The question raised in the present paper is: What is the human capital during the communism and which are the key political and economic determinants of its formation during this period? Firstly, a measurement of the human capital is conducted on the basis of quantitative educational indicators....

In Bulgaria, during the transition to market-oriented economy, many analyzes are based on the widely held view that one of the positive legacies of the economies in transition (particularly that of Bulgaria) is the high level of human capital. The high degree of development of education and...

In this study we present the theoretical framework of the so called Mincerian equations used for modelling returns to education. Then, we construct a conceptual framework which allows us to answer the question “What happens to doctoral degree holders in the labour market?”. We analyse data...

On the basis of existing theory we suggest two main types of factors for SME competitiveness. The first type is comprised of the basic factors, including internal, external and entrepreneur-related factors, all well-defined and discussed in the IO and RBV approach and the configuration theory as...

The main goal of this research was to investigate the SMEs competitiveness in terms of leading and supporting factors, and to compare the influence of these factors on SMEs performance. The study focused on four leading and four supportive factors. For each of these factors the respective...

In this paper we introduce additional parameters of the economic environment related to some notion of “distance” to institutions in a simple formal model. This distance could be viewed as an uneven spatial distribution (or coverage) of institutions with respect to population distribution....

Is it true that communist countries had well-developed human capital, or is it just a myth? What were human capital stocks at the beginning of transition to market economy? What happened to human capital formation during the transition? We attempt to answer these questions using evidence from...

What is the level of accumulated human capital in an economy in transition? Does education determine labour income in transition economies? In this study we try to answer these questions using data on 148,942 employees in 13 economic activities in Bulgaria. In the first place, we refer to the...

The impact assessment of education and gender on mid-career labour income in a transitional economy could provide for better understanding of the influence of the labour market dynamics over individuals with different characteristics. Here, we attempt to find an answer to the question: How...

The main objective of the paper is to provide an estimation of the impact of the investments in education and science in Bulgaria, financed by the European structural instruments. It provides net impact assessment as of end of 2012 as well as projections of potential effect until 2020. The...