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The author examines the rise of consumerism in post-socialist Bulgaria. He covers several topics that include several pieces of evidence of the spread of globalization in the country, the types of social relations and consumer expectations created by the socialist economic system, and the unique experiences of post-socialist states in Eastern Europe with modern consumer politics. The effect of culture and history on consumer experiences is also discussed.

In regard to the content, each business venture carries an element of risk, which includes both threats and favorable opportunities. Risk assessment makes it possible to manage the business more effectively, which is a prerequisite for avoiding unwanted or unexpected events. Moreover, it enables the enterprise to operate more closely to the unforeseen costs limits. It also makes possible the release of resources for developing the activity and assessing the opportunities for profitable investments. The aim of this study is to present a model for economic risk assessment using some methods developed by the author. In order to achieve this aim, the author has applied the model for risk assessment to a real innovation project related to the production of drones, which is the subject of research in the present paper. The results of the study will show the practical suitability of the model presented. Applying an adaptive model for risk assessment to innovation projects is an important condition for the increase in risk financing in Bulgaria in the context of the need for increasing competitiveness of the Bulgarian economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the greatest problems faced by rural areas in Bulgaria today is depopulation. The main research question posed in this paper is whether such depopulated regions can benefit from the social and economic integration of ethnic and immigrant communities. A survey on public opinion was conducted in two regions: one developed (Stara Zagora District), and one lagging (Vidin District). It focused on the willingness of local communities to "welcome" newcomers, to cohabit with them and their awareness of the possibility of enriching local cultures with their specific cultural traditions and experience. Results show varying tendencies, depending on the regional socio-economic level of development and degree of integration of the group. The survey directs the attention to significant social distances emerging in various regional communities between local populations, ethnic and/or immigrant communities. Conclusions reached show that ethnic and immigrant communities can be an important social and economic resource for Bulgarian villages. Nevertheless, this requires work predominantly on the structural level for providing opportunities and eliminating disadvantages, involving the introduction of improved integration and discrimination policies, legal framework and market opportunities, in order to foster better interethnic communication and trust, as an intrinsic quality of social capital, for overcoming existing barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to analyze the innovation performance of Romania, compared to other EU Member States, in order to detect the most significant strengths and weaknesses. There have been used the data provided annually by the European Innovation Scoreboard, namely the Summary Innovation Index (SII), which is a composite index, an aggregation of indicators grouped by dimensions and blocks, to measure the innovation performance at country level. A synthesis of the evolution of the SII since 2001 and analysis of the data in the period 2010-2016 have been performed. The focus was on the Modest innovators cluster - the least performing in innovation group of countries - which includes Bulgaria and Romania. Using a comparative, structural analysis of the SII and its components in both countries, and a time series analysis, the trends, similarities and differences have been identified. A 6-years evolution of the overall innovation performance in Romania has been modelled through linear regression, and the estimation for SII in 2017 was not promising. We've deepened the analysis of the innovation performance in Romania for the period 2010-2016, by studying the evolution of the 10 dimensions of the SII. Data show that 5 dimensions had an increasing evolution, 5 registered a decreasing trend, and 8 of them follow a linear regression model. The conclusions are similar to those obtained in other reports, such as those for competitiveness or doing business rankings. The analysis should be continued at indicator level to obtain a more insightful understanding of the phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the effects of fiscal policy in an economy based on indirect taxes, and one that is constrained to taxing all (labor and capital) income at the same rate. The focus of the paper is on the relative importance of consumption vs. income taxation, as well as on the provision of utility-enhancing public services. To this end, a Real-Business-Cycle model, calibrated to Bulgarian data (1999–2014), was set up with a richer public finance side. Bulgarian economy was chosen as a case study due to its major dependence on consumption taxation as a source of tax revenue. To illustrate the effects of fiscal policy, two regimes were compared and contrasted to one another - exogenous vs. optimal (Ramsey) policy case. The main findings from the computational experiments performed are: (i) The optimal steady-state (capital and labor income) tax rate is zero, as it is the most distortionary tax to use; (ii) The optimal steady-state consumption tax (the only source of revenue) has to almost double to finance the optimally-set level of government purchases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the results of a study of the state and dynamics of the foreign trade of Bulgaria with some of the commodities of the country's trade list - the ones from class "Ores and Concentrates". It covers the period 2000-2016. Foreign