The educational market. A comparison between Romania and the European Union

• Author: Enache, I.-C.
• Position: PhD Student, Dept. of Economic Sciences and Business Administration, Transilvania University of Brasov
• Pages: 21-24

Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov • Vol. 5 (54) •No. 2 - 2012

Series V: Economic Sciences

THE EDUCATIONAL MARKET.

A COMPARISON BETWEEN

ROMANIA AND THE EUROPEAN UNION

Ioan-Constantin ENACHE1

Abstract: For both Romania and the European Union, the educational

market plays an increasingly important role in the social and economic life.

Being the supplier of specialized work force, the market is carefully

supervised by governments and mass-media. One of the options that can

handle the educational market situations is provided by educational

marketing. The analysis of these markets can be the first step for a better

understanding of the future trends. The article takes into account the

structure and the evolution of both markets and it matches the observed

differences with several changes in the marketing environment.

Key words: educational marketing, higher education institutions, market

analysis.

1 PhD Student, Dept. of Economic Sciences and Business Administration, Transilvania University of Braşov.

1. Introduction

After the real estate crisis, the

educational market became one of the

contenders for the next bubble, the

educational bubble [8]. It is argued that

educational systems are no longer

producing relevant qualified work force.

Thus, graduate students are facing serious

troubles in finding jobs that suit their

abilities.

Given this context, educational

marketing can become one of the

solutions. With its ability to understand

and analyse the market, educational

marketing can offer some useful insights

on the cause of the problems and it can

develop ways to overcome these situations.

The concepts of educational marketing

take advantages from the development of

social services [2, 11] and public services

[1] marketing concepts. But all concepts

are being transformed by the peculiarities

of the educational field. Researchers like

Conway [3], Hanson [5], Johnson [6],

Kotler [7], and Maringe and Gibbs [9] are

finding ways to adapt the educational

marketing concepts so that they will better

suit the educational market needs.

But different educational markets have

different educational needs and even if the

concepts of educational marketing are

applicable in all these markets, there is still

a need for local analysis and local

adjustments.

The Romanian educational market has its

own characteristics. Legal changes, like

the new national education law, are putting

pressure on academia [4]. The

demographic evolution is also another big

challenge for the educational sector.

Therefore, an analysis and a comparison

between the Romanian and the European