Dumitru Sandu, University of Bucharest , Sociology Department

1. Challenges and opportunities in transforming the regional system for development-Optimising regionalisation in today Romania - Dumitru Sandu, University of Bucharest, SociologyDepartment Slides for presentationto the Conference: Paths and Crossroads of Regional Development in the European Union, University of Craiova, Department for Scientific Research and European Projects, April 20-21, 2012

2. Question, reason and context Question of the paper : how to increase the chances of a pro-development regional restructuring in current time Romania in EU context or, in a shorter way, HOW TO OPTIMISE REGIONALISATION IN TODAY ROMANIA? Short answer: by redifining its targets , by double context bounding by a better undersstanding of its chalenges • Reasons for the question: regional restructuring – in institutional and territorial terms – is part of the optimal answer to the basic challenges of today Romania • Context: 1997-1998 was only the time for the start of a new regionalisation in Romania: The Green Card of Regional Development in Romania (1997) and the Law 151/1998 and the law 315/2004 are not mark of a new regionalisation of Romania. They are marks of a starting processes of cumulative transitions. • Finalising the new regionalisation started in 1998 as to be a pro-development one involves not only to add what was not did initially but also • a) to use the lessons learned and • b) to consider the new context: accumulated experience, a society with higher standards of democracy and a deeper social criticism, more familiar with how the things are going in Europe

3. Five basic principles in optimal regional restructuring in today Romania Key targets : Promote optimal regionalisation by increasing the chances for durable spatial development by reducing disparities ,increasing competitiveness and identification opportunities. On means to reach the targets: • No regional level is able to meet all the regional development targets (balanced development, competitiveness and identification ). Subsidiarity is the basic principle in optimal regional restructuring in means area. • Guide the regional policy design not only by normative rules but also by incorporating previous experiences of country institutions and EU. • Institutional side of regionalisation and of the administration process is of a larger impact than territorial restructuring. Neo-institutional approach is more appropriate to consider the details for this principle. • Build the basic structures of regional restructuring by giving large degrees of freedom to experts . They should build scenarios, costs evaluations in regional policy to be discussed with political bodies, NGOs, business circles , media and other publics. Transparency in communication during the regional designing process is part of this rule.

4. Challenges regional development is expected to meet

5. Let’s start with a ‘visit’ through key regions of Romania

6. The challenge of development disparities: between Romania in EU average, among Romanian regions and between urban and rural areas in Romania Data sources: EUROSTAT for EU27 and Lisbon index. NIS for Romania and http://sites.google.com/site/dumitrusandu/regionalizare/RegionaltotalcapitalofNUTS2.pdf?attredirects=0 for IRCD

7. The challenge of poor governance as tested by institutional trust Data source: Eurobarometer. http://ec.europa.eu/romania/documents/perspective_europene/14032012.ppt

8. Social development disparities within development regions of Romania

9. Local social development index (LSDI) by development regions LSDI Development region Data source: D. Sandu 2010 Computerised design of themap: Amalia Virdol The development regions are more homogeneous than the historical ones and keep their identity nucleai . But they are, normaly by their size, more heterogeneous than the cultural areas.

10. LSDI Local social development index (LSDI) byhistoricalregions Historical region Cities Data source D. Sandu data basis 2010 at http://sites.google.com/site/dumitrusandu/IDSL2008.sav?attredirects=0 Computerised design: Amalia Virdol

11. Local social development index (LSDI) by cultural areas Cultural areas are natural subregions of historical regions. They are practically the most homogeneous medium size regions of the country

12. An old map with the small traditional regions of Romania (‘tari) Source: Ion Conea: Sugestii si indicatii geo-istorice pentru numirea ;i determinarea marilor unitati administrative ale Romaniei, Socilogie Romaneasca , 4-6, 1938, p.242

13. Dynamics of inter-counties disparities (Weighted coefficients of variation): GDP per capita and infant mortality rate

17. Policy implications of analysis

18. Annex Measuringsocial development at local level Figures are factor scores computed seprately for urban and rural communities, using identical computation formulas. Housing density and age are more important parameters for living conditions in rural compared to urban areas. On the other hand, life expectancy counts more in turaban than in rural areas in the equation of social development. Unavailable data on network and cultural capital