Articles

• Georgi Shopov — Economic Research Institute аt BAS

  The Pension Reform in Bulgaria - First Assessments and Results

  Abstract ▾ PDF

  A Code for Mandatory Social Security came into power from the beginning of the year 2000. In practice it sets the start of the pension reform in Bulgaria. It is outside the aims and tasks of this article to show the long way of development of the Strategy for Reform of Social Security and of its legislative framework. However the months that passed from the beginning of the reform give the possibility for analysis and assessment of its first results. This is the main aim of this article - to present the assessments of two of the cornerstone sides involved in the pension reform - the population and the experts in this area.

• Stanka Tonkova — University of National and World Economy

  On the Roots of the Space Aspect of the Economic Theory

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  The roots of development of the space aspect of the Economic Theory in a chronological and contents meaning are discussed not only as a prerequisite for a deeper description of the basis on which the theory of the location choice is built. Their investigation is also a precondition for its further development as a basis for a more general perception of the logical scheme in the development of the location choice theory as well as its interpretation with the aim of perfecting the process of effective decision taking by economic agents.

• Rumen Lazarov — The D.A. Tsenov Academy of Economics

  Obstacles in front of the Innovation Activity of the Enterprises

  Abstract ▾ PDF

  The results of a survey of the innovation activity of 59 enterprises are analysed. This is done at a regional level for the districts of Pleven, Veliko Turnovo, Gabrovo and Lovetch. It is found out that the internal and external economic obstacles are the reasons which influence most significantly the insufficient innovation potential of the enterprises, which are grouped according to size, form of ownership and mechanism of acquisition.
  It is proven that on the one side, economic conditions of the environment determine the necessity of technological innovations, and on the other - the micro units which perform such active innovation activity are able for a short period of time to change this environment and its conditions in a positive direction. It is concluded that the enterprises, which encounter greater obstacles in their innovation activity, as elements of the direct environment, are themselves one of the "barriers" of the innovation activity. An attempt is made by implementing factor analysis to determine what role and influence do the different factors have when setting up technological innovations in groups of enterprises.

• Dinko Dimitrov

  Fuzzy Preferences, Liberalism and Non-discrimination

  Abstract ▾ PDF

  In the present article we consider a situation in which the individual and collective preferences are fuzzy or intuitionistic fuzzy and present some results in this framework. These results are connected with the analysis of the Liberal paradox of Sen (1970) and the requirement of non-discrimination introduced by Xu (2000). It is argued that the introduction of fuzziness allows possibility results to be proven and well known notions in the social choice theory to be enriched.

• Krassimira Kuneva

  Institutional Changes as a Driving Force for Structural Reforms in the Transforming Economies

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  The article discusses two basic approaches for the structural reform in the countries in transition - evolutionary and innovational. This is done from the viewpoint of the New Institutional Economy (NIE). According to the first approach the institutional changes are described as a result of the process of self-organisation (self-reproduction, self-identification, self-perpetuation) in which only economic factors take part. The aim is to minimise the transaction expenses, i.e. the expenses for the realisation of the deals (the contracts) which leads to the increase of the profits of those who initiated the change. This however is not always accomplished in the desired direction because a historical burden and dependence are present. In many cases society is locked into ineffective institutions and overcoming such situations may be performed only with the active intervention of the state. The innovation approach supposes the involvement of politicians in institutional changes, which inevitably leads to the satisfaction of the interests of separate individuals and groups of persons at the expense of those who were privileged by the previous institutions.

• Georgios Pashos

  Total Management of the Quality

  Abstract ▾ PDF

  Competition among manufacturers, changing consumer patterns, technological advances, new customer demands and many other factors have forced companies since 1950 to implement a new total quality management approach. The aim of this approach is to increase the efficiency and competitiveness of products in each activity individually and as a whole by means of the quality criterion of satisfying consumer requirements. Quality' is understood not only as the technical characteristics (durability, materials, etc.) of a product or service, but also as the ability to satisfy customer needs, accuracy, low cost, maintenance of quality, etc. Attempts to formulate the concept have led to different definitions in relation to it. Here are some of them: 'Quality is that which meets and even exceeds the customer's expectations'; 'it is the usability of the product according to its intended use'; 'quality is any activity (therefore not only product) of the company aimed at satisfying the customer's needs'; 'quality is a way of managing the organisation, affecting every activity and every process'; 'it means survival'; 'quality is the extent to which a product or service satisfies the technical prescriptions and requirements of the customer'. Therefore, the traditional formulation of "quality" referring only to the product is not sufficient. The modern definition approximates the concept in terms of understanding the customer and the value it represents to them.

• Manol Ribov — no data

  Priorities in the Intellectual Ownership

  Abstract ▾ PDF

  At the beginning of the year the new monograph of Assoc. Borislav Borisov on industrial design.1 The aim of the publication is to present in systematic form the nature, main characteristics and mechanisms of one of the the most interesting objects of intellectual property - industrial design.  The complexity and versatility of the issues addressed by the author are are largely explained by their underdevelopment. As pointing this out, we bear in mind that these problems and especially the registration of industrial design have not had the status of an independent study.