Articole

Roşia Monatană is a small settlement in the Apuseni Mountains. Her existence can be dated historically all the way down to Roman times, when it was known as Alburnus Maior. Since then mining was the main occupation of the local inhabitants, the region being rich in gold and silver. Remnants of the Roman but also Medieval civilisation can be seen all around. The superb scenery and the picturesque villages form an idyllic image that can charm every traveller. Yet, on a closer look, the same traveller will be shocked...

[Textul de faţă este o variantă a articolului omonim publicat în Idei în Dialog, martie 2008] Roşia Montană este o mică aşezare din Munţii Apuseni. Existenţa ei poate fi datată istoric din perioada romană când era cunoscută sub numele de Alburnus Maior. Încă din acele vremuri principala îndeletnicire a localnicilor a fost mineritul, zona fiind bogată în zăcăminte de aur şi argint. Urmele civilizaţiei romane dar şi medievale pot fi întâlnite la tot pasul...

Confronted with the prospect of recession, governments around the world are in a hurry to stabilize the economy through Keynesian policies. The origin of the current economic turmoil is the expansionary monetary policy of the Fed and - to a smaller extent - the other big central banks of the world. The recession is the price that has to be paid for the cheap credit that stimulated oversized investments in housing and consumption. But, although now investors and consumers in developed economies rediscover in...

In a world each day more globalised and more integrated, the competitiveness of everyone of us and of the overall economy constitutes, at first glance, the determinant factor of economic growth, that is growth of wealth per capita. This competitiveness, however, cannot be dissociated from the actions of people which form society or from the rules (written or unwritten) which structure these actions. The rules in place, that is the rules actually followed in practice, leave individuals in society more or less freedo...

[Textul de faţă este varianta actualizată a articolului omonim publicat în Săptămâna Clujeană] Într-o lume tot mai globală şi mai integrată, competitivitatea fiecăruia dintre noi şi a economiei în ansamblu reprezintă, la prima vedere, factorul esenţial al creşterii economice, adică al creşterii bogăţiei pe cap de locuitor. Această competitivitate nu poate fi însă disociată de acţiunile oamenilor care alcătuiesc societatea şi nici de regulile (scrise şi nescrise)...

The recent murderous attack on a foreign exchange house in Brasov has shocked the public and started a ferocious debate in mass-media. So far, however, the debate has resulted in virtually no conclusion on how such events could be prevented from occurring again in the future. As a matter of fact, the attack reflects a huge failure of state institutions: prosecution system, courts, penitentiaries and police departments. Unfortunately the debate has remained trapped in the discussion about how to make these...

Opinia publică a fost şocată de atacul armat asupra unei case de schimb valutar din Braşov, unde două persoane au fost ucise. Emoţia creată în societate a fost rapid speculată de agenţiile mass-media, care ne-au oferit o avalanşă de ipoteze, explicaţii, argumente despre cum a fost posibilă această întâmplare. Totuşi, cea mai serioasă problemă pe care trebuie să ne-o punem este cum putem evita acest gen de evenimente în viitor şi tocmai aici dezbaterea publică a dus la concluziile...

[This text is the up-to-date version of the homonymous article published in Financial Week, 02.02.2009] The stimulus measures for the economy have been transformed into taxation measures. The government wants an additional 1.3% of GDP from entrepreneurs and vicious persons. Imagine a family composed of a husband, a wife and two adolescent children, a family that has also to take care of two grandparents. The husband is worried about the family's financing plan, profoundly affected by the extravagant spending...

[Textul de faţă este varianta actualizată a articolului omonim publicat în Săptămâna Financiară în 02.02.2009] Măsurile de stimulare a economiei s-au transformat în măsuri de impozitare a acesteia. Guvernul vrea 1,3% din PIB în plus de la vicioşi şi patroni. Închipuiţi-vă o familie, formată din soţ, soţie, doi copii aflaţi la vârsta adolescenţei si care mai întreţine si doi bunici. Soţul este îngrijorat de finanţele familiei, afectate de cheltuielile...

The risk of implosion of the global financial system in October 2008, was better overcame due to the set of interventionist measures of developed countries. We breath all relieved and we thought that was the worst has passed. It seems that not really! Uncertainties to which we are exposed to as we throw in the realm of allegations and failed measures prepared on the knees and started up the media channels. Economic crisis shows his sharp, but subtel, teeth daily by closing the business and massive layoffs, by significant...

Riscul  de implozie a sistemului financiar global, în octombrie 2008, a fost depăşit cu bine datorită setului de măsuri intervenţioniste ale ţărilor dezvoltate. Am respirat cu toţii uşuraţi şi am gândit că ce-a fost mai rău a trecut. Se pare că nu e chiar aşa!  Incertitudinile la care suntem în continuare expuşi ne aruncă pe tărâmul supoziţiilor eşuate şi al măsurilor pregătite pe genunchi şi lansate la repezeală. Criza economică îsi arată colţii zilnic...

Since the beginning of the crisis in 2007, three types of explanations have been advanced to account for both the boom-bust cycle that ocurred during the last decade, and the solutions that were offered in order to aleviate its effects and prevent this kind of phenomena from ocurring again in the future. Essentially, they are related to greed, stupidity, and excessive saving. But the arguments behind these explanations are not satisfying. They are neither logically coherent, nor properly reflecting the reality. Moreover,...

De la începutul crizei în 2007, trei tipuri de explicaţii au fost avansate constant pentru a justifica atât evidentul ciclu de tip boom-bust prin care a trecut economia în acest deceniu, cât şi soluţiile propuse pentru atenuarea efectelor şi prevenirea acestui fenomen în viitor. Argumentele oferite nu sunt însă satisfăcătoare, nici prin prisma coerenţei logice, nici prin gradul de reflectare a realităţii. Mai mult, aşa cum voi arăta, dat fiind că sunt susţinute...

When the State becomes more sovereign than Private Property, when "historical rights" or "positive law" substitute for natural law judgements, when individuals become peoples before becoming free, questions such as the following one are meant to remain (reasonably) unanswerable or (tragically) odious: is Ahmadinejad's "Middle East cartography", a fair reversal of, for instance, Lord Balfour's?  

School and education system are some of the most important social institutions in our society. It is generally accepted the idea that Romanian education system, despite the attempts of institutional reform according to European standards, has various functioning problems. The weak capacity of education to stimulate creativity and human capital accumulation is the natural consequence of lack of incentives among state-run-schools. What could be wrong if the education system will be managed according to market rules? This...