Regional socio-economic aspects in the field of coal mining

Abstract

Over time, the discovery of the deposit, the exploitation and processing of coal has led to the development and prosperity of many areas called “coal regions”. In the last decades we have witnessed the closing process of many exploitation capacities (underground mines or open pit quarries) with complex socio-economic and even cultural impact in the coal region and on the continent. Debates for or against “coal” with related arguments, policies, strategies and measures at global, regional, national and local level integrate holistically from the “resource” issue to large dynamic systems (energy, climate, urbanism). The relationship between the coal industry and the socio-economic aspects is multifaceted and not yet fully explored. Our paper proposes a statistically documented research on regional development using representative socio-economic indicators. The paper is aiming to present the current socio-economic state in Jiu Valley micro-region, as a result of the structural transformations / changes in the coal industry of Romania’s largest hard coal-fired coal basin.