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PROBLEMS IN THE REACTION OF THE REGIONAL ECONOMY DURING THE PANDEMIC COVID -19 IN THE REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA

Metodi Ivanov

Abstract

This article will present the main problems related to the reaction of the regional economy during the pandemic COVID-19 in the Republic of Bulgaria. The focus of the study is on the response of the regional economy, as it provides immediate protection against the direct risks to the lives of the local population, such as the spread of disease, the fight against rising unemployment or the deepening of poverty, especially in the smaller settlements, which are at the same time lagging regions. The development of a well-functioning regional economy can offer both stability and the ability to deal with the shocks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the various socio-economic problems that result from globalization. By stimulating the regional economy, opportunities can be created to increase the prosperity of regions and small settlements, while at the same time the central executive must stimulate innovation, regional economic growth and take measures to increase the share of fair competition. Considerable attention needs to be paid to exploring the possibilities for strengthening crisis preparedness and managing cross-border health threats, both at national and regional level. This process can be complemented by building and / or renewing administrative capacity and preparedness to respond to cross-border threats and emergencies, which requires an assessment and rethinking of the need for strategic stocks to address the country's dependencies in the chains of deliveries. One of the significant problems that emerged not only for the Republic of Bulgaria and other countries around the world. There is also a need to rethink and discuss the issue of competencies in the field of public health at regional and national level, which are the result of the regional, national, global lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. It is definitely time for a country like Bulgaria to consider the implementation of non-standard measures such as the creation of a framework for minimum wages at the regional level, especially given the deepening disparities between the regions in the country. Apart from the fact that all citizens of the country must have access to a minimum wage, which must be realized through collective labor agreements, but statutory minimum wages must be implemented according to the levels and degree of development of the regions, which means that the country must realize active intervention in order to keep economically active people in small settlements by guaranteeing them a minimum unconditional income or in other words it is time for Bulgaria to take the path to creating a social market economy with a regional focus, which will ensure stability and opportunity for maintaining normal conditions for work and life in every settlement on the territory of the country. In general, economically, the country has made almost a decade of growth of 3-4%, which has affected on the one hand the socio-economic environment, and on the other hand the change in the model of demand for employees, which is not based on quantity employees but already of numbers of the qualified employees. Even reaching a point where the unemployment programs in 2019 became meaningless, because according to official statistics there are no real unemployed in the country. In the regional plan outside the capital - Sofia, the area around Plovdiv is developing dynamically, which is a result of strengthening the economy around the industrial zone, which clearly shows that in small towns should be organized units to work with investors or specific people in the municipality administration to impose on them the obligation to seek and attract investors, and not just efforts to focus on the clean absorption of European funds. The present text is based on the use of traditional research methods such as historical and logical analysis, analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, comparative analysis, descriptive analysis. The results of the study reflect the significant disparities in the socio-economic development of the country. As a specific contribution point in the present study can be mentioned the recommendations provided to the public sector organizations for stimulating the socio-economic development in the lagging regions, in the context of the recovery of the local economy as a result of the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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DOI resolver: doi.org/10.5593/sgem2021/5.1/s21.101

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