Aspen Romania White Paper on Competitiveness

At the Aspen Institute Romania we have decided early on, already in 2010 that both competitiveness and governance issues deserve a special attention. Our work has taken the form of a Task Force on European Economic Governance that has published its conclusions earlier this year, and the present [RO Competitiveness 2.0] White Paper on National Economic Competitiveness for Romania. Like the rest of the world around it, Romania is going through extraordinary times, which are in turn requiring extraordinary things from its leadership. From its position as an emerging market, Romania's policy agenda can be daunting even at the best of times, which these are
very clearly not. In the future, whatever the common European response to the crisis will be, competitiveness and overall productivity of an economy will be a defining factor of its voice and influence in the EU. Nothing correlates better with development and prosperity than the ability to compete. 
This is why, the objective for the Aspen Institute Romania Permanent Economic Committee was to investigate what the country can and must do in order to ensure that it does not let the urgent (dealing with an unprecedented financial crisis it did not cause) crowd out the important, which is building the framework for a pathway to prosperity. We have started this work aware of the many pitfalls and difficulties of charting a set of recommendations that are inclusive and representative for the various perspectives and communities with an interest in Romania's economic and social competitiveness. This is the joint work of a body of talented and committed individuals, corporate as well as public and civic sector representatives that form the core contributors of our permanent committees at Aspen Romania. Their combined expertise, determination and willingness to contribute to a greater common good are all reflected in this product.

This White Paper serves as an open invitation to individuals and institutions interested in the broad set of topics that define national competitiveness. Aspen Institute Romania offers a nonpartisan and inclusive platform with a view to achieving significant results in creating a common narrative for Romania's economic future. With this White Paper on National Economic Competitiveness for Romania we are creating a basis and a platform for open dialogue and effective decision-making. The active participation of corporations and communities, foreign investors and government experts makes our work possible and valuable. This needs to be continued and expanded to transform our present success into lasting significance.