guidelines, based on which specific interventions may be built in the future by each sector or domain. The White Paper is intended to gather together under the broader concept of Cultural and Creative Sectors the domains which are traditionally market-oriented and are therefore more likely to generate economic growth and other fields which, even if are less market-oriented, they play a more powerful social role (community cohesion and
inclusion). We are referring mainly to the network that provides unrestricted access of all citizens to the cultural act.
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Sectoarele culturale și creative din România. Importanța economică și contextul competitiv este o colecție de studii care au ca temă economia creativă. Sectoarele culturale și creative sunt analizate din perspectiva valorilor culturale,... more
Sectoarele culturale și creative din România. Importanța economică și contextul competitiv este o colecție de studii care au ca temă economia creativă. Sectoarele culturale și creative sunt analizate din perspectiva valorilor culturale, sociale și economice pe care le generează.
Autorii studiilor prezintă relația dintre creativitate, cultură, economie și societate ca fiind una interdependentă. Principalele teme abordate sunt modul de definire a acestor sectoare, problematica drepturilor de autor, rolul economic și potențialul de creștere la nivel național, comerțul la nivel internațional sau în mediul virtual, efectele de incluziune socială, antreprenoriatul, inovarea și avantajele competitive din cadrul acestor sectoare.
Autorii studiilor prezintă relația dintre creativitate, cultură, economie și societate ca fiind una interdependentă. Principalele teme abordate sunt modul de definire a acestor sectoare, problematica drepturilor de autor, rolul economic și potențialul de creștere la nivel național, comerțul la nivel internațional sau în mediul virtual, efectele de incluziune socială, antreprenoriatul, inovarea și avantajele competitive din cadrul acestor sectoare.
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Editura ASE, Bucuresti, 2003
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This paper attempts to provide insights into the current network configurations of the food-trade system and to study the short-term effects of one of the ongoing and lasting global crises, the Ukraine War, on the link intensity. Towards... more
This paper attempts to provide insights into the current network configurations of the food-trade system and to study the short-term effects of one of the ongoing and lasting global crises, the Ukraine War, on the link intensity. Towards this end, this analysis (1) reveals the pattern of countries' network positions in two most traded subcategories of the cereal network: wheat and meslin, and maize or corn, and (2) discusses the characteristics of the global cereal networks over the 2021-2022 period. The results highlight several features of the trade networks: (1) the distribution of cereal trade is highly concentrated, with considerable dependency on a small number of exporters and a low import diversification, making the system rigid and prone to shocks; (2) a central role of several key developed countries that leave many developing countries outside the centre of the networks; (3) a high network heterogeneity which confirms the propensity to have hub nodes. Particular indicators show that the highest level of interconnectivity is specific to the cereals' export network, the densest networks are the maize or corn ones, and the greatest heterogeneity appears for the cereals export network.
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The objective of this paper 2 is to find several answers by investigating the extent to which the cross-border cooperation structures (CBCS) act as de facto emerging polities. The scope of research is limited to the layer of territorial... more
The objective of this paper 2 is to find several answers by investigating the extent to which the cross-border cooperation structures (CBCS) act as de facto emerging polities. The scope of research is limited to the layer of territorial cooperation, namely the policy space or more exactly the thematic agendas of a sample of selected CBCS: Council of the Baltic Sea States, Greater Region, and Nordic Council, Oresund Region (OR) and South Eastern European Region (SEER). We design a methodological approach based on a content analysis of public documents or papers specific to each area. For two of the selected regions – Baltic and Oresund – the results support the working hypothesis that a converging approach towards issues of common concern may be a condition for deeper regional integration and, more specifically, for the viability of emerging polities. This research, however, did not look farther than the policy space that is relevant for the territorial integration of markets, leaving aside the economic and the socio-cultural spaces, for which different conceptual frameworks and methodologies are needed.
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The paper attempts to substantiate the conjecture of an optimum competitive area, tentatively referred to as a certain pattern of spatially-defined areas conducive to competitive development for industries or firms in such a way that... more
The paper attempts to substantiate the conjecture of an optimum competitive area, tentatively referred to as a certain pattern of spatially-defined areas conducive to competitive development for industries or firms in such a way that benefits from competition are maximized. ...
