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Aglika Kaneva
ANALYSIS OF THE PROFITABILITY INDICATORS AND THE INDICATORS FOR ASSESSING THE QUALITY OF BANK ASSETS IN EU MEMBER STATES IN THE PERIOD FROM 2007 TO 2017
Summary:
The research paper analyses the profitability of banks in EU Member States -earnings after taxes, return on equity and return on assets. It also reviews the dynamics of the indicators for assessing the quality of bank assets, such as the share of watch exposures and non-performing exposures on loans and advance payments, specific provisions and loan impairments of banks in the European Union and the euro area, since, similar to the profitability indicators, they are strongly affected by financial crises.
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Mykhaylo Zveryakov
SEEKING AN EXIT FROM THE CRISIS
Summary:
The theoretical conception of an exit from a crisis, which was proposed by the Nobel Prize winner P. Krugman, and the application of its basic positions in seeking ways to get out of the crisis in developed countries and in Ukraine are analysed. A peculiarity of the application of Keynes’ theory in the national economy is demonstrated. The necessity of developing an alternative economic model applicable to Ukraine’s economy is substantiated. Some theoretical approaches to the formation of a new economic model based on a change in the current system of distribution of the aggregate added value in favour of an increase in the rate of accumulation as a necessary condition of steady economic growth are proposed.
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Hrabrin Bashev
THE IMPACT OF MARKET, PRIVATE, COLLECTIVE AND HYBRID MODES OF GOVERNANCE ON AGRARIAN SUSTAINABILITY IN BULGARIA
Summary:
The specific governance systems in different countries, regions, sectors, etc., are a factor which largely (pre)determines the rate and type of socio-economic development. Despite its tremendous theoretical and practical significance, little empirical research has been conducted in Bulgaria, and south Eastern countries in general, of the dominant governance structures in agriculture and their impact on agrarian sustainability. The aim of this study is to adapt the interdisciplinary New institutional economics and to assess the impact which the different modes of governance (market, private, collective, public and hybrid) have upon agrarian sustainability at the current stage of development of our country. The study first presents the methodology of the research. Next, typical governance modes are identified that are employed by Bulgarian farms of different legal type, size, production specialization, environmental position and geographical location, the impact of those governance modes on agrarian sustainability in its economic, social and environmental aspects. In conclusion, recommendations are made about conducting further research and improving public policies and private governance strategies. Agricultural producers employ various combinations of efficient market, private, collective and hybrid modes of governance in their activity and relationships. The factors and modes which contribute the most to raising agrarian sustainability at this stage are: managers’ confidence and initiatives; economic resources and innovation potential; a short-term profit and gains strategy; price level and dynamics; EU payments per area, and informal agreements. The research of the relationship between governance structures and agrarian sustainability should continue further to improve its representativeness and enlarge the scope of the specific modes of governance which farms of different types employ, to assess the impact of institutions upon agrarian sustainability and the effect of governance at different hierarchical levels. The latter, however, requires employing a new type of micro and macro data and close cooperation between different stakeholders.
