SOCIAL COHESION IN THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA: REALITIES AND PERSPECTIVES

Strengthening social cohesion is one of the main directions of the Moldova 2030 strategy. At the same time, the Association Agreement between the Republic of Moldova and the EU stipulates social inclusion, poverty reduction, social cohesion, sustainable development and improving the quality of life as social policy priorities. This article analyzes the theoretical approaches of the concept of social cohesion and presents the results of sociological research on social cohesion in the Republic of Moldova conducted in 2020. The sample includes 1202 respondents and is representative by place of residence (urban / rural), sex, age, level of education. The qualitative study included interviews with 90 experts, representatives of local public authorities, NGOs and the private sector and 3 focus groups. The research was carried out within the project “Training and strengthening social cohesion in the Republic of Moldova in the context of rapprochement with the European Union”. As key aspects of social cohesion were analyzed: self-identification of the degree of belonging of Moldovan citizens to the Republic of Moldova, perceptions of solidarity with other citizens, social trust, participation and inclusion of citizens in political, social and economic processes. The research results showed that the level of cohesion and social solidarity in the Republic of Moldova is quite low. The COVID-19 pandemic has deepened social distancing, uncertainty about the future, poverty and the marginalization of certain groups of the population and has further contributed to lowering the level of social cohesion.

ON MOLDOVA’S INCREMENTAL CAPITAL-OUTPUT RATIO AND THE DESIGN OF ECONOMIC POLICY

The paper analyses the notion of an economy’s Incremental Capital‐Output Ratio and proceeds to provide estimates of the Incremental Capital‐Output Ratio for the Moldovan economy utilising National Accounts data. The purpose of the study is to calculate estimates of the Incremental Capital‐Output Ratio for the Moldovan economy’s transition period to date, utilise the derived estimates to analyse aspects of economic growth in Moldova over its transition period and use the average value of the Incremental Capital‐Output Ratio over the recent period for simulation and forecasting purposes. On the whole the reported empirical estimates of the Incremental Capital‐Output Ratio for the Moldovan economy lie within the range of values reported in the economic literature. Furthermore, the evolution of the Incremental Capital‐Output Ratio in the first few years of sustainable growth in Moldova reflects the wide availability of unemployed or underemployed resources in the economy at the time thus allowing the achievement significant economic growth which was associated with low values of the Incremental Capital‐Output Ratio over the period. The paper proceeds to utilise the recent Incremental Capital‐Output Ratio estimates for the Moldovan economy over the period 2015 to 2019 inclusive to calculate an average estimate of the Incremental Capital‐Output Ratio and use this average estimate to generate estimates of the Gross Fixed Capital Formation ratios as a share of GDP required to reach a number of indicative growth paths in the medium to long term. It is notable that the growth path which is attainable given current conditions in the economy is close to the latest medium term forecasts by International Financial Institutions and the Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure. The paper concludes by discussing the design of economic policy and development planning in Moldova and suggesting areas for further work.

PRIVATE CONSUMPTION IN THE EUROPEAN UNION: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

The aim of this paper is to study consumption of households from an economic and cultural perspective in the European Union with 28 Member States during the period 2010-2019. For this purpose, we compared the Eastern European countries, dominated by rapid economic growth and development with the Western European countries, which represent the most developed countries in the EU-28. From this perspective, we proposed a multidimensional analysis of consumption that includes macroeconomic indicators of households’ wealth, which strongly influence their consumption together with an overview on expenditure by consumption purpose. Moreover, we have also considered Hofstede’s cultural dimension theory based initially on four cultural dimensions (power distance, individualism versus collectivism, masculinity versus femininity, and uncertainty avoidance) to observe the impact national culture plays on households’ consumption in Eastern and Western European countries tracking the historical changes of these countries. Our methodological approach consisted in descriptive and inferential statistics based on the selected economic and cultural indicators. Pearson’s product-moment correlations were calculated to assess the correlations between the variables. Our analysis shows that the level of wealth is lower in Eastern European countries compared to Western Europe, which influences significantly the private consumption in these countries. Moreover, the systematic differences of national culture between Eastern and Western Europe influence strongly the private consumption of their population. Results of this paper indicate that in Eastern European countries the highest share of expenditure is allocated to primary needs such as food, non-alcoholic beverages, alcoholic beverages and cigarettes to the detriment of health, education, recreation and culture.

