Business, Finance & Law Books

Book SynopsisCorporate purpose has become a global phenomenon in recent years. Increasingly, businesses are expected to 'produce profitable solutions to the problems of people and planet, and not to profit from producing problems for people or planet' (World Economic Forum). However, the literature on how companies can build purpose into their corporate DNA is still very nascent.This book, first of its kind, focuses on how companies in Asia are building purpose into their journey. It contains case studies of companies and their current journey to become more purpose driven, why they do it, and how they did it.

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Book SynopsisThis book seeks to understand how a one-man consultancy practice can grow to become what is arguably the largest such enterprise in one of the world's largest countries. It follows the incredible story of the start-up MarkPlus and its journey to become what it is today. Through this journey, one will discover the importance of developing innovative and original marketing frameworks and practices, along with the purpose and passion of a start-up's founder. This insightful book covers many well-established marketing concepts and practices and sheds light on the path that many entrepreneurs must take in establishing their own businesses.

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Book SynopsisThis book presents a state-of-the-art account of the recent developments and needs for project management in developing countries. It adds to the current state of knowledge on project management in general by capturing current trends, how they widen the content and scope of the field, and why there is a need for a specialist body of knowledge for developing countries. Eminent experts in this domain address the specific nature and demands of project management in developing countries, in the context of its scope and priorities, and discuss the relationships between this emerging field and established bodies of knowledge. The book also addresses the future of project management in developing countries and how this might influence mainstream project management. This important book will be an essential reference for practitioners, students, researchers and policymakers engaged in how to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of project management in developing countries.

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Book SynopsisEquities are generally perceived to be more volatile than fixed income investments. Many risk averse investors are unable to digest the daily ups and downs in the prices of equities. They also feel that, from a historical perspective, equities are overpriced and thus are not comfortable taking equity positions at current valuations.On the other hand, global interest rates have been on a decline from the 1970s when inflation was finally under control by central banks. This decline in interest rates means that investors have to live with lower nominal returns. Since the Global Financial Crisis of 2008, many investors have been feeling left out of the equity markets.Fixed Coupon Notes (FCNs) are quasi-equity and quasi-bond structures which aim to provide higher returns than bonds with lower risks compared to equities. Moreover, they also provide an avenue to enter equities at reasonable prices and acceptable valuations. Being the most popular structured product in Asia, there is sufficient institutional experience about the product. This book aims to provide the basics as well as the nuances of investing in FCNs so that an investor not only understands the concepts behind the product, but is also able to avoid common pitfalls.

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Book SynopsisThis book shows the impact of the recent trade tensions between China and the US on the world trade order, and how parties have reached a deal (so called 'phase one', January 2020), which could lead to a more comprehensive agreement, and the consequences of these 'adjustments' in shaping new equilibriums.After 40 years, China has transformed into an economic superpower, which could now rival the US. This has evoked some concerns, and put the US in an uncomfortable position, as the US views the rise of China as a threat to its predominance and interests. However, China's development and its increasing economic power, which is a direct consequence of the ongoing reform process, is unstoppable.The confrontation between China and the US will favor Chinese expansion into the EU not only because the EU offers a more receptive environment for Chinese Foreign Direct Investment, but also because the EU and China have more in common if we consider the Belt And Road Initiative and the new bilateral investment agreement which is under negotiation. The EU, not only represents the final destination of the BRI, but also a more logical and convenient trade partner for China.The shift of Chinese attention toward the EU will also change the equilibrium between China, the EU and the US, bring forth the negotiation of new trade agreements, and move the entire international community towards a new world trade order and a new multilateralism which might evolve into a tripolarism.

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Book SynopsisThis book takes a fresh look at Chinese political economy at a key inflection point. Facing a more competitive international environment, Chinese reform has shifted from its earlier focus on economic liberalization and political decentralization to a more tightly organized, centralized form of state socialism. The Party-state's vigorous fiscal reaction to the Global Financial Crisis (2008-2009) left the country with a much improved infrastructure and greater sense of national self-assurance. The more monocratic central leadership has redoubled efforts to fight poverty and pollution, push technological innovation, and at the same time rigorously enforce ideological consensus, political loyalty and anticorruption.This has been occurring in an international context of slowing trade and nationalist pushback against 'globalization', prominently including bilateral Chinese-American polarization. While China has been among the staunchest advocates and beneficiaries of globalization, incipient trade war 'decoupling' has spurred movement toward economic and technological self-reliance. Turning inward however vies with a rival impulse toward more vigorous engagement in the world. This is most consequentially represented by the Belt and Road Initiative, driving massive infrastructure construction through Central Asia and the South and Southeast Asian maritime periphery. Despite slowing growth and a large debt overhang, swift recovery from the Covid-19 epidemic leaves China in a relatively strong economic position.

