On Thursday, July 3, 2025, the Faculty of Business and Administration at the University of Bucharest recognized academic excellence by awarding the top five master’s theses from the “Behavioral Economics” program, class of 2023–2025.
The awards were presented by the National Association of Insurance and Reinsurance Companies in Romania (UNSAR), represented by Mr. Alexandru Ciuncan and Ms. Roxana Băluță, in collaboration with the Behavioral Economics Hub, represented by Mr. Alin Băiescu.
This initiative, launched last year, continues to reflect the firm commitment of the partners to supporting interdisciplinary economic research focused on topics that are relevant both to the business environment and to society at large.
The award-winning graduates were:
- Andreea Aron – Cultural effects over turnover intentions (supervised by Prof. Dr. Elena Druică)
- Alexandru-Dorian Cautiș – A consumer behavioural approach to food waste in Romania (supervised by Prof. Dr. Elena Druică)
- Ștefan-Cristian Dumitriu – The effect of leisure attitude, leisure satisfaction and lack of social integration on Romanian university students (supervised by Prof. Dr. Elena Druică)
- Ivona Băbărelu – Exploring Sexual Behavior Determinants and Pregnancy Prevention in Romanian Youth: An IMB Model Study on young adults (supervised by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Viorel Mihăilă)
- Irina Stan – Behavioral Insights into Saving for Retirement: Investigating the Impact of Self-control, Procrastination and Overreliance on the first two pillars of the social security system on Retirement Saving Behavior among Romanian workers (supervised by Prof. Dr. Rodica Ianole-Călin)
The selection of the winning theses was based on the following criteria: the consistency of the theoretical framework, methodological rigor, and the practical relevance of the conclusions. These theses were presented during the official final master’s session and were also independently submitted to this competition. Winners received certificates of merit and book vouchers.
The “Behavioral Economics” master’s program (taught in English) is unique within the Romanian academic landscape due to its interdisciplinary structure, which integrates modern research methods such as experimental economics and advanced data analysis, using open-source tools like the R programming language.
In 2017, the program was awarded the “Most Innovative University Program” prize at the University of Bucharest Senate Awards.
More details about the program and the admission process are available online on the Faculty Business and Administration website.

