<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>The aim of this paper is to evaluate the prevalence and distribution of the use of personal connections to circumvent formal procedures by soliciting favours for and from others, known as vruzki, and how this can be explained and tackled. Reporting data from 2,005 face-to-face interviews conducted in late 2015 in Bulgaria, the finding is that 30 per cent of respondents had used vruzki in the 12 months prior to the survey, particularly when accessing medical services and finding a job. Estimating a logit model and then calculating the marginal effects, the population groups significantly more likely to have used vruzki are those whose norms, values and beliefs are not in symmetry with the formal laws and regulations, perceiving the penalties and detection risks as higher, those reporting their financial situation as very comfortable, and the highest income groups, but also younger people, the unemployed, and those living in larger households. The paper concludes by discussing the theoretical and policy implications along with the future research required.</p></abstract>

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the prevalence and distribution of the use of personal connections to circumvent formal procedures by soliciting favours for and from others, known as vruzki, and how this can be explained and tackled. Reporting data from 2,005 face-to-face interviews conducted in late 2015 in Bulgaria, the finding is that 30 per cent of respondents had used vruzki in the 12 months prior to the survey, particularly when accessing medical services and finding a job. Estimating a logit model and then calculating the marginal effects, the population groups significantly more likely to have used vruzki are those whose norms, values and beliefs are not in symmetry with the formal laws and regulations, perceiving the penalties and detection risks as higher, those reporting their financial situation as very comfortable, and the highest income groups, but also younger people, the unemployed, and those living in larger households. The paper concludes by discussing the theoretical and policy implications along with the future research required.

Evaluating the Use of Personal Networks to Circumvent Formal Processes: A Case Study of <italic>Vruzki</italic> in Bulgaria

Sheffield University Management School (SUMS), University of Sheffield

South East European Journal of Economics and Business

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Evaluating the Use of Personal Networks to Circumvent Formal Processes: A Case Study of  in Bulgaria

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the prevalence and distribution of the use of personal connections to circumvent formal procedures by soliciting favours...

Evaluating the Use of Personal Networks to Circumvent Formal Processes: A Case Study of Vruzki in Bulgaria

Published Online: Jul 06, 2017

Page range: 57 - 67

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/jeb-2017-0006

Keywords
informal sector, corruption, cronyism, nepotism, Bulgaria, South-East Europe

© 2017 South East European Journal of Economics and Business

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Evaluating the Use of Personal Networks to Circumvent Formal Processes: A Case Study of Vruzki in Bulgaria

Published Online: Jul 06, 2017

Page range: 57 - 67

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/jeb-2017-0006

Keywordsinformal sector, corruption, cronyism, nepotism, Bulgaria, South-East Europe

© 2017 South East European Journal of Economics and Business

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
informal sector, corruption, cronyism, nepotism, Bulgaria, South-East Europe