Although organic farming is an important topic for society, at the European level there have been few achievements so far. Despite its constant increase, the demand for organic food in Europe is outweighing the development of this sector. As such, we aim to assess the interaction between conventional and organic agriculture, as well as their impact on the value of agricultural production at the European level. The main objective of this article is the assessment of the impact of organic farming, as compared with conventional agriculture, on sustainable development of European countries. Therefore, we used panel models based on data collected from the Eurostat database. We found that an increase of 1% of the organic farming areas will generate a contraction in agricultural production of 0.278%, whereas a 1% increase in the production of fertilizers would generate an increase of 0.260% in agriculture production. Moreover, an increase of 1% in the production of plant protection substances and in gross capital formation would generate increases of 0.1190% and 0.0933%, respectively, in agriculture production. The obtained results depend mainly on the characteristics of work on land, as some agricultural engineering methods (crop rotation, pest control, use of fertilizers etc.) influence productivity and production.

Information and communication technologies (ICT) play a central role at the European level because it fosters innovation and increases productivity through an enlarged access to information. As such, the main objective of this work was to assess the impact of various ICT core indicators at the European Union level on two of their sustainable development goals: economic growth and reduction of inequality. To this purpose, we used panel data models based on data collected from the Eurostat database. We proposed two panel data regression models, according to which we found a positive statistically significant relationship between the variable measuring level of internet access and change in GDP per capita. We also found a negative relationship between the transition towards a digital society and the dependent variable INEQ_INC, namely an increase of 1% of ICT sector share in GDP will lead to a decrease of 0.27% of income inequality distribution. This result showed that the progress made in implementing a digital society may decrease societal income inequality.

Brain drain is a phenomenon that, over time, has followed an upward trend. It is an important component represented by physicians’ migration. For the country of destination, the migration of physicians offers several advantages, whereas the country of origin loses skilled and sometimes highly trained individuals. This process will be reflected both in the efficiency of the health system (severe employment shortage) and in the quality of the health system services. After Romania’s accession to the EU, the migration of doctors intensified, significantly increasing the shortage of physicians. The purpose of this article is to identify the push factors that influence the physicians’ decision to migrate from Romania. For this, a panel regression analysis was applied, highlighting that physicians’ migration is influenced by several factors, such as the number of beds in hospitals, the number of emigrants, unemployment rate, and income. At the same time, we analyzed the extent to which public policy measures addressed to the remuneration of medical staff influenced the propensity towards external mobility of the practicing doctors, already employed and/or graduates. The results confirm that public policies can be a tool for redistributing the labor force allocation on the labor market. Moreover, the results of our analysis highlight that specific measures do not solve the system crises facing the health sector. Systemic, multidimensional changes are needed, adapted to the needs of medical services specific to the geographical area and adequate to the health status of the population.

The purpose of the study is to investigate the impact of digitalization on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, taking into consideration the mediating effect of renewable energy consumption in the 27 European Union (EU) countries between 2000 and 2021, by employing generalized method of moments (GMM), panel-corrected standard error (PCSE) estimators, and mediating effect models. The findings show that digitization has both a direct and a partially mediating effect on net GHG emissions. This means that to reduce GHG emissions, digitalization should be used along with clean energy, environmentally friendly innovations, and low-carbon technologies. Digitalization represents a driver for increased energy consumption towards renewable energy, which in turn has a significant contribution to pollution reduction. However, the effect could be mixed, depending on the way in which digitalization is used and the country’s economic model. These findings suggest that EU countries should create a secure environment conducive to digitalization and innovation, support digital and green startups, digital transformation, and traditional industry upgrades. Also, EU governments should consider renewable energy caused by digitalization as a critical factor in preventing pollution and climate change policies, in addition to energy savings, energy efficiency, and innovation. Additionally, EU countries should improve their research and innovation policies to develop green technologies, which are essential for accelerating the transition to clean energy, improving environmental quality, and preventing climate change. Furthermore, the EU countries should consider information and communication technology (ICT) trade as an important driver for their clean energy policies.

International authorities such as the European Commission and the United Nations pay special attention to sustainable urban development, for this purpose, strategies such as the European Green Deal or the Sustainable Development Strategy 2030 agenda, SDG 11 Sustainable cities and communities are developed. Urban development represents a fundamental direction in the transition process towards the green economy, a sustainable economic model. The paper aims to identify the degree of efficiency of economic development in the context of sustainable development for 41 cities in Romania, Germany, Japan, United States of America and Australia. To achieve this objective, the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method is used, with the aim of identifying the gaps regarding the sustainability of the analyzed cities. Data Envelopment Analysis allows the evaluation of the efficiency of urban settlements in the sample based on representative variables, selected as input. So, the research is ready to give answer to question like “What are the efficient cities in terms of sustainability?” and “What are the relationships between the cities included in the sample?”. The main results showed that there are cities that have a model of sustainable economic development, but certain cities present significant gaps from the point of view of efficient sustainable economic development. In addition, port cities seem to develop an association relationship, with inefficient port cities being associated with efficient port cities.

The relationship between thyroid dysfunction and postpartum depression has been investigated for quite some time now, but no consensus has been reached regarding the need for screening for thyroid function during pregnancy. This paper aims to investigate whether thyroid hormone screening in pregnancy might contribute to the diagnosis of postpartum depression. Depression was assessed using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) - one of the most widely used measures in detecting postpartum depression and anxiety. Thyroid function was measured using the commonly recommended thyroid laboratory tests. A structured questionnaire was given to 61 patients closely monitored during their pregnancy and at least one year after giving birth, including for thyroid and depression disorders. The questionnaire was completed anonymously online by the patients and had three sections: one containing the EPDS questions, one assessing thyroid function, and a demographic section. The interdependency between thyroid and depression was analyzed in SPSS using the Pearson chi-square test of independence. The results show no statistically significant relationship between thyroid dysfunction and depression. In other words, women suffering from thyroid dysfunctions have no greater rate of depression compared to women without thyroid dysfunction. As a result, it screening for thyroid disorders during pregnancy may not provide relevant information for detecting postnatal depression.