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Book SynopsisThe novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic was reported in China in December 2019, and later spread to other parts of the world. Countries in Southeast Asia were some of the first nations affected by the pandemic due to their geographical proximities and trade relations with China. In January 2020, the virus spread to some countries within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The number of confirmed cases kept increasing within ASEAN and other countries of the world. Consequently, countries in ASEAN introduced preventive and containment measures to cope with the pandemic, which include quarantines, lockdowns, restrictions of movements and large gatherings, as well as school and business closures.Beyond the efforts of preventing and containing the spread of the virus, ASEAN's most significant challenges are the social and economic crisis of historic proportions that are beginning to unfold. COVID-19 pandemic has brought interruptions in all sectors of ASEAN economies. It is, therefore, imperative to assess the extent to which the pandemic has impacted the social and economic aspects of the region. This book intends to highlight the social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in ASEAN and suggest ways on how to mitigate them. It covers how the shocks from COVID-19 have impacted production, supply chains, demand, commodity prices, consumer behaviour, financial markets, employment, services, transportation and community, and the various policies that ASEAN authorities should put in place to mitigate the effects of the pandemic.Table of ContentsImpacts and challenges in Malaysia; Impacts and challenges in Singapore; Impacts and challenges in Indonesia; Impacts and challenges in Thailand; Impacts and challenges in Brunei; Impacts and challenges in Philippines; Impacts and challenges in Vietnam; Impacts and challenges in Cambodia; Impacts and challenges in Laos; Impacts and challenges in Myanmar;

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Book SynopsisThis book unravels the complexities of supply chain process transformation by explaining step-by-step, in simple terms, the requirements for success from the basics to the implementation of this complicated task. The book provides insights into how to lead the transformation project and how to manage the change internally and externally. The authors' hands-on experience in the field via applied research is clearly illustrated in the case studies, which provide the reader with practical examples of the challenges and benefits of implementing a supply chain transformation project. This is a must-have book for all supply chain and operations professionals.Table of ContentsIntroduction to Digital Transformation for Supply Chains; Key Supply Chain Processes Relevant for Digital Transformation; Supply Chain Process Transformation Methodology; Managing and Leading Supply Chain Transformation Project; Case Studies;

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Book SynopsisHere it is going to happen is the title of a painting memorialising Albert Winsemius' industrial survey mission to Singapore. The picture depicts the hilltop view of a pre-industrial Jurong.Besides being a biography of Albert Winsemius, the book examines Albert Winsemius' affinity with Singapore and his contributions to the nation's economic development. It also looks at his legacy and influence on past, current and future economic planners.Table of ContentsPreface — Why This Book?; Who is Albert Winsemius?; His Contributions before Singapore; His Contributions to Singapore; His Contributions to Modern Economic Development; Albert Winesmius Chair Professorships; Summing Up: His Legacy;

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Book SynopsisNot one size fits all. Yet, some books teach business with minimal focus on the context for business. In reality, firms — large and small — are highly affected by the context in which they operate; yet, context is not uniformly conceptualized, theorized, and operationalized by scholars of business and management. While most theories have come from developed countries with bountiful contexts, the diverse contexts of Western Asia are little understood. Religious factors are profoundly dominant in Western Asia, and businesses in this diverse area operate with considerations that are rarely considered in research. This book reveals a variety of schools of thought that have molded several business models and mechanisms, which are, to some extent, different from the context of Western economies.Table of ContentsIntroduction to Contexts, the Bazaar Economy, & Western Asia; The Context for Business in Afghanistan; The Context for Business in Armenia; The Context for Business in Azerbaijan; The Context for Business in Bahrain; The Context for Business in Georgia; The Context for Business in Iran; The Context for Business in Iraq; The Context for Business in Israel; The Context for Business in Jordan; The Context for Business in Kuwait; The Context for Business in Lebanon; The Context for Business in Oman ; The Context for Business in Palestine; The Context for Business in Qatar; The Context for Business in Saudi Arabia; The Context for Business in Syria; The Context for Business in Turkey; The Context for Business in United Arab Emirates; The Context for Business in Yemen; Conclusion;

