DEVELOPING IT&C DOMAIN PREMISE OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN ROMANIA
In the information society, economic fields with advanced technology represent the main vector of development in consonance with the sustainable development of human society. The paper examines the evolution of economic sectors with high technology as the main component of the information society in Romania compared to EU countries, both in terms of number of companies and also production value, value added at factor cost, gross operating surplus, etc.. It is used to analyze statistical data from the years 2008-2012 from Eurostat databases, Undata and the National Institute of Statistics.
Comparative Analysis on the Influence of the Economic Crisis on Education in some European Countries
Purpose – This study intends to present some influences developed during the economic crisis related to the education area in some European countries. The study wants to present a comparative analysis among these European countries. Design/Methodology/Approach – This study is based on the Eurostat data series and is designed due to the statistical data processing. Findings – The study revealed some information and ideas about certain aspects as: changes of population structure by educational attainment level, evolutions of the shares with first and second stage of tertiary education, investments in education and training, age distributions for teachers and trainers, participation rates in education. Research Limitations/Implications – This research is based on Eurostat data series considered relevant by the authors and on some other related analyses or research studies. The paper describes case studies from most of European countries but focuses only on few of them. Practical Implications – This study clarifies the influences of the economic crisis on education in some European countries in order to present a real image related to the evolution of education among Europe. Originality/Value – Even though different studies in the education field were developed, this subject was not analyzed in the manner carried out in this paper.
Livestock Aspects of Feed Grain Policy
It is a signal event that our topic should be included on this program. In recent years, the livestock and poultry economy has scarcely been considered in the making of price and income policy for feed grains. It has been disregarded by pragmatic policy makers. It has been almost equally bypassed by theoretical economists, who usually kibitz freely. Policy for support and target prices for corn, grain sorghums, and other feed grains has been made with an eye almost exclusively fixed on the producers of those crops. The target price has been set relatively high in order to protect crop farmers' income. The latest (and current) loan rate policy has been to hold the rate low. Although a low rate facilitates moving grain into livestock and poultry consumption when crops are abundant, it does nothing to provide buffer stocks for years when crops are short. In addition, a couple of years ago it became administrative policy to dispose of the stocks inherited from an earlier period, even subsidizing their sale abroad. But the foremost example of one-sidedness is the attitude toward release prices. In all the rhetoric heard recently about the peril of holding corn or sorghums in reserve, the scold has been that release prices would not be set high enough. What group can the spokesmen have had in mind? Feed producers, of course! Not feed consumers, that is, livestock and poultry men. It has been a one-sided consideration of a two-sided issue. If all groups are to have equal voice in policy making, how can livestock and poultry interests be so ostracized? The one-sidedness has more impact now that so much livestock and poultry production has become detached from feed supply on individual farms. The livestock-poultry economy is therefore more sensitive to the availability and price of feed. It is in fact a contradiction that historically, livestock and poultry got more attention when they were still closely connected with feed production on the farm. In the early years of farm programs, the "ever-normal granary" was consciously designed to level out the supply and price of feed for livestock and poultry. Now that livestock and poultry have become more commercial and more vulnerable to a volatile feed situation, feed price stabilization has been progressively removed from the councils of farm policy. And the ultimate contradiction is that the alleged price-depressing perils of a feed reserve have been proclaimed in disregard of the fact that the main defense of feed grain producers' incomes is the target price-direct payment mechanism, not support prices. If grains on reserve should cause market prices to be reduced below target level, producers would get bigger direct payments, that is, producers with a base on their farm are protected in that way. Admittedly, production outside such a base would not be eligible for payment.