02231cas a2200241 a 4500 AALejournalIMF019164 230101c9999 xx r poo 0 0eng d 5.00 USD 9781498304696 1934-7685 BD-DhAAL BD-DhAAL International Monetary Fund. European Dept. Bulgaria : Selected Issues. Washington, D.C. : International Monetary Fund, 2019. 1 online resource (33 pages) IMF Staff Country Reports <strong>Off-Campus Access:</strong> No User ID or Password Required <strong>On-Campus Access:</strong> No User ID or Password Required Electronic access restricted to authorized BRAC University faculty, staff and students This Selected Issues paper examines corporate productivity growth in Bulgaria using firm-level data. Firms with a higher share of innovative assets and lower financial distress are estimated to have higher productivity growth. Foreign, larger, and younger firms and firms in the tradable sectors also generally had faster productivity growth. The convergence of productivity to frontier firms may have slowed after the global financial crisis for existing firms. The evidence points to technological convergence for both total factor productivity and labor productivity to industry leaders. The result is robust with the coefficient statistically significant at the 1 percent level in all specifications. Policies that support R and D and innovation, improve business environment, and reduce debt service burden could potentially help raise productivity growth. Bulgaria's R and D spending lags behind other EU countries and there is ample room for improvement. A better business environment supported by stronger institutions could help improve company's profitability and financial health, raise investment, and attract more foreign direct investment, all conducive to raising productivity growth. Mode of access: Internet IMF Staff Country Reports; Country Report ; No. 2019/084 Full text available on IMF http://elibrary.imf.org/view/journals/002/2019/084/002.2019.issue-084-en.xml IMF e-Library