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Book Synopsis''Shastry's polemic cites extensive research from experts and exploits the author's knowledge of Asia and his connections to the region's elite, with whom he rubs shoulders at Davos and other summits. What shows through in the book though is Shastry's compassion for the continent's ordinary people.'IMF F&D MagazineAsia has been the greatest show on earth since Japan's rise from the ashes of World War II, accompanied in successive decades with the emergence of the Asian tigers, and eventually the two giants China and India. The Asian miracle has few precedents in the modern era, with billions lifted from poverty in a generation. The region's openness to trade and investment aligned perfectly with the tailwinds of globalisation. However, in recent years Asia has become a victim of its own success with commentators not differentiating between a utopian high-income Asia and a dystopian middle- and low-income Asia, where a significant majority of the region's population live. Asia today can be divided into countries which have a lot, have a little, and have none. The continent's dream run is also coming to an end as Covid-19 exposes sharp weaknesses in state capacity and structural challenges like the U.S.-China trade war is putting globalisation into reverse gear, jeopardising the region's hard-earned economic success. Asia's growth-obsessed policymakers have also ignored social pressures from the impact of technology on jobs, rising inequality, fabulous wealth accumulation by a favoured billionaire class, a deepening demographic divide, climate distress, and gender disparity, which threaten to destabilise the region's famed cohesiveness. In his penetrating new book, well-known Asia expert Vasuki Shastry argues that while Asia's reckoning may have been the subject of speculation before the pandemic, Covid-19 has made that inevitable. Inspired by Dante's Inferno, Shastry takes readers on a journey through modern Asia's eight circles of hell where we encounter urban cowboys and cowgirls fleeing rural areas to live in increasingly uninhabitable cities, disadvantaged teenage girls unable to meet their aspirations due to social strictures, internal mutiny, messy geopolitics from the rise of China, and a political and business class whose interests are in conflict with a majority of the population. Shastry challenges conventional thinking about Asia's place in the world and the book is essential reading for those with an interest in the continent's future.Related Link(s)Table of ContentsDysutopia: Greatest Show on Earth; Peak Asia; A Short Introduction to Dante; Eight Circles of Hell: Asia's Old Men; Middle Class Trap; Urban Cowboys ... and Cowgirls; Rent Seekers and other Oligarchs; The Death of Bali; To be a Teenage Girl in a Rising Asia; A million internal mutinies; Lessons from Stora Latina; Epilogue: An Asian Renaissance;

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Book SynopsisThis book analyzes economic strategies responsible for China's 40 years of 40-fold growth, suggesting how such strategies might be applied elsewhere. It combines a seven-chapter chronological analysis of China's growth with three additional chapters on the government's leadership role, success in poverty reduction, and China's combined international finance and trade experience. The book recaps why China's success challenges the United States and the field of development economics. One of its emphases, the 1980s, reports how generous rural price and land-tenure reforms caused a rural income boom that threatened urban subsidized livelihoods and underpinned consequent violence. It describes how China will likely face a similar challenge moving forward, during the planned merger of rural and urban workforces.The book includes an analysis of the US-China trade war and China's economic prospects in the wake of COVID-19. It is a clear and timely account for anyone interested in understanding the institutions and policies responsible for China's successful development and its likely continuation.

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Book SynopsisWhy is data science a branch of science? Is data science just a catchy rebranding of statistics? Data science provides tools for statistical analysis and machine learning. But, as much as application problems without tools are lame, tools without application problems are vain. Through example after example, this book presents the algorithmic aspects of statistics and show how some of the tools are applied to answer questions of interest to finance. This book champions a fundamental principle of science — objective reproducibility of evidence independently by others. From a companion web site, readers can download many easy-to-understand Python programs and real-world data. Independently, readers can draw for themselves the figures in the book. Even so, readers are encouraged to run the statistical tests described as examples to verify their own results against what the book claims. This book covers some topics that are seldom discussed in other textbooks. They include the methods to adjust for dividend payment and stock splits, how to reproduce a stock market index such as Nikkei 225 index, and so on. By running the Python programs provided, readers can verify their results against the data published by free data resources such as Yahoo! finance. Though practical, this book provides detailed proofs of propositions such as why certain estimators are unbiased, how the ubiquitous normal distribution is derived from the first principles, and so on. This see-for-yourself textbook is essential to anyone who intends to learn the nuts and bots of data science, especially in the application domain of finance. Advanced readers may find the book helpful in its mathematical treatment. Practitioners may find some tips from the book on how an ETF is constructed, as well as some insights on a novel algorithmic framework for pair trading to generate statistical arbitrage.Table of ContentsIntroduction; Cross-Sectional Data Analysis; Comparative Data Analysis; Price and Returns; Log Return and Random Walk; Stock Market Indexes and ETF; Non-Equity Indexes; Linear Regression; Event Study; Pair Trading;

