Disparities in the development of municipalities in Bulgaria

The study is focused on the disparities in the development of Bulgarian municipalities in the contest of the problem “center - periphery”. The municipal disparities in employment and unemployment are also subject of this study. One of the specific evidences of the municipal disparities is the problem “center - periphery”. The author tries to answer the following questions: • what is the methodological background of the problem “center - periphery” in the development of municipalities? • which are the roots for the existence of the central and remote (outskirts) territories”? • what are the features and the aspects of the problem “center - periphery” during the transition towards market economy? • what policies should be applied to alleviate the problem “center - periphery” as one of the acute issues in the development of the municipalities? A special indicator called “Municipality with economic active and employed population” is designed to asses the level of utilization of the human capital. The economic background for the disparities in employment and unemployment levels are analyzed. The main conclusion is that the large disparities in employment and unemployment can be explained by the different level of development of the economy sectors in the municipalities. The primary sector is in deep structural crisis, the secondary sector is in process of fragile recovery, and only the tercial sector could promote the labor force demand in the municipalities with high uneployment.