INSTITUTIONS AND VALUES OF ROMANIANS – COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF HISTORICAL REGIONS

Ever  since  1944  Lucian  Blaga  suggested  the  existence  of  a  direct  connection  between  the occupied  space  and  the  way  the  collective  mentality  is  structured;  the  steppe  generates  a collective mentality different from the one created by the hill-valley alternation. Each people is dependent  on the space it occupies, the space history, on its culture; however, the resulting differences should not be discussed in terms of quality (some are better than others) but in differential, specificity terms110. This is the case because, before being a Romanian or a Chinese, a person  has some deep socio-psychological characteristics, which are common to all human beings.

Recent international research focuses mainly on cultural factors which draw a line between economic  performance,  work  discipline,  economic  thinking,  or  the  respect  paid  to  some traditional institutions like property or contracts. Culture influences institutional development. At the same time, the integration of cultural elements within the frame of  the institutions of society is a mechanism which leads to their own persistance111. In this context, it is necessary to be aware of the fact that certain behavior rules have a very slow changing rhythm, finding their origin in immutable cultural factors, while others can change to the extent to which the economic game is more attractive as far as the economic results are concerned. The inherited behavior rules and beliefs  are  constituted  by  and,  at  the  same  time,  reflect  the  cognitive  models  shared  by individuals, thus representing common knowledge in terms of expected and, at the same time, socially accepted behavior. These can hardly be changed and the main  reason for this is the ideology of a social community.

There are two or three dominant cultural patterns as far as the European level is concerned: traditionalism,  modernism,  and  post-modernism.  Of  all  the  European  countries,  Romania  is among the closest to traditionalism112, having the tendency to consolidate its traditional values thanks to the population’s disappointment regarding political, economic and social changes after the  fall  of  the  Communist  regime.  The  Romanian  government  introduced  hesitant  policies, dominated by compromise which brought no feeling of  positive change. As a consequence, the Romanians’ reluctance, as far as the power of state and the newly-created institutions, generally perceived as corrupt and inefficient, maintained socialism-influenced beliefs or managed to push society towards traditionalism and constantly cultivated the tendency towards not accepting the the modernising of values. This is why the analysis of formal-informal institutions in the context of value change becomes much more relevant in Romania’s case.

Methodology

The data gathering method was the survey and the questionnaire was its instrument, applied at a national level, in April 2008, through the INFOMASS IAŞI company.

Of all the procedures used in surveys practice for   sample formation (aleatory, controlled and

mixed sample formation procedure), the mixed sample formation procedure was chosen and the stratified  sample formation method was applied. The strata were delimited according to some qualitative criteria (cultural areas, the residential medium) and quantitative criteria (the size of localities). The sample was  made up of sub-samples, created through selections at the stratum level.

The  following types  of  questions  were  used:  cloze  questions  (multiple  choice  and  dichotomic answers), open questions and partially open questions. Factologic and opinion-based questions were also included. The Likert scale was used to measure the intensity of opinions expressed during the survey.  This is a response scale on which the subject places his/her opinion between „agree” and

„disagree”.

The questionnaire is made up of three parts:

– one part  which contains instrumental values (types of action), using 15 out of the 18 original instrumental values of the Rokeach questionnaire, presented as bipolar statements on a Likert

scale, on which the respondents had to express their approval, disapproval or neutrality;

– one part made up of negative informal institutions supposed to be characteristic to Romanians

(task delay, lack of ambition, taking/giving bribes or „gifts”, neglect and laziness, envy, lack of punctuality, the „assisted” mentality, negative collective identity), all these being presented in the questionnaire in the form of positive statements with the purpose of checking the respondents’ honesty,  considering that they would not overtly admit the fact that they are envious, lazy or oriented towards neglect;

– and one part which comprises a set of demo-economic variables (the level of education, the field of  activity  the subject activates in, the number of family members, monthly income, personal

wealth etc.)

The data analysis was achieved by using a series of statistic methods and techniques: tables, graphs, percents, correspondence analysis, analysis of variance.

Results

As  far  as  the  first  set  of  questions  over  instrumental  values  within  the  Rokeach  value questionnaire is concerned the region analysis is synthesised in table no. 1 where the affirmative

answers are presented in percents.

