The drivers of economic growth and development are among the most important issues explored by economic theory. Sustainability of economic development was previously linked by various economic schools of thought to natural resources (agriculture, land, minerals, metals etc.), labor force (including skills, productivity, and education), entrepreneurship or technology and innovation. Capital was later introduced by classical economic theory as the key element. Without significant capital accumulation, all other production factors remain idle. The value added of the production process is a result of the existence, the accessibility and the cost of capital. Therefore, the development and the sophistication of the financial sector has gradually become very important for any nation interested in sustainable growth. This paper investigates the impact of financial sector development, sophistication and performance on economic growth based on a panel regression methodology. We found statistically significant results that confirm the importance of this connection and that are very consistent with economic theory and previous relevant articles and studies.

Fighting corruption and enhancing tax compliance through digital public services represent key factors for increasing sustainable development in Romania. We argue that fighting corruption may increase the level of sustainable development, through digital pubic services. Using digital public services leads to the increase of the level of tax compliance, because entrepreneurs will feel more confident and responsible and they will decide to better comply. Tax regulations can affect the level of tax compliance through the additional costs they generate. The discussion is based on the consideration of the costs generated by compliant behavior and we explain how such costs influence the entrepreneurs’ decision in the fiscal environment. If the costs are higher, entrepreneurs will take evasive initiatives and will refuse to comply. Among the numerous tools developed to fight corruption, the use of communication technologies has recently been researched and there is still need for further research in the Romanian economic environment. The use of digital public services reduces costs for entrepreneurs and increases their confidence in state institutions due to higher levels of transparency. We argue for increasing sustainable development in Romania through digital public services, thus fighting corruption and enhancing tax compliance.

Drawing from a body of strategic management literature, we explore the approaches proposed by theory and available to business decision makers during crisis. We argue that there is no real theory of success of management during crisis but only broad principles that should be followed. In a certain sense, experience and intuition – what could be called soft skills – are as important as hardcore economics. Moreover, the metrics of measuring crisis and the impact of decisions during such circumstances are to be further explored and divided in a comprehensive taxonomy. Despite its popular use, crisis management is at the start of its development. The authors advance both an approach as well as a tool for supporting decisions during business crisis.

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to prove that the abandonment of the issues of competition in the multilateral framework is not an ultimate verdict that strictly separates the two public policies: trade and competition policy.Design/methodology/approachThe paper critically examines the conflicts between the two policies (competition and trade), through an insight analysis and case interpretation, evaluates different opinions and makes some suggestions to support the logical conclusion that these two fields cannot be separated.FindingsThe final consideration is the synergy between the two is an imperative; or in other words, any specific policy dealing with only one of the fields will be successful in the long term only by taking into consideration the effects in the other field.Practical implicationsThe World Trade Organization had to make a choice not between the half full or the half empty glass but between a full glass – difficult to manage because of the danger to spill over – and a half‐full glass – easy to manage because of the large margin.Originality/valueThe paper critically examines the conflicts between the two policies (competition and trade), through an insight analysis and case interpretation.

The existent literature on the economic integration in South East Asia has been predominantly focused on trade agreements and market liberalization (Thanh 2005, Dee 2007). While preferential trade agreements and regional institutional cooperation have been important stepping stones in the catching up process of many economies in the region, we argue that other drivers should be considered for the following years. Looking at the case study of Vietnam we therefore firstly account for its historical process of integration in the regional and global economy by way of the international agreements. This allows us to understand the relative positioning of this country in the world market. We subsequently develop an in-depth analysis of the current drivers for economic integration and internationalization. We argue that Vietnam's potential in the digital economy is distinctive in the Indochina region, and we develop a systematic analysis of the market trends.