The Spatial Dimension of the Drug Trade in Romania

Abstract

The world pharmaceutical market is constantly growing. This market is the major element of foreign investments in health. It is considered that the pharmaceutical industry is known as the most profitable industry with research and development activities. Pharmaceutical products are the most important health related products, which are traded, accounting for 55% of the total health trade. The study follows the spatial design of the dynamics of drug trade, an economic activity with a particular dynamic influenced by a complex of factors. The research was carried out starting from a database that includes the number of employees, turnover, profit and number of companies in this field, for the period 2000-2018. In order to obtain the spatial dynamics of the drug trade, a series of cartographic models were developed regarding the four indicators, using the open-source QGis platform. The obtained results showed the complex of determinants of regional disparities in the trade in medicines, the most important being the level of economic development at the level of territorial administrative unit, as well as the regional demographic particularities.