THE EDUCATION AND RESEARCH SYSTEM IN ROMANIA: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS WITH THE EU MEMBER STATES

The education and research system is one of the most powerful tools of a state through which longterm economic growth can be ensured, employment and income growth can be achieved, innovation stimulated, and institutions strengthened. Romania lags severely behind other European Member States regarding economic development, while the quality of education and research remains quite scarce, undermining the economic convergence process of the country. Against this background, the objective of the paper is to investigate the degree of Romanian education and research convergence with the European Union (EU). Moreover, it uncovers how the education and research system in Romania is financed and assesses its performance compared to other EU Member States.