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Abstract English: This article emphasizes the conceptual need for an agreement on reassigning priorities of competitive development from policies aiming at reducing regional differences to policies encouraging functional integration of a... more
Abstract English: This article emphasizes the conceptual need for an agreement on reassigning priorities of competitive development from policies aiming at reducing regional differences to policies encouraging functional integration of a development area. The ...
This paper aims to align historical reason with the debate on freedom and liberalism in social science. We subject our criticism of liberalism to two intellectual traditions, economism and the eclectic view, which are divided by the role... more
This paper aims to align historical reason with the debate on freedom and liberalism in social science. We subject our criticism of liberalism to two intellectual traditions, economism and the eclectic view, which are divided by the role freedom plays in the unfolding of economic events. Drawing on lessons from the historical nature of liberalism, we conclude with two implications for understanding the value of freedom in socio-economic research. First, the value of freedom, as well as other social values such as equality and justice, cannot be defined within the exclusive scope of a social science discipline, but must capture the epistemological diversity of what is known as the common nature of peoples. Secondly, this modified principle of liberalism manifests itself as a circumstantial deliberation that belongs to a carefully constructed causal history of social processes. The logic of historical reason reflects a shared epistemological predilection in social sciences to search for evolutions of dual characters whose meaning can be revealed only in the historical circumstances of their emergence.
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Purpose This paper aims to tackle in turn the merits and limits of Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen's entropic model, as well as its implications for the methodological discourse in economics. This appraisal of the... more
Purpose This paper aims to tackle in turn the merits and limits of Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen's entropic model, as well as its implications for the methodological discourse in economics. This appraisal of the Georgescu-Roegen's work emphasizes the emergence of the entropic ...
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If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note... more
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. ...
This study revisits key arguments about method which are part of the traditional Romanian thought. It appears that the domestic concerns were synchronously linked to internationally most debated ideas. The present discussion focuses on... more
This study revisits key arguments about method which are part of the traditional Romanian thought. It appears that the domestic concerns were synchronously linked to internationally most debated ideas. The present discussion focuses on the methodological dichotomy ...
Cojanu, Valentin, „Societatea modernă și nevoile educaționale”, în P. T. Frangopol (ed.), Educația și cercetarea românească, Cluj-Napoca: Editura Casa Cărții, 2018, pp. 60-71.
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This paper is inspired by the latest G3A's (2015) Report and its subsequent initiative to open the debate about the role of science policy in a country project for Romania. We argue that a long-term vision for science should be about the... more
This paper is inspired by the latest G3A's (2015) Report and its subsequent initiative to open the debate about the role of science policy in a country project for Romania. We argue that a long-term vision for science should be about the youngest generation, people that will make decisions in and for Romania at the horizon of 2050. To articulate that vision, a mechanism should be implemented around three directions of action, namely (1) a complementary (or rather compensatory) effort of the leading scholars with a view to consolidating their disciplinary domains in Romania; (2) allocation of support according to the education and research needs specific to two distinct markets – global and local; and (3) attention to the thick complex of institutional development that goes beyond quality assessment.
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This paper discusses the arguments for orienting social science policy towards interdisciplinarity. We have selected three cases to illustrate the challenges of interpreting interdisciplinarity and suggested three areas for immediate... more
This paper discusses the arguments for orienting social science policy towards interdisciplinarity. We have selected three cases to illustrate the challenges of interpreting interdisciplinarity and suggested three areas for immediate action: (1) A shift of emphasis at undergraduate level from " discipline " to " scientific issue " ; (2) Facilitation of licensing and evaluation options for interdisciplinary programs and research studies; and (3) Integration of representatives beyond the research community into the teams proposing and evaluating research projects.
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This paper attempts to measure sectoral competitiveness by constructing a composite indicator to highlight the relative and absolute performance of Romanian manufacturing within a hierarchy of European countries. The indicator is composed... more
This paper attempts to measure sectoral competitiveness by constructing a composite indicator to highlight the relative and absolute performance of Romanian manufacturing within a hierarchy of European countries. The indicator is composed of seven individual indicators, which are considered suitable to render sufficiently distinct four dimensions of a sectoral competitive performance: productivity, technology, structure and exports. This analysis considers sectoral performance vis-à-vis three reference EU countries, which were selected according to their overall competitiveness position reflected in the Global Competitiveness Index. The overall assessment of the competitive potential of Romanian manufacturing leads to an undecided verdict: slow progress from a relatively long period, between 2000 and 2006, sharp yet short-lived improvement between 2006 and 2008, and marked decline in 2009. The composite indicator's relatively simple structure suits well the need to understand industrial structural change.
