Issue 3, 2022

The article makes a critical analysis of the understanding of the concept of “inclusive development”. It is noted that this term and its synonyms became very popular and fashionable at the beginning of the 21st century, which led to their overuse and, thus, in a sense, to their deprivation of content. A critical review has been done on indicators and indices at a national and regional level. The relevance and necessity of applying a clear methodology for the assessment of inclusive development are justified in the light of the analysis that was made. A methodology for defining and assessing inclusive regional development that meets necessary requirements is proposed and justified by the authors of the study. It is based on understandable and easy to define criteria for the assessment of inclusive development. Finally, some general results and conclusions from the methodology are presented.
Keywords: inclusive development; methodology; Bulgaria
JEL: R11; Q57; R58

The study is dedicated to the disclosures in the non-financial statements (integrated reports) by the Bulgarian listed companies. It includes an analysis of the aims and the guidelines for the elaboration of non-financial reporting, the requirements for preparing, and the legal provisions. They suggest that the current European Union legislation and the Bulgarian laws are not sufficient for the presentation of appropriate non-financial information. In this regard, an empirical research into the quality of non-financial statements in Bulgaria is conducted. The summarised results could be used for improving the disclosures.
Keywords: non-financial information; integrated reports; Bulgarian listed companies
JEL: G18; M41; M48

The method of analysis of the current status of of the IP portfolio of a company and the IP portfolio as a factor for obtaining and sustaining the company competitiveness. The aim is to present the main points of the scientific thesis of the company digital competitiveness focused on intellectual property rights (IPR).
This article presents definitions, content and its general management aspects for the following terms:

1. a concept for ‘company digital competitiveness’;
2. the place and the importance of intellectual property rights for the company’s digital competitiveness;
3. a model for assessment of the company’s digital competitiveness focused on intellectual property rights as apart from a strategy to achieve digital competitiveness of the company;
4. a method for the formation of the company’s digital competitiveness strategy, focused on intellectual property rights.

The paper presents the point of view for the main term ‘digital competitiveness’ as general and focuses on IP rights as an IP portfolio of the company, including the company’s competitiveness terms and economic indicators for it.
Special attention is paid to IP rights as a factor for the company’s digital competitiveness and IP portfolio of a company as a content and as a structure and the methods of assessment of the company’s current status and planned future value.
The final part presents examples for IP rights owned by successful companies known well all over the world as the practical issue of the thesis.
Keywords: IP rights; IP portfolio; company digital competitiveness
JEL: K49

We employ the non-linear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) approach to examine if the oil price and public expenditure relationship are dependent on the level of corruption using Nigeria’s quarterly data during the 1996-2019 period. The result of the NARDL-bounds test to co-integration demonstrates that there is a long-run relationship between the variables, and we found evidence of long-run asymmetry in this relationship. The estimation results indicate that both positive and negative shocks to oil price have a significant positive effect on public expenditure in the long run, and the impact of oil price on public expenditure depends on the level of corruption. In addition, the marginal effect of oil price on public expenditure varies at different levels of corruption. Other important factors that drive public expenditure in Nigeria, in the long run, include spending on internal security and debt service. Based on these outcomes, we proffer some policy recommendations.
Keywords: oil price; public expenditure; corruption; NARDL; Nigeria
JEL: E62; E64; H50; D72; D73

The article summarises the arguments and counter-arguments in the scientific debate on the impact of global digitisation on the economy, in terms of potential changes in the activities and further development of enterprises, as well as on the labour market as a whole. The main purpose of the study is to define the role of global digitalisation in the strategic development of the enterprise. The basic logic of this study is based on the assertion that digitisation is a boost in the development of an enterprise and the economy as a whole, and information and knowledge are strategic resources that increase their adaptability to the variability of environmental factors. Methods of analysis and synthesis, deduction and induction, and the search for cause-effect relationships were the methodological tools of research. The research period was the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has spanned the world since early 2020, as it has dramatically accelerated the development of a large group of ICT services and online services. The article presents the results of empirical analysis of the main trends in the labour market during the pandemic and their relation to the processes of digitisation and strategic development of enterprises.
Keywords: digitalisation; personnel competencies; knowledge development; personnel management; digital economy; strategic development
JEL: F63; М54; О33

The purpose of this paper is to conduct a comparative analysis of the youth unemployment situation in Bulgaria, Serbia and Romania, relatively similar to economic development and with different EU member state status. It analyses distinctions in the corresponding rates on a national level and makes an attempt to summarise skills required in these labour markets which young people need to improve.
Methodology: The article is a continuation of previous studies of the authors based on youth unemployment in Bulgaria and, in particular, the barriers before young people to enter the labour market successfully. The research focuses on trends of the levels of unemployment of young people during recent years using publicly available data from Eurostat as well as the skill mismatches which challenge youths to be more successful when starting their careers. The study gathers information from relevant scientific publications as well as from various reports, dedicated to this topic.
Findings: The article distinguishes between the different trends in youth unemployment, looking for specific reasons. It also suggests common barriers for young people to enter the labour market in the countries under review.
Practical implications: A clear view on the movement in unemployment rates amongst young people in neighbouring countries and the main barriers for them to start successful careers could be prerequisite for the countries commented to improve their policies towards management of this issue. Moreover, they could combine their efforts and create a synergetic effect trying to tackle the problem regionally.
Originality/value: The paper aims to outline common challenges of a few neighbouring countries in the Balkans and, as a result, formulates trends typical for those countries which could be applicable to the bigger part of the region. The study incorporates two points of view – from a national and individual perspective to analyse labour markets.
Keywords: youth unemployment; labour market; skills mismatch; Bulgaria; Romania; Serbia
JEL: J13; J24; J64

