Issue 2, 2021

Argumentation is presented for the emergence of a new stage in the development of national economies along with the global technology change and the new social and economic performance challenges. Theoretically, this notion is developed applying Hegel’s ideas of economic and social development. In this regard, economic development is defined as a continuous process of change, the quantitative accumulation of which leads to a new stage with а qualitatively different goal, subject and mechanism for achieving it. Arguments for transition to a new stage of economic development are drawn from the analysis of contemporary concepts of innovative development, knowledge economy, circular economy and digitalization of the economy. They are associated with the application of new indicators for targets of economic development and new methodologies for collecting and interpreting new appearances in the real economy. The article also provides arguments for the transition to a new stage of economic development from the practice of the EU concerning the development and monitoring policies for achieving new goals. This is accompanied by rethinking the strategy and developing new alliances. The presented data show an unsatisfactory performance of the development of the Bulgarian economy among the EU member states. Following the above statements, it is assumed that it is necessary to rethink national strategy taking into account the challenges of transition to a new stage of economic development and opportunities, they provide for progressive development based on specifics national economy and identity of the society.
JEL: O1; O33; А13

An attempt is made to apply the popular Nelson-Siegel-Svensson parametric yield curve model in the case of an illiquid and undeveloped financial market. The findings suggest that the financial market’s illiquidity does not seem to diminish or distort the ability of the yield curve model to be used as a tool for deriving a clear picture of the shape and the dynamic of the yield curve. The insample and out-of-sample performance of the model for fitting the yield curve is further explored and illustrates how the modelling approach can provide a consistent framework for projecting the yield curve conditional macroeconomic scenarios that could be widely used for policy simulations.
JEL: C51; C53; E44

The pandemic, which began in 2020, has affected all areas of human activity. Education was also one of them, and its rapid adaptation to the new reality was a condition for guaranteeing the level of its quality. In order to comply with the recommendations for action during a pandemic, the educational process was moved entirely online. This process took place literally over the span of a single day, wherein the physical classrooms became virtual, and the teachers and students were faced with the challenge of changing their previous approaches in order to respond and deal with the situation. In this regard, for the purposes of the present paper, the understanding of online learning in higher education is reduced to the level of a marketing product, as a part of the marketing mix. The different levels of the product in the context of online learning are examined, as well as the factors that lead to the success of the products. The advantages, disadvantages and opportunities for improving online learning in higher education are studied based on own empirical research conducted among 230 students at different universities.
JEL: I21; M31

The development of the trade carried out in Kyustendil and its adjacent territories during the Revival is examined. The analysis of the available source material shows that during the studied period the domestic trade in this region supports the formation of a single national market and the transformation of Bulgaria into a single economic entity, while foreign trade (mostly with developed European countries) contributes to the integration of our country with the achievements of bourgeois civilization. This points to the conclusion that during the studied period trade is the economic sector that gives the region the greatest impetus towards its subsequent economic development.
JEL: N7; N9

The nexus between financial sector reforms and Nigeria’s economic performance is examined. Annual data for the period from 1981 to 2018 is used, and the impact of credit issued to the private sector on the economic growth in Nigeria is examined. The influence of market capitalization on economic growth in Nigeria is evaluated, the relationship between money supply to GDP and economic growth is determined, and lastly, the relationship between the exchange rate and economic growth in Nigeria is examined. The results of the Augmented Dickey-Fuller test show that the order of integration of the variables is I(1) and I(0), respectively. An Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model was used because it suits the result of the preliminary test. A cointegration test among the variables was carried out using the ARDL bound test approach. The ARDL estimates reveal that market capitalization positively and significantly affects or influences economic performance in the long run, while credit supply to the private sector (financial deepening) positively and significantly influences Nigeria’s economic performance in the short run. The findings further show that Nigeria’s economy fails to converge whenever there is disequilibrium. The recommendation is made that, since capital market reforms appear to have a significant positive effect on the economy in the long run, the government should continue with the implementation of the necessary reforms in the Nigerian capital market and the financial sector in general for the betterment of Nigeria’s economy.
JEL: A27; M26; B86