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Colectie, materiale needitate
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Traducere din engleză de Valentin Cojanu (cca. 1988) după:
Martin Heidegger, Was ist das - die Philosophie?/What is Philosophy?,
transl. by Jean T. Wilde and William Kluback, New Haven, College and University Press, 1958.
Martin Heidegger, Was ist das - die Philosophie?/What is Philosophy?,
transl. by Jean T. Wilde and William Kluback, New Haven, College and University Press, 1958.
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This paper investigates the territorial capital endowments across European regions. Data are collected at NUTS 2 level for all European regions, for the most recent year available, for several indicators that measure different components... more
This paper investigates the territorial capital endowments across European regions. Data are collected at NUTS 2 level for all European regions, for the most recent year available, for several indicators that measure different components of territorial capital. Our evidence reveals several patterns of regional economic development, with specific configurations of the territorial assets, which further shed light on the connection between location, competitiveness and development.
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The study aims to assess the position of the Romanian automotive sector in intermediate and final production stages along global value chains. Data are collected from WIOD global input-output matrix (2011). The inter-sectorial linkages... more
The study aims to assess the position of the Romanian automotive sector in intermediate and final production stages along global value chains. Data are collected from WIOD global input-output matrix (2011). The inter-sectorial linkages are split into domestic and foreign use in order to distinguish between national and external demand for intermediate products. In order to emphasise intra and inter-industry linkages of the Romanian automobile industry, the consumption of transport equipment products as intermediate products is then analysed at the sector level (foreign and domestic), highlighting the main countries and sectors using these products as inputs. Although it remains crucially dependent on the timing and accuracy of GVC databases, this analysis brings the competitiveness debate into new territories.
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This chapter contributes to the conceptual effort to find an ‘encompassing framework’ to understand the rugged landscape of territorial development. A paradigmatic shift is in need to reflect the gains from trade increasingly as a result... more
This chapter contributes to the conceptual effort to find an ‘encompassing framework’ to understand the rugged landscape of territorial development. A paradigmatic shift is in need to reflect the gains from trade increasingly as a result of territorial communality rather than market optimality. This contribution reviews first the tenets of the core-periphery models premised on three interpretations of space, that is, uniform-abstract space, diversified-relational space and uniform-stylised space. The conventional (spatial) models of peripherality are increasingly questionable when considering the relevance of more appropriate ‘aspatial’ concepts for understanding the conditions for growth and development across territories. The conclusions emphasise the need to drop the norm of a universal policy related to a space of development divided in advanced and lagging areas. The implications range from re-stating the unit of analysis to re-stating the role of policy coordination in a multi...
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This paper seeks to provide a representation of European economic integration that would discriminate between the random effect of regional clustering by geographical vicinity (as the conventional area definitions suggest) and the... more
This paper seeks to provide a representation of European economic integration that would discriminate between the random effect of regional clustering by geographical vicinity (as the conventional area definitions suggest) and the hypothesized effect of competitive developments underpinned by homogeneous areas of integration. The investigation is based on a simple but comprehensive statistical analysis of the competitive position of thirty-three European countries, for which data were collected targeting five determinants of competitive similarity and twenty-seven corresponding indicators. The results confirm the fact that countries tend to cluster into larger groups the more general their denominator is, say, political legacy, historical circumstances or shared ideology. At the same time, a set of group behavioral patterns suggests that a better understanding of regional effects of integration strongly relates to a similarly better representation of regional groupings based on comp...
