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The economy of Bulgaria functions on the principles of the free market, having a large private sector and a smaller public one. Bulgaria is an industrialized upper-middle-income country according to the World Bank. We can make a point of last decade of Bulgarians development. Bulgaria has been one of the fastest growing Eastern European economies. It is a member of the European Union since 2007.
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Could business be successful and at the same time sparing resources and environment? Is it possible clean technologies and sustainable models to become a chance for the development of Bulgaria? Is eco responsible business will be only possible in the future?
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The study is aimed at uncovering the volatile nature of agricultural markets. Accordingly, analysed are the characteristics of demand using the Laws of King and Engel which explain two agrarian paradoxes – why farmers earn more at lower yields, and why richer people spend relatively less on food. It is found that the supply of agricultural products shows a significant departure from the traditional model from the so-called Normal law of supply. It responds significantly more elastically with rising prices of agricultural products, and less elastically with their decrease, and even in the latter case the prices may increase. Due to large deformations of supply and demand, the market mechanism does not function well on the agricultural market. There are many distortions inprice formation, respectively, in the redistribution of resources, income, etc. The high inelasticity of demand and supply of agricultural products causes major changes in prices for relatively small changes in supply and demand, leading to increased volatility of agricultural markets. Most of the agricultural markets cannot balance themselves and it is more difficult for them to achieve market equilibrium, due to the fact that the supply in the medium and long term becomes more elastic, and demand traditionally remains inelastic. The provision of up-todate market information and adequate state policy through interventions and regulation play an important role in stabilizing the agricultural markets.
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Modern society faces a problem – the loss of cultural and historical traditions and arts. Entrepreneurship provides an answer and can find a solution to this challenge. Using the full potential of the entrepreneurial process will keep Bulgarian folklore and make it attractive to the younger generation.
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In our country most businesses operate on the basis of small and medium enterprises. Their main problem lies in providing financial means to develop their activity. Precisely for this purpose, there were some financial mechanisms that are efficient in operation all over the world. The existence of leasing allows entrepreneurs to provide the main inputs of their business. This issue will analyze the growth of the leasing industry in transition countries. Leasing will help boost Albania’s economic growth through benefits that extend to different sectors of the economy.
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The article presents the results of the author’s own research aimed at analyzing the existing practice in the field of self-regulation of the professional activity of sociologists regarding the adoption and validation of ethical principles and the application of professional standards in the activities of sociological associations and their members in Europe. An additional goal of the study was to establish whether these documents were up-to-date in relation to the evolving trends concerning the accelerated processes of digitalization of all processes and activities in everyday life and work, and hence the accumulation and transformation of the internet into a huge database with information about people in general.
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The present paper delineates different pitfalls of economic theory, critically examining their logic and consequences, in respect to teaching economics to graduate and undergraduate students. It provides arguments for both methodological and technical updates that will improve student learning and performance.
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The present article examines the norms of Directive (EU) 2019/633 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on unfair trading practices in business-to-business relationships in the agricultural and food supply chain and the changes which shall be adopted in the Bulgarian legislation for its transposition.
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In recent years, corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been recognized as an important part of socially sustainable business models and has become common practice in many countries. The purpose of this article is to reflect the increasing role that CSR has in healthcare and its impact on the stakeholders. The latter should, in a dialogical mode, become agents of change and contribute to improving the health of the population. On the other hand, researchers in the field of public health and social dialogue should analyze how CSR can have a positive impact on the health of the population in the short and in the long term. This would only happen by identifying the role that the business plays in the sustainable development and the sustainable health of the population, regardless of the stage of economic development of a society. The Corporate Social Responsibility offers the opportunity for business organizations to address universal health challenges through shared management; personal and professional responsibility; holistic approach to medicine and cooperation for the corporate good. The article looks at the theoretical foundations for motivating corporate social responsibility in the healthcare sector, which are linked to ethical and moral aspects in different cultural settings. The principles of passive and active social responsibility have been introduced and their impact on the social and market goals of the healthcare facilities has been presented so that the responsible behavior in hospitals can be determined. A number of practical examples from the Scandinavian countries, Sri Lanka, India, Guinea, Brazil and others are presented, analyzing the role of CSR in the development of modern technologies such as telemedicine and mobile applications, on the one hand, and the fight against corruption, on the other. In conclusion, the healthcare organizations, especially the hospitals, should balance their financial and clinical outcomes with corporate responsibility. It is critical for them to respond to stakeholder requirements through guarantees of efficiency, ethical conduct and value. In this way, the adequate corporate governance and the corporate strategy create together a gold standard of social responsibility.
