The Energy Crisis as a Factor of Aggravating Poverty in
Bulgaria and Romania. State's Social Expenditures Evolution

The chain effects of the energy crisis that European society is currently facing will intensify with the start of
the cold season, especially given the unpredictability of Russian gas supplies. In the context where almost
half of the Romanian residents and a third of the Bulgarian residents declare that they cannot cope with
unforeseen expenses, the doubling of energy prices compared to the previous year will affect people with low
and medium incomes.
Using the EViews 12 program to correlate the evolution of natural gas and electricity prices with the housing
costs borne by people with low incomes in the two states (Pearson correlation coefficient), as well as with the
social expenses of Romania and Bulgaria, we notice that the number of vulnerable people can increases
significantly with the increase in heating and electricity expenses, in the absence of consistent social measures
from the authorities.
The objective of the research is to demonstrate that the energy crisis in Europe is a factor that can increase
the risk of poverty in less developed states if the state will not allocate sufficient funds to support vulnerable
people or to p