Revista de Economie Mondiala/ Journal of Global Economics

3-15

Authors: Alina Ligia Dumitrescu, Petre Prisecaru

The purpose of this article is to assess the advantages and disadvantages of the Fourth Industrial Revolution in order to identify the best ways to turn this 21st century challenge into an opportunity for creating new and higher-paying jobs and increasing employment in the European Union (EU). The research relies on the literature related to the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the reports and data provided by the World Economic Forum, in particular, and is based on the comparative analysis of Eurostat data from the perspective of European integration and diminishing disparities among the Member States. According to the authors' findings, the Fourth Industrial Revolution has a major impact on the evolution of labour markets in the EU Member States, leading to the emergence of the new "jobs of the future", which can only be occupied through strengthening and extending the digital skills of the current workforce under the expansion of robotization and artificial intelligence

26-39

Authors: Alina Ligia Dumitrescu, Iulia Monica Oehler-Şincai

This paper analyses the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic upon the Polish economy and the measures adopted at national level to contain the recession. It focuses on the consequences of restricting the economic activities for the labour market (from the perspective of unemployment) and companies (in terms of profitability). From investigating the measures taken by Poland to counteract the adverse economic effects of the pandemic, a series of good practice examples may be derived, that could be applied in Romania, too. According to the authors, Poland has a sustainable economy as well as significant resources to overcome the economic crisis caused by the pandemic. Moreover, the complexity of the measures already introduced provides essential financial instruments needed to face the crisis-related challenges and turn them into new opportunities for reform, development and modernisation.

49-68

Authors: Alina-Cerasela Avram

This article analyses the current state of services digitalisation in the European Union (EU) member states, on the basis of five services groups included in the Digital Agenda for Europe: e-government, ecommerce, e-business, e-health and online security. The digitalisation of services represents a global megatrend and is one of the key prerequisites for the public and private environment to adapt to changes in consumer behaviour. The migration of consumers from a physical point of sales to online stores, as well as the resources allocated for development in this area by the US and Asian countries have led the European Commission to take concrete measures to support the digitalisation of services. The article highlights the significant differences between the Member States regarding the availability of public and private services on the internet. The gap between countries, along with the modest performance at the EU level, draw attention to the need to speed up the process of services digitalisation

1-19

Authors: George-Cornel Dumitrescu

”America first” is the main driver of Donald Trump`s vision on international trade. Consequently, the American administration is currently engaged in an intensive process of renegotiating the existing trade agreements and negotiating new ones with the main trading partners. The U.S. aims at better protecting the American exporters while reducing its trade deficits with its commercial partners. Against the backdrop of several tariff wars triggered by Donald Trump, the U.S. and the EU started their negotiations with clear, but different objectives regarding some key positions. The paper offers a timeline of the main negotiation landmarks and emphasizes the leading positions, interests and turning points that could provide a boost to the bilateral negotiations. The analysis in our paper is based on insights from the current literature and relevant statistical data, as well as the positions of EU and U.S. officials. It finds that the future of the U.S.-EU free trade agreement is uncertain, due to both the bilateral tariff war and the diverging negotiation objectives.

35-52

Authors: Alina Ligia Dumitrescu, Iulia Monica Oehler Şincai

This article focuses on the UN reform within the current architecture of global relations. Firstly, the specialized agencies and organizations and their role in world governance are presented. Secondly, the process of reforming the UN, as well as the position of some Indo-Pacific states on this issue are analysed. By exploring the UN activity and the views on the role of this organization of the countries with great economic power and important contributions to its financing the authors wish to draw the attention upon the need for a profound reform and modernization, focusing on common values and priorities and adjusting to the realities which are facing today's societies and the world economy. According to the authors’ opinion, the solutions can be found only through joint political efforts, economic cooperation, multilateralism, social involvement and active intervention to defend peace, without which the existence and the role of the UN and other international bodies could be jeopardized, as well as the very existence of democracy and even the future of humanity.

64-83

Authors: Virginia Câmpeanu

Ensuring food security for all European citizens at reasonable prices for consumers has been the main reason for the adoption and functioning of the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) over the last 60 years. In view of preparing the EU budget for the next multiannual financial framework 2021-2027, food security has become the strongest argument for those who continue to call for the protection and financial support of agriculture through the CAP. Romania is an important contributor to EU agriculture, and also a beneficiary of financial support for the agricultural sector. Our analysis aims to: (1) reveal progress made by Romania concerning food security, as well as the factors of influence and risk; and (2) identify the strengths and weaknesses of Romania’s food security in the European and global context. The importance of analyzing food security in Romania and 4 other Central and Eastern European EU countries stems from identifying the positive and negative impact factors and providing key elements for the Romanian decision makers involved in devising policies and strategies in this field.