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A recent series of EU initiatives gradually have changed the meaning of growth initiatives whereby the options of economic policy became more closely linked to the needs of development at ever smaller territorial units. The present... more
A recent series of EU initiatives gradually have changed the meaning of growth initiatives whereby the options of economic policy became more closely linked to the needs of development at ever smaller territorial units. The present research attempts to contribute to the discussion about the competitive potential of economic growth at territorial level. We introduce a methodological model to evaluate the conditions under which economic growth may generate opportunities leading to self-sustained economic development. The hypothesis is discussed at both national and regional scale and tested with a set of socio-economic variables including indicators relative to economic growth, economic functionality and spatial networks. Our findings suggest a huge potential in terms of capitalization of different types of capital (territorial, human, cultural), but also in terms of achieving mutual reinforcement of links between advanced and less advanced industries. Most of the national territory c...
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The persistence of spatial developmental disparities suggests that the strategic directions of any initiative targeting regional competitiveness should follow the lines of (1) maximizing its competitive impact and (2) matching the... more
The persistence of spatial developmental disparities suggests that the strategic directions of any initiative targeting regional competitiveness should follow the lines of (1) maximizing its competitive impact and (2) matching the territorial specificity. According to this perspective, the paper discusses an original theoretical construct and points to graphical representations of operational forms that may configure a policy of territorial development along four co-existent levels: (1) urban fields, (2) clusters, (3) development areas, and (4) disadvantaged areas. The main implication for public policy initiatives resides in facilitating the progress towards building up such a potential for growth.
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This material attempts to predict the results of negotiations in the process of the EU enlargement. The analysis is to shed light on the underlying determinants of possible outcomes and to suggest with anticipation improved ways of... more
This material attempts to predict the results of negotiations in the process of the EU enlargement. The analysis is to shed light on the underlying determinants of possible outcomes and to suggest with anticipation improved ways of conduct. The interaction between nation-states is modeled in classes of games or strategic structures of interaction on the basis that the incentives of each party are revealed by their behavioral stance. The findings present a detailed analysis of bargaining power and offer predicted solutions to negotiations for the cases of the two candidate countries Poland and Romania considered in the application. The model's predictions closely follow the results of negotiations in every significant detail.
It has become a common claim that the gravest dangers to world security are no longer military threats from rival great powers, but rather transnational threats emanating from poorly governed countries. Since the end of the Cold War, the... more
It has become a common claim that the gravest dangers to world security are no longer military threats from rival great powers, but rather transnational threats emanating from poorly governed countries. Since the end of the Cold War, the international community has become increasingly preoccupied with the phenomenon usually named “state failure”, because state failure causes a wide range of humanitarian, legal, and security problems. Recent examples of failed states are familiar to all of us, from the total collapse of state institutions in Somalia and the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia to the varied crises in Rwanda, Haiti, Liberia, Congo, Sierra Leone, and Afghanistan. But how can we measure or define if a state is a “weak” or a “failed” state? Due to the importance gained by this issue, several international organizations (World Bank, The Fund for Peace) and national institutions (U.S. National Security and the Commission on Weak States, United Kingdom’s Department for I...
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... operations, portfolio investments and short-term borrowings, as the most recent econometric studies certify (Drabek and Griffith-Jones, 1998). ... Jeffrey Sachs, an outspoken critic of the present international financial architecture,... more
... operations, portfolio investments and short-term borrowings, as the most recent econometric studies certify (Drabek and Griffith-Jones, 1998). ... Jeffrey Sachs, an outspoken critic of the present international financial architecture, remarked the inability of the five Asian countries ...
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This paper is premised on the observation that a view of competitive development based on ‘nation states’ may gradually have to give way to ‘contexts of development’ as an analytical framework which accounts more appropriately for the... more
This paper is premised on the observation that a view of competitive development based on ‘nation states’ may gradually have to give way to ‘contexts of development’ as an analytical framework which accounts more appropriately for the interstitial fabric of economic, as well as historical, social and cultural linkages across borders between atomized actors (countries, firms, and individuals). We attempt to identify contexts boundaries to reveal the contextual origins of a country’s competitive assets. We collect data for the three mapping dimensions: identity (geographical scale and polity), functionality (thematic focus of cross-border cooperation, policy areas), and governance (policy space, decision-making, civil society). The geographical focus consists of ten selected European regional groupings. We produce a qualitative assessment of each cooperation structure by assigning scores of institutional quality on two institutional dimensions: breadth and depth of the level of integr...
