Getting by in the last decade: reflections on the conditions of workers, the market, and capitalism in two Romanian regions

摘要

Since the end of Socialism, Romania has witnessed vast, uneven, and uncertain change, with the jury still out on the future. The burgeoning optimism that emerged right after the fall of Ceaus,escu quickly morphed into a decade and a half long struggle with unemployment, inflation, unstable government, and demographic decline that only recently began to be reversed. Still, since just before the country's formal integration with the European Union (January, 2007), life began to improve dramatically, especially in the major cities -bringing a renewed sense of energy, movement, and possibility.