Volume 51 / 2020

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Humanitarian Aid and Global Governance: An Analysis

Author: U. SARANGI

Abstract: The research paper entitled ‘Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) Humanitarian Aid and Global Governance: An Analysis’ is an attempt to analyze the relationships existing between SDGs, Global Peace and Humanitarian Aid in order to assess and comprehend to delineate a comprehensive global agenda to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) slated by the United Nations by the turn of 2030. The paper makes an attempt to study the interactions between SDGs across economies evolved over time. The issues relating to synergies and trade-offs between the SDGs have also been analyzed in the research study. The pledge has been that all the members nations which are signatory to the United Nations need to plan, devise, coordinate and make sincere efforts to achieve the implementation of SDGs by the turn of 2030 slated by UN. Research studies have shown that there is an urgent felt need of analyzing the trends, behavioral relationships amongst and across the SDGs to assess the synergies and trade-offs existing between the SDGs to rectify the same for smooth implementation of the 2030 Agenda on SDGs. The aspect-wise review of literature has been dealt with in detail in the research study. The focus of the study has also been on certain key issues and concepts such as SDGs, Peace, Humanitarian Aid, SDG Index and Dashboards on SDG indicators, SDG interactions using the SDG Index and Dashboards, changes in synergies between SDGs, changes in trade-offs between SDGs etc., The other aspects dealt within the research study include interactions between projected SDGs and HICs(High Income Countries), MICs(Middle Income Countries) and LICs(Low Income Countries), behavior of SDGs trend etc.

The study has identified and assessed the relationships among the macro variables relating to all the 17 SDGs. The study has covered aspects such as reshaping global governance for sustainability, governance coherence, development goals and sustainable development, democratic governance and democratic funding, UN 2020 democratic global governance, linkage of 2030 Agenda for SDGs with the agenda for humanity, humanitarian SDGs by the SDSN, perception of global trade unions on SDGs, social dialogue etc.,

The implications of the research study are that further research needs to be undertaken to reverse the trends of these trade-offs between SDGs and to identify effective solutions to develop the synergies between the SDGs in order to analyze the trends and behavior of these SDGs for effective implementation of the 2030 Agenda on SDGs slated by UN.

Classification-JEL: G38, Q01

Keywords: SDGs, Humanitarian Aid, SDG Index, SDG Dashboard, UN 2020 democratic global governance, Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) Humanitarian Aid and Global Governance: An Analysis

Does Fiscal Measures Stimulates Private Investment in Africa?

Author: Olatunji Abdul SHOBANDE

Author: Chidi Ndubuisi OLUNKWA

Abstract: The study focuses on the effect of fiscal measures on private investment in selected African countries between 1980-2016. The study adopts Panel Autoregressive Distributed Lag (PARDL) Bounds testing approach developed by Pesaran, Shin and Smith (2001) in estimating the relevant relationship. The results of the long run estimates show that the interest on debt payment, government expenditure, expected inflation, exchange rate and government tax revenue, all have a positive relation with private investment among five selected African countries, suggesting that fiscal measures have crowd in effects on private investment in the long run. While, the results on the short run dynamics show that change in the previous one lagged periods of the variables have negative impacts on private investment, whereas the lagged two of the variables shows positive impacts on private investment in the short run, suggesting that there is a crowd out fiscal measures crowd out private investment in among the five selected African countries. The study recommends that the policy makers need to ensure fiscal discipline, if private investment must survive in African.

JEL Classification: H3, E2, E65

Keywords: Fiscal Measures, Private Investment, Africa, Exchange rate

Management of the Austrian State Economy in the  Mid-Twentieth Century. Problems of Macroeconomic Planning in Europe in 1945-1960 with a view to contemporary economic history

Author: Tomáš KREMR

Abstract: This work focuses on the management of the state economy in Austria, specifically targeting the preconditions of the planning within the institutional set-up of the Austrian economy. The work emphasizes the influence of the German planning experience applied in Austria during World War II to the post-war form of the Austrian economic policy. The purpose of the work is also to highlight the effects of the Austrian economic policy after World War II and the extent in which this policy included certain forms of planning. It also aims to determine how this policy managed to steer Austria away from a difficult period of a divided country in the first ten years following World War II.

