Product Market Regulation in Bulgaria : A Comparison with OECD Countries

Less restrictive product market policies
are crucial in promoting convergence to higher levels of GDP
per capita. This paper benchmarks product market policies in
Bulgaria to those of OECD countries by estimating OECD
indicators of Product Market Regulation (PMR). The PMR
indicators allow a comprehensive mapping of policies
affecting competition in product markets. Comparison with
OECD countries reveals that Bulgaria has made substantial
progress towards less restrictive product market policies
but also emphasizes a number of areas where further reform
is needed. These include adoption of a regulatory process
based on incentive-based rather than command-and-control
approach, reduction of state interference in the decision of
state-owned enterprises, further streamlining of business
licensing procedures, and improvement in the communication
of rules and procedures to affected parties.