Issue 1, 2019

The paper discusses the current problems of the integration in the EU in the context of the ongoing restructuring of the global economy and its institutional order under the pressure of rising economic nationalism and protectionism. The differentiated integration conducted in EMU outlines the challenges for Bulgaria from the integration at "two speeds" in the EU. The problems of overcoming the crisis of the current EU integration model are being considered in the context of the ongoing reforms.  By revealing the main trends in the world economy the paper discusses the impact of global changes on the European integration. The difficulties in reforming the completion of the Economic and Monetary Union are evaluated as a bottleneck to the further enlargement of the EMU. The opportunities and perspectives of Bulgaria's inclusion in the EMU are outlined.
JEL: G21; G24; G28

In the article approaches to the definition of the concept of "personnel marketing" are considered. The essence and definition of concepts "personnel marketing" and "international personnel marketing" are specified. Approaches to the formation of HR marketing mix are considered. The methodical approach to the formation of the system of international personnel marketing in the context of innovative development of personnel technologies is improved. The list of tools for innovative development of personnel marketing at enterprises of international business is substantiated.
JEL: М12; М31; О31

The paper presents results from a survey of geographic stability and the geographical concentration of Bulgarian export. An innovative approach has been used through the approbation of specially developed coefficients. The results show that Bulgarian export over the last fifteen years has been balanced in terms of its geographical structure. At the same time, it is highly sustainable concerning the main partner countries, and they remain unchanged over the whole period under review.
JEL: F14; F19

The article establishes that it is necessary to introduce capital requirements for the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision to improve the regulation of banking activities. The conducted experiment on calculation of the bank's capital for operational risk with different methods showed non-profitability of the results, which requires further improvement of the processes of changes in the banking regulation system based on the Basel regulations. According to the calculations, there is a certain difference between the amounts of necessary reserves for bank’s operational risk. At the same time, using different methods of calculation, we can see various trends over the last three years.
JEL: C10; G32; G21; F65; K29

The paper deals with the causes and sustainability of remigration, carried out by the Bulgarian migrants. It is focused upon the returnees’ own interpretations of the reasons behind their migratory behavior and the subjective meaning of their migratory movements. Comparisons are made between the motives for departure, return and re-departure as components of the overall migration trajectories. The return is looked upon in the overall context of mobility either as a split moment within it, or as a final point. Diverse economic and non-economic motives for return are identified. The relationship between the sustainability of return and the causes of initial migration and subsequent remigration is analyzed.
JEL: A14; F22; J61

The paper provides evidence about the future plans of Bulgarian migrants that use regular bus lines to travel to the European destination countries. The analysis utilizes data from a questionnaire survey conducted in 2018 among 305 migrants interviewed at the major nodes of the international bus transport infrastructure in Bulgaria. The future plans of these migrants are focused mainly on: (i) continuing their life in both home and host countries or (ii) searching for options to stay abroad for a longer period. In the same time, non-negligible shares of respondents (iii) still hesitate about their future plans or (iv) have expressed intentions to stay permanently in Bulgaria. Using multinomial logistic regression model, a set of variables that reflect: (a) socio-demographic status, and (b) the migration experience have been tested for potential significant effects on the choice reflecting the individual future plans of respondents.
JEL: F22; C35; J15

The paper is focused on the issue of returning migrants and their participation in the labour market in Bulgaria. The study is based on data of a representative survey, conducted in 2017 under the project “Returning migrants: segmentation and stratification of economic mobility”. The analysis covers two main aspects of the subject: 1) age and education of the respondents as characteristics for inclusion in the labour market and their labour status at the time of the investigation; 2) comparison between the type of employment (by economic activity, qualification, type of labour contract, etc.) abroad and in Bulgaria after the return, outlining peculiarities, disparities and consequences. Some essential problems for the participation of migrants in the labour market in Bulgaria are described.
JEL: J62; J24

This paper investigates the collision between the unquestionable requirement to preserve and maintain the solitary existence of the all-people socialist ownership and the need to provide a certain, though limited, independence for the enterprises. The seemingly simple practical issue, eventually appeared as a complex contradictory knot of both theoretical and practical problems, which implicated a lot of attempts for their overcoming in the different socialist countries, continuing up to the end of 1980s, i.e. to the last days before the system break-down. The paper here focuses on the experience in Soviet Union and, particularly, in Bulgaria.
JEL: B14; B24; G34; L22; P26; P31