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Book SynopsisProduction economics is that branch of microeconomics that examines producer decisions. This book focuses on the empirical estimation of these relationships using primal, dual, and differential specifications. The primal specification models production decisions based on the production function — estimation of the input/output relationship and the derivation of optimization behavior from this technical relationship. The dual approach estimates production decisions using economic information such as input and output prices. The textbook then develops the linkages between these relationships. The differential specification is an alternative approach derived from changes in the first-order conditions from cost minimizing behavior. In each case, the theoretical development is followed by different empirical specifications that can be used to estimate the producer's choice.

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Book SynopsisHuman resources are the most important and costliest assets in businesses of any nature and size, no matter where they are based in the world. Talent management is a key managerial function in MNCs and other organisations with a global presence, but its importance in small businesses and start-ups cannot be overlooked.At its most basic level, managing people in small businesses encompasses compliance with the applicable labour laws, hiring, and creating a channel for dealing with employee issues. The price of not having the right employees in a small business can be extremely high. Workers who are inefficient or in the wrong role can have critical consequences on the sustainability of a small business. While most entrepreneurs focus on marketing, finance, operations, and customers in their initial stages, this means that they at times fail to establish and address their HR function and the associated challenges that, if overcome, may help the organisation to meet all of its targets. This book aims to highlight these HR challenges and shed new light on how to answer them.

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Book SynopsisThe Art and Science of Entrepreneurship benefits from the many years of experience of the author and many entrepreneurs in making sense of how the traits and thinking preference of entrepreneurs make them successful. By mapping his entrepreneurial journey and relating practice to theory, the author draws useful lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs. The author hopes that his experience will inspire, guide and give confidence to aspiring entrepreneurs to embark on their journey to develop their idea into a successful start-up.Table of ContentsIntroduction; The Art of Entrepreneurship: The Entrepreneurial Journey; The Three Mantras of Entrepreneurs; The Three Beliefs of Entrepreneurs; The Three Realities of Entrepreneurship; The Alignment of Your Stars; You Need the Passion; Thinking with Your Heart Not Your Head; The Science of Entrepreneurship: Transforming an Idea into a Viable Business; Strategy Development for Start-ups and New Ventures; The Process of Starting a Company - Early Stages; The Business Plan; Pitching; Getting Ready for Formal Fund Raising; Three Rules of Thumb for Fund Raising; What Should Entrepreneurs Look For?; What Do Investors Look for?; The VC Trap; Useful Lessons Learnt: How to Survive the Challenging Times; Lessons Learnt During the Dot Com Era - The Tech Bubble Burst; Surviving the Great Disruption (The COVID-19 Economic Impact); Governance, Culture, Deal Fatigue, Team Disagreement and Backup Plans; Environmental Factors That Make a Good Entrepreneurship Ecosystem; My Entrepreneurship Journey; Conclusion; About the Author;

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Book SynopsisThis book covers the fundamentals of financial management and investment management without getting into the highly technical topics and mathematical rigor. It also provides a practitioner-oriented approach to financial and investment management.The field of finance covers several specialty areas. The two most important ones which set the foundations for the other specialty areas are financial management and investment management, and these are the two major topics covered in the book. After touching on the basics — the financial system and the players, financial statements, and mathematics of finance — the authors then cover financial management and investment management in greater depth. For financial management the authors focus on financial strategy and financial planning, dividend policy, corporate financing decisions, entrepreneurial finance, financial risk management, and capital budgeting decisions. The investment management coverage includes the different types of risks faced in investing, company analysis, valuing common stock, portfolio selection, asset pricing theory, and investing in common stocks and bonds. The last chapter of the book covers financial derivatives and how they are used in finance to control risk.