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Wei Bin Zhang
GLOBAL SOCIAL STATUS, NATIONAL SPIRITS OF CAPITALISM, AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Summary:
This paper constructs a global economic growth model with endogenous social status, endogenous preferences, and wealth accumulation. The economic system is based the Solow model, the Uzawa two-sector model, and the Oniki-Uzawa trade model. We base our approach to measuring social status on some ideas in the literature of economic growth with endogenous growth. The model is specially based on a model proposed by Zhang (2016). This study considers relative social status as a function of a country’s relative wealth per household with the global average per household wealth. It treats time distribution between leisure and work as endogenous variables. The world economy is composed of any number of national economies and each national economy consists of one capital goods sector and one consumer goods sector. National economies differ in social status, preferences, spirits of capitalism, and productivities. We build the model for -country world economy and express the dynamics with differential equations. We simulate the movement of a 3-country global economy and carried out comparative dynamic analysis with regard to some parameters
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Daniela Georgieva
Digital Competences of Accountants within the Context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution
Summary:
The aim of this research is to identify the major digital competences that are required for accounting professionals. The focus of the research is on three positions in the National Classification of Professions and Positions (NCPP – 2011) – those of a chief accountant, an operational accountant and a bookkeeper. The objective of the research is to make a comparative analysis of the different classes in the NCPP-2011 and the major digital competences required for them according to the main duties of the people appointed to those positions. Our research approach is based on the methods of logical reasoning, deduction and comparison, as well as analysis and synthesis of the legal requirements which have been adopted at a national and an international level in terms of the competences and professional duties for each position. In addition, an analysis has been made of proposed classifications and identified competences in related economic literature. The propositions and conclusions we give will contribute to raising the awareness of employees, employers and educational institutions about the digital competences and knowledge required from persons practising the profession. The research has been funded by the MES Program ‘Young Scientists and Postdoctoral Students’ through a grant made to the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration at Sofia University. The author would like to acknowledge the support which has been provided through the program.
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Irena Misheva
ENVIRONMENTAL INSURANCE –
A PART OF RISK MANAGEMENT
IN ENTERPRISES UTILISING HAZARDOUS PRODUCTION
Summary:
This study focuses on the problems related to the management and regulation of environmental risks and environmental behaviour in enterprises utilising hazardous production. The main focus is placed on environmental insurance as part of enterprise risk management. Priority is given to the relationship between insurance and risk management in the management structure of business entities. The relationship between enterprise risk management and other types of management in enterprises with hazardous production in relation to environmental protection is also examined. The author analyses the dynamics in the demand for environmental pollution liability insurance by industrial enterprises.
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Hrabrin Bashev, Mimoza Mladenova
The Effects of Implementing European Policiesin Agricultiral Holdings in the Republic of Bulgaria
Summary:
There have been numerous publications in recent years dealing with the various effects of the CAP on holdings in the EU countries. In the Republic of Bulgaria, however, there are not comprehensive assessments of the actual effects of the implementation of CAP on agricultural holdings as a whole and on agricultural holdings of different types. This article presents the results of a comprehensive survey of CAP’s impact on incomes, efficiency, competitiveness and sustainability of agricultural holdings of different legal types, sizes, specialization and geographical location. The approach of the study and the system of criteria and indicators for assessment are presented in details in a previous publication of the authors . In order to assess the effects of the CAP, the authors used formal data of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the National Statistical Institute and other sources, primary data of surveys of farm managers and expertise of leading experts in the given sphere.
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Nikolay Ninov
Efficiency of the Social Assistance System in Bulgaria through Planning the Use of European Funds
Summary:
Within the social policy implemented to alleviate the worst forms of deprivation and combat poverty, targeting European Union citizens that are most affected by the socio-economic crisis, and through the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived, the European Commission finalized the process of adoption of all national operational programmes for the period 2014-2020 amounting to a total value of 3.8 billion Euros. These funds will be spent on achieving social cohesion and implementing one of the main objectives of the Europe 2020 Strategy – “Lifting at least 20 million people out of the risk of poverty or social exclusion”. The Republic of Bulgaria received 104.8 million Euros to finance social benefits and social services aimed at promoting social inclusion, thereby the national social assistance system is expected to demonstrate greater effectiveness and efficiency in spending them
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Mihal Stoyanov
PROTECTION AGAINST FRAUD IN ELECTRONIC TRADE PAYMENTS
Summary:
The past decades have seen continuous advancements of infor¬mation and communication technologies that have substantially altered economy on a local, national and global scale. The employment of these technologies creates and tranfers to economic entities significant economic and social effects, yet it poses serious challenges to the security of the digital environment. An increasingly complicated issue is that of unlawful activities with payment transactions in trade. This paper reviews the nature of crimes related to payments in the physical and the digital environment; the characteristics of different technological means of safeguarding online payments, as well as some opportunities for improving the safety of individuals when using the Internet to make commercial payments.