ENTREPRENEURIAL ECOSYSTEM IN THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA: THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT POLICY

The article presents and analyses the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Republic of Moldova, as a solution for an integrated approach to the problems of entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurial ecosystems represent a set of interdependent actors and coordinated factors so as to increase the productivity of SMEs. The paper includes: (I) investigating the literature on entrepreneurial ecosystems; (II) analysis of the role of public policies in creating and supporting entrepreneurial ecosystems; (III) finalizing the components of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Republic of Moldova and performing their evaluation through the prism of international rankings. The aim of this research is to elucidate the role of entrepreneurial policies with a holistic approach to the creation of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The key challenge for the authorities is to identify the pillars that contribute to the development of an ecosystem. However, the existence of a large number of entrepreneurial support programs and projects does not necessarily lead to a qualitative increase in the number of enterprises. The results of the research showed that the authorities promote policies to support the business environment with a fragmented approach and an emphasis on increasing quantitative indicators. At the same time, the analysis of the components of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Republic of Moldova, through international rankings, indicates the deterioration of the business environment conditions. The research methodology is based on the analysis of policy documents on SME support and data provided by reports of international organizations (World Bank, World Economic Forum, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, etc.).

ASSESSMENT OF UNCERTAINTY WHILE SELECTING THE OPERATIONAL STRATEGY BY THE INDUSTRIAL ENTERPRISES IN ROMANIA

In conditions of uncertainty, an enterprise should have a rational basis for making decisions, which would enable the comparison of different alternatives and the choice of the most suitable action for achieving its objectives. Some researchers consider that uncertainty is generated either by insufficient knowledge about the nature of phenomena and processes or by the lack of information about these phenomena and processes. The author considers that these interpretations need to be completed by clarifying the motives which cause uncertainty. The following types of environment can be distinguished which could be considered as sources of uncertainty: socio-economic; scientific and technical; political and juridical; the sales partners’ environment; the environment of the seller; the competitors’ environment; the consumers’ environment; the investments environment. The aim of the present paper is to determine the degree of influence (markedness) of each type of uncertainty upon the decisions made while selecting the operational strategy by the industrial enterprise. The research has been carried out at 29 enterprises from different industrial fields from Romania: metallurgical industry, production of basic pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical preparations, construction materials industry, food-processing industry, manufacture of chemical substances and products. The management teams of those companies have taken part in the survey. The research is based on the data processing and analysis obtained from 256 questionnaires. The survey carried out within the industrial enterprises has shown that the uncertainty from the consumption environment has the biggest impact upon the operational decisions of the companies. The uncertainty from the internal, political, juridical, scientific and technical environment is being analyzed to a lesser extent. The lowest domain of uncertainty is characteristic for the chemical industry and the highest for the industry of manufacture of basic pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical preparations.

DEVELOPMENT OF REGIONAL LABOUR MARKETS IN CONDITIONS OF DECENTRALIZATION

The decentralization reform in Ukraine began in 2014 and is aimed at implementing the provisions of the European Charter of Local Self-Government, which provides for the redistribution of powers, resources and responsibilities on the basis of subsidiarity. Currently, local governments are endowed with powers and instruments of influence on enterprises located on their territory, but employment and labour market policies remains the prerogative of the central government. For a comparative analysis of the development of regional labour markets in the context of decentralization, labour force survey indicators are more appropriate, since they reflect the actual policy results from the perspective of households. For the 2015–2019 period in most regions of Ukraine, there was an increase in the level of employment and a decrease in the level of unemployment; at the same time, the gender gap in employment has increased in 16 of 25 regions; the sectoral structure of employment continues to stagnate. Some regions have significantly increased the coverage of public works, but this may indicate not the activity of territorial communities, but the lack of stable employment opportunities. Local self-government bodies should play a key role in the formation and implementation of local employment and the labour market policies, their interaction with the state employment service requiring a corresponding transformation.

