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IMF approves Bulgaria's higher spending due to pandemic

Photo: EPA/BGNES

The International Monetary Fund has approved higher spending by the Bulgarian government in response to the Covid-19 crisis, BNR reports. At the end of its regular mission, the IMF experts also noted that the transparency of extraordinary expenses could be improved by publishing a subsequent evaluation of anti-crisis policies and the funds spent on them.
According to the current IMF forecasts, the Bulgarian economy will shrink more than the expected 4% according to the report on the World Economic Outlook from October 2020.
Unemployment is expected to rise, but, thanks to support with various measures, it will not be very sharp. According to the fund, there will be an increase in non-performing loans in Bulgaria, whose level before the crisis was higher than the European average.
Income inequality is still a very serious problem for the country, the IMF said. According to the fund, the higher spending in the social sphere for 2021 may be beneficial, but a comprehensive reform in the social sphere is needed. More funds need to be invested in education, the IMF said.



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