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Book SynopsisThe publication started with a succinct and brief literature review of the different definitions of the term 'entrepreneurship'. After examining the different conceptual ideas of entrepreneurship, the ecological system of entrepreneurship was identified with a wide array and universe of stakeholders like the state, venture capitalists, non-profit organizations (NPOs), students, universities, instructors/trainers, educators, local communities, bureaucracy, and many other entities.In the East Asian region's desire to tap into entrepreneurship, the economies are also keen to tap on formerly marginalized groups to power up the entrepreneurship game like women, energetic youths and reskilled individuals. Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) teaches practical applied learning courses to students and arm them with the necessary skills to tackle the many challenges of being an entrepreneur.Both tangible and intangible barriers to entrepreneurship were discussed in the writing. One of the intangible barriers discussed was the element of mindset. In some of the case studies, it appeared fear of failure was a major mindset barrier to would-be entrepreneurs pursuing their business ideas to actualize them. Measures carried out to remove the stigmatization of failure are discussed in the volume.

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Book SynopsisHow do you take an individual who has never done business with your organization and gradually transform them into the best possible customer? How do you decide how much to spend on various marketing actions? How do you think about the pricing decision with a view to optimizing the value of your customers as assets? Where do you start, what tools do you use, and what heuristics are useful in making these decisions? This book attempts to answer questions such as these. The one-sentence summary of the answer, though, is simple — hold the individual's hands and walk them up a value ladder, one step at a time.This book is written for an advanced student of business and the practicing manager. It presents an integrated view of the marketing function. In particular, it focuses on all the activities that a firm engages in to create and manage value - not just the customer-facing activities. It links the traditional views of customer value with the finance, accounting, human resources, organizational behaviour, information technology and operations functions of the organization. It draws on the science of behaviour change and the data sciences to present a contemporary view of the customer value function. The content is meant to be prescriptive — it describes a process for value creation and management, yet analytical; theoretical, yet empirically driven. It urges the reader to think about the customer value function to be organized along activities that the firm would like the customers to engage in, not activities that the firm engages in. It presents a framework that is not only conceptually driven but also has a sound mathematical basis.

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Book SynopsisIn an open world, the socialist political economy with Chinese characteristics features openness. If China expects to participate and play a leading role in the governance of global economy in economic globalization, it needs to adopt a common discourse to foster its economy to 'go global.' The common discourse can be obtained in a market economy as well as among developing countries eager to seek development. This book attempts to theorize the socialist political economy with Chinese characteristics by absorbing critically the well-established economic theories worldwide. The selective learning of western economics in terms of theories and categories is based on China's full confidence in the theory, path and system with the adherence to the core socialist values as a presupposition. The author argues that the socialist political economy with Chinese characteristics in the new era is a Marxist political economy in contemporary China. The book clearly states that the construction of its theoretical system should combine Marxist theories with China's practice, especially after the reform and opening-up; progress with the times and target the principal social contradiction in the new era; and address China's challenges in growing stronger, or in other words, modernization.This book is a valuable reading on the new development of the various schools of thoughts on China's political economy over the last few decades. It can be used as a textbook for college students, researchers, and practitioners in the fields of economics, China studies, politics and sociology.

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Book SynopsisThe conventional macroeconomic theory of the late twentieth and early twenty-first century, based on the assumption that the working of complex monetary economy could be analysed on the same principles as those of barter exchange, has demonstrably failed. This book provides a thorough rethinking of the nature of a monetary economy. It builds upon a complete theory of the domestic and international monetary macro-economy, and of macroeconomic policy for the modern age. Central to the analysis is the idea that a successful market economy requires an endogenous supply of money via the banking system. Therefore to achieve macroeconomic stability, the book proposes the targeting of real interest rates under a regime of flexible exchange rates or 'fixed but adjustable exchange rates' as the main goal of monetary policy, along with a range of innovative fiscal and trade policies to promote economic growth, and thereby achieve full employment and a fair distribution of income.

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Book SynopsisInnovation has shaped society since civilization began. Imperial China was the most innovative society on earth, but it failed to join the 19th century industrial revolution. In the 20th century, the Communist Party of China addressed that failure. Today China boasts an internationally compliant, rapidly developing IP system. State planning continues to be critical as the case of the largest, single, technology acquisition and infrastructure project in world history, high speed rail, demonstrates. But most of the innovation in China comes from the private sector: government incubators are among the government stimuli of private initiative, both local and global. And as the case on Cisco shows, foreign MNCs management of innovation in China is attractive but must involve co-ordination with government policy.This book presents cases where managers determine policy in China's increasingly innovative society. Readers take the roles of decision-makers to make strategy decisions. The cases in this volume showcase China's traditional three teachings, socialist market institutions, and modern management using studies on current Chinese companies and their leaders, among them big names such as Haier and Huawei. Each case stands alone as teaching material for instructors. Taken together, the book presents evolving models of innovation. Their subtle differences from western constructs critically impact the development of our global society.

