Issue 2, 2007

In the light of the theory for the optimal taxation and the practice in several federal and unitary states a conceptual frame of the distribution of tax responsibilities between central and local authorities is outlined. A differentiation between the decentralization of taxation policy (the power to determine the tax basis and stakes) and of tax administration (tax collection) is made. On this basis the possible solutions for Bulgaria have been worked out and formulated. The conclusion has been drawn that the strengthening of taxation autonomy of the local authorities is the main goal of the reform in the local finances but the appropriate taxes are few and are with restricted income potential. Optimization of the estate taxes and their complementation with local taxes on rents and local tax on patents is proposed. The income potential of these autonomous local taxes is not that big (especially in small municipalities) which grounds the necessity of a semi-autonomous tax on personal incomes as well as of significant central state aiding, e.g. redistribution of tax income between the municipalities.

Considered in the paper are the problems of development of the corporate economic knowledge in the light of philosophy of science from 20th century. Outlined is the necessity of financial categories and approaches' interpretation on the basis of the concepts for critical rationality, scientific demarcation, criteria for falsification and others. Emphasis is put on the positive aspects of the modern philosophy interpretation of the economic science.

The institutional theory is, to a great extent, filled with criticism of the main classical postulates. Many institutionalists question in their works the hedonistic principle of profit and loss as a main motivating factor for human behavior. The main classical concepts result from relatively old tendencies which dominated the manner of thinking during the period XVII-XVIII century. Due to its strong bond with clerical order, classical economic theory deals with the individual rather than the group. The leading institutionalists argue against this statement and back up the idea that the individual's behavior is manifested in social environment. These and other characteristics show classical theory in static format, unable to react adequately to the dynamics of the social and economic development. Among the fiercest critics of classicism in this respect are Clarence Ayres and Torstein Veblen. This article aims at showing the unconventional view of some of the competent representatives of institutionalism together with their well-grounded criticism of classical orthodoxy.

The paper presents a model based on the latent-structural analysis as a statistical method for studying of the satisfaction with the home employment in Bulgaria. The "causes", "advantages", "problems" and "work environment" are included as exogenous (input) variables, while the "effectiveness" and "satisfaction" are endogenous (output) variables. The data are obtained through two independent surveys - a postal inquiry and an inquiry in Internet. The theoretical model is tested using the diagonal assessed method of the least squares, applied to the primary matrix with polichorical correlation coefficients.

The conclusions of the offered representative review of the thoughts of academic economists are logical inferences concerning: the terms of the scientific economic concepts, the existence of deferent economic theories, the debates among economic economists, the educational programs of the Bulgarian academic economic schools.

The paper presents an analytical overview and systematizes the changes in the Bulgarian old-age pension system in the period 1990-2004 on the basis on their "depth" as the full transformation of the model is the watershed. Three change periods are designated and evaluated from the point of the view of their nature and scope. The paper then assesses whether and how far some main objectives of the pension reform have been achieved by examining some parameters of the reformed pension model such as pension level, coverage of insured persons, income replacement rate, provision of more adequate link between insurance contribution and pension rights, financial standing of the Pension Fund, etc. Lessons from the Bulgarian practice and major challenges ahead of the pension system development are outlined.