HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Simeon Dyankov ( bg, Симеон Дянков, also Djankov; born July 13, 1970) is a Bulgarian economist. From 2009 to 2013, he was the
Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...
and
Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", ...
of Bulgaria in the government of
Boyko Borisov Boyko Metodiev Borisov ( bg, Бойко Методиев Борисов, ; born 13 June 1959) is a Bulgarian politician who served as the prime minister of Bulgaria from 2009 to 2013, 2014 to 2017, and 2017 to 2021, making him Bulgaria's second ...
. Prior to his cabinet appointment, Dyankov was a chief economist of the finance and private sector vice-presidency of the
World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
. He was an associate editor of the ''
Journal of Comparative Economics The ''Journal of Comparative Economics'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by Elsevier on behalf of the Association for Comparative Economic Studies. It was established in 1977 and the editors-in-chief are Ruben Enikolopov (P ...
'' from 2004 to 2009. Dyankov was a chairman of the board of the
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is an international financial institution founded in 1991. As a multilateral developmental investment bank, the EBRD uses investment as a tool to build market economies. Initially focu ...
. From 2013 to 2015, he was appointed rector of the
New Economic School New Economic School (NES) (in Russia known as the “Russian Economic School” — ''Российская экономическая школа'', ''РЭШ'') is a school of economics in Moscow, Russia. Academic programs * Bachelor of Arts ...
in Moscow. Since November 2015, Dyankov was a research fellow of the Financial Markets Group at the London School of Economics. At the World Bank, Dyankov was director of development economics. He was involved in the publication o
Women Business and the Law
World Development Report The World Development Report (WDR) is an annual report published since 1978 by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) or World Bank. Each WDR provides in-depth analysis of a specific aspect of economic development. Past ...
s and Doing Business reports. The Doing Business reports were discontinued in 2021 after an inquiry documented how Dyankov, along with then World Bank CEO
Kristalina Georgieva Kristalina Ivanova Georgieva-Kinova ( bg, Кристалина Иванова Георгиева-Кинова; ; born 13 August 1953) is a Bulgarian economist serving as managing director of the International Monetary Fund since 2019. She was t ...
, pressured staff to make data for China and Saudi Arabia look better. The Board of the IMF, after a separate review, found no evidence for these claims. An improved Doing Business analysis is proposed in
Fraser Institute The Fraser Institute is a libertarian-conservative Canadian public policy think tank and registered charity. The institute describes itself as independent and non-partisan. It is headquartered in Vancouver, with additional offices in Calgary, Tor ...
's 2022
Economic Freedom of the World ''Economic Freedom of the World'' is an annual survey published by the Canadian think tank Fraser Institute. ; ; The survey attempts to measure the degree of economic freedom in the world's nations. It has been used in peer-reviewed studies som ...
report. Since April 2020, Dyankov has been policy director at the Financial Markets Group at the London School of Economics. He has also been a senior fellow at the
Peterson Institute for International Economics The Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE), known until 2006 as the Institute for International Economics (IIE), is an American think tank based in Washington, D.C. It was founded by C. Fred Bergsten in 1981 and has been led by ...
. Dr Dyankov has written widely on the
economic impact of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine The economic impact of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine began in late February 2022, in the days after Russia recognized two breakaway Ukrainian republics and launched an invasion of Ukraine. The subsequent economic sanctions have ta ...
. This invasion has resulted in significant loss of human capital, destruction of agricultural trading infrastructure, huge damages to productive capacity, and a reduction in private consumption of more than a third relative to pre-war levels.


