Transaction Employment in the USA and Bulgaria 1997 to 2006.

Abstract

We compare transaction employment in the USA and Bulgaria from 1997 to 2006. Transaction employment reflects the labour inputs which are necessary to run institutions in a national economy. We measure these inputs as a share of GDP. Our results show that a relatively constant share of about 30% of GDP relates to transaction employment in the USA. In the transitional economy of Bulgaria this share increases from 8% to 12 %. This paper deals with a particular aspect of the transaction sector concept and adds to the discussion on the methodology for cross-country comparisons.