Regional poverty in Bulgaria in the period 2008-2019

TL;DR

This study analyzes regional poverty trends in Bulgaria from 2008 to 2019, highlighting factors like employment, investment, and housing that influence poverty reduction across different districts.

Contribution

It provides a detailed empirical analysis of regional poverty dynamics in Bulgaria, emphasizing the impact of socio-economic factors on poverty levels over time.

Findings

Poverty decreased in most Bulgarian regions during 2008-2019.

Regions with increased employment, investment, and housing saw greater poverty reduction.

Certain districts like Razgrad and Montana experienced increased poverty levels.

Abstract

Background: Poverty among the population of a country is one of the most disputable topics in social studies. Many researchers devote their work to identifying the factors that influence it most. Bulgaria is one of the EU member states with the highest poverty levels. Regional facets of social exclusion and risks of poverty among the population are a key priority of the National Development Strategy for the third decade of 21st century. In order to mitigate the regional poverty levels it is necessary for the social policy makers to pay more attention to the various factors expected to influence these levels. Results: Poverty reduction is observed in most areas of the country. The regions with obviously favorable developments are Sofia district, Pernik, Pleven, Lovech, Gabrovo, Veliko Tarnovo, Silistra, Shumen, Stara Zagora, Smolyan, Kyustendil and others. Increased levels of poverty are found for Razgrad and Montana districts. It was fond that the reduction in the risk of poverty is associated to the increase in employment, investment, and housing. Conclusion: The social policy making needs to be aware of the fact that the degree of exposition to risk of poverty and social exclusion significantly relates to the levels of regional employment, investment and housing.