INCSMPS

📢 The Informality Data Research Lab (IDRL) joined SHADOW 2025, the leading niche conference on informality, bringing together the most relevant voices in the field since 2009. Represented by Senior Expert Adriana AnaMaria Davidescu and PhD student Diana Agafiței, our team contributed to the ongoing debates on measuring and understanding the shadow economy.

PhD student Diana Agafiței presented the paper “Shadow Markets in Broad Daylight: A Currency-Demand Atlas of the Shadow Economy in Central and Eastern Europe”, carried out in collaboration with Prof. Roberto Dell’Anno (University of Salerno) and Prof. Adriana Davidescu (BUES).

The study applies the Currency Demand Approach (CDA) enriched by PMG–ARDL econometric models to estimate informality across 13 CEE countries.

🔎 Key finding: the research confirms that while higher taxation increases informality, only strong institutional enforcement and robust financial infrastructure can sustainably reduce the size of the shadow economy. Taxation alone cannot eliminate informality — effective enforcement emerges as the decisive factor.

👏 Congratulations to Diana Agafiței for her composure, clarity, and confidence in engaging with leading experts in the field.

📢 New Estimates on Informal Employment in Romania

Our research team has recently produced updated estimates of informal employment in Romania for the period 2000–2024, using the labour input method – an indirect approach based on the gap between the hypothetical active population and the actual figures reported in labour force surveys.

📈 The results highlight two major periods of increased informal employment:
• 2002–2005 – informal employment exceeded 20% of the active population, peaking at 23% in Q1 2003.
• 2021–2024 – estimates show nearly 30% of the active population involved in informal work, driven by post-pandemic shifts and the limited capacity of the formal labour market.

➡️ Despite economic recovery, informal employment remains persistently high, pointing to structural barriers in the formalisation process and challenges in labour market regulation.

📊 These findings are based on Eurostat data and a rigorous methodological framework focused on labour activity rates for individuals aged 15+.

The study provides a critical foundation for evidence-based policymaking, aiming to address labour market imbalances and ensure the sustainability of Romania’s social protection systems.

🔗 For more insights, feel free to contact us.

📣𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞!

Mihaela Ghența and Aniela Matei, authors of the chapter 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐀𝐝𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐋𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞, explore the complex relationship between social policies for older people and the issue of loneliness.

📌 𝐿𝑜𝑛𝑔-𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑒 – a vital part of the social protection system – can either alleviate or deepen feelings of loneliness among older adults. Previous studies point to a multitude of factors that pose difficulties in designing policy recommendations that can address loneliness in later life. Two strategic time frames are considered (2014–2020 and 2020–2026) to follow the structure of the European framework in terms of national strategies or action plans and to consequently map the policy response and progress, considering the challenges in addressing loneliness in later life. In the context of the scarcity of academic literature evaluating the effectiveness of loneliness interventions for older people, the proposed analysis will allow a critical reflection on the status and implementation of policy measures and interventions in this area.

📖 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-94565-6_13

📌This chapter is part of the new released open access book: 𝐌𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐋𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐓𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐚 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐱 𝐢𝐧 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞 (𝐄𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐣𝐚 𝐀𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬𝐞𝐧, 𝐈𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐚 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐮 & 𝐁𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐚 𝐒𝐮𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐭): https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-94565-6

Macro Social Influences on Loneliness in Later Life This open access book explores macro-social influences on loneliness in later life. introduces a new technique and helps to understand country variations

📢 𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐭 „𝐃𝐞𝐳𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐚, 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐚 𝐬̦𝐢 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐮𝐥𝐮𝐢 𝐌𝐎𝐈𝐒𝐄”

În urma recomandărilor primite din partea 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐥𝐮𝐢 𝐝𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐄𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚̆𝐫𝐢𝐢, 𝐚 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐚̆𝐭̦𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐫 𝐍𝐚𝐭̦𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐬̦𝐢 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐞, 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐦 𝐬̦𝐢 𝐚 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐮𝐢 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭̦𝐢𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐫 𝐬̦𝐢 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐫 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞 (𝐌𝐈𝐏𝐄), raportul inițial 𝐌𝐎𝐈𝐒𝐄 a fost actualizat.

📅 Versiunea consolidată a fost transmisă pe 𝟏𝟎 𝐢𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐞 către părțile implicate, în vederea continuării etapelor de analiză și validare.

🔄 Continuăm dezvoltarea modelului MOISE pentru a susține planificarea strategică a investițiilor europene și pentru a fundamenta decizii bazate pe date, în beneficiul dezvoltării economice și sociale durabile.

✅ 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐚 𝐰𝐫𝐚𝐩 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟖𝐭𝐡 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐄𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 – and what an inspiring event it’s been!

This year’s theme, Exploring Global Perspectives: The Future of Economics and Social Sciences, sparked vital conversations about the direction our world is heading. 🌍📈

We’re especially proud of the 𝐋𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐟𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤, hosted by 𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐒𝐌𝐏𝐒 and chaired by 𝐄𝐯𝐚 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐮 and 𝐃𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐚 𝐌. 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐨𝐧. It brought together thought leaders to discuss the future of work, welfare systems, and social policy. 🤝

📚 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤:
• 21 engaging presentations
• 10 articles submitted for publication
• 6 accepted in the conference proceedings
• 4 to be published in top academic journals:

- Management & Marketing
- Economic Computation and Economic Cybernetics Studies and Research
- Amfiteatru Economic
- Transformations in Business & Economics

A big thank you to all presenters, participants, and partners who helped make this event a success. ✨

🔖

𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐃𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐋𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥 & 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞

Recent research reveals how inflation, productivity, and other economic factors influence labour cost dynamics in Romania, the Czech Republic, Poland, and Hungary.

Using Granger causality tests and regression models, the study shows that past labour cost values, inflation, and labour productivity are key drivers of labour cost dynamics. Additionally, exports and employment rates can also influence labour costs, with country-specific patterns observed in Hungary and the Czech Republic.

Labour cost management strategies must be tailored to country-specific conditions to ensure profitability and competitiveness.

More in 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒍𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒅𝒚𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒄𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝑪𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑬𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏 𝑬𝒖𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔, published in 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰𝘀.

*This work was supported by the NUCLEU Program 2023–2026 funded by the Romanian Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitization (PN-22100104).




Link: https://www.ectap.ro/the-main-drivers-of-labour-cost-dynamics-in-central-and-eastern-european-countries-maria-denisa-vasilescu_larisa-stanila_amalia-cristescu_maria-berta-belu_silvana-crivoi/a1834/