Review of J. E. King, Advanced Introduction to Post Keynesian Economics, Cheltenham (UK), Edward Elgar Publishing, 2015, pb, ISBN 978-1-78254-843-0, x + 139 pagesPost Keynesian Economics (PKE) belongs to a 'dissident school' in... more
Review of J. E. King, Advanced Introduction to Post Keynesian Economics, Cheltenham (UK), Edward Elgar Publishing, 2015, pb, ISBN 978-1-78254-843-0, x + 139 pagesPost Keynesian Economics (PKE) belongs to a 'dissident school' in economics, and this visiting card is presented in the book's very first line. The students of economics, especially those 'coming to the subject for the first time' whom this Elgar series targets, can thus know in advance how to calibrate their expectations. They are about to enter a theoretical domain prone to theoretical clashes: with the mainstream, identified with the traditions of Monetarism, New Classical, and New Neoclassical Synthesis, and even with some other Keynesian streams of thought - Old Keynesian and New Keynesian. Intra-disciplinary divisions are common among scholars, and the Kuhnian model of science acknowledges their constructive role. However, the message they convey within economics is not one about the imminence of a...
The present times when economic activity has been drastically reduced and people's pressure on the environment has receded provide us with a rare economic experiment of thinking beyond growth. The post-growth message cuts across... more
The present times when economic activity has been drastically reduced and people's pressure on the environment has receded provide us with a rare economic experiment of thinking beyond growth. The post-growth message cuts across diverse anti-establishment movements, but essentially all identify themselves with the goal of controlling growth to the end of preserving the good life between us and future people. We advance reasons to rethink our relationships towards: 1) the economic role of the common good: how would economic science look like if it were concerned with good life rather than growth?; 2) the exercise of power: how can we constructively manage relations with those who provide access to (economic) resources?; 3) the moral reason for change beyond growth.
The objective of this paper is to find several answers by investigating the extent to which the cross-border cooperation structures (CBCS) act as de facto emerging polities. The scope of research is limited to the layer of territorial... more
The objective of this paper is to find several answers by investigating the extent to which the cross-border cooperation structures (CBCS) act as de facto emerging polities. The scope of research is limited to the layer of territorial cooperation, namely the policy space or more exactly the thematic agendas of a sample of selected CBCS: Council of the Baltic Sea States, Greater Region, and Nordic Council, Oresund Region (OR) and South Eastern European Region (SEER). We design a methodological approach based on a content analysis of public documents or papers specific to each area. For two of the selected regions – Baltic and Oresund – the results support the working hypothesis that a converging approach towards issues of common concern may be a condition for deeper regional integration and, more specifically, for the viability of emerging polities. This research, however, did not look farther than the policy space that is relevant for the territorial integration of markets, leaving ...
The paper starts from the hypothesis that the viability of emerging territorial units depends on the way their members reach a converging approach towards issues of common concern. Based on previous results, we rank ten selected... more
The paper starts from the hypothesis that the viability of emerging territorial units depends on the way their members reach a converging approach towards issues of common concern. Based on previous results, we rank ten selected cross-border cooperation structures (CBCS) according to their institutional strength as a measure of assessment of their viability as polity. Data are then collected for each CBCS for three areas of cooperation, i.e. economy, society, and environment, in the form of policy documents. The analysis uses text mining techniques to explore the content of documents on each selected region and on each areas of cooperation. The results are further explored inside a thematic mapping of clusters, which is analysed through content analysis. The goal is to investigate and assess what is the cross-border cooperation level of policy convergence inside EU selected case studies, based on the emerging themes.
The paper focuses on emphasising the role that internal constraints and domestic political events play in designing the strategic behaviour and position of the EU in the negotiation process of The Transatlantic Trade and Investment... more
The paper focuses on emphasising the role that internal constraints and domestic political events play in designing the strategic behaviour and position of the EU in the negotiation process of The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership - TTIP. The paper pursues a three-pronged approach in order to: (1) identify and define the set of domestic constraints, (2) assess their influence on EU’s strategic position, and (3) suggest both available and desirable future courses of action to improve the negotiation outcome. The results should inform the approach towards the general structure of negotiations to be accomplished through a multi-level analysis: starting from a broad EU perspective on the deal, complemented by a disaggregated domestic level perspective that will emphasize EU members’ position and interests in the agreement, as well as an industry/sector-based implications of each item on the negotiations agenda.