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According to Islamic law, there are rules and prohibitions that Muslims must follow in their actions and transactions. The prohibition of interest has been decisive in many actions, especially in debt. Accordingly, Muslims cannot put forward a condition of interest in their debt, nor can they take any transactions under this condition. Many jurists viewed interest not only as an excess of the debt but also as any benefit that the creditor would receive from the debtor other than the amount of the loan, and they evaluated it within the scope of interest. Since the lender of “qard”, which is generally used to define the debt, should not receive anything in return and should expect its reward from Allah, this was called “qard al-hasen”, quoting the relevant verses of the Qur’an, and Muslims tried to meet their credit needs through qard al-hasen. However, in some cases, people had difficulty obtaining the credit they needed, and especially in the modern period, the need for credit has increased both individually and institutionally. Therefore, Muslims tried to meet their need for qard by resorting to different ways within the limits of the Shariʽah. While applications based on transactions such as sukuk, mudaraba and murabaha and those based on intermediary transactions such as the purchase and sale of goods or partnerships were developed, applications based on direct debt without resorting to such transactions remained almost nonexistent. However, from the expressions in the books of classical fiqh, it is understood that the juʽalah, which is defined as “promising a reward in return for an action”, can be used for obtaining qard under certain conditions. In this type of juʽalah, which can be named as juʽalah ala al-iqtirad, a person in need of qard promises a certain reward from third parties to the person who provides him qard. Considering that there is a qard in question in this transaction and that the debtor pays more than the qard he has received, it is necessary to examine the opinions about this transaction's relationship with interest and its validity. The main focus of the research will be answers to questions such as the conditions that the aforementioned juʽalah transaction must meet to be valid, in what ways this transaction differs from interestbearing transactions, and within which limits.
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The purpose of the article is to reveal the peculiarities of organizing agricultural research and education in Ukraine in the period of the national liberation movements in 1917–1921, and to determine the role of the Agricultural Scientific Committee of Ukraine and the Committee of Agricultural Education in their establishment. The authors compared the models of the development of agrarian research and education under Ukrainian Central Rada, Hetman P. Skoropadskyi, the Directory, and Soviet authorities. Coordination of sectoral science and education in Ukraine began with the establishment the General Secretariat of Land Affairs of the Ukrainian Central Rada in 1917. The conceptual foundations of Ukrainian science and education, the core of which was Ukrainization, were developed by the First and Second All-Ukrainian Pedagogical Congresses, as well as the First All-Ukrainian Agronomic and Economic Congress. Ukrainization primarily concerned the conduct of the scientific and educational process and the writing of new books and textbooks in national language. The article reveals the creative initiatives of the Agricultural Scientific Committee of Ukraine and the Committee of Agricultural Education in coordinating the activities of some institutions to disseminate agricultural knowledge and the organization of sectoral research and education, substantiated by the important role of famous politicians. The use of international experience for the practical confirmation of theoretical skills in various agricultural directions is highlighted. The Agricultural Scientific Committee of Ukraine, simultaneously instituted with the Committee on Agricultural Education, was interested in close creative cooperation on the sectoral specialist training.
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This paper aimed to investigate the behavior of the current food inflation volatility arising from the recent past behavior and to know if this volatility is persistent over time in Nigeria. The study covered the period from 2003M1 to 2021M9 under both the asymmetric and the symmetric GARCH models. The findings of the study revealed that one period lag of food inflation had a positive and significant impact on the current value of food inflation. Furthermore, it was found that in all the selected models, volatility in food inflation is persistent and bad news had an impact on food volatility in two of the models, while good news had an impact in one model. However, the asymmetric coefficient in all the asymmetric models is not significant. Consequently, the study contends that policymakers should factor in the impact of recent past values of inflation when framing policies meant to tame food inflation in Nigeria.
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The Oder river remains a constant issue in the field of journalism as well as political and economic emotions. The article attempts to organise the discussion on the Oder as a waterway and to display the solutions that can initiate the debate about the future of the river. This issue generates plenty of myths and incomplete statements as the Oder is a river that everyone talks about but very few actually care about it. This can be said both when it comes to the quality of the water and its adjustment to the modern water management in the context of the environmental changes.
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In August 2022, the situation on the border river Oder was called an ecological disaster. It manifested in fish dying on a mass scale and the overall destruction of the river’s ecosystem. Both the Polish and the German side aimed at determining the causes of this situation, which resulted in the collaboration in the field of crisis management. The article contains the German and Polish language source materials that demonstrate the activities of the Bundestag members, in particular the Parliamentary Commission of Environmental Protection, parliamentary parties and the federal government’s reaction to the catastrophe.