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Margarita Marinova, Emiliya Vacheva
FROM THE HISTORY OF TRADE AND BANKING IN SVISHTOV. TRADING-AND-BANKING
(MONEY-CHANGING) COMPANIES AND BANKING HOUSES AND THEIR IMPORTANCE FOR THE TOWN ECONOMY (1878-1912)
Summary:
Based on archival sources not used so far, periodicals and other sources of information, the study reviews the economic life of Svishtov in the period 1878-1912, with an emphasis on the development of trade. Against this background, it examines the issue of re-directing trading capital to banking. The focus of the study is the trading-and-banking (money-changing) companies and banking houses (8 partnerships and 9 sole proprietorships). The study answers a wide range of questions concerning their emergence, institutional characteristics, the nature of the capital mobilized in them; the banking operations and services they offered, with a focus on credit and the circumstances that allowed banking houses at certain periods to make a greater contribution to lending money to local trade and production; the psychological profile of the Svishtov merchant; the reasons why the joint-stock principle did not establish itself firmly and permanently in the economic life of the town. It also reveals the leading role of the Bulgarian National Bank in lending money to local trade and to the two savings joint-stock companies that existed in the 1890s and shows the importance of the banking houses for the development of the town’s economy in three directions – they were subjects in the process of initial capital accumulation; they provided short-term credit and increased the common funds for performing payment operations; they brought stability to the functioning of the banking and lending system especially in times of changes in the central bank’s policy. They also played the role of a ‘financial buffer’ that ensured the survival of companies in times of temporary hardships. The conclusion reached is that being away from joint-stock entrepreneurship, especially in banking, and the inability of local economic forces to create a joint-stock bank, was one of the main reasons for the economic backwardness of the town, beginning at the end of the nineteenth century.
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Plamen Petkov
AN ECONOMETRIC ANALYSIS
OF THE INVESTMENT FUNCTION
FOR BULGARIA ALLOWING FOR THE IMPACT OF STRUCTURAL BREAKS
Summary:
An investment function is a concept or strategy within economics that helps to identify the connection between shifts in the national income and the investment patterns that take place within that particular national economy. The present study uses the Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) to examine the long-run and short-run relationships between investment and some of its key determinants – real gross domestic product, inflation, discount rate and the Composite Financial Development Index. The econometric analysis is based on annual data referring to the period from 1991 to 2011. Three investment functions are estimated – total investment, private investment and foreign direct investment, and each function is analyzed both by not taking and by taking into consideration the structural changes that occurred in the survey period
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Nina Koteva
The Economic Efficiency and Financial Sustainability
of Agricultural Holdings
Summary:
The purpose of this article is to study the levels and trends of some basic indicators characterizing the economic efficiency and financial sustainability of agricultural holdings.
The study is based on official statistical information (NSI, MAF, Eurostat) and covers the period 2006-2013. It uses the following survey methods: systematic and comparative analysis; method of statistical groupings, inductive and deductive methods of analysis.
The survey results show that there is no clear steady upward trend in the efficiency and financial sustainability of agricultural holdings in the country. The economic performance of agricultural holdings growing field crops repeatedly exceed the performance achieved in the other types of holdings, mainly due to the larger sizes of the holdings and the support received rather than the more efficient production. The agricultural holdings growing perennial crops are in the most unfavourable situation.
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Rumen Lazarov
ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY
AND THE ROLE
OF THE INSTITUTIONAL
FACTOR IN ITS ANALYSIS
Summary:
This article presents an attempt to clarify the understanding of the role played by institutions in relation to economic uncertainty. The aim is to critically analyze and compare the place which this economic phenomenon occupies in neoclassical and institutional analytical models.
The need for the introduction of the institutional factor in a highly formalized orthodox neoclassical analysis model is theoretically justified.
