Macroeconomic developments and problems in the transition process of the Bulgarian economy

This paper analyses the macroeconomic developments which have taken place in the Bulgarian economy in the period 1993-1997. The paper also looks at the institutional arrangements and the process of economic policy-making in the country. In this context the problems the Bulgarian economy has experienced in the transition process towards a market-oriented economy are also studied. The paper proceeds as follows: Section 2 looks at the institutional arrangements and the process of economic policy-making through 1995. Section 3 studies the deep economic crisis in 1996 and points out what went wrong in that period. Section 4 continues studying the economic crisis of the Bulgarian economy as well as the problems in the transition process during the first half of 1997. Section 5 looks at the economic developments during the second half of 1997 and points to the prospects for growth in 1998. Section 6 deals with the Bulgarian financial institutions and the existing institutional arrangements. Finally, Section 7 concludes the paper.