This article systemizes the newest research results in the contemporary field of the economic analysis of social status related to the formation of effective institutions and economic policies. The psychological effect of adaptation to the current consumption levels and the prevailing importance of relative to absolute wealth reveal the possibility to explain and forecast human behavior in a rationalistic economic perspective in situations that are usually studied in sociology. Taking into account the effects of the competition for status allows a more thorough and realistic analysis of the forms of socioeconomic organization, the implications of planned economic policies and the role of existing institutional structures for the subjective wellbeing of a society’s members.

The article justifies the need for development and implementation of a new functional managerial approach - organizational programming. It studies the significance of management cycles for organizational behavior optimization and provides a quantitative and qualitative assessment of the meta-Information Technology (IT) framework of organizational sustainability. This framework helps programme the organizational process. Organizational programming is accomplished through a strategic cluster analysis of corporate indicators and business processes that heighten the level of economic activity in different organizational context.

The article analyzes the relation between the use of trade credit and risk of insolvency of nonfinancial enterprises in Bulgaria. Data from empirical sociological examination among 201 nonfinancial enterprises are used. The results confirm the financial distress theory of trade credit. It was found out that firms that are financially constraint use more credits from suppliers and financially stable firms are prone to wait longer before taking measures in case of payments delay from clients. It is also found that postponed account receivables create serious liquidity problems for enterprises and difficulties in paying basic expenses for their activity. One of the conclusions from the investigation is that for a number firms, trade credit is a source of financing from last resort, because difficulties in paying to suppliers and problems with delayed account receivables are indicators of insolvency risk of firms.

The paper outlines some of the main characteristic features of Bulgarian social and economic thought during the period, dominated by the norms of Orthodox Christianity. In the context of this thinking of the period before the appearance of specialized economic knowledge, several key elements can be identified, such as first, the strong role of the state, relied upon to help solving economic and social problems, which is praised and receives advice from intellectuals, and second, the ethical approach, expressed in the desire to help the poor and to reject profits, considered as immoral (theft, usury, etc. in.), to negate the extremes of poverty, but also of wealth.

Against the background of brief characteristics of the essential features of the modern excise duties and the EU excise system, the problem of the differences and harmonisation of the main excise goods between the individual member states in terms of tax amounts is examined as part of the construction of the single internal market of the Union. The differences in the amount and structure of their revenues are also presented. Particular attention is paid to the countries of Eastern Europe, current and future members, and their problems. On this basis, the issues of the excise system and excise policy in Bulgaria are outlined in comparative detail. Some specific conclusions and recommendations are drawn.

Acad. Evgeni Georgiev Mateev (1920-1997) was the leading economist of Bulgaria in the second half of the twentieth century. He formulated, justified and participated in the solution of the main problems of the development of the economic system during this period, contributed to the building and establishment of important state management and scientific institutions, among which was the Economic Institute at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. As we celebrate the anniversary of his birth, we bow to his indomitable spirit and logical thought, to the creative legacy he left behind, which, in addition to its preserved place in the history of economic thought, is a source of ideas for economic prosperity and for modern Bulgaria.

The new book of Prof. Dr. Georgi Mateev has recently been published, in which the assessments, analyses and conclusions are based on the experience and practice of countries with developed market economies and with the richest experience in the development of modern market relations. Structurally it contains 3 parts, 15 chapters, a conclusion and a summary. The bibliography includes over 200 publications by reputable Bulgarian and foreign authors, as well as solid statistical sources. The research is focused on the creation of a practical working mechanism for regulating the economy under modern market conditions. The first and the second part serve as prerequisites of the mentioned mechanism.