Informality in post-communist transition: determinants and consequences of the privatization process in Bulgaria

The article contributes to a scarce pool of academic literature on Bulgarian privatization. It reviews the process in its economic, political and social determinants and consequences and reveals the active participation and undue influence of particularistic networks enjoying exclusive access to power. In the circumstances of lacking conceptual and theoretical clarity no privatization alternative dominated on all grounds and considerations and enjoyed unequivocal popular support. This enabled the popular, and often populist, political discourse to determine outcomes that privileged mainly private interests. Networks of influential actors belonging to the political and economic elite of the country were key in turning privatization into a process contributing to the spread of informal practices, which have affected Bulgarian transition path.