trade situation is defined on the basis of processing and analyzing data published by national and international organizations. State and trends of Bulgaria's foreign trade with these strategic products of the mining industry are assessed in the context of the rapidly changing national, European and global market situation. The geographic concentration and sustainability of exports and imports are determined by developing specific coefficients. On this methodological basis, summaries have been made about the current foreign trade situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research of economic inequality underlies the design and implementation of an adequate economic or social policy. This paper presents a survey of income inequality in Bulgaria in the period from 2001 to 2015 by studying the dynamics of the Gini coefficient, the integral coefficient of uneven distribution and decile ratios. We prove that despite the increase registered in the values of these indices in some years, the trend towards decreasing inequality is still weak. We also establish that there was significant income polarisation measured through the S90/10 and the S80/20 decile ratios. We prove that it is necessary to study the relation between the growth rate of the median income received by households in the first six deciles and the income received by households in the last four deciles by employing the growth rates ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article aims to present the business cycle phenomenon and its contemporary characteristics. Understanding the business cycle theory will allow for more in-depth research on this subject for the Bulgarian economy, through which to increase the macroeconomic efficiency of the country's economic policy [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a comparative assessment of the differences in the economic structures of the different regions. The aim is to measure the difference that exists between the regions by tracking changes in the structure over a period covering development before, during and after the economic crisis. An answer to the question is whether the economic structure of a region is adequate to existing economic circumstances. On the basis of a structured approach in selected sectors and through a system of indicators the changes in the structure were examined; and through correlation coefficients the strength and direction of dependence of selected regional indicators established. The analysis showed that the different economic advantages available to individual regions lead to different economic potential, which in turn adds to the contrast between the regions. The dynamics, nature and depth of territorial inequalities predetermine structures that meet the comparative advantages of the regions and this, in turn, is the basis for a differentiated structural economic policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author's opinion is that it is the endogenous rather than the exogenous factors that happened to be decisive for overcoming the present and newly arising economic difficulties and obstacles. Various manifestations of the crisis are examined and it is proved that the poor quality of the domestic institutions and their operation underlie the economy in stagnation. The macroeconomic elite conceives its participation in the power as a unique opportunity to get rich and considers its functions as a possibility for a "free riding", i.e. that economic processes develop almost automatically by their own laws and that an individual misuse will not affect the natural course of developments. Especially dramatic is the situation in the legal system which allows washing ownership rights away and is influential in bringing about distorted non-market norms of behavior. Even commonsense regulatory principles are turned into a caricature. The behavior of economic players at company level gives grounds to claim that the managers' preparation does not come up to the level required. Ultimately, it is the education system that could raise all the population and the economic players to the point where a real control and improvement of the present system of management of society will become possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper outlines the need for an analysis of the extent to which foreign direct investments (FDIs) affects real convergence expressed using the following selected macroeconomic indicators: Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, the unemployment rate (UR), labour productivity (LP) per person employed and the minimum wage (MW). The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on real convergence in Romania's and Bulgaria's economy during 2004-2014. The main results for both Romania and Bulgaria show that FDI can be considered important sources of growth for real convergence that have contributed to economic growth, increased labour productivity and increased the minimum wage except for the unemployment rate. The results confirmed our expectations because logically, foreign firms bring their own technology, appropriate for the work of the employees, in order for their employees to produce as much as possible and pay salaries relatively higher compared to companies with local capital, but they demand instead higher productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyzes the distributional effects of social transfers in Bulgaria in the period 2000-2014, using income inequality decomposition by factor components. The results suggest that social transfers mitigate income inequality, but this effect varies depending on the type of transfer. Pensions exert the strongest influence due to their significant share in total income, which also rises over time. Family allowances are pro-poor in nature, but because of their small share in beneficiaries' total income, their impact on overall inequality is much weaker. "Other social benefits" have the weakest inequality-reducing effect, which is due to their higher concentration towards the richest decile and increasing share in total