The main purpose of this paper is to study the influence of various indicators related to the knowledge economy on country competitiveness in the European Union (EU). Based on the Pearson coefficient and panel-data regression models, we analyzed the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) in relation to research and development (R&D) expenditure (as a % of gross domestic product (GDP)), percentage of population with tertiary education, lifelong learning, GDP per capita, and debt to equity. The findings highlighted the crucial role of both innovation and education as determinants of EU competitiveness and economic convergence. The development of EU policies regarding the lifelong learning possibilities of the European workforce and the focus on research and development activities can significantly contribute to the competiveness of EU member states.

In the aftermath of Angola’s civil war, strong economic relations developed between the country and the People’s Republic of China. Our study addresses China’s investment risks in Angola, considering an infrastructure-for-petroleum partnership between these two countries. The main working hypothesis is that the recovery of Chinese investments made in Angola is has translated into thousands of barrels of petroleum being imported daily from Angola. We analyzed the main economic, social, and political indicators that describe the situation in Angola that could impact the recovery of Chinese loans in the form of oil exports. Data processing implied involved regression-based imputation, MinMax data normalization, the use of the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), and econometric analysis, next to the construction of a composite risk indicator. The results of the econometric analysis highlighted that an increase in the composite risk indicator of 1% leads to a decrease in the quantity of petroleum exported by almost 6377 barrels per day. Because, at least in the short run, the economic diversification in Angola is weak, and the most important asset is its oil, the partnership with China will continue to exist. This cooperation model represents a source of economic growth and infrastructure development for Angola and a source of energy that fuels China—one of the most powerful economies in the world.

The phenomenon of corruption is known all over the world, and its intensity varies according to economic, behavioral and educational factors. Transparency International is a global civil society that carries out regular opinion surveys and publishes the perceptions of corruption in countries around the world. This index identifies the level of corruption perceived in the world and contributes achieving a ranking of countries in this regard. The corruption perception index should be correlated with economic situation of a country. The economic situation of a country can be reflected by GDP and unemployment rate. The purpose of this study is to determine whether the index of corruption is influenced by the economic situation of a country, so the study analyses the corruption perception index, GDP and unemployment rate, establishing whether there is a link between them.

Corruption and migration influence the country level of development, so they have been debated and studied for a long time. Has been written a lot about the two phenomena and their relations with many social and economic factors, but the two also influence each other. The higher the level of corruption in a country, the more people will be more likely to migrate and vice versa. This study aims to study the link between the two phenomena considering the countries from Europe, over time, for the period 2008-2016, highlighting the implications in the economy. The variables analyzed are the Corruption Perception Index and the number of emigrants. The methods used are panel regression and cluster analysis and the processing and analysis was performed using the statistical software SAS (version 9.2) and SPSS (version 13 and 25). The findings show that there is a link at European level between the two phenomena, corruption and migration have a similar trend over time, and significant differences are registered between countries.