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A County-Level Analysis of the Economic Performance in Romania and Bulgaria Using Hierarchical Algorithms

Author

Listed:
  • Alexandra-Nicoleta Ciucu (Durnoi)

    (Institute for Economic Forecasting, Romanian Academy, 050711 Bucharest, Romania
    Department of Economic Informatics and Cybernetics, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, 010552 Bucharest, Romania)

  • Camelia Delcea

    (Department of Economic Informatics and Cybernetics, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, 010552 Bucharest, Romania)

  • Kosyo Stoychev

    (Department of Regional and Political Geography, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, 1164 Sofia, Bulgaria)

Abstract

The EU Regional Competitiveness Index 2.0 measures a region’s ability to provide an attractive environment for businesses and residents to work and live. According to this indicator, countries in the southern and eastern regions of the European Union are reported to have the lowest values. As it measures the performance of NUTS-2 regions, it was desired to study the problem in more detail, reaching the NUTS-3 level. Thus, within the current research, Romania and Bulgaria are studied by means of a county-level analysis of the economies of the two states established through the prism of the labor market, the field of health, transport, enterprises, tourism, education, and research. Through eight indicators, a series of maps designed to present the situation of the two states was illustrated, and the investigation continued with a cluster analysis carried out by the implementation of hierarchical algorithms. During the course of the current study, a classification and a ranking of the counties of the two countries were performed to determine the areas with the best or, in contrast, the poorest performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Alexandra-Nicoleta Ciucu (Durnoi) & Camelia Delcea & Kosyo Stoychev, 2024. "A County-Level Analysis of the Economic Performance in Romania and Bulgaria Using Hierarchical Algorithms," Stats, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-29, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jstats:v:7:y:2024:i:4:p:65-1127:d:1496933
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    References listed on IDEAS

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