Remittance trap: comparative approach of the Republic of Moldova and other ex-socialist countries

The objective of our analysis has been to find out and elaborate on why some countries could not benefit from remittance inflows sent by migrants or even are getting into traps due to them. In the authors’ view, the remittance trap may be appraised, notably in the long run, as the dilemma in which a country finds itself when the high value of migrant remittance inflows leads to a high value of human and financial capital outflows, as well as to the moral hazard problem of the country's population and government. Accordingly, remittance trap negatively affects the sustainable growth and development of the economy which eventually deepens the country's dependence on remittances, proving the vicious nature of the trap. Furthermore, the paper focuses on identifying a competent set of policy recommendations for the countries that are remittance dependent. A natural conclusion of our research is that there is a thin line between remittances’ advantages and disadvantages, since in fact, short-term benefits very often turn out into long-run side effects, mainly as a result of mismanagement of remittance inflows, which correlates with unfavourable business climate and decreased willingness of the population to invest. Accordingly, the benefits and adverse side effects of remittance inflows are interdependent.

Analysis of the Propagation Effects of Remittances on the Vulnerability of External Trade of the Republic of Moldova

In the Republic of Moldova remittances have become a much-discussed subject, the country ranking among the economies with the highest share of remittances in terms of GDP. What is more, remittances, unlike FDI, external trade and other sources of income, seem to have a significant impact on economic growth. Republic of Moldova is a small open economy vulnerable to external shocks. We will examine the effect of remittances on the balance of trade by creating an econometric model. Am attempt has also been made to capture the positive and negative spillovers that migrants’ remittances have on a country’s socio-economic development. Within the research a variety of analytical tools are employed including Granger causality tests, unit root tests, coupled with a structural vector auto regression (SVAR), impulse response function (IRF) analyses and variance decomposition. We find that net trade and remittances are closely associated and follow an almost identical path. Remittances have strong effect on the growth of negative net trade of the Republic of Moldova.

The Impact of Migration Processes on Development

In recent years, international migration has been growing rapidly and has reached over 272 million people or 3.5% of the world's population, and 740 million people are considered internal migrants (IOM, 2020). Migration has become a defining feature of the modern global economy and the main factors behind its expansion are the processes of globalization itself, technical progress, the new economic order, etc. Since the early 1970s, governments in some countries have seen international migration as a major tool for economic development. Migration, especially labor migration, has become a defining element of economic development for the Republic of Moldova as well. Labor migration has become an important factor in combating poverty and increasing the welfare of the population of the Republic of Moldova. Moldova's economic growth over the last 20 years is due to remittances from migrant workers. There is a very close relationship between migration and Moldova's development prospects. The analysis of the impact of migration processes on the development perspectives of the Republic of Moldova, as well as the role of public authorities in the process of integrating migration into development strategies is the subject of this article.

Democracy, Governance and Economy: How EaP States Have Evolved in the Last Decade?

In the last decade, several transformations have occurred at the level of governance systems within the six states included in the Eastern Partnership (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine), in order to respond to multiple challenges, either endogenous, or exogenous. Against this background, the question that arises is whether this reconfiguration of the systems meant positive effects or, on the contrary, on certain directions, an involution can be highlighted. Thus, our methodological approach takes into account a multidimensional perspective related to democracy, governance and socio-economic aspects, which emphasize whether progress has been made in 2020, compared to 2010, in terms of the mentioned components. The research results underline if the measures implemented by these countries were in accordance with the pro-market and pro-democracy principles, based on good governance. In addition, the identification of some vulnerabilities might allow the outlining of policy recommendations, for an increased adaptability of these economies to future crises.

Cross-cultural Analysis of Main Economic Partners of the Republic of Moldova

The paper represents a comparative study of national culture features of the main commercial partners of the Republic of Moldova and the countries preferred by Moldovan citizens to emigrate: Romania, Russia, Italy and Germany. The research focused on two cultural bipolar models: Hofstede, which comprises six cultural dimensions: individualism vs. collectivism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity vs. femininity, long-term vs. short-term orientation, indulgence vs. restraint, and Trompenaars-Hampden-Turner, which contains seven dimensions: universalism vs. particularism, individualism vs. communitarianism, neutral vs. emotional, specific vs. diffuse, achievement vs. ascription, sequential time vs. synchronous time, internal vs. external control. The established similarities and differences, knowledge of cultural specificity in international interactions, both social and economic, is an added value for individuals to successfully integrate and fit into a society, other than their native, and for businesses to be successfully managed on international level.

