HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT ! BULGARIA 1996
30
human factor include the value system of
economic agents, the attitude towards eco-
nomic processes, the consistent or incon-
sistent behaviour of manpower groups. The
radical changes in the rules of the game
in the economy also imply a change in the
value system of economic agents. The col-
lectivist orientation of the official value sys-
tem in the conditions of command-style
economy is being replaced by a value sys-
tem aimed at individual success and in-
crease of personal profit. The expansion
of crime in the transition period reflects,
among other things, the deep-going
changes and problems of the value system
of part of the Bulgarian society.
Problems also exist in terms of the at-
titude towards economic processes. Mar-
ket relations and free initiative provide
possibilities for peoples orientation to-
wards jobs that best suit their preferences
and requirements. The high unemployment
rate and reduced business activity in high-
tech sectors, and in science show that be-
sides new possibilities problems born by
the transition crises have also arisen.
The degree of commitment to ones
company increases if two conditions are
met: the company must be a real economic
agent and must operate in the conditions
of firm budget restrictions, demanding
everyones efforts so that it can survive and
prosper. The big amount of bad debts,
problems with the fiscal discipline in some
state and private enterprises, however,
clearly indicate
circumstances that objec-
tively hamper the establishment of a cli-
mate of loyalty and commitment to com-
panies and to the existing legal order. Taxes
paid amount to 88-90 per cent, including
VAT - 77-88 per cent, profit tax - 66-70
per cent, and bank loan interests - 43-59
per cent.
The radical change of ownership has
also created conditions for a temporary
decline in the loyalty of those employed.
The revival in the processing industry be-
tween 1994 and 1995 has provided possi-
bilities for positive changes. The first nine
months of 1995 witnessed a ten per cent
increase of labour productivity in industry
based on surplus value, as compared with
the same period of 1994.
The consistent behaviour of economic
agents poses a special problem. Sociologi-
cal surveys show that the market economy
principles meet with approval. On the other
hand, phenomena like tax evasion, work-
ers opposition to closing down losing en-
terprises, bad debts and poor financial dis-
cipline, growth of economic crimes, osten-
sibly high income in subsidized industrial
sectors and in banks with a negative net
capital, etc., point to two lines of inconsis-
tency. First, only the positive sides of the
market are accepted (the pursuit of per-
sonal interest), while its price is rejected
(taxes, firm budget restrictions, risks). Sec-
ond, groups are taking shape, that benefit
on non-complying with the rules of the
game followed by all the rest. This is par-
Real working salary dynamics
(changes in per cent over the preceding year)
1992/1991
1993/1992
1994/1993
Industry
20.9
-0.6
-19.5
Construction
14.3
-4.3
-25.9
Farming
-11.8
-5.8
-20.0
Forestry
7.0
-0.1
-31.5
Transport
24.0
5.0
-18.2
Communications
14.8
3.5
-18.6
Trade
20.9
0.7
-22.8
Other sectors of material production
27.4
-7.0
-22.4
Housing construction and
communal services
17.2
-1.0
-21.6
Science
9.9
0.9
-20.5
Education
1.9
1.0
-23.4
Arts and culture
1.6
0.9
-22.1
Health care, sports, tourism
5.7
2.5
-23.8
Finance, credit and insurance
28.3
24.0
-23.0
Management
11.6
9.6
-20.6
Other non-production sectors
25.7
17.2
-21.8
A climate of
organizational,
financial and legal
loyalty is needed
Table 2.3.
31
ECONOMIC RESTRUCTURING AND
PROBLEMS OF THE HUMAN FACTOR
ticularly true of the social strata linked with
the black and gray economy.
2.6. Conclusions
The analysis of structural changes in
Bulgarian economy points to a number of
social-technologicaly relevant inferences:
First, the motive force of changes is
the need of adaptation to the international
market demands, and not the technologi-
cal reconstruction.
Second, changes are unfavourable as
a whole because the high-tech sectors and
well-trained manpower are losing their po-
sitions in the structure of the national
economy to sectors with a low surplus value
and relatively lower requirements to man-
power skills.
Third, these unfavourable tendencies
are linked with an overall decrease of real
incomes, especially in high-tech sectors.
Fourth, only a shift towards resource-
saving and technological reconstruction of
Bulgarian economy can ensure a stable
growth of incomes. The difference in in-
comes of advanced and developing coun-
tries is a function of the intensity by which
countries with lower incomes reproduce
innovation processes in the industrial cen-
ter.
Fifth, from the point of view of value
system, motivation and loyalty to organi-
zations changes are contradictory. The
behavior of economic agents tends to be
inconsistent.
Sixth, the overcoming of negative ten-
dencies will depend on the transition to-
wards a stable economic growth. This im-
plies stepping up the investment process,
ensuring foreign markets and intensifying
domestic demand.
Seventh, the increase of investment
would be impossible unless the internal
norm of savings
is increased and external
financial resources are attracted. It will not
be effective unless the investment process
is accompanied by technological restruc-
turing. This demands clear-cut structural
policy and encouraging the transfer of tech-
nologies.
Eighth, structural changes are taking
place in the conditions of a large-scale re-
striction of state functions in redistributing
the national
income well below the social
optimum.
Ninth, the dynamics and trends of
structural changes, as well as the forms and
intensity of the structural policy pursued
by the state will even more greatly depend
on the process of Bulgarias integration into
the European Union.
The motive force of
restructuring is the
adaptation to new
markets rather than
technological
restructuring