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Free trade in Romania after 1989: open borders, closed down industries
Workers used to be the most valuable resource of any industrialized country. Photo: Paul Stang No good can come of it when proper planning is lacking is how we could sum up the past 20 years of Romanian industry. Until 1989, Romania was the fourth country in the world […]
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Political Foes, Buddies in Trade
Macedonia and Greece are neighbors and political foes. They have politically “disliked” each other (to put it mildly) since 1991 when Macedonia became independent. Tension between these two countries peaked back in 1994 when Macedonia was subject to a trade embargo from Greece. At the same time, from 1992 to […]
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Polish Plumbers and Muslim Extremists: Globalization’s Ghost Stories
A spectre is haunting Europe – the spectre of immigration. All the powers of the Old World have entered into a holy alliance to exorcise this spectre: President and Chancellor, LePen and Wilders, Norse Radicals and French burka-banners. The western world has always had its ghost stories: strange, sinister […]
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What’s the real merit of free trade?
As far as I know I have never thought about free trade apart when I had to during university classes which is probably a solid enough indicator that this topic is rather remote from my personal concerns. So either I take for granted the advantages that come with the European […]
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Trade in Romania: What’s local in a single market?
The strawberry season started late this year in Romania as the winter has been long and damp. A couple of days ago I went to the market next to my house and struck up a conversation with the strawberry seller. He was praising the fruit: “They’re grown in Romania, madam. […]