Publicații - Universitatea de Vest "Vasile Goldiș" din Arad
Not a member yet
680 research outputs found
Sort by
Establishing an Independent Fiscal Council in Mauritius: A Framework for Enhanced Fiscal Governance
Full text linkThis paper examines the case for establishing an Independent Fiscal Council in Mauritius as a mechanism to enhance fiscal governance, transparency, and accountability. Despite Mauritius\u27s reputation as a well-governed small island economy, recurring challenges, including rising public debt-to-GDP ratios (which reached 87% in 2021), persistent budget deficits, instances of public fund misappropriation, and weaknesses in fiscal oversight, indicate the need for institutional reform. Using a mixed-methods approach combining doctrinal legal analysis with comparative research, this study examines primary sources, including legislation and official reports, alongside secondary literature on fiscal governance. The research conducts a comparative analysis of fiscal council frameworks in selected jurisdictions (UK, New Zealand, Brazil, India, Australia, Hungary, Argentina, Luxembourg, and Singapore), drawing lessons applicable to the Mauritian context. The findings demonstrate that Mauritius\u27s current fiscal governance framework lacks robust independent oversight mechanisms, contributing to fiscal challenges and accountability deficits. The paper proposes a comprehensive model for a Mauritian Fiscal Council, including its legal foundation, institutional design, powers, functions, and relationship with existing institutions, while providing a detailed implementation roadmap addressing the unique political economy challenges facing Mauritius
The Annulment of the 2024 Romanian Presidential Election. Between Constitutional Guardianship and Judicial Overreach
Full text linkThe article focuses on Ruling No. 32/2024 of the Constitutional Court of Romania, which annulled the first round of the presidential elections in response to intelligence revelations about large-scale foreign disinformation and covert digital campaigns. Based on Article 146(f) of the Constitution, the Court assumed its role as the guardian of electoral integrity ex officio, ordered a full rerun of the elections, and extended the term of the incumbent president. While the decision reflects a militant defence of democracy and resonates with European standards that allow for annulment in exceptional circumstances, it can also be argued that it exceeded the limits of legality. The Court’s reliance on declassified information, its succinct reasoning, and the absence of procedural safeguards raise questions about transparency, predictability, and thus the rule of law. Testing both sides of the coin - which the article attempts to tackle - can illustrate both the strength and fragility of Romanian constitutionalism, i.e., strong in its desire to defend democratic values, yet fragile in the absence of clear statutory and constitutional rules for such crises
Stability of Money Demand in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Cross-Sectional ARDL Analysis by Income Levels
Full text linkThis study investigates money demand stability in sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries, utilizing a quarterly dataset spanning a 24 year-period from 1999 to 2023 sourced from the World Bank Indicators and International Monetary Fund. The study disaggregates SSA countries into three income groups, upper-middle, lower-middle, and low-income, to evaluate the magnitude of stability of money demand, both at the panel level and within each income group. This approach provided nuanced insights and robust policy recommendations. The short- and long-term effects of key predictors on real monetary aggregates were assessed by employing cash-in-advance theory and the cross-sectional augmented autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model. The findings reveal that real exchange rates, foreign interest rates, and real GDP significantly influence money demand at the panel level, whereas the inflation rate exerts a contractionary effect. At the income group level, the findings reveal that money demand is stable in upper-middle- and low-income SSA countries, whereas lower-middle-income countries display variability, indicating a divergence in levels of economic resilience across income categories. The study’s findings highlight several policy implications and recommendations, as such the study advocates for the adoption of a unified monetary policies framework and a single currency policy, to enhance stability, foster growth, and reduce systemic asymmetries within the region. Additionally, the implementation of inflation-targeting policies is recommended to further consolidate economic stability and promote sustainable development across SSA countries. 
