Multi-Level Bargaining during Bulgaria's Return to Capitalism

Abstract

This paper emphasizes the close interrelatedness among various levels of bargaining in transition economies. Focusing on the Bulgarian case, the author argues that in Bulgaria and other transition economies, neither purely national nor purely company-based bargaining is occurring; instead, the “social partners” (interest groups representing labor and business) have developed a multi-level bargaining structure that encompasses and links together national, company, industry, and regional levels. Multi-tier bargaining is prompted, on the one hand, by simultaneous pressures for centralization and decentralization during economic restructuring, and, on the other, by the need to legitimate the social partners at all levels. The author shows that in Bulgaria, increasing interdependencies and interactions among levels of bargaining have helped secure greater flexibility, adaptability, and survivability during extremely uncertain times.