Economy

The wave of inflation that evolved after the pandemic suggests that increasing the quantity of money does not necessarily lead to economic prosperity. Typically, as the prices of some goods rise, the prices of other goods fall. However, the euro area faced a rapid general price increase. This paper examines the factors behind this growth in prices.

The need to consolidate public budgets is perhaps already evident, even to those political parties that have long perceived resources as limitless and freely available. Investors worldwide eagerly await opportunities to lend to debt-ridden Slovakia. Consolidation plans are beginning to emerge, the Financial Policy Institute at the Ministry of Finance has published the impact of austerity and tax measures on GDP.

In recent months, the topic of budget deficits has taken center stage in heated debates among economists and politicians, garnering significant attention in the media. In April, the caretaker government proposed a budget with a notable deficit of 6.1% of GDP for 2023. In June, Finance Minister Asen Vasilev proposed a new budget with a negative balance of 3%, which is right at the limit for fiscal stability as set in the Maastricht criteria of the European Commission.

The new government was elected already in June, but it remains to be seen how it will begin to solve the pressing problems caused by the lack of regular governance in the months before. The budget is one such priority, but let\'s not forget what happened with the National Recovery and Resilience plan (NRRP). Let\'s recall - the plan was adopted two years ago with a significant delay, which was the reason why Bulgaria failed to receive an advance payment for its implementation. 

Already in May, the National Statistical Institute of Bulgaria announced long-awaited news: on a monthly basis, the general consumer price index recorded a decline for the first time since the beginning of the war, and in June, this trend continued, even more noticeably. This has also been accompanied by a cooling down of the annual price change, which has fallen well below its peak since autumn 2022.

\"Keep your chin up\" is the headline of the June issue of the New Monthly Enterprise Survey, a #NRES conducted by the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting since May 2022. From June 15 to June 30, 2023, the heads of 530 enterprises located in 21 out of 27 regions of Ukraine answered questions about the current state of affairs at enterprises and their expectations for further business development.

A full-scale war became an existential challenge for the Ukrainian industry. Manufacturing enterprises have been forced to actively cut expenditures for innovation, shifting the focus from development to survival. At the same time, businesses see opportunities to restore innovative activity with the help of industry support programs, fiscal incentives, and other measures at the state level.

The work and ideas of the Polish astronomer, mathematician, and economist Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) are worth studying, not only for those who still believe that the Earth is flat but also for anyone interested in intellectual revolutions. Among his achievements is the identification of the real causes of inflation, which has been no less of an intellectual revolution. Copernicus challenged the prevailing idea that our planet was the center of the universe.

Who should be taxed, how should they be taxed and what purpose should it serve? These questions are as old as the world. To help answer them, in his 1776 work \"The Wealth of Nations\" the Scottish economist and philosopher Adam Smith formulated four principles of taxation. According to him, taxes should be proportional to the benefits that a person derives from belonging to society.

July 3 marked an important stage in implementing the EU’s new big tech regulations under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The European Commission started thresholds checks for large internet platforms that are considered to have a strong economic position and a large user base to impact the internal market.