Author: Martin Tarpev From January 1, 2019, the state made a gift to lower-skilled workers by increasing the minimum wage to 560 leva. Many people are accepting this measure with applause, which on a more abstract level seems normal. Who doesn't want to receive more money? Beyond rosy economic dreams …
More »The minimum wage and the extent to which the state is rational to intervene in its pricing
At the end of last year, the cabinet proposed that the minimum wage in Bulgaria be increased to 510 leva in 2018. The administrative increase in the minimum wage is a frequently used tool by the state to "fight poverty". In practice, however, this increase has a negative impact on employment and the investment climate. …
More »ECB: Raising the minimum wage leads to layoffs and higher prices
A European Central Bank[1] (ECB) survey of more than 8,079 companies from EU Member States in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE)[2] aims to understand how increases in minimum wages (MW) are affecting businesses in these countries. 456 Bulgarian companies were asked what …
More »Is the minimum wage in Bulgaria really too low?
Recently, the claim that the minimum wage (MW) in our country is too low has been widely circulated in the Bulgarian public space. Interestingly, Bulgarian citizens themselves clearly believe that this is not the case, and the MW level should grow in proportion to the growth of the economy (as is the case with all other levels …
More »The indirect economic effects of the minimum wage
In the first part of this series, we looked at what economic theory can tell us about the potential effects of the minimum wage and its increases on employment in those sectors of the economy where the least skilled (or inexperienced) workers work; i.e. the sectors that are directly affected by it. As we saw, if, …
More »Voters target low wages, kill bookstores
Don't believe that raising the minimum wage hurts real people? After March 31, a famous science fiction bookstore on Valencia Street in San Francisco's Mission District will no longer be able to satisfy your fantasy tastes: "The change in the minimum wage will mean that our costs ...
More »Guest article: The myth “Bulgaria will get better when politicians start listening to the People”. Part two: What happens when politicians actually listen to the “People”:
The first part examined the incentives driving the behavior of politicians and the "People" and at the same time questioned the idea that the "People" is a homogeneous body that thinks and acts alike. The second part will focus on several policies that have been on the agenda in recent years and were imposed with the argument that ...
More »Commissioned science, economic principles and the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
At the very end of last week, the results of a study commissioned by the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy and conducted by the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences were published, which concluded that: "Minimum social security income (MSI) and the minimum wage (MW) do not negatively affect employment and do not reduce it." These are ...
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EKIP– Expert Club for Economics and Politics A Different Opinion