Baia Mare Mining Area. Effects of the Policy of Disadvantaged Areas

The policy of the disadvantaged areas was a component of the regional development policy in Romania between 1998 and 2010. It aimed to delineate those areas that underwent serious economic and social issues that were mainly generated by industrial restructuring in order to take specific measures to revive them. Baia Mare mining area is one of the 38 disadvantaged areas that were identified in Romania. The present article aims to emphasize the results of such a policy within Baia Mare mining area, the way in which the status of disadvantaged area had effects on the economic development of the city of Baia Mare and on the other localities included. Therefore, the companies that invested in the area once it was declared a “disadvantaged area” were analyzed, along with the new jobs, the facilities for companies, the total value of investments and the way these influenced (in a positive or negative manner) the decrease in the unemployment rate and the economic revival through activities from new economic domains. The conclusion is that a high number of companies had investments during its existence as a disadvantaged area, yet the effects they had on the economic development are evident particularly in the city of Baia Mare. The poor quality of the transport infrastructure and of the business infrastructure restricts the economic potential of the other localities that are part of the area, therefore they registered few investments.