• Lubomir Lubenov, Anelia Lyubenova
    BULGARIA’S FINANCIAL MARKETS IN AGRIBUSINESS – SIZE, STRUCTURE AND DEVELOPMENT TRENDS
    Summary: The aim of the study is to establish the size, structure and financing trends of Bulgaria’s agribusiness. Improving the liquidity and turnover of short-term assets of farms is a goal of paramount importance because it also improves profitability. This necessitates diversification of the sources and instruments to finance the operating capital, such as credits, leasing, factoring, forfeiting, etc. At micro- and macro-level, the provision of information for financial management purposes should be improved to facilitate the access to public and corporate financial markets of short-term and long-term funds for the agribusiness. Public financial markets in Bulgaria’s agribusiness grew steadily from over BGN 1 billion/year during the first reference period of the common agricultural policy of the EU (2007–2013) to BGN 4 billion/year at the end of the 2014–2020 period. They also played an important role in generating reciprocal company financing of over BGN 3 billion/year of over BGN 7 billion/year of all financing in the sector. Structurally, short-term financing accounts for more than 2/3 to 3/4 of all financing.
  • Violeta Blazheva
    The Bulgarian Agrarian Sector in the Context of the “Updated” Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union
    JEL: Q18, F02
    Summary: The political agreement reached between the European Parliament, the Council of Ministers of the European Union and the European Commission is expected to lead to significant changes that mark the starting point of the European policy designed to address the challenges of the security of food supplies, climate change, growth and employment in rural regions. In this aspect, this paper focuses on the reform that is being carried out by CAP in 2013 in the context of the new pro¬gramming period 2014-2020. Priority is given to forthcoming changes in the Bulgarian agricultural sector regarding the implementation of the future Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union. It has been proposed to group changes in CAP, which would facilitate the inclusion of the adjusted measures in designing agrarian policy in Bulgaria. The upcoming reform is aimed at achieving a more equitable distribution of resources. It is expected that each member state of the Com-munity should not receive less than 75% of the (average) funds provided by the European Union. The new rules will come into force from January 2014.
  • Stoyan Prodanov, Stefan Stanimirov
    DEVELOPMENT OF THE BULGARIAN INSURANCE MARKET - CRISIS CHALLENGES OF THE DECADE
    Summary: The present study focuses on the development of the Bulgarian insurance market in the second decade of the XX century. It examines the issues of the relationship between the global financial sector, insurance and the phases of economic cycles; the debate on the importance of the financial sector and insurance for the economic development; the establishment of correlations and dependencies between the dynamics of GDP and the dynamics of the Gross Premium Income (GPI) in the general insurance sector in Bulgaria for the period 2007-2019, presenting prospective reflections and assessment of the impact of the global pandemic COVID-19 on the Bulgarian insurance market. The linear model in a realistic scenario forecasts a decline in GPI of 18.2%, in a GDP decline of 9.0%. An additional assessment and forecast made using the model is that a decrease between 12.4% and 25% of GPI from the compulsory motor third party liability insurance (at the indicated level of GDP decline) will have a destructive effect on the Bulgarian model of general insurance, due to the impossibility to perform the social functions of this insurance such as the protection of victims of road accidents.
  • Marina Nikolova, Marusya Stancheva Linkova
    STATE AND PROBLEMS IN THE MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT OF AGRICULTURE
    Summary: The international scientific and practical conference on “State and Problems in the Management and Development of Agriculture” held in Svishtov on 4 October 2019 attracted a great number of Bulgarian and foreign scholars who work in the field of agriculture as well as representatives of the business in the agricultural sector. The scientific forum was attended by 83 representatives from nine countries and three continents; they presented 68 papers dealing with the organization and management of investments and innovations, entrepreneurial initiatives and diversification in the agricultural business, financial and accounting aspects, marketing, distribution and trade, information technologies, ecologization and sustainable development, legal and socio-cultural barriers of the general agricultural policy of the European Union. In the discussions during the scientific forum, we identified, analysed and assessed the current problems that accompany the development of agriculture and made specific proposals for their solutions on the basis of the expert capacity of the scientific community and the institutions that manage the agricultural sector in Bulgaria, as well as the needs of the agricultural business.
  • Lubomir Lubenov, Anelia Lyubenova, Ivailo Hristakov
    FINANCIAL ISSUES AND FUNDING IN THE BULGARIAN BEEKEEPING SECTOR
    JEL: Q14, Q18
    Summary: The aim of the study is to establish the amount of funding in Bulgarian beekeeping and their trends. The goal is achived through an analysis of the tendencies and the main sources of financial means. The study analyses the financial support from European and national funds (the National Beekeeping Program, the de minimis scheme, the Rural Development Program) for over BGN 18 million and from commercial banks and own sources for over BGN 3 million. Together they form financial markets for over BGN 21 million a year in Bulgarian beekeeping. The European and state financial resources intended for Bulgarian beekeeping from the country's membership in the EU are increasing in absolute terms, but are decreasing relative to the total funds. Bulgarian beekeeping has gained access to additional funding, which is not proportionate in comparison with other sectors. Additional financial support is needed per hive for the ecosystem pollination service in order to ensure biodiversity and food security in the EU. The financing of the Bulgarian beekeeping will continue to grow steadily.
  • Valentin Milinov,
    Human Resources in Regional Administration - Financial, Management and Organizational Aspects
    Summary: Public administration supports the activities of the state authorities by ensuring the actual functioning of the state administration. It regulates the relations between the citizens and the state institutions and local institutions, administers their rights and obligations, as well as the ways they are implemented. Regional administration is an important part of the public administration. It assists the district governor to carry out the state governance and ensure consistency between national and local interests in conducting regional policies and achieving the strategic goals and priorities of the government programme. Modern understanding of the theory of quality of human capital involved in public administration highlights the key importance of this factor at national level. Global changes related to the adaptation of the Bulgarian administration to the European one have put an even greater emphasis on integration, capacity increase, career opportunities, optimizing the costs and improving human resources management in the state administration.