Issues on the Impact of Migration on the Labour Market and the Role of National Employment Agency in the Integration of Returned Migrants in the Republic of Moldova

For the Republic of Moldova, international labour migration is an important factor in overcoming imbalances both in the labour market and in the national economy. International labour migration, through its transfers, contributes to economic growth and the combating poverty. At the same time, labour migration generates certain economic and social risks related, first of all, to the aging population and the increase of the labour force deficit on the labour market. One solution to overcoming these risks would be to stimulate return migration and the integration of returned migrants into employment, an activity that is the responsibility of the National Employment Agency. The analysis of the impact of labour migration on the national economy and the labour market, as well as the role of the Employment Agency in the process of integration of returned migrants is the object of study of this article.

From Internal to International Migration in Romania – Continuity and Spatial Differentiation

The study proposes a set of analyses on the evolution of the migration balance of Romania’s population over a wide time interval, fully covering the period dominated by the communist regime (1948-1989) and the last three decades marked by the transition to a market economy. The aim is to differentiate the typology of the time and space distribution of the mentioned indicator and to test a set of explanatory factors, for each of the two distinct periods. The typological and factor analyses applied led to results that largely confirm the hypothesis of a continuity between the massive internal migration during the communist regime and the more complex migration in recent decades. At the same time, the profound changes in the incidence of certain explanatory factors certify a complete restructuring of the migration system in Romania after 1990. The massive migration from rural to urban areas, brought about by positional or socio-economic factors, was gradually replaced after the fall of the communist regime by a strong labour emigration, an effect of deindustrialization. The stimulation of the periurbanization process, by changing the way of life, introduced new variables in the functioning of the migration system, in keeping with the specific evolutions of the contemporary era.

Intercultural Competence - Way to Solve the Problems of Today's World

This article highlights the need to form intercultural competence, which is closely in line with the dynamics of globalization and migration - so much publicized in recent years. Intercultural education is the study discipline included in the Romanian National Curriculum starting with 2017, which is taught in the sixth grade, this being the alternative to open communication, understanding, tolerance, interaction, solidarity and intercultural dialogue between people - regardless of ethnicity, race, religion, social condition, etc. Based on theoretical and praxiological analysis regarding the formation of the intercultural competence to the students from the gymnasium classes, three stages imposed in the finalization of the pedagogical experiment are completed: finding, training and verification. The added value of the scientific research paper is supported by teacher training activities based on the theme presented, through the elaboration and application of the Initiation Guide in Education and Intercultural Competence. Increased attention was paid to the theoretical-applied foundations that formed the basis for the elaboration and application of the Pedagogical Model for the formation of intercultural competence to the students from the gymnasium classes.

Challenges of Return Migration to the Republic of Moldova in the Context of International Migration Flow

Return migration is one of the types of contemporary migration, gaining momentum in many countries of the world as a result of frequent economic, political and social conjunctural changes that have influenced migration as a phenomenon. As part of the migration process, return migration has been less studied, given the low intensity of this form of migration and the difficulty of quantifying returned migrants. The return and reintegration of returned migrants, regardless of the reason or the mode of return, is a challenge both for returnees and for the authorities of the receiving countries and requires action plans, well thought-out strategies in order to manage this process effectively and to encourage new flows of returnees. Through this study, the authors wish to analyse the phenomenon of return migration through the prism of its determining factors, to follow the effectiveness of instruments that stimulate the return migration, to analyse the experience of European countries in managing this type of migration as best practices.The use of classical and contemporary human geography research methods will allow the quantitative and qualitative assessment of return migration, the study being based on a sociological survey conducted with returnees following a migration experience.

The Impact of Human Resource Management Policies on Business and Marketing Strategy Implementation within the Marketing Organization

During the last three decades, significant research has been undertaken on the characteristics and relationships of the marketing organization with the implementation of strategies. These are the structure, culture, processes, and influence and leadership characteristics of the marketing institution. However, there has been little attention given to the human resources management policies of the marketing staff. These policies are one of the strongest sensations of people and organizations, when properly implemented, to conduct themselves correctly. In this study, we show that mid-level marketer implementation of HR policies differ substantially in the type of marketing strategy adopted by the companies. Companies with aligned enterprise and marketing strategies have achieved considerably stronger performance than companies with unequalled business and marketing strategies.