The paper aims to investigate Romania’s export performance from a little tackled perspective in the literature, focusing on the dynamic of the performance of our external sales through data on our competitive position in foreign markets.... more
The paper aims to investigate Romania’s export performance from a little tackled perspective in the literature, focusing on the dynamic of the performance of our external sales through data on our competitive position in foreign markets. We will outline the dynamics in key export products, strategic groups of export partners and main competitors in top destination markets in terms of market share and unit values within a period of ten years (2001, 2011). This investigation leads to identifying the size of Romania’s gaps in comparison with its competitors and the variety of competitive advantages in the reference group.
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This paper emphasizes the conceptual need for an agreement on reassigning priorities of competitive development from policies aiming at reducing regional differences to policies encouraging functional integration of a development area.... more
This paper emphasizes the conceptual need for an agreement on reassigning priorities of competitive development from policies aiming at reducing regional differences to policies encouraging functional integration of a development area. The underlying rationale in shifting the analytical focus rests on the political-economic and socio-cultural characteristics of a habitat that indeterminably amplify or scale down the benefits of economic activities. The permanence of spatial developmental disparities suggests that the strategic directions of any initiative targeting regional competitiveness should follow the lines of (1) maximizing its competitive impact and (2) matching the territorial specificity. According to this perspective, the paper discusses an original theoretical construct and points to graphical representations of operational forms that may configure a policy of territorial development along four co-existent levels: (1) urban fields, (2) clusters, (3) development areas, an...
Review of Abdul Azim Islahi, History of Islamic Economic Thought: Contributions of Muslim Scholars to Economic Thought and Analysis, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham (UK), hb, 2014, ISBN 9781784711375, viii+125 pagesThe publisher, in association... more
Review of Abdul Azim Islahi, History of Islamic Economic Thought: Contributions of Muslim Scholars to Economic Thought and Analysis, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham (UK), hb, 2014, ISBN 9781784711375, viii+125 pagesThe publisher, in association with the Islamic Economics Institute at King Abdulaziz University (Saudi Arabia), where the author holds a professorship, brings to market a timely contribution to the efforts to raise the veil of ignorance between cultures. Aimed probably exclusively at the Western audience, as similar and much more consistent studies already target the Islamic economists, this book aims, first, at placing Islamic economic thought within the 'the family tree of economics' connecting Greek ideas to classical economics to present-day mainstream economics, and, second, at drawing attention to several valuable insights underpinning Islamic economics that may enrich present economic thought, apparently of Western inspiration. In spite of terse prose, there is a ...
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Few subjects of international economics are so much exposed to heated debates as the exchange rate problem. From monetary crises and balance-of-payments adjustments to monetary zones, dealing with currency swings seems to embody any... more
Few subjects of international economics are so much exposed to heated debates as the exchange rate problem. From monetary crises and balance-of-payments adjustments to monetary zones, dealing with currency swings seems to embody any economist's worries about the rightfulness of economic models and the relevance of empirical analyses he or she has to choose. Is appreciation or depreciation good for a country's welfare? Would that answer still be valid in the long run? The unsettled character of the problem largely resides in the manifest contradiction between the firm theoretical predictions and their unconvincing empirical testing. One of the least uncontroversial tenets refers to the positive correlation between currency depreciation or devaluation (although of different origins, their effects are generally the same) and a country's current account. This paper attempts to test this prediction on the case of Romanian economy and to conclude on possible explanations of th...
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The paper addresses the sustainability of the European Union’s food consumption through a water footprint assessment of selected vulnerable agricultural imports from a two-pronged perspective: (1) the degree of the EU’s dependence on... more
The paper addresses the sustainability of the European Union’s food consumption through a water footprint assessment of selected vulnerable agricultural imports from a two-pronged perspective: (1) the degree of the EU’s dependence on global green water resources embedded in the apparent consumption of selected water-intensive agricultural products and (2) the degree of commitment of countries of origin to sustainability policies. The study argues that the vulnerability of the EU’s agricultural imports to water risks can be estimated based on the amount of green water consumed in producing crops in the countries of origin. The results show that the EU’s consumption of agricultural goods is highly dependent on virtual water imports for all six selected vulnerable agricultural products, from the lowest footprint for bananas (5 mil. km3) to the largest for coffee (69 mil. km3). The analysis also points to a greater concern for quality issues in the countries of origin (56.53%) relative ...
