Marius-Cristian Pană

@ase.ro

Department of Economics and Economic Policy, Faculty of Theoretical and Applied Economics
Bucharest University of Economic Studies

Marius-Cristian Pană


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https://researchid.co/panamarius

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Institutional Economics, Economics of Education
12

Scopus Publications

Scopus Publications

  • Higher Education in Romania in the Age of AI: Reskilling for Resilience and Sustainable Human Capital Development
    Daria Elisa Vuc, Viorela Denisa Stroe, Mina Fanea-Ivanovici, Marius Cristian Pană, Robert Maftei
    Sustainability Switzerland, 2026
    The matter of aligning universities’ curricula with the actual demands of a constantly changing labor market has become an important issue nowadays, due to the prevailing mismatches between acquired skills and competences during education years and the necessities of current jobs. Disequilibria and inequalities in the labor market often generate general disappointment with education degrees. With the pressure of technological advancements and AI integration in many areas of work, future employees’ career paths are challenged even more, and the adaptability of higher education institutions to the real needs of the labor market is questioned. Artificial intelligence (AI) is the technology that allows computer systems and machines to simulate human learning, problem-solving, and decision-making. This paper aims to explore if universities in Romania foster sustainable human capital development through enhancing their educational programs to fit the changes produced by artificial intelligence and how the reskilling of graduates will play a hugely significant role in staying resilient during such disruptions. A quantitative survey was conducted among recent Romanian university graduates to outline their perceptions of curriculum relevance and their level of preparedness for the AI-driven job market. The results highlight gaps between formal education and labor market demands in terms of limited exposure to AI-related skills and a growing need for reskilling to secure suitable jobs for graduates in the long term, while also emphasizing the importance of aligning educational policies with sustainable labor market integration.
  • Between Benefits and Risks for Sustainable Economic Growth: Minimum Wage’s Impact on Youth Unemployment Across Five CEE Countries
    Viorela Denisa Stroe, Daria Elisa Vuc, Marius Cristian Pană, Mina Fanea-Ivanovici, Robert Maftei
    Sustainability Switzerland, 2025
    Minimum wage changes have long influenced labour market debates, raising interest in their effects on youth workers and on policies that aim to reduce wage disparities while fostering sustainable economic growth. This article examines the relationship between minimum wage adjustments and youth unemployment in five CEE countries: Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. Institutional arrangements related to the minimum wage are complex and the study outlines both potential benefits and risks for inexperienced employees. A fixed-effects panel regression over 2010–2024 is employed, with the econometric model implemented in Python (version 3.11) to assess the impact of minimum wage increases on youth unemployment. The variables considered are minimum wage levels, youth unemployment, labour productivity, inflation, GDP per capita and NEET rate. The results reveal a positive and statistically significant relationship, suggesting a trade-off between higher minimum wages and youth opportunities in the region. However, the impact varies depending on each country’s institutional context. Moreover, market-oriented policies and inclusive institutions are essential for achieving a sustainable balance between income protection and employment opportunities. Overall, the article contributes to developing context-specific labour market policies within the framework of sustainable development, stressing the importance of wage-setting institutions in promoting resilient and inclusive employment.
  • What do you value based on who you are? Big five personality traits, destination value and electronic word-of-mouth intentions
    Mina Fanea-Ivanovici, Hasnan Baber, Islam Elbayoumi Salem, Marius-Cristian Pana
    Tourism and Hospitality Research, 2025
    The travel and tourism sector (TTS) is an important source of jobs and revenues for any country. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has shattered some industries more than others, with the TTS being one of the most affected ones in Romania. Recovery of TTS is, therefore, critical due to its significant share in the country’s GDP. Electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM) has recently become a strong instrument that voices the experiences of customers in the online environment and further determines consumption of tourism services by other people. The choice of a tourist destination depends on a decision involving evaluations of economic, emotional, social and altruistic values attached to that destination. These evaluations can determine electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM) intentions as tourists need to share their experiences. Using PLS-SEM ( n=469) on the Romanian tourist population, the research hereby checks the influence of the big five personality traits (BFPT): openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism on the destination values. This research also aims to analyze the relationship between the big five personality traits and e-WOM intentions, using the mediating role of destination value, in choosing a tourist destination in Romania. Results are useful both for tourism operators and industry policy makers.
  • WHY “ALL FOR ONE” MIGHT NOT LAST “ONCE AND FOR ALL”? THE (UN)DISSIMULATED GEOPOLITICAL AND INSTITUTIONAL COMPETITION IN A TECHNOLOGY-TENSED EUROPEAN UNION
    Amfiteatru Economic, 2025
  • Do price consciousness, anti-socializing behavior and content add fuel to consuming online video streaming? A multigroup analysis and moderating role of gender and marital status
    Hasnan Baber, Mina Fanea-Ivanovici, Marius-Cristian Pana, Alina Magdalena Manole
    Online Information Review, 2024