An important purpose of the financial statements is to communicate between the stakeholders and the reporting entity.
Performing such a function in a year of global instability is a challenge to provide reliable information on the effects of COVID-19.
The objective of the research is to assess on the basis of information in the financial statements for the year 2020 the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on the liquidity, the revenue and the financial results of industrial enterprises listed on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange and their expected performance.
The research methodology is based on studying the effects of COVID-19 on the economic activity, an analysis of their manifestation in the activities of industrial enterprises, listed on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange, based on their published financial statements for the year 2020, summarising, comparing and graphically illustrating the results for two reporting periods, a study of the management’s assessment of the potential risks and the development of the individual enterprises next year.
The results and the conclusions of the study are: COVID-19 has a different impact on the revenue, liquidity, profits and losses of the enterprises in the extract; the usual dependencies in the dynamics of the studied sites are violated, the principle “going concern” is followed.
Keywords: effects of COVID-19; financial statements; profit/loss; revenue; liquidity; Bulgaria
JEL: M40; M41

The goal of this study is to investigate whether the gender and age of the director, the supervisory board chairman and other supervisory board members influence earnings management practices in public enterprises established by the Serbian capital city. We have found that the age of the directors and the age and gender of the board members appointed by the local authority are statistically insignificantly associated with earnings management practices. But the study reveals a huge gender inequality concerning the directors and supervisory board members appointed by the local authority and opens up a debate on whether supervisory board members are sufficiently qualified for the task assigned to them by Law. As a result of this research, we suggest several inputs for the ongoing public administration reform.
Keywords: earnings management; gender; age; supervisory board; public enterprises; Serbia
JEL: M41; M48; M14; G30; C33

The article identifies and classifies the factors influencing the formation of corporate culture on favourable and inhibitory factors. It was found that the effective influence on the corporate culture of machine-building enterprises is ensured by the availability and clear functioning of certain components of corporate culture, which can provide events that respect corporate traditions, respect for labour, intellectual, sports achievements; and spread corporate culture at the enterprise on internal and external environment. It was found that the main important components of corporate culture include: regulations, standards, organisational structure.
A methodological approach to the assessment of corporate culture on the basis of formalised and informal methods, taking into account expert assessment, is proposed. It takes into account the general style of leadership in the enterprise, management style, combines the essence of the enterprise, its strategic goals and criteria for success. The results of approbation of the specified approach at the Ukrainian machine-building enterprises are given.
Keywords: corporate culture; assessment methods; factors; strategic development; components; diagnostics
JEL: M14

One of the promising areas for creating a competitive market environment is the development of small businesses. Small businesses need to increase their competitive advantage over other market participants in order not to lose their place in the economic system, especially in a pandemic, while becoming drivers of economic growth.
The purpose of the study is to examine the factors influencing the behaviour of small businesses in the market environment during the epidemic by understanding the existing problems and strategic orientations of their activities. The article forecasts the number of small agricultural business entities in order to understand the problems and prospects for development in a market environment (using retrospective and statistical research methods); the directions of support for exporters of agricultural products have been given; the change in the dynamics of goods export by small enterprises has been analyzed (using the methods of economic and mathematical modelling), the level of social responsibility of agrarian business entities as a necessary element for the implementation of export operations in foreign markets (with a built self-organizing map). It has been proven that small business entities have a basic level of social responsibility, but in order to strengthen their competitive position and the need to enter foreign markets, enterprises need to improve to a sufficient level. It has been found that problematic factors for exports need to be addressed, namely: access to trade finance, inappropriate production technologies, identification of potential markets and buyers; technical requirements and standards. It has been substantiated that it is necessary to strengthen the assistance of small enterprises in access to information, implementation of the WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation, taking into account the interests of small enterprises, their involvement in regulatory activities in the field of trade.
Keywords: development; agricultural sector; micro; small business; market environment; local social responsibility
JEL: Q12; Q13; Q14

This study investigated the impact of capital flight on domestic investment in Nigeria. The data for the study were mainly sourced from CBN statistical bulletins for the period 1981 to 2017. However, the capital flight data series used in this analysis were obtained from new estimates of capital flight from the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) at the University of Massachusetts as constructed by Ndikumana and Boyce. The Auto-Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bounds test approach was adopted for the study. The result showed that capital flight significantly decreases domestic investment in both the short run and long run. Other variables found to have a significant effect on domestic investment include credit to the private sector and inflation rate. With these findings, the study, therefore, recommended that policymakers in Nigeria should consistently evolve policy measures that will curtail capital flight and make the economy competitive and more attractive for domestic investment. Others include anti-inflationary policies, strengthening anti-graft agencies to improve their effort in tackling laundering of public funds and the maintenance of more stable macroeconomic indicators which allow foreign capital inflow so as to boost private domestic investment.
Keyword: Capital flight; Domestic investment; Credit
JEL: E22; F21; F41