{
  "title": "Bulgaria: Selected Issues",
  "publication": "IMF Staff Country Reports, March 22, 2019",
  "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/en/publications/cr/issues/2019/03/22/bulgaria-selected-issues-46703",
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  "summary": "This Selected Issues paper examines corporate productivity growth in Bulgaria using firm-level data. Firms with a higher share of innovative assets and lower financial distress are estimated to have higher productivity growth.",
  "sections": [
    {
      "heading": "Main findings on productivity",
      "content": "- Firms with a higher share of innovative assets and lower financial distress are estimated to have higher productivity growth.\n- Foreign, larger, and younger firms and firms in the tradable sectors also generally had faster productivity growth.\n- The convergence of productivity to frontier firms may have slowed after the global financial crisis for existing firms.\n- Evidence points to technological convergence for both total factor productivity and labor productivity to industry leaders. The result is robust with the coefficient statistically significant at the 1 percent level in all specifications."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Evidence and empirical patterns",
      "content": "- Firm-level data analysis underpins the findings on productivity growth, convergence dynamics, and the role of firm characteristics.\n- Convergence dynamics: slower convergence after the global financial crisis is highlighted specifically for existing firms.\n- Productivity concepts referenced explicitly: total factor productivity and labor productivity converging to industry leaders."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Policy recommendations and implications",
      "content": "- Support R&D and innovation to raise productivity growth.\n- Improve the business environment through stronger institutions to:\n  - improve company profitability and financial health,\n  - raise investment,\n  - attract more foreign direct investment.\n- Reduce debt service burden to alleviate financial distress and support productivity-enhancing investment."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Structural gaps and priorities",
      "content": "- Bulgaria’s R&D spending lags behind other EU countries and there is ample room for improvement.\n- Enhancing the business environment and institutional quality is emphasized as a channel to improve firm performance and aggregate productivity."
    },
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      "content": "- Publication date: March 22, 2019\n- Pages: 33\n- Volume: 2019\n- Issue: 084\n- Series: Country Report No. 2019/084\n- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781498304696.002\n- Stock No: 1BGREA2019002\n- ISBN: 9781498304696\n- ISSN: 1934-7685\n\nInternational Monetary Fund. Bulgaria: Selected Issues.\n\n---\n\n Content in this bundle\n\n- Bulgaria: Selected Issues; IMF Country Report No. 19/84; March 4, 2019\n  - Bulgaria: Selected Issues; IMF Country Report No. 19/84; March 4, 2019 (Markdown version){rel=\"alternate\" type=\"text/markdown\"}\n  - Bulgaria: Selected Issues; IMF Country Report No. 19/84; March 4, 2019 (PDF){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}"
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    "Published: March 22, 2019",
    "Series: IMF Staff Country Reports",
    "DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781498304696.002",
    "Firms with a higher share of innovative assets and lower financial distress are estimated to have higher productivity growth.",
    "Foreign, larger, and younger firms and firms in the tradable sectors also generally had faster productivity growth.",
    "The convergence of productivity to frontier firms may have slowed after the global financial crisis for existing firms.",
    "Evidence points to technological convergence for both total factor productivity and labor productivity to industry leaders. The result is robust with the coefficient statistically significant at the 1 percent level in all specifications.",
    "Firm-level data analysis underpins the findings on productivity growth, convergence dynamics, and the role of firm characteristics.",
    "Convergence dynamics: slower convergence after the global financial crisis is highlighted specifically for existing firms.",
    "Support R&D and innovation to raise productivity growth.",
    "Improve the business environment through stronger institutions to:",
    "Reduce debt service burden to alleviate financial distress and support productivity-enhancing investment.",
    "Bulgaria’s R&D spending lags behind other EU countries and there is ample room for improvement.",
    "Enhancing the business environment and institutional quality is emphasized as a channel to improve firm performance and aggregate productivity.",
    "Publication date: March 22, 2019",
    "Pages: 33",
    "Volume: 2019",
    "Issue: 084",
    "Series: Country Report No. 2019/084",
    "DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781498304696.002",
    "Stock No: 1BGREA2019002",
    "ISBN: 9781498304696",
    "ISSN: 1934-7685",
    "**Bulgaria: Selected Issues; IMF Country Report No. 19/84; March 4, 2019**"
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