Bulgaria’s Transition to Market Economy in Historical Perspective

The project is dedicated to a re-reading of the current transition in Bulgaria in the light of the country’s historical legacy. The more sensitive topics of the last decades economic agenda are considered through the point of view of persistent and recurring patterns of economic behavior. Foreign debt, external conditionality, financial institution-building, stabilization programs and corruption are analyzed in a "longue duree" perspective. The study is based on records from national and foreign archives, as well as, on pre-WWII data and documents. Similar core problems, stable schemes to face them and mental attitudes are identified in both, the first Bulgarian capitalism (1879-1944) and the on-going transition to a market economy. The adopted historical approach delineates a clear profile of the national economic culture that allows understanding the roots of many shortcomings the country faces after the fall of communism.
The XXth Century Bulgarian Economy by R. Avramov, 2001 [In Bulgarian only].
Communal Capitalism. Reflections on Bulgarian Economic Past by Roumen Avramov, 2007 [In Bulgarian only].

Period: January 1995 - June 2007

Coordinators: Roumen Avramov