The conclusion is that, under this condition, economic analysis will be able to produce objective results on the basis of which precise conclusions and correct decisions will be made as regards economic policy
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Rumen Georgiev, Milen Velushev
THE INNOVATION STRATEGY AND THE COMPETITIVE POSITIONS OF BULGARIAN ECONOMY
Summary:
As an EU member state, it has become an imperative for Bulgaria to fit in the economic structure of the European Union. In order to promote economic growth, the Union assigned member-states with the task to identify the advantages which will enable them to specialize in the production of goods and services with high added value. Specialization will thus enable member states to focus their effort on consolidating their comparative advantages by employing as an instrument the innovation paradigm. To respond to this challenge, Bulgaria designed its ‘Innovation Strategy for Smart Specialization’ in 2014. The aim of this research is to identify the extent to which the Strategy reflects the real opportunities for the national economy to increase the value added of its production by introducing innovations in specific technological areas stated in the document. The findings of the research indicate that the Innovation Strategy is not in compliance with the underlying logic of the European Commission or the OECD in terms of identifying the economic activities that have real potential as comparative advantages and core competences and where the fastest and most sustainable growth of value added could be expected through the adoption of innovations.
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Kristiyan Hadzhiev
INSTRUMENTS FOR ANALYSIS OF THE EXTERNAL ÅNVIRONMENT THROUGH THE PRISM OF SELF-MANAGED WORK TEAMS
Summary:
The article studies the specific characteristics of the external environment because they create actual possibilities for the introduction of self-management in the functioning of work teams in the Bulgarian organizational practice. An emphasis is put on the organizational context within which self-managed work teams (SMWT) function. The study also identifies the key instruments integrated in the model of analyzing the external environment in the process of transforming traditional work structures into self-managed ones. The article outlines the effects of the direct and indirect environment factors on the various dimensions of SMWT, namely structural characteristics, work and interpersonal processes, etc. The author supports the idea that the sustainable development of the SMWT-concept and the creation of added value for organizations require adequate monitoring of the competitive environment factors (specific micro-environment) and the common environment. This is one of the paradigms of modern management. Changes in the external environment affect the internal integration of the system and vice versa – the damaged internal processes limit the organization’s potential for adapting to the environment.
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Hélène ClÉment Pitiot, Patrick Saint Pierre
Inflation and Labour Capital Distribution: the Viable Compromises
Summary:
Our contribution aims to revisit the well known Goodwin’s model in macroe-conomics by the light of set-valued analysis taking into account state and regulation constraints in a viability program. The model of Goodwin (1967) deals with dynamic in¬teractions between employment and salary levels. It provides endogenous explanations of cyclical trends in dynamical economy. Viability methods enable investigating model properties and revealing appropriate regulation allowing the evolution to ful;ll some pre¬scribed qualitative objective. Then, applying computational methods derived from the Viability Kernel Algorithm, one can stretch the traditional Goodwin model analysis up to the institutional framework of the economy including monetary and budgetary aspects of the regulation policy from the public authorities, namely the state government, the cen¬tral bank and eventually the rivalry between the two boards thanks to dynamical games.
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Trayan Yosifov
Competitive Advantages of Adopting Biotechnological Innovations
Summary:
The underexploited potential of the national economy results in a low standard of living and a poor investment environment. Due to the current condition of economic processes, Bulgaria ranks at the bottom in terms of its GDP compared to other EU member-states and is one of the countries with the fastest declining population in the world. Low competitiveness and innovativeness of Bulgarian enterprises underlie the lack of any serious economic progress. This finding is true even for the economic spheres which contemporary biotechnological innovations are based on and in which our country has real advantages in terms of its natural resources and climate. The objective of this research paper is to analyse the main economic aspects of Life sciences and to present some major European accomplishments and partnerships in the pursuit of competitive advantages by enterprises operating in the sphere of biotechnologies.
