Economy

It is increasingly clear that free trade, in all its forms is good for everyone. Ever since David Ricardo introduced the concept of comparative advantage as the ultimate argument against the mercantilist policies that had dominated until then. Simply put, in cases where one party has an absolute advantage in the production of a particular good, both parties should produce what they are best at and then trade with each other.

Arkadiusz Mus has built a billion-dollar Press Glass business through international expansion. He is a critic of the Law and Justice Party\'s policies, believing they take away the chance to live in an open country and build competitive companies in Poland

The full-scale invasion of Ukraine has severely limited its capacity to export goods. Since July, Russians have been relentlessly attacking Ukrainian ports, repeatedly sending missiles at the port infrastructure of Chornomorsk, Odesa, Reni, and Izmail. In spite of this, Ukrainian farmers have successfully exported 58 million tons of grain by sea, river, and land.

According to the Fraser Institute’s updated \"Economic Freedom of the World\" report, Ukraine has left the group of the most economically unfree countries. The report measures the level of support for economic freedom by countries\' institutions and policies in five areas: the size of government, the rule of law and the protection of property rights, sound money, the freedom of international trade, and the regulation of the labor market and business.

Well-intentioned does not automatically mean well-executed. That would be the positive interpretation of the planned EU ban on rebates to stockbrokers. Fear devours stock culture! This might be the negative interpretation of the agreement in principle reached between the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament. Work is currently underway on the specific regulation.

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.