    PurposeVideo streaming consumption has become a social and economic phenomenon in an age where the share of online entertainment has become larger and larger in the total entertainment pie. Besides the advancement of technology, the pandemic further contributed to its development. The aim of this study is to analyze the role of price consciousness, anti-socializing behavior and choice of content in shaping the video streaming consumption. Furthermore, we look at the moderating role of gender and marital status on the hypothesized relationships.Design/methodology/approachThe data were collected from a sample of 533 Romanian respondents, and it was processed using Partial Least Square structural equation modeling. In addition, Necessary Condition Analysis was used to assess the necessity effect size of an independent variable for a specific outcome of a dependent variable.FindingsWe find that the main hypotheses are confirmed, and that gender as a moderating variable negatively influences the relationship between anti-socializing behavior and video streaming consumption.Research limitations/implicationsBesides the main findings pertaining to video streaming consumption determinants, psychology scholars concerned about the relationship between anti-socializing behavior and video streaming consumption as a part of the total time spent online could also benefit from the current findings.Practical implicationsThe results of this study will be helpful to industry players in designing their video streaming offer after taking into consideration the influence of the discussed variables on the consumption behavior.Social implicationsWhile anti-socializing behavior drives consumers to a digital environment for which they control the settings, the content being streamed is a cultural product, influenced by society and its consumption immerses the viewer in the cultural mores of the time and place the content was created in or depicts; hence, anti-socializing behavior does not mean a complete break from society, but rather a different instantiation of people’s need to connect with their social environment.Originality/valueThe novelty of this research stands in the integration of anti-socializing behavior as an explanatory factor of video streaming consumption, which has not yet been used in models explaining online consumption so far.
  • Predicting Romanian tourism e-WOM intentions using value and personality theories
    Hasnan Baber, Marius-Cristian Pană, Mina Fanea-Ivanovici
    European Journal of Innovation Management, 2024
    PurposeThe tourism industry has a huge potential, and the return to its state prior to the COVID-19 pandemic is a large stake for any economy. Tourism e-WOM is an important contributor towards attracting visitors and choosing tourism destinations. Drawing from the value and personality theories, the aim of this study is to investigate the factors determining e-WOM intentions in tourism.Design/methodology/approachBased on a sample of 469 responses collected online from a random sample of Romanians and using partial least squares structural equation modelling, the authors hereby analyze the influence of economic, emotional, social and altruistic values on e-WOM intentions, and the moderating effects of the big five personality traits (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism) on this relationship.FindingsThe results of the study revealed that except economic value, all the exogenous (emotional, social and altruistic) values have a positive influence on the e-WOM intentions. However, the study further suggested that the big five personality traits do not moderate the relationship between the value factors and e-WOM intentions.Research limitations/implicationsThe influence of perceived value will be useful for building a stout marketing strategy and to describe e-WOM behaviour among Romanians.Practical implicationsTourism service providers can promote their services by stressing the various types of value bestowed by their offers.Originality/valueAlthough inspired by existing research, the current study is original in that the model used has not yet been proposed before, all the more so for the particular case of the tourism industry.
  • Consumption of Cinema and Substitutes—At the Crossroads during the Pandemic
    Mina Fanea-Ivanovici, Hasnan Baber, Marius-Cristian Pană, Alina Magdalena Manole
    Quarterly Review of Film and Video, 2024
  • Crowdfunding as a Smart Finance and Management Tool: Institutional Determinants and Well-Being Considerations. Evidence from Four Central and Eastern European Countries
    Mina Fanea-Ivanovici, Marius-Cristian Pană
    Managing Smart Cities Sustainability and Resilience Through Effective Management, 2022
  • ECONOMIC DETERMINANTS OF OBESITY AND OVERWEIGHT IN TEN POST-COMMUNIST CEE COUNTRIES – SIMILAR TRENDS?
    PANA MARIUS-CRISTIAN, SACALA MIHAIL DUMITRU, VOICU CRISTINA, FANEA-IVANOVICI MINA, MUNTEANU IRINA
    Economic Computation and Economic Cybernetics Studies and Research, 2022
  • From Culture to Smart Culture. How Digital Transformations Enhance Citizens' Well-Being through Better Cultural Accessibility and Inclusion
    Mina Fanea-Ivanovici, Marius-Cristian Pana
    IEEE Access, 2020
    The aim of the paper at hand is to discuss how digital transformations can improve citizens’ well-being in terms of cultural consumption possibilities. Culture is traditionally inextricably connected to the life of a city. So far the digital revolution has improved virtually all areas of activity within cities, such as communication, transportation, distribution, healthcare, finance, education, and business. On a similar note, it is high time for culture to follow the same trend in order for citizens to benefit from improved cultural accessibility and inclusion. Without the latter, the cultural experience would be less accessible and/or more costly. First, we showcase local initiatives regarding cultural technology. We then analyze the main initiatives in terms of public policy aimed at improving accessibility and inclusion for memory institutions (galleries, libraries, archives and museums), as well as their implications. Further, we present the main achievements in terms of cultural digitization using as reference the European Digital Library, Europeana. We conclude by highlighting the main benefits and challenges of developing smart culture, with a focus on citizens’ well-being.
  • Institutional arrangements and overeducation: Challenges for sustainable growth. Evidence from the Romanian Labour Market
    Pană, Fanea-Ivanovici
    Sustainability Switzerland, 2019
  • Fighting corruption and enhancing tax compliance through digitization: Achieving sustainable development in Romania
    Mina Fanea-Ivanovici, Radu-Cristian Muşetescu, Marius-Cristian Pană, Cristina Voicu
    Sustainability Switzerland, 2019