The paper analyses the unprecedented coordinated actions to suppress the "free fall" of the United States and world economy. It then shows the role of monetary and fiscal policy of governments. The article reveals are the fundamental similarities and differences between the Great Depression of the 30-ies of the last century and the current Great Recession. It indicates the controversial results of the policies in the United States and the European Union and the emerging trend towards deflation.

This study examined the causal and quantitative relationships between the unemployment rate and the the inflation rate in Bulgaria. The statistical analysis studied the relationship between the two economic variables using monthly and annual data. A comparison has been made of the results obtained for Bulgaria and European Union (28 countries). An assessment of the equilibrium level of unemployment (NAIRU1 ) for the period 2000-2013 (annual data) and January 2000 – March 2014 (monthly data) has been performed.

This article tackles two methodological problems. The first one concerns the definition and age boundaries of the youth population. It is still actively discussed in the literature and ambiguously solved in research and policy actions. The second problem is related to the measures of youth unemployment, which allow for manipulations through skewed usage of only one deliberately chosen measure or through comparisons of multiple measures with no account of their different content. Directions for a detailed empirical analysis of youth unemployment in Bulgaria are inferred. In the concluding part an alternative ranking of EU-28 countries is suggested based on an aggregate handling of three youth unemployment measures in the age interval 15-29 years. It differs decisively from the popular Eurostat ranking, based only on the youth unemployment rate.

Characteristics of innovation processes in tourism and significance of innovation for tourism supply chain development are discussed. Main directions of innovation activities in the field are presented. The use of contemporary information and communication technologies and their role for diminishing expenditures and increasing quality and efficiency in the creation of tourism products and management of processes in the supply chain in tourism are examined. The importance of new information and communication technologies for raising the competitiveness of logistics systems in tourism and creation of new marketing methods and distribution channels is underlined. Principles of sustainable development of tourism are treated. The importance of socially-responsible tourism for the preservation of biological resources of the planet, of national idiosyncrasy, of world historical and cultural heritage, and for the support of socio-economic development of the countries is underlined.

In 2013, within the framework of the internal university research (Art. 64, Art. 65a, Art. 90 and Art. 91 of the Law on Higher Education, in accordance with Regulation 9 / 08.08.2003, Art. Rilski" in Blagoevgrad was conducted a survey of small and medium-sized companies in the South-West planning region. The aim was to analyze the entrepreneurial attitudes and assessments of entrepreneurs and other respondents with regard to the "Small and Medium Business" sector on the effectiveness of the policy for its support. Data in 246 of the over 300 surveys distributed were assessed as representative. Further, both a summary of the results of the empirical data collected and a general overview of the very notion of "SME policies" as it is understood in most EU Member States with a tradition and experience in supporting these businesses as an important factor for the viability of a modern market economy were provided.

"Economic Growth: Incentives and Restraints", a most important issue for the economic development of Bulgaria, was the focus of an international scientific conference held on 6th and 7th October 2014 at the Economic Research Institute at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (ERI-BAS). This event was marked by the celebration of the 145th anniversary of the foundation of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Many scholars and lecturers from this country participated in the event delivering reports or attending as guests representing the Economic Research Institute (ERI) and other institutes at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, as well as University of National and World Economy, Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski", D. A. Tsenov Academy of Economics - Svishtov, University of Trakia - Stara Zagora, New Bulgarian University (NBU), Veliko Tarnovo University "St. Cyril and St. Methodius", South-Western University “Nеofit Rilski” - Blagoevgrad, University of Forestry, VUZF University – Sofia, International Business School (town of Botevgrad), Plovdiv University "Paisii Hilendarski", and others. Foreign guests from the UK, France, Romania (Romanian Academy of Sciences - RAS), and FYR Macedonia, have maintained various forms of cooperation with scientists from the ERI-BAS for years.

The new monograph of Assoc. Nikola Konstantinov* - one of the leading Bulgarian authors on the history of social insurance in our country, covers a relatively large period. Its chronological frames are well grounded - the beginning was set in 1880, when the Parliament adopted the first normative act on this matter - on the pensions of the volunteers who took part in the Russo-Turkish War of Liberation of 1877-1878. 1925 was taken as the final limit - then the formation of the insurance system in Bulgaria was completed with the Law on Work Placement and Unemployment Insurance.