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This paper discusses the arguments for orienting social science policy towards interdisciplinarity. We have selected three cases to illustrate the challenges of interpreting interdisciplinarity and suggested three areas for immediate... more
This paper discusses the arguments for orienting social science policy towards interdisciplinarity. We have selected three cases to illustrate the challenges of interpreting interdisciplinarity and suggested three areas for immediate action: (1) A shift of emphasis at undergraduate level from " discipline " to " scientific issue " ; (2) Facilitation of licensing and evaluation options for interdisciplinary programs and research studies; and (3) Integration of representatives beyond the research community into the teams proposing and evaluating research projects.
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Research Interests:
Research Interests:
It has become a common claim that the gravest dangers to world security are no longer military threats from rival great powers, but rather transnational threats emanating from poorly governed countries. Since the end of the Cold War, the... more
It has become a common claim that the gravest dangers to world security are no longer military threats from rival great powers, but rather transnational threats emanating from poorly governed countries. Since the end of the Cold War, the international community has become ...
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Research Interests:
Abstract This paper seeks to provide a representation of European economic integration that would discriminate between the random effect of regional clustering by geographical vicinity (as the conventional area definitions suggest) and... more
Abstract This paper seeks to provide a representation of European economic integration that would discriminate between the random effect of regional clustering by geographical vicinity (as the conventional area definitions suggest) and the hypothesized effect of competitive ...
Valentin Cojanu Sympathetic with similar concerns raised by academics outside the economics realm as well, the paper suggests that the application of economic principles centred on the 'market' mechanism reveals... more
Valentin Cojanu Sympathetic with similar concerns raised by academics outside the economics realm as well, the paper suggests that the application of economic principles centred on the 'market' mechanism reveals a poor understanding of the actual organisation of economic ...
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Research Interests:
This paper sheds light on the main approaches in measuring the competitive performance in trade in services and discusses some problems associated therewith. The existing literature points to two conclusions. On the one hand, data... more
This paper sheds light on the main approaches in measuring the competitive performance in trade in services and discusses some problems associated therewith. The existing literature points to two conclusions. On the one hand, data interpretation should be normally ...
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The paper attempts to substantiate the conjecture of an optimum competitive area, tentatively referred to as a certain pattern of spatially-defined areas conducive to competitive development for industries or firms in such a way that... more
The paper attempts to substantiate the conjecture of an optimum competitive area, tentatively referred to as a certain pattern of spatially-defined areas conducive to competitive development for industries or firms in such a way that benefits from competition are maximized. ...
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If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note... more
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. ...
This study revisits key arguments about method which are part of the traditional Romanian thought. It appears that the domestic concerns were synchronously linked to internationally most debated ideas. The present discussion focuses on... more
This study revisits key arguments about method which are part of the traditional Romanian thought. It appears that the domestic concerns were synchronously linked to internationally most debated ideas. The present discussion focuses on the methodological dichotomy ...
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Research Interests:
The path from command to market economics in Romania has been marked by two decisive conceptual clarifications at international scale, from the 1989 Wash-ington Consensus to the 2000 Lisbon Agenda. In both cases, it was about a... more
The path from command to market economics in Romania has been marked by two decisive conceptual clarifications at international scale, from the 1989 Wash-ington Consensus to the 2000 Lisbon Agenda. In both cases, it was about a "how-to" policy list supposedly ...
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Int. J. Pluralism and Economics Education, Vol. 1, Nos. 1/2, 2009 ... Economics education from scratch: a view from post-communist Romania ... Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies, Piata Romana 6, 010374 Bucuresti, Romania E-mail:... more
Int. J. Pluralism and Economics Education, Vol. 1, Nos. 1/2, 2009 ... Economics education from scratch: a view from post-communist Romania ... Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies, Piata Romana 6, 010374 Bucuresti, Romania E-mail: cojanu@ase.ro E-mail: ...