Do Smart Cities Represent the Key to Urban Resilience? Rethinking Urban Resilience.

The pandemic disrupted all activities, so it became necessary to understand, but also rethink, the complexity of economic resilience to better deal with future shocks. A component that can signal the resilience potential of a socio-economic system is smart city response, using technology to make services more efficient. This paper aims to analyze the relationship between smart cities and urban resilience to determine whether urban resilience is significantly influenced by urban smartness. Given the EU SDGs Strategy and the Implementation of RRF Programs, we have also identified the main driving forces that can amplify the impact of smart city development policies on local resilience. The results highlighted that at the European level, smart cities are significantly correlated with urban resilience; urban resilience is explained by the variation in urban smartness; resilience is correlated with all smart city dimensions, highly in (post-)pandemic, redefining a "new normal" in resilience approaches for smart cities. We also stressed the emerging, more complex content of the economic resilience concept and the new structural approach of smart cities resilience for the post-COVID-19 period.

Consumers Behavior Determinants on Online Local Market Platforms in COVID-19 Pandemic-A Probit Qualitative Analysis

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the economy was strongly affected by the restrictions imposed by the authorities to prevent the spread of the virus, and local online platforms and e-commerce experienced an accelerated rate of growth. Small producers had no chance of staying on the market if they did not choose to reorient their business to the online environment. The purpose of this study is to highlight the determinants of consumer behavior on online market platforms, as well as the barriers that affect the intention to shop online. By conducting a qualitative survey and applying a probit OLS binary choice model, the analysis was centered on several variables with expected important impact on quick and flexible response/adaptation to new market profile, such as the age of the respondents, the level of income, the trend of online purchasing of different categories of goods, and the propensity towards online payment. The results underlined the importance perceived by the respondents of local producers, especially by people with a high level of education. At the same time, the role of the age variable as a determinant of consumer behavior before, during, and after the removal of the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic is highlighted.

INCOME INEQUALITY SHIFT PARADIGM. FROM ECONOMIC APPROACH TO SHARING RESPONSIBILITIES

This paper investigates the dynamics associated with inequality in EU member states. The variation of the Gini coefficient is analyzed from different perspectives: economic growth, certain macroeconomic variables, socio-demographic environment and historical, political and cultural environment. The use of the panel data regression model allows country specific effects control, the results showing that in the context of European convergence, the historical, political, cultural and socio-demographic factors have the greatest impact in terms of income distribution. Starting from the complex analysis of the evolution of inequalities in the last half century and from the experts' opinions regarding the relationship between the last two crises (from 2008 and the current pandemic), we notice important changes, there is a paradigm shift. The paper proposes a new approach to the economic growth paradigm, based on reversing the dynamics of income inequality in the 21st century and outlines our own vision on support policies to mitigate rising inequalities, in the context of designing a robust resilience strategy and sustainable post-pandemic development.

Financial Inclusion Paradigm Shift in the Postpandemic Period. Digital-Divide and Gender Gap.

Financial inclusion is strongly differentiated by age groups and countries and the pandemic has highlighted the increased gaps and inequalities but also the weaknesses of the system, in terms of flexibility, access and facilities of the customer-bank relationship and also from the perspective of the financial education of young generations and vulnerable people, active in the labor market. Based on the available data provided by the Global Findex database, and some findings after more than one year of COVID-19 crisis we outlined the main aspects of financial digitization, by categories of people and countries. At the same time, we identified the challenges and problems during the pandemic that significantly adjusted the consumption pattern of citizens and increased the need for on-line access for financial transactions. Starting from the analysis of the inequality of access to financial instruments in the last years, from the informational asymmetry in financial education and the challenges of the pandemic period, we underlined the main coordinates of changing the model of sustainable financial inclusion-based on five pillars-access, education, support tools, CSR and resilience. The research results highlight the need for convergence in providing opportunities to consider financial inclusion as a public good and an active tool to increase consumers' satisfaction and the quality of life of individuals.