Assessment of Bulgarian municipalities in providing basic services and shaping the local business environment

Abstract

Socio-economic processes in Bulgaria in recent decades have led to demographic collapse. This collapse is expressed in the reduction and concentration of the population in certain places. This process leads to the shrinkage of cities, with small municipalities being the most affected. Normally, after the next census, an inventory of the localities should be made in terms of the basic services they provide to the population and the implementation of territorial development policies, including forming a favorite local business ecosystem. The author's main purpose is to evaluate Bulgarian municipalities’ performance, which is the key to establishing good living conditions and a friendly business ecosystem for investment attractiveness. In this regard, the author proposes the regional investment index for municipalities’ evaluation. The present research is completed with a sociological survey on the attitudes of businesses, the population, branch organizations, and other civil structures towards the state and the functioning of municipalities in the Bulgarian state. The regional investment index applies to two Bulgarian municipalities (Balchik and Pomorie) in Bulgaria’s Black Sea region. With the help of the assessment model, the conditions and business environment in the municipalities can be measured, individual municipalities can be compared and it has practical-applied value for local authorities and citizens as well as for the state and business.