Table no.1 The Regional instrumental values evaluation

Statement- value	Moldova	Buuresti	Dobrogea	Transilvania	Muntenia
	A 1 / Afectiveness		71		83			94			90			85
	A 2 / Ambition			84		67		85,4			85			82,4
A 3 / Obedience	48	35	53,4	61	57
	A 4 / Competence			84		69		99			95			87,5
A 5 / Courage		76		44	61	60	60
	A 6 / Cleanliness			84		73		98			96,4			91
A 7 / Creativity	57	47	55	55,4	52
	A 8 / Independence			78		68		85			80			76
A 9 / Tolerance	57	62,5		80			75		70
A 10 / Inteligence	62	53	61	65	60
	A 11 / Politeness			86			78			97			97			88
A 12 / Receptivity		78		48	61	58	61
	A 13 / Responsibility			92			75			77			85			85
A 14 / Sincerity	56	45	73	60	72
A 15 / Cheerfulness	45	35	65	44	49

Therefore as far as representative characteristics are concerned, with over 75% positive answers,

the following instrumental values are present in the historical regions:

1.  for  Moldova  –  ambition,  competence,  courage,  cleanliness,  independence,  politeness, receptivity, responsibility;

2. for Bucuresti – affectiveness, politeness, responsibility;

3. for Dobrogea – affectiveness, ambition, competence, cleanliness, independence, tolerance, politeness, responsibility;

4. for Transilvania – affectiveness, ambition, competence, cleanliness, independence, tolerance,

politeness, responsibility;

5. for Muntenia – affectiveness, ambition, competence, cleanliness, independence, politeness, responsibility.

We notice that, at the regional level, the most frequent values (present in at least 4 regions out of

5) are affectiveness, ambition, competence, cleanliness, politeness, responsibility. Values such as sincerity,  receptivity, creativity obtained poor results, which confirms the idea that individual

initiative still needs to be cultivated in the Romanians’ case, for whom the competition mentality

is  not  part  of  the  socially  accepted  values  yet.  The  correspondence  analysis  led  us  to  the following associations between the above-presented instrumental values and regions in table no.

2, where the ٧ sign indicates the presence of the characteristic.

Table no.2 The Association of instrumental values with the Regions

Statement- value	Moldova	Bucureşti	Dobrogea	Transilvania	Muntenia
A 1 / Afectiveness			٧	٧	٧
A 2 / Ambition	٧		٧	٧
A 3 / Obedience				٧	٧
A 4 / Competence			٧	٧	٧
A 5 / Courage	٧
A 6 / Cleanliness				٧	٧
A 7 / Creativity				٧
A 8 / Independence				٧
A 9 / Tolerance				٧
A 10 / Inteligence				٧
A 11 / Politeness			٧	٧	٧
A 12 / Receptivity				٧
A 13 / Responsibility	٧	٧		٧	٧
A 14 / Sincerity					٧

A 15 / Cheerfulness

٧

٧

From the perspective of the two dimensions of the above-mentioned axiological orientations –

traditionalism and modernism or postmodernism, we notice that the region which gathers most of the  modernism characteristics (8, out of which 5, of the most representative, are exclusively found here)  is  Transilvania, which leads us to the conclusion that this region is the closest to modernism.

As far as the questions regarding negative informal institutions – considered to be representative for   Romanians  –  (slink  attitude,  task  delay,  lack  of  involvement,  neglect,  shallowness,

taking/giving  bribes,  laziness,  envy,  lack  of  punctuality,  the  „assisted”  mentality,  negative

collective  mentality)  are  concerned,  the  hierarchy  patterned  by  the  respondents  in  the  five historical  regions is synthetised in table no. 3, by gathering the total agreement and partial agreement percents.

Table no. 3 The regional evaluation of negative informal institutions (%)

Statement- institution	Moldova	Bucureşti	Dobrogea	Transilvania	Muntenia
B 1 / Slink attitude	9	3	6	6	9
B 2 / Task delay	45	48		56		47	42
B 3 / Lack of involvement	11,4	5	11	6	8
B 4 / Shallowness	22	8	8	5	16
B 5 / Bribery	15,4	11	9	7	9,4
B 6 / Laziness	6	1	1	9	5,4
B 7 / Envy	36	44	40	36	31
B 8 / Lack of punctuality	20,4	7	21	10,4	18
	B 9 / „Assisted” mentality			74		60		89,4			74			76
B 10 / Negative collective identity		57		48,4		72			67			63

Thus, a strong negative characteristic, with over 74% of the answers, is the „assisted” mentality

for Moldova, Dobrogea, Transilvania and Muntenia. As far as Bucharest is concerned, this characteristic is present in over 60% of the answers. The negative collective identity is present in

over 50 % of the positive answers in Moldova, Transilvania and Muntenia and in over 72% in

behavior (institutions) and regions:

– for Moldova – the „assisted” mentality and envy;

– for Bucharest – envy;

– for Muntenia – the „assisted” mentality.

