site.bta Economic Recovery after 2009 Crisis Gradually Accelerates - Institute

Economic Recovery after 2009 Crisis Gradually Accelerates - Institute

Sofia, November 9 (BTA) - The economic recovery in the period
after the 2009 crisis gradually accelerates and already in 2014
the gross domestic product reached its pre-crisis level,
Dessislava Nikolova, Chief Economist at the Institute of Market
Economy (IME), said at the BTA Press Club on Monday. A team of
the institute presented the results of a study of the social and
 economic condition of the Bulgarian regions for 2015.
   
The share of the poor people remained steady in the period
2007-2013 - between 21 and 22 per cent. The worst indicators in
terms of poverty and living conditions were registered in the
regions of Pazardjik and Sliven but the fast recovery of the
local labour market will probably improve this indicator. 

 The employment coefficient has increased in 19 of the 28
regions but in most places it is far below the pre-crisis level.
 However, in certain regions (Vidin, Vratsa, Lovech and Silistra
 in Northern Bulgaria), employment remains critically low -
below 40 per cent. Apart from Lovech, these regions have very
high unemployment coefficients: 18.1 per cent in Vratsa and over
 22 per cent in Vidin and Silistra.

The emergence of the crisis in late 2008 delivered a serious
blow on foreign investments. Withdrawal of such investments was
registered in Varna, Pernik and Sofia City given that
construction boomed in the capital city in the period by 2008.
At the same time, regions, such as Bourgas, Plovdiv, Sofia
Region, Stara Zagora and Pazardjik have attracted considerable
direct foreign investments after the crisis. Certain regions
managed to compensate for the low level of private investments
by securing EU financing for their projects. Lovech sets an
example in this respect ranking third in the absorption of EU
funds as at January 31, 2015. While Gabrovo and Bourgas keep a
leading position in the absorption of European financing, Varna,
 Stara Zagora and Plovdiv lag behind.  
   
As a whole,  recovery from the crisis is registered in an
increasingly larger part of the country but certain regions,
such as Vidin, Vratsa, Lovech and Silistra (all in Northern
Bulgaria) remain isolated from this process. This is confirmed
by the clear dividing line between the backward North and the
more developed South, said IME.
 
The experts have established the following dependence: the more
developed a region, the higher number of criminal offences.
Overall, in the 2010-2013 period, district courts' workload
dropped from 10.8 cases per month in 2010 to 8.3 cases in 2013.