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The aim of the paper is to analyze the trends of reconfiguration of post-COVID-19 tax policies, at a global level, in order to increase the revenues of the states, the impact of the crisis being felt more strongly, and the countries being in a position to identify sources / bases of taxation through which to ensure the resources necessary for the restoration, but also for the short and medium term support of its economic, social and equity objectives/functions. We thus take into consideration the tax revenues recorded in the EU in 2020, the main challenges of tax policy in the current economic context, as well as ways of adapting/orienting it to achieve the established economic objectives. In our approach, we used a descriptive methodology, by calling on various bibliographic sources and statistical data belonging to specialized institutions at the European and international level.
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Financial education plays a particularly important role in an education-based society and involves having a set of skills and knowledge that enable people to make informed and effective decisions with all their financial resources. This concept is based on understanding the phrases "saving", "investment", "credit" or "interest", terms that can generate a feeling of financial well-being and self-confidence. BNR specialists reveal to us that, in Romania, a large part of people lacks financial education, an aspect confirmed by the latest studies ("Financial well-being and financial literacy in Romania" - 2022 - conducted by the World Institute within the Romanian Academy or "Eurobarometer" - 2023 - representative survey at the European Union level requested by the European Commission). In our research we aim to identify the purpose of financial education, present the latest statistics and studies on the degree of financial inclusion and determine the main advantages as well as the importance of financial education. Therefore, on April 11, 2022, the law establishing Financial Education Day in Romania is promulgated. Financial inclusion has an important role in increasing the quality of life, and for this, financial education programs are needed regarding the facilitation of access to basic financial products and services - internet banking, lending, saving or investments.
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The core objective of this study is to explore whether the installation of automated teller machines (ATM) and commercial bank branches (CBB) affects the profitability of the banking systems in Kosovo and North Macedonia. Additionally, several influential variables, such as bank capital-to-assets (BCA), inflation (INF), and GDP growth (GDP_G), were used in the research. More specifically, the research deals with secondary data from 2010 to 2022 using the dynamic data analysis technique generalized method of moments (GMM). The evidence indicates that ATM adoption has a substantial positive influence on bank profitability. Similarly, BCA and GDP_G have a positive influence on bank profitability. Nevertheless, CBB and inflation have had a substantial negative influence on both metrics. The research’s scientific merit and novelty are derived from features unique to earlier studies. The study claims to open up new avenues of debate involving scholars and legislative authorities about identifying influencing components of profitability in the banking business.
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The research aims to broaden the current discussion surrounding the intricate relationship between Human Resource Management (HRM) and Total Quality Management (TQM) within the realm of private enterprises in Kosovo. The paper suggests that the arrangement and presence of HRM practices influence the successful implementation of TQM. Data was collected from a diverse range of companies, with 171 employees participating in the study, to explore this relationship. The collected data underwent analysis using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) via path analysis, enabling a thorough examination of the causal connections between the variables. Investigation delves into the overall impact of HRM on TQM, with a specific focus on enhancing quality orientation and criteria related to individuals within the selected companies. The findings highlight the substantial and positive influence of teamwork, staffing, performance appraisals, and compensation on TQM. Conversely, training and development exhibit a noteworthy negative impact on TQM. Furthermore, the research demonstrates the significant and favorable effect of TQM on HRM practices within organizations. Additionally, performance outcomes exhibit positive and significant correlations with HRM. These outcomes underscore the fundamental significance of TQM as an integral component of HRM within the realm of private enterprises.
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In a number of international initiatives and meetings, a wide range of stakeholders place corporate social responsibility in the light of global sustainable development policy. Emphasis is placed on the importance and influence of enterprises with their activities for the implementation of the strategic goals of the governments to change the quality of the growth and prosperity of the nations. To realize these goals nowadays in developed economies, transparency and accountability are accepted as basic elements of corporate social commitment. They have gained popularity as a safe and reliable approach in achieving sustainable development and a comprehensive and complete presentation of companies in terms of corporate social responsibility. After the European Union issued the first mandatory standards for corporate sustainability reporting and included a wide range of non-financial indicators in the scope of sustainability reports, this enables a more specific and accurate assessment of the contribution and impact of enterprises in relation to the goals of sustainable development and the green transition of economies. The object of consideration in this article is the European ESG standards for the reporting of enterprises in relation to sustainability, and the subject is the approaches and mechanisms of influence regarding the potential effects of the implementation of the standards. The goal is to determine the economic effects for enterprises, in particular for the activity of small and medium-sized enterprises, from the implementation of the standards and to specify the impact instruments in view of the benefits, costs and risks for the sustainable development of enterprises. It is argued that the introduction and implementation of the European ESG standards for the reporting of enterprises in relation to sustainability create to a certain extent conditions of uncertainty for the business environment and give rise to potential risks for the European economy in terms of some of the economic effects for small and medium-sized enterprises.
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