World Bank2013-03-152013-03-152011-02https://hdl.handle.net/10986/12789This report assesses the impact of the 2009 recession and the fragile recovery of 2010 on the welfare of Bulgarian households and the effectiveness of Government policies in mitigating its costs. By the beginning of 2009, the global economic crisis had affected much of Europe, including Bulgaria. The output decline lasted five quarters, followed by a modest increase during the rest of 2010. However, despite the large fluctuation in output during 2009-10, households preserved their 2008 income level throughout this period. What lies behind this example of successful income smoothing amid a large regional and national recession? Which were the key transmission channels through which the macro crisis filtered through to the household level? What population groups were most affected? What was the role played by public policy in mitigating the impact of the crisis? What lessons can be learned from the Bulgarian experience on protecting households during a crisis, while maintaining prudent fiscal and macroeconomic policies? To answer these questions, the report uses an exceptionally rich survey to assess how households were impacted, how they responded to the crisis and how/if they benefited from a comprehensive government policy package.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOABSOLUTE POVERTYACCESS TO SERVICESACCOUNTINGACTIVE LABORACTIVE LABOR MARKETACTIVE LABOR MARKET PROGRAMSADMINISTRATIVE COSTSAGE GROUPAGE GROUPSAGGREGATE DEMANDAGRICULTURAL EMPLOYMENTAGRICULTUREARREARSASSET HOLDINGSASSET VALUESBENEFICIARIESBORROWINGBUDGET DEFICITCHILD ALLOWANCESCOMMODITY PRICESCONSUMER GOODSCONSUMER PRICE INDEXCONSUMPTION EXPENDITURECREDIT AVAILABILITYCREDIT MARKETCURRENCYDISCOURAGED WORKERSDISTRIBUTION OF BENEFITSDURABLEDURABLE GOODSDURABLESEARNINGECONOMIC CONDITIONSECONOMIC GROWTHECONOMIC OUTLOOKECONOMIC RECOVERYECONOMIC SECTORSECONOMIC SHOCKECONOMIC SHOCKSECONOMIC SITUATIONELASTICITYEMPLOYEEEMPLOYMENT GROWTHEMPLOYMENT INCOMEEMPLOYMENT LEVELEMPLOYMENT PROSPECTSEMPLOYMENT STATUSEQUIPMENTEXCHANGE RATESEXPENDITURESEXPORTSFAMILY LABORFEMALE-HEADED HOUSEHOLDSFINANCIAL MARKETFINANCIAL MARKETSFINANCIAL SHOCKSFOOD CONSUMPTIONFOOD EXPENDITUREFOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTFRAUDGDPGINI COEFFICIENTGOVERNANCE ISSUESGOVERNMENT EXPENDITUREGOVERNMENT POLICIESGOVERNMENT POLICYGROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCTGROWTH PROJECTIONSGROWTH RATEHEALTH INSURANCEHIGH UNEMPLOYMENTHOUSEHOLD BUDGETHOUSEHOLD CHARACTERISTICSHOUSEHOLD CONSUMPTIONHOUSEHOLD ENTERPRISEHOUSEHOLD HEADHOUSEHOLD INCOMEHOUSEHOLD INCOMESHOUSEHOLD PLOTSHOUSEHOLD SIZEHOUSEHOLD SURVEYHOUSEHOLD SURVEYSHOUSEHOLD WELFAREHUMAN CAPITALHUMAN DEVELOPMENTINCIDENCE OF POVERTYINCOMEINCOME DISTRIBUTIONINCOME GROUPSINCOME INEQUALITYINCOME LEVELINCOME LEVELSINCOME POVERTYINCOME QUINTILEINCOME SHOCKINCOME SHOCKSINCOME SMOOTHINGINFLATIONINFLATION RATESINFORMAL EMPLOYMENTINFORMAL LABOR MARKETINFORMAL LOANSINFORMAL SAFETY NETSINFORMAL SECTORINFORMAL TRANSFERSINTEREST INCOMEINTERNATIONAL BANKJOB LOSSJOB LOSSESLABOR FORCELABOR MARKETLABOR MARKET CONDITIONSLABOR MARKET POLICYLABOR MARKET PROGRAMSLABOR MARKET SITUATIONLABOR MARKETSLABOR REGULATIONLABOR SHORTAGESLABOR SUPPLYLIVING STANDARDLIVING STANDARDSMACROECONOMIC DATAMACROECONOMIC POLICIESMACROECONOMIC SHOCKSMARKET PRICESMARKET VALUESMOBILE PHONEMONETARY FUNDMORTGAGEMORTGAGESNET EXPORTSOLDER WORKERSOPEN ECONOMYPENSIONPENSIONSPER CAPITA CONSUMPTIONPER CAPITA INCOMEPOLICY RESPONSEPOORPOOR HOUSEHOLDSPORTFOLIOPOVERTY DYNAMICSPOVERTY GAPPOVERTY GAP INDEXPOVERTY HEADCOUNT RATEPOVERTY INDICATORSPOVERTY LINEPOVERTY MEASURESPOVERTY PROFILEPOVERTY RATESPOVERTY RISKPOVERTY STATUSPRELIMINARY RESULTSPREVIOUS STUDIESPRICE CHANGESPRIMARY EDUCATIONPRIMARY SOURCEPRIVATE COSTSPRIVATE SECTORPRIVATE SECTOR WORKERPRIVATE TRANSFERSPRODUCT MARKETSPUBLIC SECTOR WORKERPUBLIC SERVICESPUBLIC SPENDINGPURCHASING POWERREAL WAGESRECESSIONREMITTANCESRETAIL TRADERURALRURAL INCOMESRURAL POVERTYSAFETYSAFETY NETSAVINGSSELF-EMPLOYMENT INCOMESOCIAL ASSISTANCESOCIAL BENEFITSSOCIAL IMPACTSSOCIAL INCLUSIONSOCIAL INSURANCE SYSTEMSTOCK MARKETTARGETINGTAXTOTAL EMPLOYMENTTOTAL WAGETRADINGUNEMPLOYEDUNEMPLOYMENTUNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITUNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITSUNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCEUNEMPLOYMENT RATEUNEMPLOYMENT RATESWAGE BILLWAGESWEALTHYOUTH UNEMPLOYMENTWorld Bank10.1596/12789