2021, Issue 2

Bulgaria is a unitary state with 28 districts and 265 municipalities. The topic of territorial reforms in the country is periodically put on the agenda of public discussions. The aim of the article is to study the past of the territorial changes at the municipal level in Bulgaria, to assess current attitudes and to present potential opportunities for future territorial reforms. Based on questionnaires, factors behind the change in the number of municipalities in Bulgaria are analyzed. A financial…

The integration of the energy system of the Republic of Bulgaria within the European Network of Transmission System Operators (ENTSO-E) began in 2009. The ENTSO-E was established and mandated by the EU's Third Legislative Package for the Internal Energy Market, which aims to further liberalize the EU's gas and electricity markets. The ENTSO-E is responsible for the management of the electricity transmission system and for the authorization of trade and supply of electricity across EU…

The scientific study covers - a literature review and background of the Industry 4.0 concept, a comparative analysis between German and American digital platforms, a reference architectural model of Industry 4.0 (RAMI 4.0) and its three-dimensional coordinate system, including hierarchical levels, flow of life cycle values and the “layers” vector. Other points of interest are nationally developed reference architectures in the United States, France and Italy, China and Japan. The…

The presented scientific material relates to the microfinance industry in the Republic of Kazakhstan. It is divided into two parts: theoretical-methodological and empirical. The first part entails - a brief literature review (discussion), the terminology “microfinance”, the criteria for defining the microfinance industry, legislation, licenses and types, start-up and fintech development of microfinance institutions, as well as barriers to microfinance growth. The second part covers…

The study aims to find relationships between the harmonized consumer price index and the total producer price index in Bulgaria. Through the analysis, it aims to reveal the possibility of using the producer price index to predict the dynamics of consumer inflation in the country. The economic crisis triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic found a very strong reflection in the rise of consumer prices and producer prices in 2021, which makes it necessary to explore different tools to predict and investigate…

The article provides an overview of the legalization and regulation on issues related to training opportunities for civil servants. The main legislative specifics are considered and possible solutions are presented. The current situation in terms of the number of employees in the state administration is outlined. The system of the administration is also examined by structures, incl. central and territorial administrations, which allows us to see at which levels of the state administration has…

The article examines one of the main types of national security – economic security and the intersections with the finansial system. Economic security is aimed at maintaining the ability to overcome the negative factors of our environment, as well as the use of positive factors so as to ensure stable economic development of the country and in particular the financial system. The connection is two-way - the financial system is inextricably linked to the prevention of money laundering and…

The study aims to answer the question of the extent to the European central bank succeed to meet the challenges of crisis processes from the international financial crisis in 2008 to the health crisis in 2020. The main instruments of the ECB's non-traditional monetary policy are presented. Analyzing the data on inflation, economic growth, exports of goods and services, employment and unemployment rates, the changes in loans provided by banks to non-financial enterprises and households, it…

The paper aims to find correlations between the consumer confidence indicator, the total business climate indicator and real GDP growth by quarters. Based on the analysis, it aims to draw conclusions on the possibility of using business and consumer surveys as a source of early warning of economic crises. The Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent effects that led to an economic crisis have raised questions about the need to investigate economic indicators that can serve as early warning indicators…

International production may be of resource-based, import-substituting, export-platform or globally integrated kind, each of which raises distinctive considerations and each of which affects home and host countries in different ways. The use of particular theories often reflects the issues addressed and the questions asked. Theories of international production have drawn on six separate branches of economic theory: the theories of international capital movements, trade, location, industrial organization,…