The Dynamics of Regional Head Elections in the Digital Era in Indonesia: the Perspective of First-time Voters
Full text linkIndonesia\u27s Regional Head Elections in 2024 show significant changes in political campaign strategies, especially with the increasing use of social media as the main tool. Social media has become a strategic tool for regional head candidates to convey their vision, mission, and work programs, as well as build their political image. As the dominant platform in the digital era, social media allows for wide, fast, and efficient dissemination of information, especially in reaching young voters who now account for around 60% of the total electorate. Young voters, who are active in using social media, are highly influenced by digital political content from influencers, public figures and peers. The ease of direct interaction between candidates and voters is also an added value that makes social media superior to traditional campaign methods. However, on the other hand, the use of social media in political campaigns faces several challenges, including the spread of disinformation, manipulation of opinions by buzzers and influencers, and potential violations of user data privacy. For this reason, increasing digital literacy and political awareness among the public, especially first-time voters, is important so that voters are more critical in filtering the information received. With the right strategy, social media can be an effective and ethical campaign tool, supporting a healthier and more participatory democracy. This research provides recommendations for candidates and stakeholders to maximize social media responsibly to gain voter support
Tax Wedge and Its Impact on Employment in OECD Countries
Full text linkOur study explores the relationship between the tax wedge, unemployment rate and employment rate on the labor market in a comparative framework, highlighting existing approaches in the OECD countries. There are considerable differences in the level of the tax wedge between the OECD countries. The relationship between the tax wedge, employment rate and unemployment rate is a complex one, involving a broad approach, but appropriate to the particularities of each country. Such a comparative analysis at the level of the OECD countries offers us interesting perspectives, in order to adjust the policies that aim, on the one hand, to ensure budget revenues and, on the other hand, to stimulate economic growth and support employment. In order to identify the link between them, we used hierarchical cluster analysis, for a sample of 37 OECD countries. After analyzing the data from the OECD countries, we concluded that there is a positive correlation between the level of the tax wedge and the unemployment rate. Thus, in countries where the tax wedge is higher, the unemployment rate tends to be higher and vice versa. But this is verified especially for cluster 2, which includes Romania and most of the countries in Central-Eastern Europe. Therefore, it is particularly important to adopt those fiscal measures that stimulate employment and have beneficial effects on the results of the labor market. The associated new data modeling contributes to filling a gap in the statistical analysis of tax wedge implications by using a combination of quantile regression and clustering, finding robust country subgroups that enable refined, context-sensitive policy recommendations. 
The Dynamic Interplay Between the Renewable Kuznets Curve (RKC) and Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) Hypotheses: Fresh Evidence from the European Union Countries
Full text linkThe paper explores the interplay between the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) (U-inverted shaped) and the Renewable Kuznets Curve (RKC) (U-shaped) in the European Union case; the validation of both hypotheses being investigated. The methodology consists of a panel data approach with the Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) and Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS) models to estimate the polynomial regressions using the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions as dependent variable and renewable energy, respectively. Based on data from 26 European Union countries for the period 1990 to 2022, the quadratic dependencies of Greenhouse Gas emissions and Renewable Energy on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita are validated, meaning that both, the Environmental and Renewable Kuznets hypotheses are confirmed. The value of GDP per capita corresponding to the threshold of renewable energy consumption predicts the value for which the increasing trend of greenhouse gas emissions is inversed. In the Central and Eastern European Union (CEE) countries, the threshold of renewable energy use is earlier attained (meaning at a lower level of GDP per capita) than in the Western European Union countries and the distance between the two threshold points is longer. Policy implications regarding the use of renewable energy and environmental protection are also included. 
Complexities of Legislative Representation in Ghana: Do Legislators Really Represent Their Constituents?
