Bulgarie

Skills are the key to shaping a better future and central to the capacity of countries and people to thrive in an increasingly interconnected and rapidly changing world. Megatrends such as digitalisation, globalisation, demographic change and climate change are reshaping work and society, generating a growing demand for higher levels and new sets of skills. OECD Skills Strategy projects provide a strategic and comprehensive approach to assess countries’ skills challenges and opportunities and help them build more effective skills systems. The OECD works collaboratively with countries to develop policy responses that are tailored to each country’s specific skills needs. The foundation of this approach is the OECD Skills Strategy Framework, which allows for an exploration of what countries can do better to: 1) develop relevant skills over the life course; 2) use skills effectively in work and in society; and 3) strengthen the governance of the skills system. This report, OECD Skills Strategy Bulgaria: Assessment and Recommendations, identifies opportunities and makes recommendations to improve youth skills, improve adult skills, use skills effectively in the labour market and at work, and improve the governance of the skills system in Bulgaria.

The shrinking number of workers due to smaller young cohorts entering the labour market and large-scale outward migration are undermining Bulgaria’s growth prospects, the sustainability of its social institutions and society more widely. Bulgaria needs to provide more support for families and make staying in the country more attractive by raising productivity, fostering the creation of more good-quality formal jobs and reinforcing the social safety net. Bulgarian women have high activity rates, a high share in management jobs and a low wage gap with men, but all this translates into high opportunity costs for educated women of having children. Policies, including access to affordable quality childcare countrywide, more egalitarian burden sharing with men and greater incentives to get back to work, would help reduce those costs. Women from disadvantaged backgrounds should be offered a career path through upgrading skills and lifelong learning. Inactivity rates among the working age population should be addressed by reforms to the social welfare system that would improve activation and through targeted measures. Vulnerable groups, including ethnic minorities, are disadvantaged in multiple ways and need tailored measures to escape poverty, acquire skills and integrate into the labour market.

Bulgaria’s convergence towards more advanced economies has continued but at a slower pace. Soaring energy and food prices have pushed up inflation to its highest levels in decades. However, support packages and strong momentum in wages and pensions have stabilised purchasing power. With the currency board arrangement, the onus to decrease short-term inflationary pressures is on fiscal policy. Fiscal discipline has resulted in low public debt, but growing spending pressures related to ageing, infrastructure and skills will need to be financed by greater tax collection efficiency and higher environmental taxes. The fight against corruption, which imposes high transaction costs, needs to continue by implementing more effective measures. Bulgaria’s climate transition strategy is under development. Environmental taxes, including excise taxes on fuels and carbon taxes on sectors outside of the emissions trading system need to increase to curb energy intensity and reduce emissions. The shrinking number of workers due to smaller young cohorts entering the labour market and outward migration are undermining Bulgaria’s growth prospects and the sustainability of its social institutions. Bulgaria needs to provide more support for families, including quality childcare country-wide, and make staying in the country more attractive by raising productivity, fostering the creation of good-quality formal jobs and reinforcing the social safety net. SPECIAL FEATURE: BETTER JOBS AND INCOMES

Anti-corruption agencies must mainstream integrity policies and procedures to safeguard their activities, achieve their objectives and build public trust in their functions. This report provides concrete recommendations for strengthening Bulgaria’s Anti-Corruption Commission’s Code of Ethics and its system for undertaking integrity checks of staff. Both these issues are key to creating a culture of integrity within the organisation. The report is part of an EU-funded project under the Technical Support Instrument Regulation and highlights relevant good practices from OECD member countries and provides tailored recommendations in Bulgaria’s context.

This profile identifies strengths, challenges and specific areas of action on cancer prevention and care in Bulgaria as part of the European Cancer Inequalities Registry, a flagship initiative of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan. It provides a short synthesis of: the national cancer burden; risk factors for cancer (focusing on behavioural and environmental risk factors); early detection programmes; and cancer care performance (focusing on accessibility, care quality, costs and the impact of COVID-19 on cancer care).

This report discusses the costs and benefits of the transition from cash to accrual accounting in the public sector for SIGMA partners in the Western Balkans and the European Neighbourhood. The countries are attracted by the promises of accrual accounting and the corresponding IPSAS standards that it will improve transparency, accountability and financial decision-making. This report investigates whether the reform towards accrual accounting is indeed recommendable given that the reform towards IPSAS-based financial statements also carries a higher administrative burden and often requires government-wide adaptation or adjustment of the financial information systems. In this report, evidence from case studies of five EU Member States and four SIGMA partners is combined with a review of the academic literature to understand the balance of the benefits versus the costs of the reform.

Being able to swim empowers individuals to make choices, have agency, and be free to choose core aspects of their life, such as working safely on or near water. It is also associated with lifelong health benefits and reduces the risk of drowning. Using data from the Lloyd’s Register Foundation World Risk Poll 2019, this paper provides the first global estimates of adults’ ability to swim without assistance. Individuals in high-income countries are considerably more likely to report being able to swim without assistance than individuals in low-income countries. Disparities also exist within countries. In particular, women are less likely to be able to swim without assistance than men in virtually all countries, birth cohorts, and levels of education. Investing in reducing inequalities in life skills, such as swimming, can foster economic development and empowerment, especially in light of threats, such as climate change.