Financial Incentives to Restructure Coal Mining Industry : Comparative Case Study Romania and State of Michigan

Former coal mining sites have always raised environmental and economic challenges for the areas where they were located, especially for those communities that were highly dependent on the coal mining industry. The present paper will explore the factors leading to the decline of coal mining industry in Romania and State of Michigan, U.S., the social, economic and environmental impact that occurred after closing coal extractions and the approaches that the two states took to reconstruct the economy of the former mining areas. The paper attempts to make recommendations of financial incentives that can be used to foster the economic redevelopment of former coal mining sites in Romania