The Bulgarian government banned the imports of twenty agricultural goods from Ukraine. This act and the related arguments for restricting free trade supported by the government, some politicians, media outlets, and interested businesses, show why the Institute for Market Economics has been debunking economic illusions and providing answers, in times of poor knowledge breeding poor policies, for more than 30 years.
It is no surprise that the annual address of President Vladimir Putin to the Russian people featured a call for self-sufficiency, the closing of the national economy, and catering to all needs only with internal resources. Even though the statements of foreign leaders are not directly linked to the Bulgarian context, such ideas can find their ground at home too, especially in the context of election campaigns.
At least once a year Eurostat confirms through fresh data that Bulgaria is the poorest nation in the EU. More specifically, we are talking about comparisons of GDP per capita according to purchasing power parity.
The narrative of excess profits that recently sparked in public discussions in Lithuania was not accidental. Initially, business companies had been suspected of profiting from inflation. Then suspicions of undeserved profits hit banks. And here we are – digesting a proposal from the government to impose a special windfall tax on banks.
In light of record-high price rises, inflation is a term that comes up a lot. For a long period of time, it had a slightly different meaning. Inflation was primarily used to describe a rapid increase in the quantity of money. It is not difficult to understand the link between money and prices.
According to the increasingly popular narrative, apartments purchased for investment purposes are almost synonymous with unoccupied buildings, that is uninhabited properties. The villains are investors, both institutional (apartment funds) and individual (wealthy individuals). They allegedly buy apartments from the market in order to “speculatively” refrain from placing them on the market in anticipation of a further increase in real estate prices.
A slight decrease in inflation measured by the CPI (Consumer Price Index) at the end of 2022 should be treated with great caution because it is accompanied by an increase in core inflation, which is calculated by excluding food and energy prices from the market basket.
In the current situation of high inflation and large budget deficits, salary increases for politicians and central bankers alike are rightly criticised. While, because of the poor economic situation, the wages of most citizens are falling in real terms due to inflation, these high-ranking civil servants are not feeling any of the pinch.
Poland’s national railway system has left much to be desired in terms of quality of service, starting from the frequent delays and cancellations. However, since January 11, 2023, there has been an additional factor refraining potential customers from relying on the most environmentally friendly mode of transportation.
“Road to Euro” is a Polish nationwide campaign kicked off in mid-2022 and run by the Economic Freedom Foundation. The campaign’s main purpose is therefore to start an intensive debate on Poland’s accession to the eurozone, inform about the benefits of adopting the common currency, as well as prepare recommendations for necessary reforms and initiate the process of joining the eurozone.
