site.btaBulgaria Needs to Maintain Economic Growth Rate of 3.8% for 20 Years to Catch Up with Germany, Says Expert
Bulgaria needs to maintain economic growth rate of 3.8% for each of the next 20 years to catch up with Germany, Lachezar Bogdanov, senior economist at the Institute for Market Economics (IME), said during a forum on the state of economic freedom and the rule of law on Monday. The event took place at the nOva art space in Sofia and was organized by IME and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom.
The main theme of the conference was "is there a positive narrative for Bulgaria's place and role in the global economic race".
According to Bogdanov, changes are needed for the economy to develop. He expressed belief that the big question is whether there is ambition for growth.
"750,000 is the projected decline in the working age population in the next 20 years," he said, adding that the number of women working past the age of 60 has multiplied.
Bogdanov noted that when there are fewer people of working age, productivity should be higher. "In Bulgaria there is little investment in both the private and public sectors," he said. The expert added that there is European funding that is not being invested.
"We still do not know how the tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump will affect Bulgaria," Bogdanov stressed.
According to Petar Ganev, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Market Economics, the world is currently in a period of retreat of freedom and rise of autocrats, people who do not fully respect democratic institutions. In his words, this is most easily seen in the actions of Donald Trump.
Georgi Angelov, senior economist at the Open Society Institute, noted that Europe will have to pay more for defence. According to him, for the US Europe is not the priority it was after the Second World War and because of this there is a change in the US position on defence. According to Angelov, the EU can stand up to China and Russia if it is united.
/DD/
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