income. Despite the inequalitydecreasing impact of social transfers, we argue that they should not be regarded as the sole remedy for the sharp income disparities in the country, but need to be accompanied by relevant active labor market policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses the contemporary regional development of Bulgaria and regional financing by different national sources and European funds. The compliance with the EU requirements for attaining targeted results in specifically programmed priority areas is revealed as a driving force for improving the financial governance of regional development. The main tasks are to analyse the problems and prospects of the different types of regional development financing, their interdependence and overall impact on the regional production structures and social development. The issues of the efficiency and effectiveness of the decentralisation of public finances are analysed within the framework of the goals of sustainable regional development. By revealing the mechanisms and instruments of public financing the regional development some conclusions are made for the enhancement of fiscal coordination between the municipalitie's and central Government authorities. The implementation of additional measures for more strict fiscal discipline at local level is considered with regard to improving the solvency of the municipalitie'sbudgets and enhancing the capacity of the municipalities to manage their debt's repayment problems. Overcoming the shortage of municipalitie's funding commitments and difficulties of meeting the obligations to serve due costs is discussed as an opportunity to improve the local finances. The role of public governance is revealed in order to consider the problems and future prospects for financing regional development. The methodology of the study involves the comparative analysis of the macro and micro financing of regional development and institutional and legal analysis of forms and schemes of public financing. In conclusion some problems and prospects are drawn for the public governance of Bulgaria in support of financing regional development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article was provoked by the participation of the author as an expert in the ongoing study on the issue of stabilization of defence expenditures in different ways in NATO / EU Nations. An expert team at the University of Defence, Czech Republic has initiated a research, aim of which is then map out the situation in NATO/EU Nations regarding stabilization of defence spending. As a participant in answering a number of questions from the questionnaire referred by colleagues from the Czech Republic, the author was motivated to provide more complete and accurate picture of the defense expenditures of the Republic of Bulgaria for the period 2010-2014 and the current situation for 2015. The costs of defense were examined from an economic perspective in terms of gross domestic product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public-private partnerships (PPP) are a new perspective for development of the public sector by using the experience of the private sector. The state is facing challenges that require implementation of flexibility and diversification of activities as well as looking for new opportunities to finance large infrastructural projects. One of the possible ways to implement the projects is through public-private partnership. This article aims to define the basic criteria to be met by a successful PPP, as well as, to generate recommendations for improving the environment for public-private partnership and for increase of the efficiency of this type of cooperation. To achieve the objective of this article, a definition of PPP has been drawn up, the regulatory framework in Bulgaria has been studied and advantages and disadvantages of public-private partnerships have been specified based on examples from the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This paper presents results of the breakthrough study that applies the methodology developed by Corrado, Hulten and Sichel in 2006 to measure investment in intangible assets in Bulgaria and the factors involved in their contributions at the level of the economy. The study encompasses the transition and EU pre-accession period 1995-2006 and makes use of micro-level data aggregated to sector level, taking account imports and exports. We consider the following types of investment in intangible assets: computer software and computerized databases, innovative property, scientific R&D, copyright and license costs, new architectural and engineering design, brand equity and economic competences, market research and advertising as brand building, firmspecific human capital and organizational structure. According to this nomenclature, we compute the share of these intangible assets in the GDP and make estimates of the potential adjustment of the GDP if these investments were to be taken into account. The study unfolds on the background of the profound changes taking place in the Bulgarian economy over the 1990s, including a critical mass of privatisation, fragmentation of industries, financial shocks and a massive entry of new firms and foreign investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyzes national policies and strategies of Bulgaria in the context of the European innovation policy and practice, with a focus on the issue for commercialization of scientific knowledge. The national innovation system, as well as key policies and strategies supporting the flow of innovation processes are reviewed. Further analysis is focused on the existing mechanisms and prerequisites for commercialization of scientific potential - the transformation of scientific knowledge into economical results (market value). Presented are conclusions and recommendations for improvement of the innovation system and for creation of conditions for overcoming the fundamental barrier to transforming scientific knowledge into economic activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]