Analyzing Primary Sector Selection for Economic Activity in Romania: An Interval-Valued Fuzzy Multi-Criteria Approach

Alina Elena Ionașcu (), Shankha Shubhra Goswami (), Alexandra Dănilă, Maria-Gabriela Horga, Corina Aurora Barbu and Adrian Şerban-Comǎnescu
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Alina Elena Ionașcu: Department of Finance and Accounting, Faculty of Economic Sciences, Ovidius University of Constanta, 900001 Constanța, Romania
Shankha Shubhra Goswami: Abacus Institute of Engineering and Management, West Bengal 712148, India
Alexandra Dănilă: Department of Finance and Accounting, Faculty of Economic Sciences, Ovidius University of Constanta, 900001 Constanța, Romania
Maria-Gabriela Horga: UNESCO Department, The Faculty of Business Administration in Foreign Languages (FABIZ), Bucharest University of Economic Studies, 010374 Bucharest, Romania
Corina Aurora Barbu: Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Economic Studies, Ovidius University of Constanta, 900001 Constanța, Romania
Adrian Şerban-Comǎnescu: Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Economic Studies, Ovidius University of Constanta, 900001 Constanța, Romania

Mathematics, 2024, vol. 12, issue 8, 1-38

Abstract: This study presents an in-depth analysis of the selection process for primary sectors impacting the economic activity in Romania, employing an interval-valued fuzzy (IVF) approach combined with multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methodologies. This research aims to identify eight key criteria influencing the selection of Romanian primary sectors, including technology adaptation, infrastructure development and investment, gross domestic product (GDP), sustainability, employment generation, market demand, risk management and government policies. The current analysis evaluates eight primary sector performances against these eight criteria through the application of three MCDM methods, namely, Simple Additive Weighting (SAW), Weighted Product Model (WPM), and Weighted Aggregated Sum Product Assessment (WASPAS). Ten economic experts comprising a committee have been invited to provide their views on the criteria’s importance and the alternatives’ performance. Based on the decision-maker’s qualitative judgement, GDP acquires the highest weightage, followed by environmental impact and sustainability, thus indicating the most critical factors among the group. The IVF-MCDM hybrid model indicates the energy sector as Romanian primary sector with the most potential, followed by the agriculture and forestry sector among the list of eight alternatives. It also explores the robustness of results by considering sensitivity analysis and the potential impacts of political and international factors, such as pandemics or armed conflicts, on sector selection. The findings indicate consistency in sector rankings across the different methodologies employed, underscoring the importance of methodological choice and criteria weighting. Additionally, this study sheds light on the potential influence of political and international dynamics on sector prioritization, emphasizing the need for comprehensive decision-making frameworks in economic planning processes.

Keywords: interval-valued fuzzy sets (IVFS); multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM); SAW; WPM; WASPAS; primary sector; Romanian economy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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