ROMANIA IN EU CONTEXT.
      COMPETITIVENESS AND KNOWLEDGE-BASED ECONOMY

                       Gheorghe Zaman, Professor PhD
                        Corresponding member of Romanian Academy

                                   Blănaru Adrian, PhD
                                                 


ABSTRACT: The paper analyses Romania’s competitiveness and knowledge-based economy
in an EU comparative context for the 2006-2007 period.
       The main compared pillar-indices are the following: global competitiveness index;
higher education and training; technological readiness; business sophistication; innovation.
Each pillar index is disaggregated into several relevant sub indices. Comparisons are made
between Romania and EU-25, EU-10 (new member states since 2004), Bulgaria and Turkey
on the basis of positions and scores of each country or group of countries, within a total
framework of 131 countries. The size of Romania’s “digital divide” vis-à-vis EU-25 can be
used as a tool for national priority setting and better policies regarding catching up and
convergence processes in digital economy.

Keywords: competitiveness; knowledge-based society; national and international value chains;
catching-up; convergence; digital divide; brain drain; knowledge creation, absorption and diffusion.

JEL Codes: E00.