INSTITUTIONAL AND STRUCTURAL CONSTRAINTS IN BULGARIA’S WINE-GRAPE SECTOR

Abstract

This study examines the institutional and structural factors shaping the performance of Bulgaria’s wine-grape sector over the period 2001–2021. Combining survey data from 96 grape growers with econometric analysis of national time-series indicators, the research provides an integrated assessment of the constraints influencing vineyard management, investment decisions, and production outcomes. Survey findings reveal widespread dissatisfaction with land governance, credit availability, administrative efficiency, and policy stability, indicating that producers experience the institutional environment as unpredictable and insufficiently supportive. However, regression results show that structural factors—most notably vineyard size—have a significantly stronger impact on production levels than institutional quality indices. Neither short-term policy volatility nor macroeconomic fluctuations demonstrate significant explanatory power for year-to-year production changes, reflecting the biological cycles and climatic dependencies inherent to viticulture. The study concludes that sectoral stagnation arises from the interaction between persistent land fragmentation and weak institutional frameworks, which together undermine incentives for long-term investment and modernization. Effective sectoral development will therefore require coordinated reforms in land consolidation, administrative capacity, targeted financial instruments, and collective organization. By integrating subjective perceptions with objective indicators, the study contributes to a deeper understanding of the institutional–structural nexus shaping agrarian performance in post-transition economies.