The Transition
That Never HappenedAt Least Not The Way That Was Recommended
The only treasure of a man is his memory.
Only there is his wealth or poverty.
Adam Smith
Here you will find a documentary on the beginning of Bulgaria's transition from socialism to democracy and meet some of the people involved in the preparation of the Ran-Utt Report: Prof. Ivan Angelov, Ventzislav Dimitrov, Boyan Slavenkov, Richard Rahn, Ronald Utt and Mark Bloomfield.
The Book
In contemporary Bulgaria there exist a large number of people, both young and old, who seem to have no knowledge or recollection of the not so distant historical and political past of their country. Some simply prefer not to think about it due to the relative ease of remaining apathetic. It is precisely these people that are so easily manipulated today. Many problems seem to arise from the fact Bulgarians tend to blame others for their own misfortunes. A large proportion of society believes external forces are “hostile” towards the country. Some go so far as to believe in a “universal conspiracy” against an otherwise “industrious and clever” people.
Today, 23 years after the fall of communism in Bulgaria, it can be said with a high degree of certainty that, if the recipes and time table provided in the Rahn-Utt plan were applied, the transition to market economy and democracy would have been far smoother and more successful. Bulgaria would be much better prepared for EU membership and would not lag behind other Central European countries. In the basis of the report lay the principles of a modern market economy and effective production.
The advice presented in this report was not followed in a timely manner. On the contrary, many of the reforms introduced by politicians in the country were in direct opposition to the proposals of the report. For this reason, much of it remained simply an untapped opportunity.
Author: Krasimir Lakov
The People
Ivan Angelov
In 1990, Professor Ivan Angelov was a chief economic advisor of Prime Minister Andrey Lukanov.
Richard W. Rahn
In 1990 dr. Richard Rahn was a vice president and chief economist of the U.S. Chamber of Comerce, the world’s largest business federation, and executive vice president and board member of the National Chamber Foundation. Currently Richard is Senior Fellow of the Cato Institute and the Chairman of the Institute for Global Economic Growth.
Ventzislav Dimitrov
In 1990 Ventzislav Dimitrov was Member of the Grand National Assembly and Chairman of Budgetary Commission in the Parliament.
Ronald Utt
In 1990, Ronald Utt was a vice president of the National Chamber Foundation and worked closely with Richard Rahn to plan, finance and execute the Bulgarian transition project.
Boyan Slavenkov
In 1990 Boyan Slavenkov was an economic advisor in the cabinet of President Zhelev.
Mark Bloomfield
In 1990 Mark Bloomfield was President of the American Council for Capital Formation, a nonpartisan, business-backed, non-governmental organization that advocates and engages economic education and research on growth economic policies. He still holds the same position today.