Marketing Activities for Developing the Local Potential of Municipalities

Competitiveness of municipalities is a significant factor for their future development. Financing projects that concern the development of local potential for improving their competitiveness attract experts’ attention to effective use of local resources, involvement of population and business, as well as the innovative approaches in managing the municipalities. Highly technological marketing in the public sphere therefore, needs to be viewed as a tool aimed not only at communication and realization of municipal services for population and business, but also as an opportunity for generating ideas, stating consumer interest in coming projects, registering volunteering and implementing donation. Local potential is a dynamic multidimensional category which presupposes disaggregating and further development in various sections. The priorities of municipalities, their comparative advantages, available resources and the support from citizens and businesses are an important landmark in developing local potential. Municipal projects have to be publicly announced in order to receive the support of the population and business. The comparative advantages on the territory of municipalities have to be used actively and developed with the aim at designing a unique identity for better market positioning. Available resources are subject to registering and respective use for achieving favorable direct and transfer socio-economic effect

Distribution of electronic books – models and practices

Over the past decade there has been an increasing interest in the publishing and purchase of e-books. There are different factors that contribute to the growing interest in educational literature in digital format. Publishers are faced with the choice between alternatives of the form and content and distribution. The difference in profitability, speed and accessibility of the distribution channels suggests that there is a need to rethink the management solutions from the past decades and to invest in new distribution channels

Cultural policy in Ust-Tsilma (Russia) between neoliberalism and sustainability

The article analyses the cultural policies and practices in the municipal district of Ust-Tsilma (Komi Republic, Russia) from neoliberalism and sustainability perspectives. Ust-Tsilma was chosen as a case study for the broader NEO-BEAR research project1, which has aimed to establish how neoliberal and sustainability discourses change life in small municipalities in the Barents region. This study shows that the cultural sphere in the municipality of Ust-Tsilma is rapidly moving towards the neoliberal principles of organization of life, marked by economic and managerial efficiency, cultural consumerism, state–private financial partnership, competitive distribution of finances, and contract-based relations. Furthermore, the study shows that, in the context of declining population due to globalization and urbanization, a sustainability approach to culture (giving high priority to socialcultural capital, cultural heritage, and cultural landscape as well as to cultural access and participation) is extremely relevant for the future existence of the Ust-Tsilma municipality (and for the rural areas in general), because it brings a necessary adaptive potential for the survival of rural settlements and for the development of their communities

Comparative advantages in attracting investments - contemporary view

Knowledge of the comparative advantages of territorial units and their proper use to attract investments is important for the development of all countries. The specific comparative advantages that underpin investment attraction policies need to be clearly articulated and communicated. Integrated policies at the territorial unit level can be used as a tool in the effort to overcome the territorial and sectoral imbalance of investment activity and socio-economic development. The focus of the study is on the comparative advantages in attracting investments and their recognition by municipal administrations in Bulgaria. Specific recommendations are proposed to improve the balance of investments and the mechanisms for their management

Structural and value dimensions of household indebtedness in Bulgaria

The assertion that household indebtedness is directly related to financial macrostability is considered an axiomatic rule in economic theory. The presence of a high level of indebtedness and sharp increases in its values are considered by experts as an indicator of an impending financial crisis and recession. The study of the dynamics and trends in household debt liabilities changes could answer many questions related to households’ financial stability and the measures that regulators should take. This research issue is particularly relevant in the current economic crisis caused by the global Covid-19 pandemic. The analysis of the structural and value dimensions of household indebtedness provides the necessary basis for studying the financial sustainability of households, with which they enter this challenging period

Analyse empirique des facteurs qui determinent 1’attitude spatiale des agents économiques

No presente artigo, propomo-nos apresentar os resultados do estudo empírico sobre factores que determinam a lógica empresarial de localização na Bulgária. O estudo foi realizado num universo de 385 pequenas e médias empresas, seleccio nadas por uma escolha tipológica não-aleatória. Propomo-nos, portanto, analisar e avaliar os resultados deste estudo empírico, realizado entre os directores e os proprietários de pequenas e médias empresas, do ponto de vista dos factores de localização, nomeadamente: os recursos de matérias- -primas e mercados, o estado da rede rodoviária, os tipos de transporte disponíveis, o nível dos custos de transporte, a existência de infra-estruturas técnicas em zonas industriais, as zonas urbanas e periféricas, a qualidade e os custos dos serviços de apoio, os custos e a qualidade dos serviços de produção, a política local fiscal e financeira e o nível de vida loca

Les investissements directs des pays de l’Union Euro péenne en Bulgarie: état, tendances et effet

L’approfondissement des processtis d’intégration dans 1’Union Européenne, rinclusion dans leur orbite des pays de 1’Europe Centrale et de l'Est, y compris la Bulgarie, est impensable sans la réalisation d'investissements directs. Lors de la demière décennie du XXe siècle, ainsi quau début du XXIe siècle et dans un futur immédiat, une grande importance est attribuée à la connaissance de la politique des pays de l’Union Européenne dans le domaine de 1'exportation des investisse ments directs. Létude des aspects de cette politique, relatifs aux régions géogra phiques constituées à 1'échelle européenne, ainsi qu’aux branches et sous-branches et aux productions constamment enrichies et diversifiées est d'une grande importance. Bien súr, du point de vue du réalisme et du pragmatisme économique, le problème des conséquences des investissements directs des pays de l'Union Européenne et d’autres pays dans l'économie bulgare, est fondamental. Cest à cegenre deproblèmes quest consacré le présent exposé, et cela, à propos de 1'état, des tendances et des effets: II a pour tâche de formuler les thèses de départ, de repérer les points essentiels qui, à la longue, donneraientsuite à des études ultérieures dans le domaine envisagé, plutôt que de présenter des résultats finis utilisables immédiatemen

Neoliberal governance, sustainable development and local communities in the Barents Region

There are currently high hopes in the Barents Region for economic growth, higher employment and improved well-being, encouraged by developments in the energy industry, tourism and mining. The article discusses these prospects from the perspective of local communities in five locations in the region, which spans the northernmost counties of Finland, Norway, Sweden and Northwest Russia. The communities studied are remote, relatively small, multicultural, and dependent on natural resources. The salient dynamic illuminated in the research is how ideas of sustainability and neoliberal governance meet in community development. While the two governmentalities often conflict, they sometimes also complement one another, posing a paradox that raises concerns over the social aspect of sustainable development in particular. The article is based on international, multidisciplinary research drawing on interviews as well as statistical and documentary analysis