THE IMPACT OF THE CREDIT EXPANSION ON SOCIAL WELFARE IN TEN DEVELOPING AND ADVANCED ECONOMIES FROM THE AREA OF CENTRAL, EASTERN AND SOUTH-EASTERN EUROPE

There is a widespread view in the economic literature that banks, through their lending capacity, play a very important role in promoting long-term socio-economic growth. Hence, an analysis and understanding of the credit expansion process and its connections with the social welfare is extremely interesting and important, especially during these times of financial distress, for academic circles, as well as for policy makers who are still striving to find a pertinent answer to the current economic and social turbulences. In this context, this study aims at performing an econometric analysis of the credit expansion process and social welfare from a comparative perspective, with a focus on ten developing and advanced economies from the area of Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe (including Romania). The purpose is to better understand the real impact of the credit expansion process on social welfare. The usefulness of the present study becomes higher given the fact that nowadays the socio-economic development is often assisted by a stronger and more acute crisis. The research promises to provide valuable insights on European policy proposals and "tectonic movements" in the current economic paradigm.