CONTRIBUTION OF TRANSPORT SERVICES TO BULGARIA'S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

Transport is considered one of the key sectors in terms of economic development. The quality of transport services and transport infrastructure is essential for the growth of the economy, the regular production operations in other sectors of the economy, and the satisfaction of people’s needs. As a full member of the European Union (EU), Bulgaria is committed to adopt and implement all of its internal policies and regulations, including those in the field of transport. Over the last two decades, the Community's efforts have been directed at building a well-functioning single European transport area, a transport system that is competitive and at the same time satisfies the contemporary social and environmental requirements. Therefore, a number of legislative changes concerning all modes of transport (rail, air, road and water) have been made. They all have a certain effect for the sector on a pan-European and national scale as well as for its contribution to economic development.The main objective of this paper is to analyze the contribution of transport services to the economic development of Bulgaria. The analysis is based on statistical data from various sources, such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), the World Bank, Eurostat and the National Statistical Institute of Bulgaria. These statistics include the number of persons employed in the sector, the national GDP level, and the volumes of export and import of goods and services. The analysis covers the period 2005-2017, which includes years from Bulgaria’s pre-accession and post-accession period.The results from the analysis show that transport services are a substantial part of the services sector in the country. During the investigated period the actual volumes of both exports and imports of transport services are increasing, while in relative terms the trend is different. A substantial part of the employed persons In Bulgaria are engaged in the sector of transport services – in 2017 they were 210.6 thousand, or 6.7% of all employed persons. Comparatively, according to data from Eurostat, this sector in the European Union provided employment for about 11 million people in 2016, which is more than 5% of the total employment in the Union. The paper also discusses the European regulations concerning the transport sector and the benefits from its development.