Abstract
The collapse of communism in Bulgaria ushered in an era of dramatic social, political and economic changes. After 1989, Bulgaria slowly abandoned its centrally planned economy for a free market model that encouraged privatization of previously state-owned assets and introduced both domestic and international competition to once monopolistic enterprises. These changes had drastic impacts on Bulgarian employees as they struggled to navigate the new rules in a labour market where the state no longer guaranteed full employment to all citizens and the profit motive began to overshadow the interests and well-being of workers. This chapter examines the impact of these economic changes on ordinary Bulgarians’ lives by focusing on women employed in the tourism industry, one of the most important sectors in Bulgaria’s post-communist economy and the country’s largest generator of hard currency.
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Endnotes
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© 2008 Kristen Ghodsee
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Ghodsee, K. (2008). You ‘Can’ Take It with You: Cultural Capital, State Regulation and Tourism in Post-socialist Bulgaria. In: Pickles, J. (eds) State and Society in Post-Socialist Economies. Studies in Central and Eastern Europe. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230590922_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230590922_9
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