Road accidents are often caused by an accumulation of elements which belong largely to four major classes of conditions: the human factor, infrastructure, vehicles and weather conditions. In Romania the number of fatal road accidents per capita is among the highest in Europe. In order to limit the number of directly fatal road accidents, it is essential to know the contributing factors that lead to their increase. The purpose of this study is to synthetically analyze the conditions related to human and environmental factors that contribute to directly fatal road accidents on a representative sample of cases. Our study has identified as major risk factors for fatal road accidents: male gender, age between 30 and 39 years old, low educational level, darkness, inattention, excessive speed while driving. Therefore the main risk factors for fatal road accidents are similar to those in other countries. The large number of cases (positioning us on the first three places in the EU, together with Lithuania and Croatia) may be decreased by implementing protective measures similar to those in other EU countries, which have been shown to significantly decrease the number of fatal road accidents.

The KOF Globalization Index reflects the level of economic, social and political globalization and covers over 200 countries. Since 2015, this index has fallen for the first time, after stagnating between 2009-2015. This decline is mainly attributed to trade and financial flows caused by the deterioration of the general policy framework. Equally, the social component has the same downward trend. In view of these considerations, many voices call into question the process of deglobalisation or diminishing integration between the nations of the world. Equally, the Sustainable Development Goals aim at global collaboration in the three dimensions-economic, social and environmental-taking into account different national levels of development and in line with national priorities and policies. In the present study, we aimed to address the factors of sustainable development from the perspective of the deglobalization process and to identify to what extent the objectives of sustainable development will be affected, in the medium and long term, given that two of the pillars on which the sustainable development is based are directly affected.

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The world is currently facing great challenges generated by the fourth industrial revolution. If the first three major industrial revolutions took place over several centuries, the current revolution, in full swing, is characterized by an alert rhythm, having an exponential evolution, rather than a linear one. Many specialists consider that this is a continuation of the third industrial revolution, started in the sixties of the last century, but the permanent need to adapt and change the business models that characterize daily life determines us to appreciate that they represent the elements of a new, unusual revolution, which will greatly change the face of humanity. Digital technology will bring about essential changes in business, social organization and even current governance models. In this sense, we will approach the digitization of the business from the perspective of the three pillars, social, economic and environment, to conclude to what extent, this new and last revolution adheres to the principles of sustainable development. In this study, we aim to analyze the economic links between the digitization of business and sustainable development in Romania, through an econometric analysis. The results of the econometric analysis will determine to what extent the defining elements of sustainable development will be influenced by this phenomenon. Furthermore, we would like undeline that the fourth industrial revolution, by digitizing business, will affect the three pillars of sustainable development, without mitigation measures which the decision makers should consider, amplifying the phenomenon of social inequity, deepening economic imbalances as a result of the polarization of economic activities, concentrated only in certain regions and irreparably affecting the environment and natural balance, becoming a danger to biodiversity conservation.

The Kurzarbeit model was applied by several European governments during the previous crisis of 2008-2009 and involved the design of small state-funded work schemes. Governments have supported subsidized companies to compensate for the loss of revenue. Adapting the model to the crisis has been much easier in countries where regulation already exists, compared to the countries that adopted it for the first time. The efficiency of the model was different, with the best results being obtained by countries that had robust economies before the crisis. Overall, at the level of countries that have applied this model, it can be said that the model provided job stability during the crisis, not the certainty that workers will keep their jobs even after the crisis. Given the recent decision of the Romanian Government to apply the Kurzarbeit measure in our country as well, in the current study we considered the analysis of those issues that affected the countries that adopted this model for the first time, in the previous crisis, at which we added the unprecedented impact of the recent pandemic and the particular aspects that characterize today’s Romanian economy. The results show that, without analyzing the particularities that differentiate Romania from the countries that have successfully applied the model, the Kurzarbeit model will not ensure the sustainable development of the social factor and the employment rate assumed for 2020, and social inequalities and poverty will continue to deepen.