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Maya Lambovska
A Concept of Team Control in Organizations
Summary:
This study aims to develop the conceptual and methodological foundations for team control in organizations. It presents a concept of team control, which combines classical and modern achievements of a number of management and mathematical theories. The concept is based on a comprehensive toolkit which includes management and advanced mathematical tools from the theory of fuzzy logic and the theory of fuzzy subsets. The study consists of four parts. Part one clarifies the author’s concept regarding the nature and characteristics of a team. Part two elaborates on the conceptual foundations of the team control process. Part three contains the author’s model of team control in an organization. Part four presents the results of testing the model of team control at Todor Kableshkov University of Transport – Sofia.
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Metody Kanev
THE METAMORPHOSES OF CAPITAL AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Summary:
The paper is an attempt to clarify the importance of the human, the cultural and the social capital and their metamorphoses in result of their mutual complementarity and conversiveness. By becoming major factors of life reproduction in general, they also act as essential organizing principles of the functional and structural model of social self-organisation and performance and human development
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Stefan Simeonov
A METHODOLOGY FOR TREND ANALYSIS OF STOCK EXCHANGE ACTIVITIES, BASED ON INDICATOR SIGNALS AND FREQUENCY VOLATILITY
Summary:
Different technical and statistical methods and indicators which are usually applied separately are used in market trend analysis. Some of the fundamental principles in technical analysis, as well as a great part of the quantitative indicators are not popular enough. There are unsettled issues regarding the change in the information indicators during the market trend and one can find unexploited potential in the analytical methods, which sets up a necessity for a more thorough and comprehensive study of the primary exchange indicators. Therefore, we propose a comprehensive methodology of market trend analysis, which integrates the signal functions of exchange indicators, statistical variation and frequency volatility by specifying their change throughout the market phases.
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Nina Koteva, Desislava Toteva, Emilia Sokolova
Methodological and Methodical Issues of the Economic Sustainability of Agriculture and Agricultural farms
Summary:
Based on a critical review of scientific literature, the category ‘economic sustainability’ is defined as the dynamic development of agrarian systems over a long period of time in line with the changes in the external and internal environment which ensures efficient performance, good financial condition and competitiveness.
We observe the hierarchical levels of the system for assessing economic sustainability to first select the principles, and then the criteria and indicators to be employed in the assessment, so as to reveal the characteristics and the underlying and significant aspects of the performance of the agricultural sector and agricultural farms.
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Maya Lambovska
A PERFORMANCE MODEL
FOR LECTURING TEAMS AT TODOR KABLESHKOV UNIVERSITY
OF TRANSPORT
Summary:
This paper presents an original performance model of lecturing teams at Todor Kableshkov University of Transport, Sofia. The model is based on various managerial, social and behavioural theories. It combines classical and up-to-date theoretical achievements with regulations and established practices at Todor Kableshkov University of Transport. The specific features of the model relate primarily to the indicators proposed for measuring the results of the lecturing teams at the university. The paper consists of two parts. Part one presents the conceptual basis on which the performance model of lecturing teams at Todor Kableshkov University of Transport is developed, as well as the definitions of some basic notions related to the control on teams. Part one also reviews the team model as the basis of the performance model which is proposed. Part two explains the specific features and the determinants of the performance model and introduces the indicators applied to the formation, activity and results of the lecturing teams at the university
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Petya Ivanova
MODERNIZING THE TRANSPORT SYSTEM IN BULGARIA IN ORDER TO PROMOTE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT
Summary:
The scope, the role and the essence of the relationship between tourism and transport are presented conceptually and in terms of their modern aspects, as well as the impact of that correlation upon the development of tourist destinations. We analyse the findings of a quality assessment of the different types of infrastructure in Bulgaria and in several countries which are our immediate rivals as tourist destinations. Evidence is provided to support the thesis that the transport infrastructure in Bulgaria needs to be improved to meet the demands of tourism, including by promoting easier access and mobility, and thus contribute to the image of the country as a sustainable destination. Key aspects for providing more efficient public transport in tourist destinations are identified. The paper also pays attention to strategic transport planning that should meet tourism demands and to improving the coordination between the institutions in both sectors in order to achieve visitors’ satisfaction, especially in terms of transportation.
