Florin Marius Pavelescu

Innovation and Competitiveness in European Context

Abstract An almost unanimously accepted issue is that the path to competitiveness of economies, whose companies are exposed to international competition, goes through innovation. This enables companies to adapt quickly to the pace of the technological change, in order to increase competitiveness. This article aims to test the links between innovation and competitiveness having considered the results of the performance evaluation models in matters of innovation and competitiveness for different countries, such as the Innovation Union Scoreboard and IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook. Using these models we can evaluate the connection between the composite indicators calculated by using the methodologies mentioned above. To determine the connection we will use a panel-type econometric model. The econometric analysis aims to confirm a cause-effect relationship between innovation and competitiveness through which we will be able to assess the impact of innovation on competitiveness growth. In accordance with the European and national policies for stimulating innovation through increased R&D funding intensity, raising the average level of spending in the EU of R&D to 3% of GDP could significantly enhance the competitiveness of European economies compared to other states.

Perspectives of the Quantitative and Structural Evolution of Tertiary Education in Romania

Abstract The paper deals with the problems of development of tertiary education during the last decade and the perspective in the second decade of the 21-st century. Therefore, firstly, it is analysed the evolution of the number of students and their distribution within specialization fields in European Union. Also, a special attention is paid to identification of characteristic features of the tertiary education in Romania during the period of integration in European Union. The second part of the paper is dedicated the projection of tertiary education supply in Romania from quantitative and structural point of view. In this context, there are presented the constraints and opportunities for the modelling the evolution of tertiary education generated by demographic dynamics and the convergence with the students distribution on specialization fields registered in European Union as a whole.

Considerations on the Correlation Between Student Test Statistics in Cases of Simple and Multiple Linear Regressions

Abstract The paper brings arguments in favour of the idea that Student test statistics may not be considered only in comparison with the critical (tabelled) values in order to determine the significance of estimated parameters. Interesting information on the quality of estimation can be obtained by studying the correlation between the Student test statistics related to each explanatory variable in case of simple and multiple regressions, respectively. This way, it is possible to identify the factors which determine the change the Student test statistics related to considered explanatory variable as the number of the other explanatory variables increase in the linear regression equation. In this context, a factorial model for the analysis of the above-mentioned change is proposed. The proposed analysis methodology is practically applied to a private consumption function estimated for Romania during the period 1990-2009.

The Influence of the Forest on the Population Health

Abstract It is widely accepted that forests offer many important benefits, such as providing natural habitats for animal species or helping to diminish the greenhouse effect by storing carbon emissions. Forests are associated with helping to reduce flooding and represent the main source of wooden material. From a more subjective perspective, forests serve as places with both spiritual and recreate value. As a major global carbon deposit, forests have a critical role in influencing the Earths ecosystem and climate. Given the fact that people are also part of the ecosystem we may only ask ourselves: “Is there any influence of the forests on the populations health? This paper aims to analyse the links between the forest area and the volume of harvested wood and the populations health degree. In order to determine these links we will use a panel-type econometric model for the development regions of Romania. The econometric analysis aims to confirm a cause-effect relationship between the forests and the populations health degree.

Impact of Collinearity on Estimated Parameters of CES Production Function

Abstract In many cases, the estimation of the parameters of CES production function is made with the help of Kmenta method. The respective method is frequently criticized especially because of two reasons: the approximation of the parameters is very near on the case of Cobb- Douglas production function and the impact of collinearity on the estimated parameters is usually high. This paper proposes a method to quantify the respective impact considering the values of coefficients of collinear refraction. The proposed improvements in the methodology of estimation and interpretation of CES production function parameters are applied in case of Romania during the period (1960-1979). The respective estimations offer an opportunity to reveal some features of production factors efficiency and their substitution during one of the important period for the base industrial structure building in Romania.