Vol. 58 No. 6 (2013): Issue 6/2013

Articles

• Victor Yotsov — Economic Research Institute аt the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences

  ECONOMIC GROWTH THROUGH THE PRISM OF THE EXTERNAL SECTOR

  Abstract ▾ PDF

  This study considers the main economic growth models from the perspective of their relation to the external sector. It defines the advantages and drawbacks of the export-led model and of the import-substitution model and sheds light on the growth constraints ensuing from the balance of payments and the elasticities of imports and exports. It analyses the prerequisites for selection of one or another growth model and comes to the conclusion that Bulgaria will have to implement an export-oriented growth model within a medium-term perspective. In this relation, it makes proposals aimed at improving the country’s foreign trade policy.

• Emil Kalchev — New Bulgarian University

  PROBLEMS AND PERSPECTIVES OF FISCAL SECTOR IN BULGARIA

  Abstract ▾ PDF

  The article presents an analysis on the budget balance as a key indicator of the fiscal sector processes. The text considers different techniques for its funding - from the fiscal reserve and via government debt. Total government revenues and expenditures, with their respective structure and trend patterns, are revealed as determinants of the budget balance. It is on this basis that major problems in the formation of government revenues and expenditures, which illustrate the dynamics of the budget balance, are highlighted. The structure of public budgets is a focal point in the analysis, which helps elaborate on factors generating surpluses (government budget and relations with the EU) and deficits - the municipal and social security sectors. This perspective allows us to consider the total budget deficit as a result of the inability of government budget deficits and relations with the EU to cover the deficits of municipalities and social security. Finally the analysis concentrates on the structure and current issues with tax revenues. The economic effects of income taxes are brought to the fore, as it is believed that they directly affect economic activity and economic growth. A strategy presenting a step by step solution to the issues discussed throughout the analysis of the fiscal sector is put forth.

• Lena Roussenova — University of National and World Economy

  TOWARDS ESTABLISHING A GENUINE RESOLUTION REGIME FOR BANKS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

  Abstract ▾ PDF

  стр. 68-86, 87-101

  The article traces the evolution of the European Commission’s ideas and proposals for the establishment of a genuine resolution regime for credit institutions in Member States and the Banking Union. It examines the common resolution regime, to be introduced by the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive, which will serve as a basis for the operation of the Single Resolution Mechanism within the Banking Union. The analysis focuses on the characteristic features of the bail-in tool as an alternative to bailout. Special emphasis is placed on the on-going debate at the EU institutions on selected key issues of bank resolution and bail in, as reflected by comparing the initial Commission proposal for the Bank recovery and resolution Directive with the follow up Council’s general approach agreement on it.

• Kamen Kamenov — The D.A. Tsenov Academy of Economics

  The crowd – corrective tool or source of management policy

  Abstract ▾ PDF

  стр. 102-116

  The book "The Psychology of Crowds" by G. Le Bon is examined, focusing on its key propositions and analyses. Reflections have been offered on some of these, and views have been formulated from the perspective of contemporary socio-political, economic and social conditions. Diagrams are used to illustrate certain theoretical propositions and interrelationships, thereby facilitating their understanding. The link between crowd behaviour and political policy is clearly outlined. The view is put forward that crowds act as a kind of safety valve for the release of accumulated social tension and as a potential corrective or source of governance policy. The discussion on the relationship between those in power and the potential influence that crowds can exert on change also follows this line of reasoning. Furthermore, certain interrelationships between political, economic and social potential and the intensity of pressure exerted by crowds are outlined and analysed.

• Eduard Marinov — Economic Research Institute at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences

  The 2013 Nobel Prize in Economics

  Abstract ▾ PDF

  стр. 117-171

  The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided that the Swedish National Bank’s Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel is to be awarded to Eugene E. Fama, Lars Peter Hansen and Robert J. Shiller for “their empirical analysis of asset prices”.

  Eugene Fama is an American citizen, born in 1939 in Boston. He obtained his PhD in 1964 from the University of Chicago, Illinois. He is a professor of finance at the University of Chicago.

  Lars Peter Hansen is an American citizen. He was born in 1946. He obtained his PhD in 1978 from the University of Minnesota, Michigan. He is a professor of economics and statistics at the University of Chicago.

  Robert J. Shiller is an American citizen, born in 1934 in Detroit. He obtained his PhD in 1972 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston. He is a professor of economics at Yale University, New Haven.