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Dimitar Panayotov
New Paradigms – Interactionist Perspectives of Human Behaviour in Organisations and Management
Summary:
The study analyzes interactionist perspectives, combining different approaches, models, and theories about understanding the multiaspect, multifactor and holistic (comprehensive) nature of human behaviour in organisations and management. It also suggests baseline theses about: substantiation of complex research approaches; intersection of paradigmatic lines of different behaviour sciences, concepts, methodologies, and correlations which establish prerequisites for empirical and applied “translation” for acquiring new knowledge, values, and behaviour to encourage human development, strategic and global thinking, human capital and management of talents
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Tsvetan Dilkov
ENTERPRISE RESTRUCTURING
BY USING PROJECT MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGIES
Summary:
Nowadays restructuring is one of the essential trends practically in every en-terprise activities, focused on successful business, and it is also an effective market tool for increasing its competitiveness.
Restructuring infers the systemic character of enterprise functioning optimization. It involves a multi-aspectual and interrelated set of events, processes and methods starting with a complex diagnostics of the company and reaching to reorganization of both organizational structure and business processes based on the modern management approaches, including quality management methodology, business processes re-engineering, information technologies and systems.
The aim of this publication is to help executives and managers to get a “quality vision” of the practical version of the preparation and implementation process of enterprise restructuring, in which the active or even passive use of some elements of the project management methodology will enable the successful realization of the intended restructuring programme.
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Milen Velushev
THE PROBLEM WITH ECONOMIC GROWTH IN BULGARIA: CAN FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT HELP
Summary:
The Bulgarian economy has consistently ranked as one of the last among the EU countries regarding national competitiveness and factor productivity. Currently, its growth is modest and cannot qualify as a catch-up. A number of analyses have been dedicated to this topic, the results indicating various qualitative and quantitative factors or their aggregates as the cause for this lagging behind. This paper is an attempt to find out whether net foreign direct investment can help to improve the economic growth in Bulgaria. The analysis by Granger regarding the causality relationship between the GDP components and foreign direct investment inflows makes it clear that FDI affects not only government spending, which suggests that they cannot cause a change in the political institutions that determine the economic institutions. In short, at present foreign direct investment cannot be considered a source of economic growth due to the lack of investment in strengthening the market mechanisms by government.
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Daniela Todorova
THE ROLE OF CONCESSIONS IN TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT
Summary:
In an economic and financial crisis the concession as a business model enables the development and modernization of public state-owned entities.
Transport infrastructure in Bulgaria, which is public state-owned, has its important economic and social role. Its status and prospects for development underlie the demand for transport services. The transport infrastructure modernization can be financed depending on the country’s economic development.
The limitations imposed on central financing, aiming at transport infrastructure improvement, bring forward the concession as an alternative opportunity for improving transport service quality. The present article examines the role of concessions in transport infrastructure development, determining the economic and social benefits stemming from infrastructure projects’ concessions.
Concession is regarded as a successful business formula, combining low risk levels, quality and stringent control over the object of concession.
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Kamen Kamenov
THE SYSTEM
Summary:
This article reviews the philosophy of systems thinking and insightfulness as success factors. It also analyses and describes the characteristics of systems in which people are involved. Furthermore, it suggests ideas for establishing the relationship which binds systems thinking to systems analysis and insightfulness and results achieved in the course of time. The importance of co-active environment for achieving efficient end results is determined, the focus being on establishing corresponding projective behaviour. The advantages and disadvantages of ‘life’ within a system have been identified. Finally, the conclusion has been made that a system creates a sense of security and sets the pace of activities, which are a substantial advantage as opposed to the lack of clearly set obligations and mode of behaviour.
