Nivelin Noev

Subsistence Farming in Central and Eastern Europe : Empirical Evidence from Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania

Present-day Central and East European agriculture is characterized by a high incidence of small-scale farmers who are not producing for the market. This article uses household-level data from comparative farm surveys in Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania to analyze the extent of subsistence farming and to investigate which farm household characteristics and endowments influence commercialization of agricultural produce.

Wine Quality and Regional Reputation: Hedonic Analysis of the Bulgarian Wine Market

This paper develops a hedonic pricing model to estimate the effects of wine quality and regional and varietal reputation on prices in the Bulgarian wine market. We show, most importantly, that wine quality has a significant and positive impact. Red wines of local varieties have diminishing reputations, while white wines from local varieties have improved their standing in consumers preferences. Our results reveal that there is significant regional reputation effect as well--at least for now--with wines sold with significant price discounts compared to Svishtov cabernet sauvignon wines. Over time, price discounts are rapidly diminishing for white wines and increasing for red wines, and regional reputations are losing significance, with an increase in the coefficients. We also show that product differentiation is important when transition markets are discussed. Regional specialization in production of a certain type of wine is displayed, and regional reputation depends strongly on it. Finally, the age of the wine has a strong positive and significant impact on market prices for red wines but is insignificant for white wines.

Foreign Investment, Supermarkets, and the Restructuring of Supply Chains: Evidence from Eastern European Dairy Sectors

The combination of transition and globalization since the early 1990s has caused dramatic changes in supply chains globally. This paper uses survey evidence from several Eastern European countries (Albania, Bulgaria, Poland, Slovakia, Romania and Russia) on how these forces affect the dairy sector. In many countries dairy farms are small family farms. Investments by foreign companies in processing and retailing and the opening to international markets have introduced higher standards, leading, in turn, to extensive contracting and vertical coordination in the dairy chain. In countries close to the EU the restructuring of the dairy chain was mostly driven by investments in dairy processing, while in countries further from the EU, and less advanced in transition, retail investments are playing a more important role in driving change throughout the dairy chain. There have been significant efficiency gains, and the vertical coordination had positive effects on farm investments and productivity, especially since the late 1990s. Evidence suggests that small dairy farms have generally benefited from the vertical coordination processes.

The Bulgarian Wine Sector: Policy Issues and Implications after 15 Years of Transition

Abstract This paper analyses the development of the Bulgarian wine sector in the last 15 years with special attention given to the restructuring at farm level, grape and wine output evolution and the changes in wine trade flows. It shows how reforms have negatively affected the sectoral performance and how they have caused changes in the vineyards ownership structure, wine output and policies, product differentiation and wine trade.

Contracts and Rental Behavior in the Bulgarian Land Market: An Empirical Analysis

This paper investigates the development of the land rental market in Bulgaria and how different factors affect contracting and land renting decisions of landowners and farmers. Our results reveal that contract conditions and property rights significantly affect land rental activities as well as other important household socioeconomic characteristics, given the imperfect access of rural households to capital and labor markets.