ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an analysis of the development of the process of privatization. It considers the fact that, after the initial euphoria, delays in the privatization process created groups in society interested in opposing the process. The chapter describes the basic institutional framework and then highlights some special features of the Bulgarian program where debt instruments can be used by purchasers for payment for newly privatized enterprises. It provides data on the pace of cash privatization and shows that the process has slowed down. Slowing down the privatization process can also be caused by the government, even when it makes frank declarations of its intentions for carrying out the process. The Bulgarian Privatization Law envisages a many faceted approach to cash privatization whereby different government entities control different aspects of privatization. The chapter draws comparisons between the Bulgarian scheme and similar schemes in other East European countries.