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Metody Kanev
The Spontaneity of Social Life and Free Human Choice
Summary:
This article is an attempt to interpret fundamental issues related to the spontaneous formation and the course of social life; the role of free human choice of goals, means and actions; the relationship between the spontaneity of social life and its management. Based on the trends generated by new developments in technology and information and social changes, we proposes the thesis that from spontaneous, social life could become anthropocentrically directed and managed.
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Rositsa Chobanova
TERRITORIAL ASPECTS OF INNOVATIVE DEVELOPMENT: CITIES
Summary:
This study discusses the territorial aspect of development through renovation linking it to cities where communication between people, the resultant emergence of problems and prospective solutions are more intensive.
The purpose of this study is to achieve a better understanding of what makes a city innovative and what the problems are in building an innovative city or district. In this context, first, the methodologies for defining, grouping and ranking innovative cities and similar territorial units are characterized. The results of the first comprehensive rankings of innovative cities in the world, Europe and China are presented. The second part of the study is devoted to characterizing debates regarding the European concept for the development of metropolitan areas as innovation centres within the Europe 2020 Strategy. Some ideas for the innovative development of territories in Bulgaria are suggested. The conclusion is that innovative development in a territorial aspect is related to the development of cities and metropolitan areas, which requires regular monitoring, evaluation and well-grounded measures for development, taking into account global good practice.
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Vasil
TERRITORIAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE LIVING STANDARDS IN BULGARIAN REGIONS
AND DISTRICTS (2010–2017)
Summary:
The article reviews differences in the living standard at the level of regions and districts. Living standard is defined and assessed in terms of material living conditions by employing multiple indicators which are grouped in three modules (subject areas): economic development; income and consumption; income inequality and poverty. We employ relevant statistical indicators to measure differences and specific methodology to assess the living standard so that we could rank territorial units according to their distance from the best regional score. The findings of our empirical research of the living standard indicate that: (a) there is a slight trend towards a decrease in the differences between regions, while differences between districts remain the same; (b) there are significant changes in the arrangement of regions and districts according to their scores in the different years of the research; (c) divergent trends are identified in the development of territorial differences measured through the summary scores for the three modules; (d) the living standard has deteriorated in a significant number of the territorial units.
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Hrabrin Bashev
THE SUSTAINABILITY
OF MANAGEMENT STRUCTURES
IN BULGARIAN AGRICULTURE – LEVEL, FACTORS AND PROSPECTS
Summary:
This paper assesses the sustainability of the farms in our country by applying the holistic approach. We first introduce the methods employed in our research and provide a general description of the farms included in it. Then we assess the integral, managerial, economic, social and environmental sustainability of farms in general as well as that of the different types of farms according to their size, specialization of production, environmental position and geographical location. Finally, we assess the factors for improving the sustainability of farms and present our conclusions about doing further research work and improving the assessment practice in the sec
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Hrabrin Bashev
The Sustainability of Farms
Summary:
The article answers questions like “What is sustainability of farms?”, “What are the mechanisms and modes of managing the sustainability of farms?”, and “How should we assess the sustainability level of farms?”. First, the evolution of the ‘concept’ of sustainable farming is analysed and defined as the ability of farms to maintain their managerial, economic, environmental and social functions in the long run. Second, the principal mechanisms and modes of managing the sustainability of farms are systematically approached. These include the institutional environment, market, private, collective, public and hybrid modes. Next, a system of criteria and indicators is proposed to assess the sustainability level of farms at the contemporary stage of development in Bulgarian agriculture. Finally, an approach to analysing and assessing the management system of farm sustainability is presented.
