What Should Romania Rely On?

The governor of the National Bank of Romania, Mugur Isarescu, said that Romania needed moderate economic growth, enabling it to avoid worse unemployment. He believes that our country should capitalize on its domestic resources, material or human.

Mihai Pelin, 25.07.2013, 14:08

In the next two decades, Romania should focus on its own resources, both natural and human, and on economic macro-stability, because the lack of macro-stability may threaten the country’s very democracy, said the national bank governor Mugur Isarescu. He said it would be advisable to have moderate, balanced and sustainable economic growth, capable of generating jobs. The head of the national bank said that there are no miracles, and nothing can replace a correct combination of economic policies to achieve sustainable growth for a country. Over the upcoming period, he believes this should be Romania’s target:

Mugur Isarescu: “I believe that the main objective over the next period in Romania is a balanced, sustainable and inclusive economic growth, and by this terminology of ‘inclusive’ I mean an economic growth that creates jobs.”

In order to achieve this growth, the main issue to overcome is the major imbalance that looms over the next 10 or 20 years, the gap between pensioner and tax payers, said Mugur Isarescu. In addition, what should be avoided is pushing economic growth beyond potential in periods leading up to elections, because this only accelerates post-election decline. The national bank deputy governor Florin Georgescu said that the state should play its role of issuing a correct combination of economic policies, of managing efficiently the share it holds in the economy, and of supporting entrepreneurship by diversifying state aid.

Florin Georgescu: “In order to secure this support for the investment sector, the state needs a predictable and consistent flow of financial resources, because otherwise it has no credibility. This predictable and consistent flow of financial resources can only be provided by strong fiscal discipline on the part of all tax payers, both individuals and companies, which in turn is based on fiscal and financial legislation that should eliminate the existing ambiguities and gaps, which unfortunately still exist in this legal framework.”

In conclusion, Romania should take better advantage of exiting resources, allocate better the existing ones, and should use a correct combination of economic policies for sustainable growth and for eliminating the gaps that separate it from developed states.