CONCEPTUAL ASPECTS AND THE MOST USED PRACTICES IN OBTAINING THE RELIABILITY OF ENTITY VALUE ESTIMATION

Estimating the entity value is topical and of particular interest to managers and business owners, who in turn hope that through the evaluation they will obtain parallel and new possibilities for the business remediation. In this context, managers seek the support of qualified assessors, who will conduct a thorough analysis of the entity’s state at a given date, will apply the most effective evaluation methods. In this paper we proposed to investigate and analyze the theoretical aspects of the entity value estimation (EVE), rendered in the opinion of the well-informed researchers and in the light of the evaluation standards. As a result, we note that the criteria of evaluations have been supplemented with the following criterion: by type of activity of the economic entity. We estimate the evaluation methods in order to identify the most accepted and effective method for this important process to the entity. For the practical aspect of the investigation, we focused on the method of comparison in the market valuation of the enterprise, in order to establish the statistical indicators consisting of the calculation of the median and the arithmetic mean. Based on the calculations made in the practical part, we have found that an economic entity can change its own value, in particular, by the way its values are profitable. In estimating the value of the entity, a decision-making function is attributed to the rests with the assessor, in particular with regard to the methods selected and applied professionally by the entity, in compliance with professional valuation standards and current regulations, as the fair estimation of the entity’s value leads to a secure future and a guaranteed success.

YOUTH ATTITUDES TOWARDS GENDER ROLES WITHIN FAMILY

Young people are leaders of change in any society; therefore, studying their attitude towards gender roles in the family is of particular interest in predicting changes in their behaviour and identifying the policy measures needed to achieve sustainable progress in gender equality. The study aimed to research the attitude of youth towards gender roles in the family to determine the influence of the levels of education, gender and other characteristics on gender preferences in relations – traditional or egalitarian. It is based on data from a sociological survey of youth in Chisinau, conducted in 2019 on a representative sample (N = 506). The theoretical basis of the study was the multiple equilibrium theory (Esping-Andersen et al., 2013). The study results showed that the perception of young people regarding the essential qualities of men and women is still under the pressure of stereotypes and corresponds to the intermediate balance model characteristic of the transition from traditional roles based on the division of labour to modern egalitarian ones. This circumstance implies an equal division of responsibilities and family roles between women and men. On the one hand, youth tend to an egalitarian type of marriage and family relationships, and on the other, they adhere to traditional views of family roles. Although there are some differences in attitudes towards gender roles within the family between natives of Chisinau and young people from other localities, they are still not so pronounced. Youth with higher education are more likely to prefer an egalitarian distribution of gender roles than youth with a lower level of education. Girls more often than boys strive for gender equality in the family. However, in some aspects, such as the responsibility of men for the family’s financial support, the importance of the material situation of a partner, they more often express traditional views.

A SECOND CHANCE FOR ENTREPRENEURS IN THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA: CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS

The relevance of offering a second chance is determined not only by the need to mitigate the consequences of business failure and motivate the entrepreneur to continue his entrepreneurial activity, but also by the impact on the country’s economy, as business closure leads to job losses, a worsening of the financial possibilities of the national and local budgets, reduction of competition and other negative trends in the internal market. The importance of these issues has increased significantly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to significant deterioration of the Moldovan business environment. The aim of the paper is to identify the barriers and needs of entrepreneurs, who face financial or other difficulties, are in a state of insolvency, have gone through restructuring/bankruptcy proceedings and would like to benefit from a second chance in Moldova. The research methodology is based on the analysis of legislative acts in the field; statistical data analysis; the results of 16 semi-structured interviews with entrepreneurs on elucidating the factors that favor and hinder the entrepreneurial activity, related to obtaining a second chance in business. The interviews were conducted between April and August 2018. The research results showed that both internal factors (insufficient financial resources, knowledge of crisis management, mismanagement, insufficient staff qualification, including the entrepreneurial skills / experience of the owners, the lack of people with certain professions) and external (related to insolvency legislation, limited information on the possibilities that can be used in case of failure) are determining for taking a second chance.