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Book SynopsisAsia has been a hub for e-commerce companies in the past decade and the growth trajectory narrates the story of bright future. Its growth has largely impacted the economic, social and technological advancements in every country and contributed to global trade. Nonetheless, the success and failure of e-commerce companies lies on various factors, some of which include product pricing, competition, strategies and business models. However, with surveys in India indicating how sale of counterfeit products remains a significant problem for online shoppers across many e-commerce sites, e-commerce companies claim they are taking tough steps to ensure that counterfeit products do not make their way to customers, by delisting fraud sellers, using tamper-proof packaging and monitoring warehouses.This book aims to unwrap the stories of e-commerce companies in Asia and how they have contributed to the society. It discusses the growth and failures of some e-commerce giants and looks at both theoretical and practical aspects of e-commerce by presenting the issues, challenges and successes of e-commerce businesses. It examines interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary aspects from micro and macro perspectives and links disciplines like strategy, management, entrepreneurship, competitiveness, finance, technology and operations.

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Book SynopsisThis book aims to illustrate the impact of COVID-19 on the global aviation industry and its many facets and disruptive innovations this crisis is bringing to the industry, triggering a new phase of development for air transportation. As a result, there has been increased attention on the green aviation industry using new sustainable fuels (including hydrogen). The aviation industry is also moving towards operating electric aircraft. The book emphasizes a new concept of air travel and an entirely new type of aircraft called eVTOL, which is to say - electric Vertical take-off and landing aircraft. This new reality is already taking place with the development of prototypes. However, the road to its implementation is full of challenges.The later part of the book focuses on how China has opened doors to the private aviation sector as the country foresees an enormous opportunity to push its internal economy and aviation industry further.

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Book SynopsisPioneer Merchants of Singapore tells the stories of some of Singapore's earliest merchants, including Alexander Laurie Johnston, Edward Boustead, Alexander Guthrie, and eleven others, including Tan Che Sang, Dr Jose d'Almeida, and D S Napier. Much has been written about Sir Stamford Raffles and Lt. Col. Farquhar, but almost nothing has been published about these merchants of all races operating in Singapore during the first few years following its acquisition by the East India Company in 1819. It includes never-before-published information drawn from letters dating back to 1818. These, including letters from Johnston's first employee and business partner Andrew Hay and a previously unrecorded letter from Raffles himself, shed light on much which otherwise would have been lost to us.This book aims to fill a gap in our knowledge of the early days of Singapore and the challenges faced by its early residents. It is a must-read for those who are interested in the history of Singapore's early years as a trading colony.

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Book SynopsisScarcity hypothesis is the cornerstone of traditional economic theory. However, in the digital era, new products such as Windows, Android, and Wechat have been introduced to the market. Traditional economic theory may not be able to explain various nez economic phenomena in the digital era. This book creatively proposes the concept of limitless supply and then discusses its implications for economy at both macro and micro-levels.It analyses and summarizes the basic features of limitless supply products, and compares the differences and similarities of how limited supply and limitless supply products are manufactured and marketed. The book also provides reasons for why manufacturers of limitless supply products create intangible assets. It argues that the scale of an enterprise producing limitless supply products depends on the number of users, whereas the scale of an enterprise producing limited supply products depends on the production capacity.This book is mainly written to construct a preliminary, simple, yet relatively comprehensive economic theory framework for limitless supply, and to interpret the phenomena and corporate behaviour. It further explores how enterprises providing limitless supply products grow financially. It also proposes the fundamental difference in growth models between enterprises providing limitless supply products and those providing limited supply products. The book also looks at how growth models can achieve fission growth.

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Book SynopsisIn 1968, Sveriges Riksbank (Sweden's central bank) established the Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, founder of the Nobel Prize. The Prize in Economic Sciences is awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, according to the same principles as for the Nobel Prizes that have been awarded since 1901. This volume is a collection of the Nobel lectures delivered by the Nobel laureates, together with their biographies and the presentation speeches, for the period 2011-2015.List of laureates and their award citations:(2011) 'for his analysis of consumption, poverty, and welfare'.

