BULGARIA- How Far Can the Centralised Model be Reformed

BULGARIA How Far Can the Centralised Model be Reformed?
Ramnath Narayanswamy A PRELIMINARY investigation of centrally-planned economies reveals an economic system characterised by varying degrees of centralisation in which the process of economic reform has still to meaningfully transform the sources of inflexibility that have, institutionalised themselves over several decades of extensive growth. While the deficiencies of the system are several, ranging from over investment, inefficiency and wastage to bureaucratic mismanagement of resources, inflation and chronic shortage, most specialists agree that the major problem confronting the socialist economies of Eastern Europe lies in excessive centralism. It is therefore not surprising to find that the process of economic reform in Eastern Europe has either been directed towards perfecting the centralised model or moving away from the traditional model through a combination of nominal central control and the market.