Comparative Analysis of the Consumer Protection, Considering the Globalisation and Technological Changes, within Member States of the European Union

Recent globalization and technological changes have produced significant changes in consumption patterns, shopping online becoming increasingly more important. Under these conditions, in this article we analyze the most important issues relating to the level and quality of consumer protection in the European Union countries for the period 2008-2012 . In this article we aimed to analyze the most important issues related to the level and quality of consumer protection in European Union 27 countries in the period 2008-2012. For this scope, we have chosen the most important five consumer indicators, which are the components of the Consumer Conditions Index, which provide information on both the level and the quality of consumer protection: the protection perceived by consumers (feeling protected as a consumer), illicit commercial practices, the product safety, the consumer complaints, and the redress measures. Initial data were collected from the European Commission for each Member State of the European Union 27, for the last five years, from 2008 to 2012. We have used statistical and econometric methods. For the year 2012, using the selected indicators, we have presented the descriptive statistics in order to observe their caracteristics, we have analysed the correlation matrix and we have determined the structure of four clusters, which reveals common features of countries in each cluster. In order to capture the impact of the variables illegal commercial practices and redress measures on the dependent variable protection perceived by the consumers, we have realized panel regressions with cross-section fixed effects, using data for the period 2008-2012. Also for this period, comparative statistical analyzes were performed (average, minimum, maximum, trend) between Member States. The results reflect the correlations between the analyzed indicators during the period 2008-2012, and a comprehensive scan of how these indicators developed in territorial profile within European Union 27, recently one of the most significant markets in terms of globalization and technological change