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Book SynopsisThis book studies the main characteristics of the operation of the Chinese economy and the world economy after the financial crisis in 2008. The analysis starts from the core logic of the dilemma of the anti-crisis and rebalancing growth of the world economy. It further analyzes the impact of major countries' macro-economic policies on the global economy and the external risks and countermeasures faced by the Chinese economy. In addition, this book studies the development of foreign direct investment and the service industry in major countries after the crisis.

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Book SynopsisThe 'Hydrogen Economy' is very broad subject ranging from the potential use of hydrogen for domestic use to the mass production of hydrogen replacing coal, natural gas (LNG) and conventional transport fuels.For any given project, there are many alternatives to consider for each stage of making, storing and transporting hydrogen. The book aims to assist proponents, and financiers of hydrogen projects to identify the optimum alternatives and identify hurdles and approaches to overcome them. This book attempts to describe an optimum approach to implement and its cost. It sets out to identify hurdles to implementation which may not be apparent to those entering the field for the first time.The book covers the various means and costs of production from fossil fuels (with carbon capture) - blue hydrogen - electrolysis - green hydrogen - or biomass. The book covers hydrogen storage as liquid or compressed gas and transport, through pipelines as liquid or by an intermediary fluid such as ammonia or a hydrocarbon. The book also discusses the production and costs of hydrogen delivery at the user end of a logistics chain. It also compares the relative energy value of energy delivered hydrogen versus the current suite of conventional fuels.

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Book SynopsisThis book is the first volume of a projected series of six handbooks on various aspects involved in contemporary encounters with China and her people. The book argues for a hands-on approach of dialogue with China, which seems to be crucial for business success in China. Bearing in mind the various present clashes with China and an increasing negative image of China internationally, the book is conceived as a handbook reflecting the experiences of observers who provide helpful hints to better understand and appreciate Chinese culture without being blindfolded by multiple traps and pitfalls.The book features a selection of articles published in the Macau Ricci Institute Journal (MRIJ) in its first six issues from 2017 through 2020. The essays featured in this book provide elements for a frank appraisal of China's Belt and Road Initiative, by highlighting the PRC government's aspirations for the project, while examining these in the light of the practical problems encountered by both hosts and representatives among the participants in BRI projects.

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Book SynopsisThis edited book consists of various chapters — including articles from different leading scholars, on the Great Transition in India with respect to religion, economy and foreign policy. The main aim of the book is to comprehend ongoing transition in India from interdisciplinary perspectives.

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Book SynopsisThis book is the first part of Applications and Trends in Fintech, which serves as a comprehensive guide to the advanced topics in fintech, including the deep learning and natural language processing algorithms, blockchain design thinking, token economics, cybersecurity, cloud computing and quantum computing, compliance and risk management, and global fintech trends. Readers will gain knowledge about the applications of fintech in finance and its latest developments as well as trends.This fourth volume covers the foundation of fintech, which is ethics and governance, and advanced topics in two of the most important technologies, artificial intelligence and blockchain. Together with the second part in applications and trends (fifth volume), these two books will deepen readers' understanding of the fintech fundamentals covered in previous volumes through various applications and analysis of impacts and trends.Bundle set: Global Fintech Institute-Chartered Fintech Professional Set I

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Book SynopsisThis book is the second part of Applications and Trends in Fintech, which serves as a comprehensive guide to the advanced topics in fintech, including the deep learning and natural language processing algorithms, blockchain design thinking, token economics, cybersecurity, cloud computing and quantum computing, compliance and risk management, and global fintech trends. Readers will gain knowledge about the applications of fintech in finance and its latest developments as well as trends.This fifth volume covers global fintech trends and emerging technologies such as cloud computing and quantum computing, as well as the compliance and risk management frameworks for fintech companies. Together with the first part in applications and trends (fourth volume), these two books will deepen readers' understanding of the fintech fundamentals covered in previous volumes through various applications and analysis of impacts and trends.Bundle set: Global Fintech Institute-Chartered Fintech Professional Set I

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Book SynopsisChina is the largest emerging market economy and the second largest economy in the world. This fact makes better understanding of the experiences of Chinese firms globally and firms in China crucial factors for enhanced success. In essence, this book focuses on providing conceptual as well as in-depth case and other empirical studies on the challenges faced and lessons learned regarding the 'management of innovation, knowledge management, and branding' by Chinese firms in the global arena as well as foreign firms in China.

