Economic Research Institute at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences

  • 2019-05-09
  • The site editor
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Official Website: https://www.iki.bas.bg/en/

    The Economic Research Institute at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences is a national institution, which supports the economic development and the realization of economic reforms in Bulgaria through scientific studies, evaluations and suggestions for economic policy and education of highly qualified specialists and researchers. To realize more successfully its mission in the new conditions, the Institute has made a reevaluation of the priorities of research activity. Their formulating is conformed to the priorities for perspective development of the country, the full membership of Bulgaria to the European Union, joining the European research space, the object of activity and the potential of the scientists in the Institute.

“Priorities of research activity of the Economic Research Institute at BAS for 2008-2013” are the answer to clearly expressed need of scientific and applied studies, oriented towards creation of restructured, modernized and competitive economy, successfully integrated in EU and creating conditions for decent quality of life of the Bulgarian population.

The priorities are grouped in the following five directions of research activity:

I. Strategy and policies for dynamic, competitive and sustainable economic development of Bulgaria in EU

  1. Strategic objectives and priorities of economic development of Bulgaria. Foreign and domestic factors and restraints to the economic progress.

  2. Macroeconomic policy. Monetary, budget, income and foreign economic policy – relations and interaction.

  3. Knowledged-based economy. Scientific, innovation and education policy.

  4. Competitiveness policy at national and firm level.

II. Sector and regional development

  1. Industrial and agrarian policy. Effective forms for regulating the business in Bulgaria.

  2. Integration of the Bulgarian economy in the European Union at sector and regional level – reforms, effects and perspectives.

  3. Effective use of land and other nature resources. Environment protection.

  4. Economic and social development of the regions and municipalities. Local self-governance. Sustainable development of the rural regions.

III. Modernization of enterprises and improvement of their management

  1. Development of corporate governance in accordance with the principles and criteria of OECD. Corporate finances.

  2. Strategies of firm organization and behavior. Organization and firm culture. Collective social responsibility. Social capital.

  3. Business dynamics. Innovation development of the firm. Entrepreneurship.

  4. Market globalization and internationalization of the enterprises. Strategic unions, networks, clusters.

IV. Labor market, social protection and human capital

  1. Certainty, flexibility and payment of labor – analyses, concepts, evaluations and policies.

  2. Prosperity and poverty – measuring and analyses. Policies against poverty.

  3. Modernization of the social protection system and integration of the risk groups – new concepts, development, functioning, economic and social impacts.

  4. Forming and developing the human capital – concepts, evaluations and policies. Population mobility.

V. Economic integration to EU. Opportunities and challenges of the participation of Bulgaria in the world economy

  1. Development of the Economic and Monetary Union of EU. Accession of Bulgaria to the Eurozone.

  2. Participation of Bulgaria in the Structural policies and Structural funds of EU.

  3. Contemporary trends of development of the world economy and the foreign economic relations. The reforms in the international economic organizations and their impact on Bulgaria.

  4. Regionalism in world scale. New directions of development of the economic relations of Bulgaria and EU with third countries and regions.

As a result of the input efforts for restructuring and development, the Economic Research Institute at BAS has well trained specialists. Many of them are specialized and have worked in acknowledged academic centers in EU and USA. They have gathered experience in scientific and applied studies on contemporary economic problems, including through active participation in international research projects. Though slow, the age structure of the researchers in the Institute started to improve. The program for training Ph.D. students is oriented towards the world standards. The Institute has good scientific and information infrastructure, meeting the contemporary requirements.

The realization of the “Priorities of research activity of the Economic Research Institute at BAS for 2008-2013” requires continuation of the active efforts for restructuring the Institute, wider participation in the scientific servicing of the economic policy, business and citizens, the competitive participation in contests for foreign financing, maximally wide integration to the European research space, expanding the use of internationally acknowledged standards and procedures for evaluating the quality of scientific products, attracting young scientists and specialists to the Institute.