Welfare economics

According to Plamen Dimitrov, president of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria (KNSB), a third of the Bulgarian population lives below the poverty line.

Dimitrov said this in an interview for private bTV station on Tuesday, basing his words on the latest figures presented by KNSB on Monday.

Income inequality has reached record highs in most OECD countries and remains at even higher levels in many emerging economies, said the organization in a new report. The richest 10 per cent of the population in the OECD now earn 9.6 times the income of the poorest 10 per cent, up from 7:1 in the 1980s and 9:1 in the 2000s, according to the OECD report. 

"After meeting leaders from the restaurant and taxi sectors, we have decided it is better to cancel the measure for now as it is too difficult to implement it. Unfortunately it cannot be regulated in all its test cases," Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici announced over the weekend.

On the eve of the International Day of Happiness, which is celebrated on March 20, Eurostat published on Thursday a study showing that Bulgarians have the lowest life satisfaction in the EU.

Respondents from the 28 EU member states were asked to rank their life satisfaction on a scale from 0 ("not satisfied at all") to 10 ("fully satisfied").

On the occasion of the International Day of Happiness on March 20, Eurostat published a selection of subjective indicators on the well-being of people in Europe.

This data on subjective evaluations and perceptions in different domains have been collected for the first time in a comparable way in European official statistics.

Close to 10% of Bulgarians fall into the category of ''extremely poor'', living with under 40% of the income earned by the middle class.

This has been shown by a research conducted by the Institute for Market Economy on the issue of poverty in Bulgaria and was presented by Petar Ganev Tuesday, as reported by OFF News.

Did you ever wonder how economists make use of the dismal science to say ?I love you?? Here are several examples, some adapted from Liz Fosslien?s post for the 2013 Valentine?s Day, others my ?invention,? and a couple from economist friends:

The Turkish government plans to boost employment specifically for women by making the working conditions better and reducing the informal economy with the new reform package. 

Labor reforms targeted at reducing the informal economy and boosting employment, especially of women, were announced by Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu yesterday. 

Operational program Human Resources Development 2014-2020 was officially launched Thursday in Plovdiv.

The ceremony was attended by Ivaylo Kalfin, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Labor and Social Policy.

The resources of the operational program for the 2014-2020 period amount to over BGN 2 B, according to reports of the BGNES news agency.

Bulgaria's 2015 poverty line will be set at BGN 286 per month, said the government press office.

It is by 14% higher and is to be discussed at today's government meeting.

The poverty line is calculated on data of the National Statistics Institute on household budgets, prices and inflation and aims at covering a set of basic living needs.