Development of Social Policies Increasing Employment Opportunities on Labor Market in Periods of Transition

Abstract

Development of labor market and social policies in periods of transition from planned to market economy and afterwards is an issue discussed as an example of the some processes happening in national economies and labor markets characterized by a number of peculiarities in accordance to the countries and regions being objects of transformations. The nature and changes in the labor market as a specific market and its interconnectedness to economic and social development is scrutinized from the point of view of the changes in the role of state and national social systems. Being an instrument of special consideration in transition periods, social policies’ development is accompanied and influenced by lots of other significant alterations. Furthermore, they are in the center of the public and state institutions attention and a subject of many discussions on their effectiveness and usefulness. Current paper presents challenges to development of labor market and social policies in transition periods through the example the transition from planned to market economy in the Republic of Bulgaria analyzing some of the most important characteristics of labor market in common and Bulgarian labor market already experienced a transition to market economy and further European integration.

Keywords: development, social policies, employment, labor market

JEL Classification: J00, J08, J10