Introduction (Paul Dobrescu) -- Part I. Envisaging Development in the Contemporary Society: Theory and Public Debates -- Why Do Some Countries Develop and Others Not? (Ian Goldin) -- Measuring the Hard-to-Measure in Development: Dimensions, Measurement Challenges, and Responses (Anne L. Buffardi, Tiina Pasanen and Simon Hearn) -- Get it Right this Time? Leaving the Periphery of the European Economic Development (Cristian Păun and Florina Pînzaru) -- "Nous Choisissons l’Europe": EU’s Economic Development and Current Challenges (Clara Volintiru and Gabriela Drăgan) -- European Imbalances: The Sound and the Fury (Jérôme Creel) -- Part II. Challenges and Opportunities for Development in the Post-Crisis Period -- Unable to Stop Inequality from Rising: Evidence from Romania (Paul Dobrescu and Flavia Durach) -- The East-West Divide in the European Union: A Development Divide Reframed as a Political One (Alina Bârgăoanu, Raluca Buturoiu and Flavia Durach) -- New Frontiers in Sovereign Wealth Fund Capitalization (Juergen Braunstein and Asim Ali) -- The Impact of Macroeconomic Factors on FDI Attractiveness: Romania, Slovakia, and Greece in Comparison (Kalliopi Kasapi, Andriana Lampou, George Economakis, George Androulakis and Ioannis Zisimopoulos) -- Health Care and Migration: What Data Can Tell Us of the Hard-to-Measure Impact of Migrants on the European Health Systems (Caterina Francesca Guidi and Alessandro Petretto) -- The Multiple Impact of Education Gaps in Romania (Diana-Maria Cismaru and Nicoleta Corbu) -- Europeanization in the Making: Perceptions of the Economic Effects of European Integration in Romania (Florența Toader and Loredana Radu) -- .

Open Access

This open access book explores the most recent trends in the EU in terms of development, progress, and performance. Ten years after the 2008 economic crisis, and amidst a digital revolution that is intensifying the development race, the European Union, and especially Central and Eastern Europe, are ardently searching for their development priorities. Against this background, by relying on a cross-national perspective, the authors reflect upon the developmental challenges of the moment, such as sustainable development, reducing inequality, ensuring social cohesion, and driving the digital revolution. They particularly focus on the relation between the less-developed Eastern part of the EU and its more developed Western counterpart, and discuss the consequences of this development gap in detail. Lastly, the book presents a range of case studies from different areas of governance, such as economy and commerce, health services, education, migration and public opinion in order to investigate the trends most likely to impact the European Union's medium and long-term development.