%0 Journal Article %T MACRO-REGIONAL DISPARITIES IN ROMANIA %A MARIA O£¿IL %A MIHAI P£¿REAN %J Annals of the University of Petrosani : Economics %D 2010 %I University of Petrosani %X Economic disparities are disparities between levels of economicdevelopment of the areas or regions within a national economy. If economic literature hasfailed to explain the causes of inequalities in economic development of different regions of theEU, this issue became a priority in EU economic policy, especially after the adhesion ofGreece, Spain and Portugal, countries characterized by a lower level of development fromother EU countries and also marked by significant regional imbalances. European Unionsupports reducing disparities between different regions of Member States so that all regionsand their people to benefit from economic and social advantages of the Union. This paper aimsto highlight disparities between the macro-regions in Romania. Regional demarcation criterionin the NUTS system is the population¡¯s number within a territory. Most pertinent argument isthat the goal of all activities in a society lies in meeting the needs of the individual and of thecommunity. This possibility is ensured by a certain level of economic development in the region.Less developed areas of Romania are located in Northern Moldova and in the South EasternRomanian Plain and the more developed areas include, in addition to Bucharest andConstanta, Transylvania and Banat regions. %K disparities %K %K macro-regions %K regional development %K demographic indicators %K GDP per capita %K employment rate %K foreign direct investment %K R&D expenditure %U http://www.upet.ro/anale/economie/pdf/20100224.pdf