In the context of the recent labor shortages in Eastern European countries, Romania included, companies, organizations and decision makers need to strongly address the issue of labor motivation for increasing worker performance and also for attracting the scarce labor resources. The main goal of the research is to explore new determinants of work motivation, such as regional sustainability and also individual factors related to individual expectations. Therefore, the responsive methodology used for this purpose implies a multilevel econometric modelling, in which the first level regards individuals, and the second one consists in development regions. Moreover, the role of individual factors is tested using Vroom’s theory of expectations and filling a gap in the existing literature on work motivation in developing, post-communist economies. The main findings prove that one dimension of sustainability, namely social sustainability has a significant impact on work motivation, alongside with four dimensions of individual factors. Economic and environmental sustainability have no significant impact on work motivation in the case of Romanian workers.

The emerging economies that do not face fiscal, monetary and foreign debt pressures can use the savings generated by lower oil prices for investments in order to generate economic growth. Hence, there is no doubt that the oil price affects the economy’s resilience to shocks. The importance of this impact derives from the magnitude of the price change and its diffusion within the economy. Moreover, the sustainability of any company and of the economy as a whole is subject to the availability and the price of the energy resources. The cost of these resources is an important variable used in the majority of the models regarding the assessment of sustainable development. Therefore, this article examines the impact of the oil price changes on industrial production in Romania. We found that, similar to other countries, in Romania, the growth rate of industrial production responds more strongly to a rise in oil prices. Thus, the oil Brent price has an asymmetric effect on the production evolution. This finding suggests that macroeconomic stabilization is more difficult to achieve when the oil price rises.

The epidemic has forced the academic world, regardless of nation of origin, to unify to find a response to the economic and social difficulties we confront as quickly as possible. This paper investigates how academic performance in terms of scientific publications, especially during the pandemic period, may constitute the premises for boosting professional well-being. The analysis focuses on the researchers and professors of the Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies, analysing in a comparative way the academic performance during the pandemic as a fundamental side of their professional career. To do that, two samples of scientific publications collected between January 2020 and December 2021 were investigated. The first sample comprised 1411 documents indexed in the WoS database, while the second one was formed by 876 documents indexed in the Scopus database. All samples were published during the pandemic and have the university’s affiliation. The empirical findings indicated that the pandemic has created a boost in the number and quality of medical publications for the professors at the Bucharest University of Economic Studies. They created new multidisciplinary teams (economics and medicine), strengthening and widening national and international collaborations.

The European Funds market is a key mechanism for fostering regional development and economic growth within the European Union, yet its efficiency can be undermined by information asymmetry, which complicates fund absorption processes. This paper investigates the European Funds market and explores how adverse selection and moral hazard impact the dynamics of the fund allocation. Through qualitative research, the authors assess the European Funds market, identify its key stakeholders, and explore factors influencing funds absorption. Findings reveal complex interactions among European Union institutions, managing authorities, beneficiaries, and consultants. The research highlights economic, administrative, institutional, and social factors that affect fund absorption rates and pinpoint adverse selection and moral hazard as primary consequences of information asymmetry in the European Funds market. By emphasizing the importance of effective communication processes and describing the experiences of various actors in European-funded projects, the study provides actionable insights for policymakers and stakeholders. This paper offers a new perspective on the European Funds market and links information asymmetry to inefficiencies in fund allocation. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the European Funds market, fostering transparency, enhancing institutional capacities, and promoting sustainability in the governance of public funds.