Determinants of Economic Growth in Cities Acting as Growth Poles in Regions from Romania

In the present study we analyze the human capital determinants of growth poles in Romania: number of university students, unemployment, investment in research and development, population and migration. Using panel models, we explore the dynamics of economic growth for seven cities, namely Brasov, Cluj, Constanta, Craiova, Iasi, Ploiesti and Timisoara, for the period 1996-2010. The selection of the growth poles has been made taking into consideration the Romanian Government decision from 2008 decision to declare these seven cities as growth poles, one per region (except for the Bucharest Ilfov region), as these cities are considered to have the capacity to induce rapid economic growth outside the country capital, create jobs, stimulate increase of productivity, influence the development of medium and small-sized towns and rural areas from neighboring areas, and thus contribute to the overall development of the regions. We found that R&D expenditures have a positive effect, and that unemployment diminishes economic development. Migration tends to be associated with higher growth, while population increases do not translate in higher growth. The unexpected insignificant influence of higher education enrollment numbers on economic growth deserves future research