The aim of the project is to acquire basic concepts in the field of international trade theory and to accumulate practical experience in searching, processing and analyzing statistics on international trade.

The course project is a collection, summary and analysis of a dynamic order of data on the size of the economy of a selected country, its main foreign trade characteristics and bilateral trade flows with Bulgaria. The project includes:

1. Choice of country to be studied. Each student chooses a specific country to study. The choice is free and the only requirement is that there are no recurring countries in the individual course projects of the students in the specialty.

2. Collection of statistics. The selected country collects statistics on GDP (total), imports (total), exports (total), imports from Bulgaria and exports to Bulgaria for the period 2004-2018 (incl.). For Bulgaria data on imports (total) and exports (total) are collected. The provided excel file provides recommended sources of statistical information.

3. Introduction and pre-processing of statistics. The data is entered into the provided excel file.

4. Data processing. Data processing is done in the results bar of the provided excel file. It does not enter data and make no changes.

5. Graphic representation. The graphic presentation is done in the charts "Graphics" of the provided Excel file. Changes to individual graphics can be made to improve visual performance.

6. Analysis. The results are presented in a separate text file (doc, docx or odt). Selected graphic and tabular material from the excel file may be included in the analysis to illustrate the results. The structure of the analysis includes:

1. Introduction;

2. making brief theoretical definitions of the concepts of "openness of the economy" and "conditions of trade";

3. a brief commentary on the main trends observed for the country concerned - does its economy grow, does it open or close during the survey period, what are the trends in foreign trade;

4. a brief introduction of the existing bilateral foreign trade regime - how trade is regulated, whether there are customs, non-tariff and technical barriers, are there any agreements on preferential trade;

5. presentation and analysis of the tendencies in trade with Bulgaria, how the place of Bulgaria in the foreign trade relations of the country and that of the country in those of Bulgaria is changing, what are the conditions of trade - in general and with Bulgaria;

6. presentation of the commodity structure of trade (optional) - main traded groups of goods and / or specific products;

7. analysis of the relationship between the different trends analyzed;

8. comment on the reasons for the observed trends and the relationship between them;

9. other - here you can optionally include presenting other (interesting) aspects of foreign economic relations - investments, major projects, tourism, etc.

7. Presentation of results - primary comparative analysis. The results (excel and text file) are transmitted in electronic format, with file names including the artist's name and the country selected. Within one or two sessions, the results of the individual course projects should be briefly presented (within 10 minutes) in order to compare observed trends and discuss how they are common to all countries.

The product of this course is complementary to other training courses within the International Business and Development Masters’ Program. It is strongly recommended that students follow a common line in completing the assignments within these training courses, i.e. the analysis of this course should be deepened in other directions in the other courses.