Important Information
This website uses cookies. By using this website you accept the use of cookies. Learn more.
Latest KPMG Change Readiness Index Highlights the Impact of Inclusive Growth and Income Inequality on the Capacity for Responding to Change.
“The CRI is designed so that users can drill down in each of the pillars for an in-depth picture of a country’s performance for each capability, gaining an understanding of why some nations perform better than others, and what could be done to close the gap,” said Nemoianu. “Change readiness is complex, and the CRI enables governments, NGOs and private investors to go beyond headlines, unravel this complexity and ultimately make more informed decisions.”
Executive Summary for Romania
Romania ranks 79th in the Change Readiness Index (CRI) prepared by KPMG International in partnership with Oxford Economics from a total of 127 countries surveyed. The CRI measures countries’ capacity to prepare and respond to accelerated change brought about by economic and political shocks or long term trends such as demographics and new technologies, as well as natural disasters. Romania has improved its overall CRI score since the last survey in 2013, which is built on three main pillars: enterprise capability, government capability and people and civil society. Romania scores best for the people & civil society capability, although this is the only major category for which the country’s score has fallen compared with the last survey.
Although income is an important trigger for increasing change readiness, Romania being included in the upper-middle income countries category (USD 4,086-12,615), it is outpaced in the CRI ranking by 13 lower-middle income countries and even by 5 low-income countries from Africa. Romania belongs to the Eastern Europe and Central Asia group of countries, where it ranks 14th out 16 countries, while the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia hold the first three positions.
Romania is ranked 79th for enterprise capability which reflects the soundness of a country’s business environment. Romania performs better in terms of technology infrastructure (50th place), economic openness (51st) and labor market flexibility (61st). The subdivision in this category which is cause for concern is innovation and R&D for which Romania performs badly (109th), due to poor financing and cooperation between research institutes and industry. Romania also scores poorly for business environment (95th place) reflecting difficulties in starting a business; the degree of government regulation, property and contract laws, taxation, and investor protection. Romania also performs badly in the financial sector (93rd), as this indicator mainly measures the efficiency of funding to enterprises and entrepreneurs.
Government capability is Romania’s weakest pillar in the change readiness index, for which the country ranks 86th, mainly because of poor government strategic planning as well as suboptimal fiscal and budgeting management. Romania also ranks weakly in terms of responsiveness to environment and climate change as well as food and energy security. Romania has shown signs of improvement in terms of bureaucracy, positive regulatory policies and a more stable macroeconomic framework, for which it is placed near the average of the classification.
Although the score has fallen since the last survey, people and civil society are Romania’s strongest capability, taking 62nd place in the ranking. Consequently, we should focus more on developing these capabilities, especially as it takes a long time for the results to be noticeable in this area. Romania’s weakest point lies in its demographics, as it is ranked last but one (126th out of 127), due to a low fertility rate and high migration. According to the survey, Romania has poor safety nets and entrepreneurship capabilities, as a result of low support from the state. Romania ranks well in terms of technology use, inclusiveness of growth and good health, due to high life expectancy at birth (74,6 years) and a low infant mortality rate.
About the Research
The Change Readiness Index (view the online tool) covers 127 countries including the 90 covered in the 2013 CRI plus a combination of additional developed and developing nations. The expanded selection of countries provides greater opportunity for comparison across regions and income levels. The CRI is structured around three pillars (Enterprise capability, Government capability, People & Civil Society capability), that signify a country’s underlying ability to manage change. Researchers at Oxford Economics gathered primary survey data from 1,270 country experts around the world, which was combined with a rich secondary dataset made up of more than 120 variables, which are clustered into 73 secondary data indicators within the index. Secondary data sources include, for example, the World Economic Forum, World Bank, Legatum Institute, International Monetary Fund and United Nations. For full details on the pillars, pillar sub-indicators and weighting, primary survey questions, and secondary data sources, go to: kpmg.com/changereadiness-methodology.
About KPMG
KPMG is a global network of professional firms providing Audit, Tax and Advisory services. We operate in 155 countries and have 162,000 professionals working in member firms around the world. The independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity. Each KPMG firm is a legally distinct and separate entity and describes itself as such.
KPMG in Romania and Moldova operates from six offices located in Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Constanta, Iasi, Timisoara and Chisinau.