Changes in the trade and economic relations of Bulgaria under the influence of Global Value Chains have been analysed. The changes in the value added trade of the national industries under the influence of the country’s participation of a country in the integration processes were have been examined. The characteristic structural elements of the foreign trade flows have been identified and the impact of the international trade regulatory framework on the country's external economic environment has been assessed.

The rise of the first implicit ideas in the field of behavioural finance is examined from a historical point of view, taking into consideration the evolution of economic theories. The first documented manifestation of irrational behaviour on a market level, which took place during the 17th century, is presented. The foundations of Daniel Bernoulli’s Decision theory from the 18th century are systemized in regard to the implementation of behavioural aspects and the reference to the contemporary Prospect theory. The classical and early neoclassical schools of economic thought, where the idea that economic decisions are also being influenced by emotional stimulus can be found in the works of economists like Hermann Heinrich Gossen, Adam Smith, Jeremy Bentham, William Stanley Jevons, Léon Walras and Edgeworth, are examined. The neoclassical school of economics, where the representatives of marginalism limit the idea of the complexity of human nature, is also analysed. In conclusion, a short description of some of the contemporary aspects of the science of behavioural finance is made.

An original approach is described that can be used in the analysis and assessment of the applicability of the concept of crowdsourcing during the optimization of business processes in organizations. The approach is based on the application of standardized techniques in conceptual modeling used in computer science and on the business process modeling used in management science. The main objective is to reduce the specific risks associated with the lack of a universally accepted universal definition and classification of the different variants of the phenomenon of crowdsourcing. The main elements of the approach and the theoretical foundations on which it is based are presented, and three examples are given in order to illustrate its application.

The process of the deinstitutionalisation of social services for children is examined. Some of its economic features are highlighted based on an analysis of key economic elements and existing staff issues. A regulatory review of the changes in this area is made. The aim is to rationalize deinstitutionalisation as an adequate model for childcare and child rearing. The role of the state in the understanding of childcare is examined and the economic conditions under which it is carried out are presented.

Certain issues are considered in relation to the degree of satisfaction on the domestic market with some basic nationally produced food groups and products. Quantitative assessments are performed of the level of self-sufficiency in view of obtaining a realistic view of the food supplies balances of leading products. Trends are determined in the change of foods supplies balances of leading products. Assessment is made of the status of provisioning with basic foods and general trends, issues and challenges are inferred as a result of changes in the degree of dependency on external sources.

The main objective of the present survey is to outline the state of the insurance market in Bulgaria and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Emphasis is placed on the state and development of premium income, insurance penetration and insurance density. Some theoretical statements in the field of the insurance sector are also outlined. It was found that the pace of the development of the indicators “insurance penetration” and “insurance density” in Bulgaria is significantly lagging behind that of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

А survey on the territorial location of commercial sites is presented. The aim is to investigate the shopping areas that have been formed within the individual residential areas and to determine the degree of their concentration, as well as to identify the potential reasons behind it. The survey uses geographic information systems in order to map the trade activity, including for the performing of subsequent analytical operations. Such research could have a practical application in the field of regional economy and in the process of opening new areas for the physical location of economic activities, as well as in the optimization of existing one.

The international scientific workshop “Bulgaria and Romania: Member Countries of the EU, Part of the Global Economy” was held on the 10th of December 2018 at the Economic Research Institute at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (ERI-BAS) in Sofia, Bulgaria. The worshop was organized by the International Economics Department at the ERI-BAS and the Institute for World Economy at the Romanian Academy (IWE-RA) as a closing event of the joint interacademy project “Bulgaria and Romania: Member Countries of the EU, Part of the Global Economy” carried out by the two institutions. It was also a sequel to the Inernational Conference with the same title, which was held in 2017. The worshop aimed and managed to bring together esteemed researchers, young scholars, post-doctoral researchers and PhD students working in the field of  International Economics and International Finance to share their views on some contemporary aspects of Bulgarian and Romanian economic development – either in comparison with each other, or as part of the global economy. There were participants from various Bulgarian and foreign academic institutions – the Economic Research Institute at the BAS, the University for national and world economy, New Bulgarian University, Sofia University, Tracian University, the Institute for World Economy and the Institute for National Economy at the Romanian Academy, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, etc.

The author of this work prof. Ivan Angelov is known as a courageous innovator and an established professional, having worked for more than six decades in economic practice in and outside Bulgaria in various high positions requiring knowledge and accumulation, as well as at the Institute of Economics of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences since 1960. He was the head of the first strategy for catching-up economic development in Bulgaria, developed and published 15 years ago. The monograph of prof. Angelov's monograph can be a basis from which to start and develop a comprehensive Programme for catching up and overtaking socio-economic, scientific-technical and environmental development of Bulgaria (let the word "overtaking" not be underestimated - Bulgaria has overtaken the current global leaders more than once and in more than one area); four-year plans for the implementation of the twenty-year programme.