Early life

Dyankov was born in
Lovech Lovech ( bg, Ловеч, Lovech, ) is a city in north-central Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the Lovech Province and of the subordinate Lovech Municipality. The city is located about northeast from the capital city of Sofia. Near L ...
, Bulgaria on July 13, 1970, Dyankov attended high school "Ekzarh Yosif I" in
Lovech Lovech ( bg, Ловеч, Lovech, ) is a city in north-central Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the Lovech Province and of the subordinate Lovech Municipality. The city is located about northeast from the capital city of Sofia. Near L ...
(1984–1989). In 1989, he passed the entrance exam to the Karl Marx Institute of Economics (now
University of National and World Economy The University of National and World Economy ( bg, Университет за национално и световно стопанство) is a university in Sofia, Bulgaria. Notable alumni of the university are five Prime Minister of Bulgar ...
). He holds a 1997 doctorate from the
University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
, on the topic "Three Essays on the Economics of Transition". His main thesis advisor was
Alan Deardorff Alan V. Deardorff (born 1944) is the John W. Sweetland Professor of International Economics and a Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the University of Michigan Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, Ann Arbor.American Economic Review The ''American Economic Review'' is a monthly peer-reviewed academic journal published by the American Economic Association. First published in 1911, it is considered one of the most prestigious and highly distinguished journals in the field of eco ...
, the
Quarterly Journal of Economics ''The Quarterly Journal of Economics'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by the Oxford University Press for the Harvard University Department of Economics. Its current editors-in-chief are Robert J. Barro, Lawrence F. Katz, Nathan ...
, the
Journal of Political Economy The ''Journal of Political Economy'' is a monthly peer-reviewed academic journal published by the University of Chicago Press. Established by James Laurence Laughlin in 1892, it covers both theoretical and empirical economics. In the past, the j ...
, the
Journal of Finance ''The Journal of Finance'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Finance Association. It was established in 1946 and is considered to be one of the premier finance journals. The editor-in-chief ...
, and the
Journal of Financial Economics The ''Journal of Financial Economics'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by Elsevier, covering the field of finance. It is considered to be one of the premier finance journals. According to the '' Journal Citation Reports'', the jour ...
. He co-edited the book "The Resolution of Financial Distress" with
Stijn Claessens Stijn Claessens (born Constantijn Anton Marie Francois Claessens, June 19, 1959) is a Dutch economist who currently serves as the Head of Financial Stability Policy department of the Bank for International Settlements. He worked for fourteen year ...
and Ashoka Mody. Dr. Dyankov was one of the creators of the Human Capital Index, first published in the World Development Report 2019, which he co-directed. The academic study describing the index construction was published in the leading science journal "Nature".


Harvard Kennedy School

After leaving the government of
Boyko Borisov Boyko Metodiev Borisov ( bg, Бойко Методиев Борисов, ; born 13 June 1959) is a Bulgarian politician who served as the prime minister of Bulgaria from 2009 to 2013, 2014 to 2017, and 2017 to 2021, making him Bulgaria's second ...
, Dyankov joined the
Harvard Kennedy School The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...
as visiting faculty. His teaching is focused on the politics of development. During his time at Harvard, Dyankov edited a special issue of the ''
Journal of Comparative Economics The ''Journal of Comparative Economics'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by Elsevier on behalf of the Association for Comparative Economic Studies. It was established in 1977 and the editors-in-chief are Ruben Enikolopov (P ...
'' on the 25th anniversary from the start of transition in Eastern Europe. Jointly with
Anders Aslund Anders is a male name in Scandinavian languages and Fering North Frisian, an equivalent of the Greek Andreas ("manly") and the English Andrew. It originated from Andres via metathesis. In Sweden, Anders has been one of the most common names fo ...
at the
Atlantic Council The Atlantic Council is an American think tank in the field of international affairs, favoring Atlanticism, founded in 1961. It manages sixteen regional centers and functional programs related to international security and global economic prosp ...
, he co-authored a book on the transformation from communism. The book contains chapters by
Leszek Balcerowicz Leszek Henryk Balcerowicz (pronounced ; born 19 January 1947) is a Polish economist, statesman, and Professor at Warsaw School of Economics. He served as Chairman of the National Bank of Poland (2001–2007) and twice as Deputy Prime Minister o ...
on Poland,
Václav Klaus Václav Klaus (; born 19 June 1941) is a Czech economist and politician who served as the second president of the Czech Republic from 2003 to 2013. From July 1992 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in January 1993, he served as the second ...
on the Czech Republic,
Lajos Bokros Lajos András Bokros (born 26 June 1954) is a Hungarian economist, who served as Minister of Finance from 1995 to 1996. He was a Member of the European Parliament for Hungary in the 2009–2014 session. He was the leader of the Movement for a M ...
on Hungary, Ivan Mikloš on Slovakia, and
Mart Laar Mart Laar (born 22 April 1960) is an Estonian politician and historian. He served as the Prime Minister of Estonia from 1992 to 1994 and from 1999 to 2002. Laar is credited with having helped bring about Estonia's rapid economic development du ...
on Estonia.