The aim of the survey is to present the current situation of state ownership and its governance in Bulgaria. As a basis for good practices, the guidelines for corporate governance of state-owned enterprises by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (2015) are used. The survey includes 65 healthcare establishments with concentrated state ownership.
The results of the survey show that the joint stock company and the sole ownership are preferred by the state due to their opportunity for control over the management of ownership. Regardless of the declared objectives of the state policy on social orientation of the healthcare sector, the data indicate that the priority of the healthcare establishments are mainly the financial results. The practices of corporate governance of state-owned enterprises are formed by three external factors: concentrated state ownership, social functions of state-owned enterprises, and the importance of healthcare for economic development.
JEL: G34; H51; I18

CSR has a great importance for assessing the impact of business on society in global, European and national context. It is a complex and multidisciplinary conception it explores the institutional prerequisites for responsible activities of companies and their impact on its stakeholders. This publication systematizes new economic theories in the theoretical field, describes CSR core principle and international CSR Standards and gives empirical information on their application in Bulgarian firms. Recommendations are given for the CSR development guidelines according to European requirements.
JEL: M14

The paper argues that cross-border cooperation is important for border regions for building productive economies and inclusive societies. It justifies also the need of integrating sustainable development principles into regional development practice. The paper analyses levels and dynamics of key socio- economic indicators of the Northeast Region of Macedonia and Kyustendil district in Bulgaria such as regional – GDP, gross value added, employment, economic structure, demographic indicators.
It concludes by presenting prospects for development of cooperation in the cross border regions.
JEL: R10; R58

The paper is devoted to digitalization of enterprises as a challenge of the 21^st century. It is measured on national and cross-border region levels on the case of Bulgaria and Macedonia. The methods applied include a comparison of the state of the art and of trends of digitalization by size of enterprises. Data used for a country level is from national statistical institutions, for the level of their cross-border regions – from a database from a survey of 1941 enterprises, collected in the frame of a European project in 2017.
It is argued digitalization is a contemporary way of innovating, which depends on the size of enterprises. The new stage of digitalization is characterized by the usage of big data. Development of the respective algorithms for using big data is understood as a prerequisite for improving connectivity, networking and complexity of business processes. The latter characterizes preparedness to reap the benefits of emerging technologies and to capitalize opportunities of the digital revolution.
JEL: L00; M00; O00

This article presents the major challenges faced by the state for tackling energy poverty as one of the barriers to sustainable development not only of the energy sector but also of the society. The article presents the scope of energy poverty in Bulgaria, the underlying factors, the consequences, and the trends of development in the last three years until 2016. The article also provides a brief guide to tackling the challenges of combating energy poverty.
JEL: Q01; B41; B55; C18; D63; P36

The report examines the state of organic farming in Bulgaria and the EU for the period 2000-2016. An important aspect is the type of production (arable land, orchard) of organic farms. The choice of type of production differs between regions and Member States and depends on various factors (including the technical aspects related to organic production and the structure of consumer demand). In the course of the study the methods of comparison, statistical methods, etc. are used. The results are aimed at identifying existing differences between EU countries in the field of bioproduction development.
JEL: Q10; Q12; Q15

The aim of the present study is to outline certain trends in the development of Bulgarian agriculture resulting from the application of the Community policy framework for the support of the primary sector. Given the chosen way of support of the Bulgarian farmers, after 2007 significant structural changes took place in the Bulgarian agrarian sector, which are also transformed into structural imbalances. Over a period of 10 years, the relative share of total production (TP) from the crops sub-sector has been steadily growing, while the TP from the livestock sub-sector has been steadily decreasing. Imbalances also occur at the subsector level. Subsectors “Livestock”, “Vegetables” and “Fruit” are categorised as "vulnerable subsectors" and are subject to bound support. These subsectors have great potential as Bulgaria has monopoly natural assets, which are a prerequisite for creating products with high added value. Under CAP 2020+, national advantages are prioritised, which creates opportunities for restoring the importance of agriculture in the national economy.
JEL: А12; Q10; Q18