The Institute for Economic and Social Research “Gheorghe Zane” (ICES) has a multidisciplinary profile, conducting research in the field of economic sciences (macroeconomics, microeconomics, rural economics) and in the field of social sciences and humanities (philosophy and political science, psychology and educational sciences, sociology and legal sciences). Our mission is to contribute to the development of research in these disciplines, in relation to academic, community, regional, international and global demands and priorities.
Our priority research themes include human capital, environmental and biodiversity conservation, education and educational policies, sustainable development and agriculture, personal development, ecosystems and digital technologies, Euroregions and cross-border areas, migration, the labor market, gender roles and identities, health and health policies, European economic systems, the legal system, the knowledge society and the information society, political theories, processes and phenomena, tourism and – not least – moral, legal, social, political and economic values (such as democracy, justice, efficiency, equality, freedom, reasonableness, solidarity, stability or the rule of law). Most of these themes are investigated both in their regional/European, international or global dimension, and – especially – from the perspective of the circumstances and objectives of cultural, economic, political and social development specific to Romanian society.
The “Gheorghe Zane” Institute for Economic and Social Research originated from the economic research team, established within the Iași Branch of the Romanian Academy in 1957. In 1965, by attaching a psychology and pedagogy team, the research nucleus became the Economic and Psychopedagogical Research Section, with Ştefan Bârsănescu, M.C of the Romanian Academy as its director. In 1970, the Research Section became the Social Sciences Center of the Romanian Academy. Through the reorganization of scientific research, in 1975, the institution passed under the aegis of the “Al.I.Cuza” University under the name of the University’s Social Sciences Center. In 1990, the Social Sciences Center returned to the Romanian Academy – Iași Branch under the name of the Institute of Socio-Human Sciences (led, since 1995, by academician Teodor Dima). In 1994, the economic research team established the “Gheorghe Zane” Economic Research Institute, headed by Prof. Dr. Alecsandru P. Tacu. The “Gheorghe Zane” Economic and Social Research Institute was established in 2002, through the merger of the Institute of Socio-Human Sciences and the “Gheorghe Zane” Economic Research Institute. The new institute integrates in its multidisciplinary structure the departments of economics, philosophy, psychology, educational sciences and law. From its establishment until 2018, the institute was headed by acad. Teodor Dima (1939-2019).
The “Gheorghe Zane” Economic and Social Research Institute is an institution without legal personality under the authority of the Romanian Academy-Iași Branch and the Section of Philosophy, Theology, Psychology and Pedagogy of the Romanian Academy.