New Economic School

In October 2013, it was announced that the board of directors of private Moscow-based university
New Economic School New Economic School (NES) (in Russia known as the “Russian Economic School” — ''Российская экономическая школа'', ''РЭШ'') is a school of economics in Moscow, Russia. Academic programs * Bachelor of Arts ...
(NES) also known as the Russian Economic School had approved Dyankov as its rector. During the tenure of Dyankov as Rector, the New Economic School relocated to a new campus in the
Skolkovo Innovation Center The Skolkovo Innovation Center is a high technology business area at Mozhaysky District in Moscow, Russia. Although historically Russia has been successful with development of science and technology, its lack of entrepreneurial spirit led to ...
.


London School of Economics

Dr Dyankov is policy director at the Financial Markets Group, responsible for a large research project on post-Covid recovery.


Think tanks

In 2008, Dyankov established the think-tank Ideas42, jointly with Antoinette Schoar (MIT Sloan),
Eldar Shafir Eldar Shafir (Hebrew: אלדר שפיר) is an American behavioral scientist, and the co-author of '' Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much'' (with Sendhil Mullainathan). He is the Class of 1987 Professor in Behavioral Science and Public P ...
(Princeton) and
Sendhil Mullainathan Sendhil Mullainathan () (born c. 1973) is an American professor of Computation and Behavioral Science at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and the author of '' Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much'' (with Eldar Sha ...
(Harvard). Dyankov joined the
Peterson Institute for International Economics The Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE), known until 2006 as the Institute for International Economics (IIE), is an American think tank based in Washington, D.C. It was founded by C. Fred Bergsten in 1981 and has been led by ...
in 2013 and re-joined it in 2020.


World Bank

Dyankov has worked for the World Bank since 1995. In 1997, he participated in a World Bank enterprise restructuring project in
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
. For his work in the transformation of the Georgian economy, Dr Dyankov was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Free University of Tbilisi in June 2021.


Doing Business scandal

Dyankov is the creator of the annual
Doing Business report The ease of doing business index was an index created jointly by Simeon Djankov, Michael Klein, and Caralee McLiesh, three leading economists at the World Bank Group. The academic research for the report was done jointly with professors Edward Gl ...
, the top-selling publication of the World Bank Group. The report came out of joint research work with Professor
Andrei Shleifer Andrei Shleifer ( ; born February 20, 1961) is a Russian-American economist and Professor of Economics at Harvard University, where he has taught since 1991. Shleifer was awarded the biennial John Bates Clark Medal in 1999 for his seminal works in ...
at
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
, and was inspired by Dyankov's experience in overly-regulated socialist economies. In a 2016 article for the ''
Journal of Economic Perspectives The ''Journal of Economic Perspectives'' (JEP) is an economic journal published by the American Economic Association. The journal was established in 1987. It is very broad in its scope. According to its editors its purpose is: #to synthesize and i ...
'' Dyankov explains how Doing Business started. The reports were discontinued by the World Bank in September 2021, following the release of an independent audit of the data irregularities. The audit documented how Dyankov, along with World Bank head Kristalina Georgieva, pressured staff to manipulate the results of Doing Business Reports, in particular making data for China and Saudi Arabia look better. The Board of the IMF, after a separate review, found no evidence for these claims. An improved Doing Business analysis is proposed in
Fraser Institute The Fraser Institute is a libertarian-conservative Canadian public policy think tank and registered charity. The institute describes itself as independent and non-partisan. It is headquartered in Vancouver, with additional offices in Calgary, Tor ...
's 2022
Economic Freedom of the World ''Economic Freedom of the World'' is an annual survey published by the Canadian think tank Fraser Institute. ; ; The survey attempts to measure the degree of economic freedom in the world's nations. It has been used in peer-reviewed studies som ...
report. This analysis outlines the start of a new report, to be housed at a top research institution.