JEL Clasification: B20, F50, G38, E14, E20, E31, E32, E52, E58, E62, F14, F44, H20, H50, H62, N44, P21, Y40

Keywords: Austrian economy, allocation of production factors, the benefit of centrally planned economies

The Impact of Technology Development  on the Evolution of the Labor Market

Author: Gheoghe ZAMAN

Author: Giani GRĂDINARU

Author: Emilia ŢIŢAN

Author: Daniela MANEA

Author: Mihaela MIHAI

Author: Iulia NEAGOE

Abstract: In theory, Industry 4.0 represents the radical transformation of industrial production, unifying digital technologies, the Internet and conventional industry. This phenomenon has created many controversies, so the terms of evolution or revolution are not yet specific. The paper presents a quantitative analysis of the impact of technology development on the evolution of the labor market depending on the following aspects: there is a link between the age of the respondents and the investment they are willing to make annually in technology; digitization will bring advantages or disadvantages in various industries and in everyday life; the influence of the field of activity on the opinion about the changes brought by digitalization; the degree of information about the various digital methods and how often they are used.

JEL Classification: Q32, Q43, P28

Keywords: Industry 4.0, labor market, technology

Theoretical-methodological and practical value aspects resulting from the economic impact of Covid-19

Author: Gheoghe ZAMAN

Author: Oana CHINDRIŞ-VĂSIOIU

Author: Mădălina TOCAN

Author: Anca CRISTEA

Abstract: In the current period, marked by the pandemic, in parallel with the unprecedented actions required for the health system, it is necessary to prepare the economy for a crisis. In this regard, the elaboration of a set of measures is seriously affected by the fact that at present it is not known till when the epidemic will last. Firstly, the extraordinarily abrupt dynamics of the infections spread from a day to another, doubled by the authorities’ actions for the population isolation at home and, implicit, the severe restriction of the economic activities, make the proposed set of measures frequently changed.

The present paper presents an analysis of the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the Romanian economy from the point of view of monetary, fiscal, as well as entrepreneurial policy, tries a macroeconomic estimate on medium term and proposes a series of measures aimed at recovering the national economy.

JEL Classification: G01, L26

Keywords: Coronavirus Crisis, Economic Crises, Romania, Recovery

Challendges of COVID 19 Pademic on the Employment model. Implications for Romania

Author: Florin PAVELESCU

Abstract: The outbreak of the COVID 19 pandemic imposed the adoption of measures, which drastically limited the economic activities in order to reduce the risks of contamination. The respective measures induces complex effects both on the labour supply and demand. The recessionist effects are dominant, while the opportunities for new jobs occur in the domain of informational technologies and healthcare. The paper reviews the main measures for social and jobs protection adopted at the European and international level, in the context of the pandemic recession, and proposes some directions of action in order to mitigate the negative effects of COVID 19 on the employment in Romania in the short and medium run.

JEL Classification: E24, J22, J23, J24, J64

Keywords:  pandemic recession, essential workers, teleworking, social protection, labour market active policies, industrial policy

Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic Crisis on Business Activities in Romania in 2020

Author: Daniela ANTONESCU

Abstract: The rapid evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered challenges for the medical system and both the economic and social systems of EU Member States and the world. This crisis has affected thousands of lives and continues to put enormous pressure on economic systems. For these reasons, it is necessary to manage economic and social problems as soon as possible and to support / promote solutions to sustain the sectors affected by the pandemic crisis. In Romania, the crisis began to be felt in March, 2020, the SMEs sector being one of the most affected sectors. This study analyzes the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on the SMEs sector in Romania, attempting to contribute with solutions and proposals for post-crisis resilience and recovery.

JEL Classification: M20, M21, M29

Keywords: COVID-19, entrepreneurship, resilience