1-35

Authors: Sarmiza Pencea

This paper sketches the recent evolution of the US-China economic relations from multidimensional co-dependency to disengagement, following the disruptive, lose-lose path of trade war and FDI screening. Through threats, large-scale tariff increases and various non-tariff measures, the clash of the two world economy giants has unrolled all along 2018, especially in its second part. The paper places the trade tensions between the two actors into the context of international production, with its global value chains and networks, highlighting the inadequacy of the policies adopted and their expected negative results. The most likely consequences of the trade war for the economies, companies and people in the US, China, the EU and South-East Asia are looked at, and the risks and opportunities for each are unveiled. The conclusions substantiate the assertion that trade wars have no winners and identify their real rationale: the scramble for economic and technological supremacy.

54-68

Authors: Cristina Zeldea

This article addresses Knowledge-Intensive Business Services, widely known in the scientific literature as KIBS. The importance of this subject derives from the proven positive correlation between KIBS and economic development. In this context, our paper examines the evolution of KIBS in Romania over 2008-2017, based on two broad categories of services: (i) information and communication; and (ii) professional, scientific and technical activities. Our empirical analysis relies on a set of indicators, including the contribution of these services to GDP, employment, wage costs and the value of services provided to businesses. Both sectors of activity included in the study have evolved dynamically in the post-crisis period, however some economic policy measures would be needed in order to address existing regional disparities, as well as deficiencies in the R&D sector

1-35

Authors: Agnes Ghibuţiu

After being trapped in an increasingly fierce and devastating trade war over the last months, Washington and Beijing managed to conclude a temporary truce during President Trump's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires. Starting from the analysis of the current state of the US-China trade war, this article aims to: (1) highlight the effects of this trade war, both from the perspective of the parties implied, and the global trading system; (2) reveal the reasons behind this war, as well as its real stakes; and (3) assess the outlook for this war in the light of the recent US-China ceasefire. While the temporary truce in the US-China trade war does not solve the fundamental differences between the two nations, it allows the resumption of the negotiations to resolve a trade dispute that has dangereously escalated over the last months, damaging the global economy. The trade war between the two largest economies in the world is far from over. There is also little hope for the two sides to strike a comprehensive agreement in the near future, and the prospects for the long-term Sino-American relationship are fraught with major uncertainties.

48-64

Authors: Iulia Monica Oehler-Șincai, Alina Ligia Dumitrescu

This paper starts from the assumption that in order to increase India’s role on a regional and global scale the country has to consolidate its internal coordinates by stimulating economic and social development based on the three pillars of sustainable growth, namely the economic, social and environmental. It addresses various facets of India’s socio-economic evolution and highlights the potential impact of the current reform measures on sustainable development and social infrastructure, with direct implications for India’s participation in the system of international relations. Despite the demographic dividend and remarkable progress in reforms, India faces a number of constraints, which makes the development of physical and social infrastructure, reduction of the informal sector, diminishing of the negative externalities associated with urbanization and the decrease of dependence on energy imports to be essential for achieving its goals in the future.

1-10

Authors: Florin Bonciu

The paper analyzes some of the changes in the domestic and international economic environment that took place especially during the last decade and generated significant effects on the labour market as well as on the development models. The research is focused on the impact of the effects of globalization and of the Fourth Industrial Revolution on the labour market and society in general, stressing that inequality, poverty and differential exposure to economic challenges generate reactions of adaptation and defense which are reflected, sooner or later, in political options. The conclusions of the research highlight the importance that should be given to the human factor in the design of any sustainable development model, as well as the attention that has to be paid to the social supportability of adaptation efforts required by the transition periods.

27-38

Authors: Iulia Monica Oehler-Șincai

The main objective of this paper is to examine India’s strategic partnerships according to their objectives and their role for India. The analysis considers both India’s foreign policy goals, particularly in the Indo-Pacific area in terms of the “Act East” policy after 2011-2012, and the inputs needed to reform the Indian economy. The research highlights the Russian Federation, the USA, France, Israel, but also Germany and the UK among India’s core partners in the development of the Indian defense industry, with Germany playing a key role in economic growth and development as well. Conversely, despite some recent catalysts of the bilateral relationship, the European Union has not managed yet to occupy a central place within India’s strategic partnerships.

57-71

Authors: Alina Ligia Dumitrescu, Iulia Monica Oehler Şincai

This paper aims to analyse the impact of migration on the European Union's political unity. The European leaders' different views on migration are examined, as well as the challenges related to finding more effective, joint and unitary solutions at the Community level. The humanitarian, social, economic and security issues raised by the migratory waves over the past three years may be seen as a maturity test for the community bloc, on whose success the very existence of the EU depends, as a space of European culture and civilization based on the three principles which underlie the construction of the EU architecture, i.e.: ”freedom, equality and fraternity”.