България

This document is an executive summary of a report on strengthening higher education in Bulgaria. It begins with an overview of major developments in higher educatio... Показване на повече + n in Bulgaria. Despite the quantitative achievements during the past two decades, higher education in Bulgaria continues to face challenges with regard to quality, efficiency, and accountability for results. It then discusses four outstanding challenges in higher education and options for reforms: Accreditation and quality assurance, governance, financing higher education, and efficiency. For each of these challenges, it presents the challenge itself and the options for reform. Показване на по-малко -

Removing regulatory obstacles that create barriers to business is a major objective for economic policymakers. There is broad understanding among policymakers and d... Показване на повече + evelopment practitioners that microeconomic reforms aimed at strengthening property rights, unleashing competition, and reducing the cost of doing business are critical to creating a sound investment climate and promoting economic growth (World Bank 2004; World Bank 2005; Lewis 2004). It is also commonly agreed that these changes need to be credible and sustained for private firms to respond by increasing investment and production (World Bank 2005). This report summarizes the findings of three topical studies of the World Bank: Administrative and Regulatory Barriers to Business (volume two) studies the overall burden of regulation for companies in comparison to other new European Union (EU) peers and specifically assesses Information Technology (IT) and manufacturing companies and the role of key stakeholders. The ex-post impact assessment of the act on limiting administrative regulation and administrative control on economic activity (Volume three) makes an assessment of how the act has been enforced, identifies and estimates the impacts of the act, and provides recommendations for amendments. Reforming the regime of state fees (volume four) examines how reforms to the structure of state fees could decrease the regulatory burden for firms. Показване на по-малко -

The sweeping decentralization reform of the education system introduced by the Government in 2007 to promote greater school autonomy and more efficient spending pro... Показване на повече + duced impressive efficiency gains and set the foundation for better adjustment to local needs. Despite initial successes, lingering concerns remain about the accountability of schools to the local community. Thus, as a part of a continued engagement with the Government of Bulgaria, this study records the achievements of the reforms and highlights outstanding challenges. Its aim is to assess progress in the functioning of the model of delegated financing and governance in the education sector. The study aims to identify where the model could be strengthened to further improve the achievement of the objectives of the reform. The study focuses on four questions: (1) To what extent are the reforms leading to a more efficient system? (2) Is there any evidence that the quality of education had been impacted by these reforms? (3) What is the equity impact of the school closures? (4) How are accountability mechanisms affecting the role of the major stakeholders? Показване на по-малко -

The newly elected government takes office at a time of stark economic challenges. The outfall of the global economic crisis threatens to undo many of the achievemen... Показване на повече + ts of the recent past, derail convergence with the European Union (EU), and heighten social vulnerability. The election of a strong government offers a timely opportunity to restore and broaden the economic reform agenda which had been initiated before EU accession and but lost some momentum since 2007. Decisive action could shorten the length and reduce the depth of the crisis by restoring market confidence and improving economic prospects. Restoring the health of the economy and returning to the convergence path requires concerted policy actions to unwind economic imbalances and advance much needed structural reforms. The two-way policy response would aim to: 1) bring about fiscal consolidation and restructure public finances, strengthen financial stability, and mitigate the social impact of the crisis in the short-run; 2) and step up structural reform to address deep seated economic problems which both magnify the impact of the international crisis and hamper longer-term convergence prospects in the medium-run. The World Bank stands ready to support the structural transformation of Bulgaria. The Government is strongly committed to maintaining the currency board with the euro adoption as an exit strategy. Yet, a continued worsening in private and public sector balance sheets could trigger a loss of confidence in the currency board. As international investors take a closer look at the vulnerabilities of emerging economies, there is a large premium on strong domestic policies. While financial markets may have under-priced the risks relative to the fundamentals in Bulgaria and other countries in the region prior to the crisis, this under-pricing has now disappeared. The pendulum is now likely to swing into the opposite direction. Показване на по-малко -

