(C) The Bulgarian economy... May be... May be not

It is often that foreign analysts would treat different economies in a similar, stereotyped way, omitting certain differences and specificities. The recent negative forecasts by Danske bank, should be carefully examined within the context of the issued by the bank fixed income products, that would benefit from weak Bulgarian economy and currency. This is a serious conflict of interest and must be adequately and carefully disclosed in any analysis related to Bulgaria.

Despite all said above, I personally believe that the Bulgarian economy faces severe challenges. The political and the financial skeletons in the central government budget, the retirement system and the national healthcare could easily submerge the economy in a whim of moment.

The educational system’s collapse has been pushing the country to the brink of a national tragedy for the past twenty years. Bulgaria persistently destroys its potential to add value in the economy. The inadequacy of the administration in terms of human resources and organizational structures, causes inability to properly administer and process the EU projects funding. Wide range of programs creates artificial employment, which does not only miss to create value, but manages to destroy one. The strong regulatory protection of the oligopoly companies, the political nepotism among the central government agencies and companies, hand-in-hand with the corruption, the pre-electoral statistical and budget data, are a ticking time-bomb in the backyard of the Bulgarian economy and fully support the forecasts of the foreign analysts.

With the always “absent” R&D sectors,
With the handicapped education in the past 20 years,
Altogether with the thriving oriental habits, the policy of irrational and inefficient capital flow decisions, apropos already dried amid wide spread corruption and the global financial crisis, do not turn me optimist – on the contrary, we are severely missing any of the economic growth generating factors.