Where Is Romania In The European Union’S Bioeconomic Context? The Cluster Analyses Approach

In the current context of crises (sanitary, energy, food) and the apparent climate change in Europe, an economic approach towards the bioeconomy is necessary for Romania. Furthermore, regarding the rapid and efficient transition from the polluting resource economy to the bioeconomy, Romania needs models and lessons from the EU MS with a similar economy and vision. The bioeconomy is an interdisciplinary area aimed at efficiently using biological resources. The pillars of the bioeconomy are durability, sustainability, and circularity. The article analyses the hierarchy of states in the European Union (EU) based on socio-economic indicators of the bioeconomy. The authors have used the European Commission’s Joint Research Center database for bioeconomy specific indexes. The sample consists of 28 MS, and the analyzed period covers 12 years, from 2008 to 2019. The bioeconomy indicators considered are the number of people employed, the turnover, and value-added at factor cost. Even though the values of the coefficients indicate an optimal number of four clusters, we have chosen option six groups to highlight Romania’s position with the most apparent similarities to another EU country. Research results from the hierarchical cluster analysis show that Romania has similarities with Poland. Given the results, Romanian policymakers can create institutional links with Polish authorities to exchange experience and best practices. The article is addressed to Romanian policymakers and researchers to support national policies to implement the bioeconomy principles and objectives by adapting Poland’s sustainable development models.