In today’s context the world is experiencing a wide variety of issues, of which some have been long lasting and are considered a global phenomenon. In the current era of globalization fuelled by the rapid growth of new technology, it is widely acknowledged that the ability to innovate is a significant driver of competitiveness for entrepreneurs, teams, organizations, industries, countries, and economies of all sizes. Competition is increasingly forged not just to achieve financial performance, but also to deliver social and environmental outcomes for the present and future. Within this context of global competition, innovative models, strategies, policies, processes, and practices become ever more important in creating value for sustainable growth and development at various levels within firms, industries, countries, and economies, and also across borders in company networks, industrial clusters, and economic and regional blocs.

The last decades have acknowledged a growing integration of economies and societies worldwide. There has been an increase of interdependence among countries in trade, finance, people and ideas. The development of information technology and advancement of telecommunication have facilitated both resources and output mobility, improving further efficiency at which economies operate. However, the international trade arena and competitiveness lead to increased pressure for the policy makers and the independent economic agents in both developed and developing countries. On one side, there is the importance of the public policies and institutions to creating a sustainable and dynamic environment in a time when trade liberalization policies and moderate capital control have changed the role of state in the global economy. On the other side, there is the response of consumers and producers in making efficient choices under the perspective of widen possibilities and reshaped constraints.

The changing conjecture of the last two decades around the world has led to a restructuring of the growth potentials and international market roles of countries, and economic actors and economic decision processes have evolved considerably. Our conference is focusing on evaluation of the last two decades from a multidimensional point of view. Thus generating a platform in which the economic, social and policy transformations of the last twenty years are debated will be vision enhancing for both policy formulation for tomorrow and understanding the current state of affairs.

The conference aims at bringing together in one venue academics, researchers and all the interested parties in the field, with the purpose of elaborating at a theoretical, empirical and policy-making perspective the above. We invite you to submit papers dealing with the challenges associating the economic perspectives in the age of the 21st century globalization. The conference will be focused, but not limited, on the following areas:

• Monetary Policy before, during and after the global financial crises
• Trade Openness, Competitiveness and Growth Globalization and labor markets
• Public Policies to Sustain Competitiveness
• Globalization, Financial Markets, and Fiscal Policy
• Financial Inclusion and Financial Regulation
• Integration and Economic Globalization: Challenges for Development
• Corporate Governance and Business Regulation
• Inequality, Poverty & Social Inclusion
• Gender Equality and Sustainable Development
• Real and Potential Usage of Resources: Identifying Gaps
• Value and Importance of Sustainable Agriculture and the Environment
• Urban - Rural Disparity, Migration and Remittances
• Economic Modeling of Tourism
• Socio-Cultural Environment and Innovation
• The Digital Economy
• Economic Structure Performance and Structural Adjustments

Submission of abstracts and papers are invited from academia, policy makers, business people, public and private sector organizations, non-governmental organizations, and international organizations. Poster presentations are also encouraged. While multiple submissions by individuals or groups of authors are welcome, the abstract selection process will seek to ensure as broad participation as possible: each author may present only one paper or one poster in the conference. No author should submit more than one abstract as its single author.

Submissions should be of high standard, unpublished, and suitable for scientific or professional publications. They can be theoretical or field research based papers as well as practical/experiential papers based on individual, institutional or community experience. All submitted papers will be refereed to blind reviewers to uphold the high standards of the conference.

Papers demonstrating high rigor, high theoretical and/or practical implications will be considered for publication. The abstracts should not exceed 300 words and should be organized as: title, context and objectives, methodology, findings, conclusion, contribution, key words. Key words: from 3 up to 5 words (12 pt. font size). Avoid abbreviations unless they are firmly established. Key words should efficiently represent the paper content.

Authors' autobiographical details should appear as the first footnote of each contribution, and include the name, academic and professional qualifications, institutional affiliation, current title, position and e-mail of each author. Authors are also advised to proofread their abstracts because they will be reproduced from the online submission. Any error in spelling, grammar or data will appear online or in print.
Papers are expected to have a uniform structure/format, times new roman (font 12), 1.5 line spacing, maximum of 12 pages including references, appendices, figures etc. Thus, the contents are expected to rhyme with background that includes a theoretical context and objectives; methodology covering the way the study was designed and carried out; findings, discussion and conclusions.

All accepted abstracts will be published in the conference abstract book. Best papers will be published at the Journal of the Faculty of Economics, University of Tirana “Albanian Journal of Economics and Business” (AJEB).