Political career

Dyankov has been both Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Bulgaria.


Minister of Finance of Bulgaria

On July 27, 2009, Dyankov became Minister of Finance of Bulgaria. He reduced budget spending and managed to cut the budget deficit for 2009 to 4.4%. In 2010 it met the Maastricht criteria – 3%, falling to 2% in 2011 and 0.45% in 2012. On December 1, 2009, Standard&Poors upgraded Bulgaria's investment outlook from "negative" to "stable," the only country in the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been ...
to receive an upgrade that year. On numerous occasions, Minister Dyankov stated that two successive terms are needed to complete the reforms that would lead Bulgaria from poorest to middle-income country by Central European standards.Bulgaria Ruling Party GERB Eyes Second Term, Clear Majority
January 10, 2010
Soon after, Parliament adopted the so-called Golden Rules in the organic budget law: the government cannot surpass a deficit of 2% of GDP and a
debt-to-GDP ratio In economics, the debt-to-GDP ratio is the ratio between a country's government debt (measured in units of currency) and its gross domestic product (GDP) (measured in units of currency per year). While it is a "ratio", it is technically measured ...
of 40% in any given year. Dyankov was a member of the GERB cabinet, but not a party member.Bulgaria Finance Minister Rejects Presidential Bid Rumors
May 2, 2010
At the second GERB party congress Dyankov urged delegates to lead such policies that the party wins a second term with full majority in parliament. This is needed, he said, to complete the reforms that would lead Bulgaria from poorest to middle-income country by Central European standards. Soon after, Parliament adopted the so-called Golden Rules in the organic budget law: the government cannot surpass a deficit of 2% of GDP and a debt-to-GDP ratio of 40% in any given year. Dyankov believes in his role as an expert rather than a politician and even though he is a member of the GERB cabinet, he is not a member of the GERB party. In February 2013, Dyankov resigned in protest of the decision by Prime Minister
Boyko Borisov Boyko Metodiev Borisov ( bg, Бойко Методиев Борисов, ; born 13 June 1959) is a Bulgarian politician who served as the prime minister of Bulgaria from 2009 to 2013, 2014 to 2017, and 2017 to 2021, making him Bulgaria's second ...
to advance subsidies to farmers. On February 20, 2013, PM Borisov announced the resignation of the government due to increasing levels of violence in the protests due to high electricity prices. Dyankov continued to serve as finance minister until a caretaker government was formed a month later.


Flat Tax A flat tax (short for flat-rate tax) is a tax with a single rate on the taxable amount, after accounting for any deductions or exemptions from the tax base. It is not necessarily a fully proportional tax. Implementations are often progressive ...

Dyankov was a proponent of the
flat tax A flat tax (short for flat-rate tax) is a tax with a single rate on the taxable amount, after accounting for any deductions or exemptions from the tax base. It is not necessarily a fully proportional tax. Implementations are often progressive ...
, introduced in Bulgaria in 2009 and expanded to
dividend tax A dividend tax is a tax imposed by a jurisdiction on dividends paid by a corporation to its shareholders (stockholders). The primary tax liability is that of the shareholder, though a tax obligation may also be imposed on the corporation in the f ...
in 2010-2011 during his term in office. Bulgaria is the only country with a ten percent rate on personal, corporate and dividend taxes.Flat Tax Reform in Ukraine: Lessons from Bulgaria
Simeon Djankov, CEPR.ORG, 13 December 2022.


References


Selected publications

* * Hoekman, Bernard, and Simeon Djankov (1997). ''Determinants of the Export Structure of Countries in Central and Eastern Europe''. World Bank Economic Review, 11, 3: 471–87. * * * * * * * * *


External links


Deputy Prime Minister of Bulgaria

Ministry of Finance, Bulgaria
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dyankov, Simeon Deputy prime ministers of Bulgaria Finance ministers of Bulgaria Bulgarian economists Bulgarian conservatives 1970 births Living people People from Lovech University of Michigan alumni Bulgarian emigrants to the United States Peterson Institute for International Economics Harvard Kennedy School faculty