Mădălin Blidaru

The course on „Competitiveness, growth, and crises” provided a comprehensive picture on competitiveness analysis, with a focus on its productivity component and the variety of indicators available, but also on emerging issues such as global and regional value chain developments and novel policies. Since my daily activity is largely analytical in nature, the content was well-received. 
I appreciate that the course has been connected to the most recent developments in the international economic and financial domain. Not a few times have I received information related to the impact of trends such as „decoupling” or „friendshoring”, or the implications of the functional labour division, on the growth perspectives and competitiveness of an economy, just to list a few. These were accompanied by the technical aspects supporting them. 
In addition, it was an interactive course, with lecturers engaged in open discussion regarding the course topics, apart from the practical workshops that helped us gain first-hand experience. I should highlight the relevance of the regions in focus, given the economies the participants came from. In this edition, the focus on the particularities of the economies in the Balkans, Central Asia, Central and Eastern Europe contributed to a wider picture of the various developments paths and how improving competitiveness could provide new growth opportunities, which included also a peer-to-peer learning and sharing component.

Mădălin Blidaru, International Relations Specialist, National Bank of Romania
Competitiveness, Growth, and Crises Course, 13 – 17 February 2023