tened workweek in these two areas and in agriculture are to be
undertaken in 1974 and 1975. The decree on working hours gave formal
approval to an established practice that requires workers to make up by
work on Saturdays or Sundays for worktime lost whenever official
holidays fall on weekdays.

INVESTMENT

The proportion of national income devoted annually to capital formation
(net investment) rose steadily from 22.6 percent in 1961 to 35.4 percent
in 1966 and 1967 and declined thereafter progressively to 26.8 percent
in 1971. In absolute terms annual capital formation increased from 1.06
billion leva in 1961 to 3.06 billion leva in 1970, then declined to 2.74
billion leva in 1971. More than half the net addition to capital (from
46 to 67 percent annually) consisted of fixed assets; the balance
represented equipment and inventories.

Gross investment at current prices increased from 1.4 billion leva in
1961 to 3.6 billion leva in 1971; investment was officially estimated at
3.9 billion leva in 1972 and was scheduled to reach 4.3 billion leva in
1973. The bulk of investment has been channeled into the material
production sector (including trade). The annual investment share of
this sector increased from about 74 percent in 1960 to 79 percent in
1969 and declined to 76 percent in 1971. The proportion of investment
devoted to housing and services declined correspondingly in the 1960-69
period from 26 to 21 percent and rose in the subsequent two years to 24
percent. The shift in the investment trend foreshadowed the formal
directive issued by the Tenth Party Congress in April 1971 for the
development of a program to raise the population's standard of living.

Industry has been the main beneficiary of investment funds; its share
rose to almost 50 percent in 1969 but declined slightly thereafter.
Agriculture received only about 15 percent of investment in the years
1969 through 1971, compared to 28 percent in 1960 and 19 percent in
1965. Residential investment declined from 14 percent in 1960 to an
average of not quite 10 percent in the 1969-71 period.

Building construction and installation work absorbed the largest, though
declining, share of investment--60 percent in 1960 and 46.4 percent in
1971. The share of investment spent on machinery and equipment rose by
50 percent in the 1960-69 period from 26 to 39 percent, but declined to
34 percent in 1970 and 37 percent in 1971. Imported machinery, mostly
from the Sovie