All countries of Central and Eastern Europe had to bear and are still bearing tremendous costs of the economic and political transformation. This paper deals with the case of Bulgaria. We describe the social situation and the most important social security institutions in Bulgaria (unemployment...

This paper analyses the macroeconomic developments which have taken place in the Bulgarian economy in the period 1993-1997. The paper also looks at the institutional arrangements and the process of economic policy-making in the country. In this context the problems the Bulgarian economy has...

This paper opens a series of discussion papers which report about the findings of a research project within the Phare-ACE Programme of the European Union. We, a group of Bulgarian, German, Greek, Polish and Scottish economists and agricultural economists, undertake this research to provide An...

The aim of the work was to present the results of the analyses economic standing of the partnership companies which lease agricultural real estate from Agricultural Property Agency of State Treasury (APA) in 1996 and 1997. The analyses proved poor economic condition of the firms under...

New survey data for a panel of Polish firms is used to estimate employment and wage adjustments under various forms of ownership (insider vs. outsider) and asymmetric response to exogenous shocks. In contrast to earlier studies, dynamic panel data estimators (GMM) allow for endogeneity of...

Industrial policy measures can be a reasonable supplement to economic and social policy actions during the period of transformation of centrally planned economies. This paper shows the interplay between industrial and social policy. Special attention is given to the timing and sequencing of the...

Previous papers in this Special Series, have described in detail the theoretical background and development patterns, along with some empirical results, for the privatisation processes in Bulgaria and Poland. A range of issues have been raised which demand closer empirical investigation. For...

The paper describes three stages of the privatisation process in Bulgaria 1990-1997. In the first period (1990-1993) progress was very slow. Only after 1993 a significant privatisation started. Mainly retail shops, restaurants and small businesses of various kinds were sold. In 1996 a programme...

In socialist economies firms have provided various social benefits, like child care, health care, food subsidies, housing etc. Using panel data from Bulgarian and Polish firms, this paper attempts to explain firm-specific provision of social benefits in the process of transition. We investigate...

The transformation of centrally planned economies needs privatisation and a co-ordinated industrial policy. This paper presents an overview of the legal basis, tools, and out-comes of privatisation and industrial policies in Poland in the nineties.