The Government of Bulgaria requested the World Bank to analyze the legal, institutional and administrative framework for setting state fees and provide recommendati... Показване на повече + ons based on good international practice. How big is the problem compared to the many other issues the government wants to reform in order to improve the business climate in Bulgaria? So far there are no comprehensive studies of the level of administrative fees in the European Union (EU) area. Such studies would be of great value to assess the magnitude of the problem. There are, however, several arguments in support of reforming the regime of state fees in Bulgaria now. Firstly, business associations in Bulgaria agree also confirmed by a recent unpublished government report - that state fees at the central level became an uncontrolled area in which authorities apply their own judgment and interests without considering the impact on businesses often to the disadvantage of the private sector. Secondly, if the Government of Bulgaria (GoB) does not curb the current regime system, then the trend of increasing state fees will continue or might even gain speed. Again, this will have a negative impact on the cost of doing business. Thirdly, a number of identified state fees are so high that they seriously harm competition by functioning as a barrier to firm entry. Fourthly, the EU requires Member States to implement a specific regime for administrative fees in the services sector by the end of 2009 and Bulgaria does not comply with that yet. A recent World Bank report for Bulgaria Investment Climate Assessment (2008) called for overall reduction of the administrative cost for businesses because Bulgaria is not competitive in this area compared to other Central and Eastern European countries. The report recommended that a strategic policy document is prepared to embrace the administration practice and provide an instrument for classification of the tariffs for the central administration service fees targeting universal reduction of the administrative cost. It also proposed that a special methodology for the classification of the tariffs for the central administrative service fees is developed. The present report is intended to support reform of the regime of state fees. Показване на по-малко -

Sustained improvements in living standards depend on broad-based economic growth. This will only take place when firms improve worker productivity by investing in h... Показване на повече + uman and physical capital and increasing their technological capacity. But firms will only invest when the investment climate is favorable. The goal of the Bulgaria Investment Climate Assessment (ICA) is to evaluate the investment climate in all its operational dimensions and to promote policies to strengthen the private sector. The ICA is largely based on results from the World Bank Enterprise Survey. The 1,000-firm survey was conducted in late 2007 and collects detailed information on firm performance, what managers see as the main obstacles that they face, and objective data on various aspects of the investment climate. Additional sources of information are used to supplement the survey data, including the World Bank's Doing Business Report, a study that provides detailed, comparable data on regulation across the world, data from the National Statistical Institute, and reports from the Government of Bulgaria, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the European Union, academics, and other sources. Показване на по-малко -

This Institutional Fiduciary Assessment (IFA) of the Road Executive Agency (REA) was commissioned by the World Bank (WB) country and infrastructure sector managemen... Показване на повече + t in connection with the government's request to provide the World Bank financing for a new Road Infrastructure Project (project). The IFA was used as a tool to assess the performance of the REA in regard to the financial management and procurement systems in order identify the areas in REA's public finance management that can be further strengthened to improve utilization of public funds irrespective of the source of financing. The Government wants to improve the condition of class two and three roads so as to enhance the population's access to markets and enterprises in small towns and rural areas and enhance business opportunities in rural areas expected after the EU accession. Second, REA wants to improve its road management system in order to be able to prepare multiyear road maintenance programs under a constrained budget environment. Third, the Government wants REA to strengthen its technical and managerial capacity to efficiently implement ongoing and future road projects, especially those to be partly financed with EU grants. This section presents a summary table of fiduciary issues and risks attached to the financial management and procurement arrangements in connection with REA's re-organization into an extra-budgetary fund responsible for the national road network, including new construction and maintenance. The list of issues identified by the World Bank fiduciary team during field work from May to early June 2006 is by no means considered exhaustive. The team was not provided full access to all the required information and documents, thus, only enabling the team to assess REA's internal control framework at a very general level without the possibility of checking the application of the control in practice. Therefore, the IFA report presents only limited observations, findings and recommendations based on interviews and meetings both at REA and other relevant institutions listed. The report does not provide a detailed action plan but identifies the areas to be looked at more closely, including with the help of additional technical assistance. Показване на по-малко -