The paper provides an economic interpretation of the assessments of the level of competitiveness of the Bulgarian economy presented in official international studies. The key factors for the competitiveness of the Bulgarian economy have been analyzed. They are ranked in comparison with other countries. The dynamics of these factors are traced before and after the economic crisis. Special attention is paid to the impact of the geoeconomic factor on the comparative economic competitiveness – what is the geoeconomics specificity and what impact has on the economic development of Bulgaria. Some conclusions about the Bulgarian competitiveness are made based on the results of the study; pointing out certain opportunities for increase.

From the beginning of the 1970s until the last global financial and economic crisis in 2008-2009, neo-liberal ideas guided economic policy development.It is worth noting that the Central and Eastern European countries transformed their economies from centrally planned to а market type at the peak of the liberal policies.Bulgaria offers a particularly interesting example because the country encountered a very difficult transition from one extreme of an economic system organization to another.The paper considers the reforms in the Bulgarian banking sector during the transition period from a centrally planned to a market type economy (from 1989 onward) through the implementation of neo-liberal policies.The development of the banking sector and its transformation is analyzed throughout the two main periods: before and after the transition.The latter is divided into two sub-periods (phases) beginning with the early 1990s, followed by the financial and bank crisis in the country, the introduction of a currency board regime in 1997, and stabilization, and ending with the global crisis in 2008-2009.This article summarizes that during the transition period, a modern banking system was established to accumulate profit rather than to promote economic growth.Following a chronological order, the negative effects of the liberalization of the Bulgarian banking sector are specified: the exportation of ownership (and control) upon banking system assets, unfair asset redistribution, the emergence of the local oligarchy, the weak protection of the taxpayers and others.

The expenditures on health care in the new member countries from Central and Eastern Europe have never been based on the model of interdependence of socio-economic factors of the health state and the changes in the structure of population. The development of long-term scenarios here is based on the analysis of a previous study carried out within WPII “Health and Morbidity in the Accession Countries” and thus the health care expenditures are interrelated with the status of health of the nation. Like in the case of the other CEE countries included in the WPIX (Estonia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) for the purpose of the scenarios calculations the model of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Financial and Actuarial Service was used. The main objective of this report is to describe the interrelations between these three groups of indicators related to the health care expenditure in Bulgaria for 2003 taken as a base year and further to produce a long-term projections up to 2050, using an intermediary control (target) year 2025. The outlined projections can be useful for the future health care and social policy in Bulgaria.

SEER tries t o stimulate the exchange of information among researchers, trade unionists and people who have a special interest in the political, social and economic development of the region of south-east Europe. The journal tries to draw attention to new research results and the latest analyses about the ongoing process of political and social changes in the south-east of Europe. It tries to create more understanding for the importance of the elaboration of democratic structures in industrial relations. The SEER combines contributions from different disciplines and »political schools« into an information package of interest for policy makers, researchers, academics and trade unionists from various backgrounds. Website: www.seer.nomos.de

This paper examines the process of industrial delocalization of the footwear industry in the European Union; evidence has been gathered from a survey of enterprises from five EU countries. The results for the footwear industry ore evaluated in comparison with results for the other industries under investigation: software. electronics, and clothing. The study is enriched by a cross-country analysis based on secondary data indicators for the footwear industry. Outlined are the specific features and effects of the delocalization processes. Patterns of the footwear industry's development as well as its location, specialization, and trade performance; countries' competitiveness: and their relation to the delocalization processes are examined. The benefits to the participants in the delocalization process are outlined and possible future scenarios and prospects are also analyzed in light of the ongoing economic development in the EU-27 regarding delocalization issues.

The aim of this paper is to examine the link between the industrial delocalisation and the changes of the competitive advantages based on results obtained from a Survey of 756 enterprises in five EU countries. The study is enriched by providing cross-country analysis based on some secondary data indicators. An attempt is made by comparing the results from the Enterprise survey and the secondary data analysis to summarize the findings and to outline the specific features and effects of the delocalisation processes on the competitiveness of the EU countries and their firms. Patterns of development of labour intensive industries, their trade performance and countries competitiveness are related to the delocalisation processes. The study revealed that both sides participating in delocalisation processes, gain in terms of increasing their competitive advantages and profits. However, for countries like Romania and Bulgaria the delocalisation process can bring to problems in their future development due to their low profitability of working under subcontracting.

This paper analyses the labour intensive industries relocation in EU-27 by exploring the industry concentration, specialization and countries competitiveness. The analysis is based on NACE classification data, Division from 15-37 for EU countries. It has been studied the structural adjustment of the industrial composition and the spatial distribution of the labour intensive industries over time by using various economic indicators and cluster analysis. It has been found that the relocation process leads to specific spatial location of Labour intensive sector in the EU framework. It is argued that the formed countries clusters concerning employment and trade composition of the manufacture industries is not expected to undergo significant changes in the near future as the observed one in the last decades. The potential benefits for the different participants in the delocalisation process are discussed. Possible future scenarios and prospects are foreseen.

This paper analyses the delocalisation processes in EU-27 by exploring the industry location, specialization and countries competitiveness. The analysis is based on NACE data, Division 15-37 for EU countries and results from a survey of 756 EU enterprises. We studied the structural adjustment of the industrial composition and the spatial distribution of the labour intensive industries over time. We found that the delocalisation process leads to specific spatial location of Labour intensive sector and countries clustering by different manufacture sectors. The potential benefits for the different participants in the delocalisation process are discussed. Possible future scenarios and prospects are foreseen.

This paper analyses the delocalisation processes in EU-27 by exploring the industry location, specialization and countries competitiveness. The analysis is based on NACE data, Division 15-37 for EU countries and results from a survey of 756 EU enterprises. We studied the structural adjustment of the industrial composition and the spatial distribution of the labour intensive industries over time. We found that the delocalisation process leads to specific spatial location of Labour intensive sector and countries clustering by different manufacture sectors. The potential benefits for the different participants in the delocalisation process are discussed. Possible future scenarios and prospects are foreseen.