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This volume contains papers submitted to the 12th Annual International Conference of the Bulgarian Comparative Education Society (BCES), held in Sofia and Nessebar, Bulgaria, in June 2014, and papers submitted to the 2nd International Partner Conference, organized by the International Research Centre 'Scientific Cooperation,' Rostov-on-Don, Russia. The volume also includes papers submitted to the International Symposium on Comparative Sciences, organized by the Bulgarian Comparative Education Society in Sofia, in October 2013. The 12th BCES Conference theme is "Education's Role in Preparing Globally Competent Citizens." The 2nd Partner Conference theme is "Contemporary Science and Education: New Challenges -- New Decisions." The book consists of 103 papers, written by 167 authors and co-authors, and grouped into 7 parts. Parts 1-4 comprise papers submitted to the 12th BCES Conference, and Parts 5-7 comprise papers submitted to the 2nd Partner Conference. The 103 papers are divided into the following parts: (1) Comparative Education & History of Education; (2) Pre-service and In-service Teacher Training & Learning and Teaching Styles; (3) Education Policy, Reforms and School Leadership; (4) Higher Education, Lifelong Learning and Social Inclusion; (5) Educational Development Strategies in Different Countries and Regions of the World: National, Regional and Global Levels; (6) Key Directions and Characteristics of Research Organization in Contemporary World; and (7) International Scientific and Educational Cooperation for the Solution of Contemporary Global Issues: From Global Competition to World Integration.

This paper reviews the literature concerning the impact that venture capital investments have on economic growth, mainly focusing on the firm level. The authors consider new insights gained in the 1990s as well as North American and European practices. The authors provide an overview of recent explanations for the existence of venture capital and explore the impact of formal venture capitalists on growth and thus exclude informal or private investors. The authors summarize trends in venture capital in the United States and Europe, stressing the impact of government initiatives on macroeconomic growth. The authors conclude with theoretical progress made in venture capital research and offer suggestions for paths to take in the future.

This paper explores what small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) policy is about, how it is pursued in Europe, and the differences between the European countries. According to the author, the overall objectives of SME policy are to create employment, foster economic growth, improve competitiveness, and regional/structural development. The SME-related policy pursued in most European countries involves a collection of various objectives and fields of economic policy rather than a conceptual framework. The author discusses the various approaches of SME policy that take place in the following European countries: Germany, Spain, Portugal, Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Denmark, France, and Belgium. The author also discusses the variation of instruments used in the following fields of SME policy: start-ups, finance, exports and internationalization, information, research and development, labor, and red tape.

Chapter Nine of the book "The European Economy Since 1945: Coordinated Capitalism and Beyond," by Barry Eichengreen is presented. It details the decline in European economic growth in 1970s which was pushed further by the collapse of the Smithsonian Agreement and backlash against international trade due to fluctuations in exchange rate. It narrates the slowdown in productivity growth that affected the entire industrial world between the periods 1962-1973 and 1973-1982.

Chapter Four of the book "The European Economy Since 1945: Coordinated Capitalism and Beyond," by Barry Eichengreen is presented. It details the various efficiencies among European countries in driving their capital investments, new technology, and government programs. It reveals that trade and investments were the engines of the economic growth in Europe in the 1950s.

Chapter Two of the book "The European Economy Since 1945: Coordinated Capitalism and Beyond," by Barry Eichengreen is presented. It explores the facts surrounding the economic growth in Europe from 1820 to 2000 with focus on the aggregate gross domestic product (GDP). It explains the exceptional nature of the golden age that reflect the broad patterns of the poor countries in Peripheral Europe including Greece, Ireland, and Portugal.