A regional agricultural efficiency convergence assessment in Romania - Appraising differences and understanding potentials

This study proposes an assessment of the regional agricultural efficiency convergence potential across the Romanian development regions during a period of sixteen years (from 2001 to 2017). Using the Cobb-Douglas function and the cluster analysis, it investigates the agricultural development and efficiency in the development regions of Romania, based on the available official datasets. The main aim of the research is to appraise the potential of these seven development regions (Bucharest - Ilfov Region was excluded), and to understand the differences between them, from the perspective of agriculture' future, and the impact agriculture can have on the sustainable development of each region, through a new domestic agricultural paradigm. The results suggest that agriculture has a major impact on the development of a region as a whole, and that, in the absence of future reform measures in agriculture, the regions will be highly affected by their agricultural underperformance.