The  corelation  between  the  negative  informal  institutions and  the  respondents’  income

according to the region criterion registered a significant value for:

– for Bucharest– the lack of involvement, shallowness, and the „assisted” mentality;

– for  Dobrogea–  the  slink  attitude,  lack  of  involvement,  punctuality,  the  „assisted”

mentality         and negative collective identity;

– for Transilvania – lack of involvement.

Although it is a well-known fact that Moldova is the poorest among Romania’s regions, no

significant  corelation  between  negative  cultural  characteristics  and  the  respondents’non- performant status was identified.

Conclusions

The most frequent instrumental values (present in 4 regions out of 5) are affectiveness, ambition, competence,  cleanliness,  politeness,  responsibility.  Values  such  as   sincerity,   receptivity, creativity obtained  only  a  poor  percentage,  a  fact  which  confirms  the  idea  that  individual

initiative still needs to be cultivated in the Romanians’ case, for whom the competition mentality

is not part of the socially-accepted values yet. The simple correspondence method demonstrated that the region which gathers most of the modernity characteristics, (8 out of which 5, among the most representative, are to be found exclusively here) is Transilvania, thus being different from the rest of the regions.

Out of the negative informal institutions, considered to be representative for Romanians, the hierarchy  created by the respondents confirms the initial hypothesis of the dominance of the

„assisted” mentality and of the negative collective identity, which had a clear impact and with a poorer percent the task delay and envy. They demonstrate that even after 20 years of communism, the free and self-determined man’s mentality is not rooted, as far as the collective mentality isconcerned.  The  simple  correspondence  method  showed  an  association  between  the  ‚total approval”  response  and  Dobrogea  and  Moldova  for  the  „assisted”  mentality, and  between Dobrogea and the negative collective identity and task delay and Bucharest.

The results of the present research  confirm the fact  that if  motivation  exists,  behavior  can improve by internalising efficient formal institutions, and economic agents can thus appreciate

those values which enable the behavioral adjustement to the new institutional context, even though  this is a long-term learning process. The gradual increase of the population’s welfare doubled by corruption diminution at the level of national institutions are conditions which, added to the  population’s diffuse support , are imperatives for transition at the level of values and behavior.

Romanians lack  social trust and involvement , a fact which is demonstrated both by the present research and by studies performed by international studies: nevertheless, they increase capital and social welfare; this is why we consider that the alfa and omega for any institutional reform or of any  socio-political policy should be their support and development on a social level. Just like identity, trust is built by having as a point of departure the past –the sum of values and traditions, actions and motivating facts – all given value, widely-recognised and cultivated both at the group as well as at the community level.

We are convinced that the Romanians’ pessimistic obssesions regarding their own flaws canrighteously be abandoned. We have tried to demonstrate so far that the Romanians, as people, are neither superior nor inferior to others, and this is why we believe that only by trusting each othercan we have the life we desire.

Dobrogea.The task delay characteristic is to be found at the limit between 40 and 50% in all the regions,  the greatest approval percentage being identified in Dobrogea with 56% percent. The well known Romanian envy is not statistically confirmed as a dominant characteristic, the result being between 31% and 44% in all regions.

The  simple  correspondence  analysis  led  us  to  the  following  negative  types  of  behavior

(institutions) associations:

– as far as the „assisted” mentality is concerned the association is made between the „total agreement”  and  Dobrogea  and  Moldova;  Muntenia  and  Transilvania  are  related  to  „partial

agreement”;

– as far as the negative collective identity is concerned, we notice an association between the

„total agreement” and Dobrogea; „I hardly agree” or „neither agreement nor disagreement” and

Bucharest; „total disapproval” or „partial approval” and Transilvania, Muntenia and Moldova;

– as far as the task delay characteristic is concerned, the association was confirmed by „total approval” in the case of Bucharest, while the inhabitants of Transilvania totally disapprove this.

The multiple correspondence analysis led us to the following associations between negative