No. 3 / 2026 — Autumn

Abstract. The present crisis is a new case study for the theories regarding economic fluctuations. The interpretation of this phenomenon varies from the acceptance of its character of rule in the history of capitalism, which brings corrections to excess in human behaviour, to the emphasis on its uniqueness determined by the effects of unprecedented globalization. The Romanian economy went through the crisis by having persistent structural problems which were partially masked by the expansion during the previous period of sustained economic growth. Considering that productivity is a significant parameter for the competitiveness of the national economy and that the healthy economic growth is a chance for diminishing the gap to other European countries, the paper aims at the identification of the economic activities which have contributed to economic growth until 2008 and of the potential sources of economic recovery in the next period. The research uses the empirical analysis in order to see the effects of the crisis, as well as to understand the signals given by the productivity trend regarding structural changes after the crisis started. Since the industry had a fast recovery in 2011 compared to other EU countries, the analysis is extended to the contribution of this activity to economic growth.