Full text linkThe question of whose interest legislators really represent is yet to be satisfactorily answered in the literature of legislative studies. The paper investigates whether Members of Parliament (MPs) in Ghana follow their constituents\u27 preference, their own judgment, or their parties\u27 interests. Qualitative data was collected through 25 in-depth interviews with MPs, senior parliamentary staff, Parliamentary press corps, and civil society groups. Using theoretical literature on ideal styles of representation—delegate, partisan, and trustee— the delegate role of MPs in relation to their constituents was largely overshadowed by the delivery of personalized and club goods as a way of representing their constituents. However, on a matter of policy, a partisan orientation strongly influences the legislative decision-making of MPs. This is due to the economic leverage that political parties have over their candidates’ re-election bid and a whip system that can compel MPs to prioritize the party\u27s interest over that of constituents and their own judgment. Informal factors, such as ethnicity, religion, schoolmates, family relations, and friendship, though they play a minor role in influencing their representational orientation, could potentially shape the secret dissenting views of MPs from their parties’ positions. These findings highlight the need to enhance public education on the core responsibilities of MPs. This will foster an enduring trustee relationship, essential for reducing excessive pressure and demands on MPs, and undue partisanship in legislative policy-making
Artificial Intelligence in Forensic Investigations. Doctrinal Gaps, Fundamental Rights and the Rule of Law
Full text linkThe article examines the growing tension between the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in criminal investigations and the protection of fundamental rights. While AI technologies such as facial recognition, predictive policing, and digital forensics promise greater efficiency in law enforcement, they simultaneously raise serious concerns related to privacy, equality, non-discrimination, and the right to a fair trial. The analysis demonstrates that the current legal and doctrinal framework remains insufficiently developed to address these challenges, creating the risk of fragmented practices and undermining legal certainty. Drawing on European and international standards, as well as recent doctrinal debates, the article highlights the main risks: algorithmic opacity, indirect discrimination, automation bias, and the lack of consolidated jurisprudence regarding AI-generated evidence. The article contributes to filling this gap by identifying doctrinal lacunae and proposing research and regulatory directions. These include the need for clear procedural standards, mandatory algorithmic audits, minimum safeguards for digital evidence, strict limitations on the use of predictive technologies, and investment in digital literacy for justice professionals. AI should not be rejected as a threat, but integrated responsibly into the legal system, ensuring both security and respect for the rule of law
Optimizing Financial Data Analysis: A Comparative Study of Preprocessing Techniques for Regression Modeling of Apple Inc.\u27s Net Income and Stock Prices
Full text linkThis article presents a comprehensive methodology for processing financial datasets of Apple Inc., encompassing quarterly income and daily stock prices, spanning from March 31, 2009, to December 31, 2023. Leveraging 60 observations for quarterly income and 3774 observations for daily stock prices, sourced from Macrotrends and Yahoo Finance respectively, the study outlines five distinct datasets crafted through varied preprocessing techniques. Through detailed explanations of aggregation, interpolation (linear, polynomial, and cubic spline) and lagged variables methods, the study elucidates the steps taken to transform raw data into analytically rich datasets. Subsequently, the article delves into regression analysis, aiming to decipher which of the five data processing methods best suits capital market analysis, by employing both linear and polynomial regression models on each preprocessed dataset and evaluating their performance using a range of metrics, including cross-validation score, MSE, MAE, RMSE, R-squared, and Adjusted R-squared. The research findings reveal that linear interpolation with polynomial regression emerges as the top-performing method, boasting the lowest validation MSE and MAE values, alongside the highest R-squared and Adjusted R-squared values
Investigation of the Relationship Between Location and Success in Venture Capital Investments: European Context
Full text linkMany academic studies explore the relationship between location and the likelihood of a successful outcome of venture capital investments. However, most of these studies are based in the United States. Nevertheless, the existing literature yielded contradicting findings. Some authors claim that the distance between venture capital and startup is crucial in explaining the latter\u27s venture success. Others find that this is not necessarily the case. This article aims to contribute to the topic by investigating this relationship within the European continent, particularly the countries of Germany, Switzerland, Austria and The Netherlands. The empirical results from the logistic regression estimated using data from Crunchbase covering years 2007-2021, suggest that location\u27s impact on the startup\u27s probability of success is negligible. This could mean that the \u27right\u27 business opportunity can attract investors, despite the geographical distance. The article contributes to the ongoing scholarly debate by providing recommendations for European policymakers