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Hristina Blagoycheva
Adjusting Unemployment Benefits to the Economic Cycle
Summary:
As a socio-economic phenomenon, unemployment is intrinsic to any market economy. Unemployment benefits provide incomes to individuals who have lost their jobs and the possibility of bearing the severity of risk collectively. The generosity of unemployment benefits may affect the incentives for searching and accepting a job, as well as the duration of unemployment. They could therefore act as an inbuilt economic stabiliser which is adjusted to a particular economic cycle. The article aims to identify potential pros and cons and examine the extent to which unemployment benefits in Europe and Bulgaria successfully act as inbuilt automatic stabilisers.
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Silvia Toneva, Kristina Stefanova
PROMOTING THE PARTICIPATION OF SMEs IN DUAL TRAINING IN THE CONTEXT OF REGIONAL DISPARITIES IN BULGARIA
Summary:
The aim of the paper is to make recommendations for the development of the dual system in Bulgaria in terms of increasing the participation of SMEs and taking into account the regional specificities of the educational structure of the population and youth unemployment. Financial incentives, a large-scale information campaign and visibility of participating enterprises are some of the important factors to encourage SMEs to become partners in the dual system. In order to ensure a wider participation of enter¬prises, it is important to gradually increase financial incentives (through support in the form of grants, tax relief, etc.). The existing differences between regions in Bulgaria suggest that a more substantial incentive for SMEs to become partners in dual training could be achieved by applying a regional criterion. When planning measures for the development of the dual training system in Bulgaria, efforts should be made to cover more persons at risk of dropping out of the education system and persons who will not enter higher education.
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Cornelia Philipova
Unemployment Benefits in Bulgaria and Their Potential for Prevention of Poverty
Summary:
Prevention of poverty and social exclusion is a process directly related to public incentives for vulnerable groups aiming to achieve a decent and independent life. Labour income is one of the main prerequisites for overcoming the problem. However, a large number of the working population is economically inactive and do not even look for forms of employment. Low education levels, the lack of working habits and the limited demand for skilled labour are objective factors for this. The characteristics of the tax and social security system as well as the state policy with regard to income and the labour market towards vulnerable groups also affect the desire to work and employment opportunities.
