Bulgarians’ fears amid crisis

published on 11/25/09 1:32 PM

Bulgarians are the world’s indisputable pessimists in terms of their private financial status and the economic situation in the foreseeable future, a Synovate survey held across 25 countries, suggests. Its results have placed Bulgaria in the same group of countries as Russia, Turkey, Serbia and Greece. Only 13% of Bulgarians believe that economic recovery is likely to start in the coming 12 months. One possible explanation of pessimistic sentiments is the widely published thesis that the worst from the global crisis is still to come for Bulgaria, Stoyan Mikhailov CEO of the local Synovate branch, comments. What the worst fears of Bulgarians concerning the crisis?

“People fear losing their jobs most. This derives from the fact that social benefits in Bulgaria are meager, meaning that losing a job spells a dramatic plunge in living standards for the person made redundant and for his or her family too. In the advanced countries the percentage of people fearing job loss is twice as lower. In USA, Belgium, France, Canada, Denmark, Britain and Holland their share is 24%. In Bulgaria, Brazil, Greece, Turkey and Russia it is about or even above 40%. In this country the share of people fearing job loss increased by 8 percentage points for roughly one year, and currently stands at 47%. The two types of economies are clearly divided by this criterion. This suggests that advanced democracies enjoy much more stable social programs.”

Bulgaria however has a certain advantage compared to western countries. In UK, for instance, close to 22% worry over repaying their loans, while this country is still largely unaffected by this problem. The Synovate survey has found that only 5-6% of Bulgarians fear insolvency. The explanation that Stoyan Mikhailov has to offer is that despite the veritable boom in consumer loans over the last years, most of them tend to be smaller in size. He however expects that that the share of Bulgarians unable to repay their loans is set to grow along with rising unemployment. What other fears trouble Bulgarians?

“People are grossly concerned over their inability to provide for healthcare expenses for themselves and for the family”, Stoyan Mikhailov says. “This is hardly surprising in view of Bulgaria’s ageing population. The average age in this country is 42 years, resulting from persistent low birth rate. As many as 20% of the polled have fears over health payments, and 13% wonder whether they can make both ends meet.”

There are Bulgarians declaring they have no fears at all. These are highly qualified professionals who can afford an enviable standard of living. Losing a job is not relevant for them, as they are skilled enough to find another one at a short notice. The survey has found that incomes did not change in the course of one year. With rising unemployment, however, incomes are bound to go down, Stoyan Mikhailov warns. Worst affected are the residents of smaller towns and villages, older age groups and people with a low education status. The thing that saves personal finances during a crisis is that prices have stopped rising, bringing deflation in a few product ranges. This allows poorer Bulgarians to cover their basic needs”, sociologist Stoyan Mikhailov concludes.

English version: Daniela Konstantinova

По публикацията работи: Rumyana Tzvetkova

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Bulgarians’ fears amid crisis

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