ABSTRACT
This chapter elaborates theoretically the concept of the informal economy specific to the post-communist period using the example of Bulgaria. It traces historically the contradiction between the formal and informal economies and delineates the major directions in the development of the informal economy during the last ten years of social transformation in Bulgaria. This chapter shows that reciprocity as a mode of economic integration has deep roots in Bulgarian history, with the consequence that a contradiction between formal and informal institutions has been continuously reproduced. It follows Polanyi's differentiation between reciprocity, redistribution and market exchange as such integration modes. The discrepancy between formal and informal institutions in the Bulgarian case takes on the form of a specific constellation of reciprocity, redistribution and free market exchange throughout Bulgarian history. Reciprocity preserves its essential role by either subjugating or penetrating redistribution and the market.