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Daniela Feschiyan
IMPROVING THE MODEL
OF UNCAPITALIZED ASSETS ACCOUNTING IN PUBLIC SECTOR ENTERPRISES
Summary:
This article focuses on some shortcomings in the model of uncapitalized assets accounting in public sector enterprises. The lack of standardization of the accoun-ting system in public sector enterprises is a prerequisite for the issues discussed. Despite the presence of a number of methodologies and guidelines there is still not a standardized approach for accounting the studied group of assets. The author proposes a sophisticated accounting model and argues that the problem can be solved only by the adoption of accounting standards which should replace the current practice of regulating public sector accounting by instructions and letters. The proposed accounting model will increase the reliability and credibility of accounting information and will ultimately improve accounting methodology
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Velichko Adamov
IMPROVING THE CAPITAL STRUCTURE OF BANKS
Summary:
This study examines the possibilities for improving the capital structure of banks through analysis of various combinations of long-term debt and equity. The theoretical thesis that banks should maintain a positive capital structure has not been ignored for a single moment in the reflections below. Yet, applied techniques and methods indicate that contemporary banking is predominantly based on negative capital structure in which a single unit of equity attracts multiple units of loan capital until reaching maximum levels beyond which the regulatory proportions for funding of banking business are violated. Quite logically, attention is paid to banking risk with reference to banks performance and the efficiency of capital utilisation. In parallel, financial leverage is applied to maximize bank earnings. Through the DuPont model, the capital management of banks develops a systematic tool for measuring the efficiency of decisions related to the development of the financial leverage effect. Based on this a model for the optimization of commercial banks is designed to facilitate bank managers in making efficient financial decisions, which take into consideration market capitalization and the cost of long-term capital resources
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Radoslav Tsonchev, Stoimenka Tonova
FINANCIAL INNOVATION
AND THE NEW REGULATION
Summary:
The majority of experts and practitioners share the opinion that one of the major reasons for the world financial crisis from the period 2007-2009 is the failure of the market regulation both as statutory framework and professional practice. Unfortunately, the traditional financial doctrine was not in position to adequately assess the high complexity of the modern financial markets. It did not address in detail the essence of the financial innovations and to a certain extent allowed the deregulation and market self-regulation and thus allowing the widespread of such innovations. This survey is an attempt (i) to respond to the need for better understanding of the financial innovations, (ii) to point out and analyze the regulatory challenges caused by the market dynamics and (iii) to assess the steps already taken. It is not by chance that the reforms of the regulatory framework played a major role in the post-crisis period. Their progress in the last two or three years has been remarkable but, in our opinion, there is still a lot left to be accomplished in this field.
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Stefan Simeonov, Teodor Todorov
DESIGNING THE INVESTMENT PROFILE OF THE SHARES TRADED ON THE BULGARIAN STOCK EXCHANGE IN THE PERIOD FROM AUGUST 2016 TO DECEMBER 2017
Summary:
The analysis of shares performance is normally focused on risk and yield, while the third investment parameter, market liquidity, is usually ignored. In contrast to the world’s biggest stock exchanges where market liquidity is taken for granted, it seems to be a major issue for developing capital markets, such as the stock exchanges in new Balkan economies. This research paper introduces and employs a model of complex market liquidity assessment of the traded companies. We employ the Frequency Analysis of Volatility to add to the research value of Risk analysis, the coherent alternatives of VaR and the investment profile of traded shares. Based on the complex set of methods employed in our research, we present comprehensive investment profiles of the companies with the highest and the lowest market capitalization which are constituents of the four Bulgarian Stock Exchange indices about the period from August 2016 to December 2017.
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Mihal Stoyanov
CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF LOW-COST AIRLINES
AND THEIR DEVELOPMENT IN EUROPE
Summary:
Air passenger transport is essential for society and economy. This article examines the development of the low-cost carriers market in Europe and the specific characteristics of low-cost airlines, which distinguish these airline operators from the other participants in the aviation market. It also analyzes the serious expansion of this market segment in Europe for the period 2005-2013 and formulates recommendations for possible improvement of the business strategy of low-cost airlines.