ASPECTS REGARDING REGIONAL DISPARITY REDUCTION POLICIES
Chart 4. Employed population – differences between year 1997 and 2001
-140 -120 -100 -80 -60 -40 -20 0 20 40 60
North-East
South-East
South South-West
West North-West
Centre Bucharest
Regions
Thousands Persons
Economy Agriculture Industry Engineering Services
Source: Romania`s Statistical Yearbook 2002
144 Magda, D.
As far as the service department is concerned, there have been variations from one region to another. The number of people working within this department has fallen in western and southeastern regions (-55.6 and –40.8 thousand people respectively).
A slight reduction has also been registered in the South (-21.1 thousand), South West (-15.5 thousand people) and in the North East (-12.8 thousand people).
A positive phenomenon like an increase in the number of people working in the service department can be noticed in the North East and in Bucharest-Ilfov (+22.4 and +46.5 thousand people respectively).
Other factors that had a great impact upon regional development normally include the frontier areas and the Danube – regions bordering Moldavia and Ukraine and underdeveloped regions along the Danube River.
This unequal development in each region of the country together with fiscal policy mechanisms led to an intensification of the underdevelopment and the exacerbation of the disparities.
We can very well say that, at present, in every region in Romania there are counties, which are up against industrial reorganization problems, but in many other districts they coexist with rural underdevelopment problems, both being the result of unemployment and poverty. As a consequence, each area is confronted with problems generated by industries in decline and also by difficulties characteristic of economically and socially depressed areas. In order to concentrate financial resources received from the EU, the Government together with Regional Development Councils has identified eleven (11) priority zones within seven of the total of eight Development Areas; thus they were called Industrial Reorganization Areas and they concentrate 25%
of the country’s population. The identification of these zones was based on two sets of criteria: the first one refers to serious industrial reorganization difficulties with which they are faced and the second set of criteria has in view the economic development potential of these areas:
Each selected zone has limited urban concentration with serious industrial reorganization difficulties-as a consequence of a massive concentration of industrial activities and labour power in big enterprises (companies that have more than 1000 employees) and the concentration dismissed manpower.
The zone is highly polluted and thus, it affects people’s health and it has a negative effect upon the image of the area and even of the entire country.
The zone is mono-industrial, with no possibility at all to diversify its activity for the time being.
Each selected zone has a road network and railway system and it is crossed by European highways or at least it is localized near one.
The cities within the zone are traditionally bound together and they cooperate because of the same type of business carried out or because of the complementary of their activities.
Aspects regarding regional disparity reduction policies 145
The area has communications systems at European standards, extremely important for the attraction of Romania of foreign investors;
a great number of cities within the area have digital telephone networks.
The area has material resources to support the accomplishment of national development priorities revealed in the National Development Plan (the development of tourism and infrastructure, the encouragement of SME and of the young population in their integrations in a intelligent society, a.s.o.)
Local communities are characterized by dynamism and concern in the development of their towns and in the improvement of life standards through a successful implementation of development programmes and projects.
The presence of such zones as the ones presented above generates and keeps up a territorial inequality of performances and an inequity in the chances of development for each area and for each citizen. From what we have said so far we can conclude that the necessity of an active regional policy applied by the Romanian government is entirely justified on the one hand, by a disequilibrium and depression of the territories in our country and, on the other hand, by the variety of the relief and natural resources as well as by the demographic potential of the regions.
Therefore, the implementation of certain measures, programmes and projects in each area sets its priorities on:
¾ Economic diversification, including the improvement of tourism potential by encouraging the development of SME;
¾ Human resources development: vocational school modernization and providing social services;
¾ Improving the quality of the regional infrastructure; the development of the regional and local infrastructure, making much of the environment restoration and tourism development;
¾ Restructuring of small urban and tourism infrastructure.
Besides several steps taken in order to support areas facing difficulties, which can harm the general equilibrium, regional development also implies measures for regions with special problems. The necessity of such actions derives its forces from a new notion of the territory.
Thus, regional policy represents the formula for the interference of the state in restoring territorial equilibrium, in general terms, and in supporting regions facing difficulties, in particular terms. From this point of view, unequal development of the territories is thought to point out economic weakness, a thing that cannot possibly be accepted because it brings about political and economic instability and it stand in the way of national and international development.
These are only internal reasons for the encouragement of regional policy, but there are also external considerations of great importance in regional policy. This represents Romania’s option for the integration in the European structures.
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Regional development is one the priorities of the EU for the time being. In conclusion, a country that wants to be a member of the EU must integrate with the European spirit and realities, that is to say it has to prepare its territories in order to measure up to European standards and it should carry out an active and coherent regional policy.
REFERENCES:
[1]. Constantin D. - Economie regională, Editura Oscar Print, Bucureşti, 1998
[2]. Constantin D. - Introducere în teoria şi practica dezvoltării regionale, Editura Economică, Bucureşti, 2000
[3]. Moşteanu N. - Problematica dezvoltării regionale în România, Editura Sylvi, Bucureşti, 2001
[4]. Nicolae V., Constantin L. - Bazele economiei regionale şi urbane, Editura Oscar Print, Bucureşti, 1998
[5]. www.mie.ro [6]. www.andr.ro
Annals of the University of Petroşani, Economics, 4 (2004), 147-150 147