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Book SynopsisSingapore is recognised to be one of the most successful economies in the world given its rapid economic and social transformation. Its success is the result of a judicious blend of markets and government, high-quality governance, and public policies that are coherent, consistent and coordinated.This book showcases the contribution of Economics to Singapore's public policymaking. To illustrate the diverse areas that economic analysis has contributed to, this book comprises three sections that span the economic and non-economic policy domains in Singapore. Section I covers economic policies relating to economic growth, trade, investments, productivity, innovation, industrial development, the enterprise landscape and manpower. Section II highlights socioeconomic and security policies, and covers themes such as income inequality and mobility, families, healthcare costs and crime. In Section III, the focus is on infrastructural policies relating to the environment, housing and land transport.This book commemorates the 20th anniversary of the Singapore Government's Economist Service. As the premier service for economists in the Singapore public sector, the Economist Service plays an integral role in supporting evidence-based policymaking through rigorous economic research and analysis of public policies.

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Book SynopsisA century ago, life expectancy was roughly 40 years, hence all income could be consumed, as for most people, there was no need to save for retirement. Today, things have drastically changed: Life expectancy exceeds 80 years in many countries, and one should expect to live and consume many years after retirement. Thus, we have many investors with various investment horizons, where the length of the investment horizon becomes a crucial factor in determining the best investment diversification.This book analyzes the effect of the investment horizon on the optimal diversification, specifically between stocks and bonds: Should a young investor and an older investor have the same portfolio? Is it recommended to savers for retirement to change the asset allocation between stocks and bonds as they grow older, as life cycle mutual funds do in practice? Is the idiom 'stocks for the long run' backed by scientific evidence? We analyze for which horizons it is recommended to employ the popular Mean-Variance rule and for which horizons employing this rule induces an economic distortion, hence a loss to the investors. It is shown that all relevant parameters for investment choice (means, variances, and correlations) change in a non-linear way with the horizon, a fact that makes the investment horizon crucial for investment choices. Similarly, the popular Sharpe, Treynor, and Jensen performance indices vary with the assumed horizon even in the case of independence over time. To analyze all the above issues, we employ the Mean-Variance rule and Stochastic Dominance rules, as well as direct expected utility calculations.

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Book SynopsisThis book provides insights into the true nature of financial and economic data, and is a practical guide on how to analyze a variety of data sources. The focus of the book is on finance and economics, but it also illustrates the use of quantitative analysis and data science in many different areas. Lastly, the book includes practical information on how to store and process data and provides a framework for data driven reasoning about the world.The book begins with entertaining tales from Graham Giller's career in finance, starting with speculating in UK government bonds at the Oxford Post Office, accidentally creating a global instant messaging system that went 'viral' before anybody knew what that meant, on being the person who forgot to hit 'enter' to run a hundred-million dollar statistical arbitrage system, what he decoded from his brief time spent with Jim Simons, and giving Michael Bloomberg a tutorial on Granger Causality.The majority of the content is a narrative of analytic work done on financial, economics, and alternative data, structured around both Dr Giller's professional career and some of the things that just interested him. The goal is to stimulate interest in predictive methods, to give accurate characterizations of the true properties of financial, economic and alternative data, and to share what Richard Feynman described as 'The Pleasure of Finding Things Out.'

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Book SynopsisBeyond real GDP, innovative capacity is an important indicator of the economic strength of a nation. By studying innovative capacity and other indicators of success in innovation across the Group-of-Seven (G7) Countries, the East Asian Newly Industrialised Economies (EANIEs) and Mainland China, this book will systematically establish a positive relationship between innovation outputs and inputs of different economies. In doing so, it seeks to answer the question — are there laws of innovation? It seeks to identify the determinants of innovation at the economy-wide level, ascertain whether these determinants are similar across different economies, and find suitable metrics for comparing relative success in innovation across different economies. It concludes that innovation, rather than being a stroke of good fortune, comes from research and development activities conducted over a long period of time, and sheds light on future trends and areas for further research.

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Book SynopsisNon-profit organisations play a significant role in helping to build a more caring and inclusive Singapore. Organisations in the non-profit sector span over diverse mission and purpose from advancing education, community development, environmental protection, arts and culture, promotion of health and well-being, relief of poverty, and more. For these organisations, navigating the landscape of funders and grantmakers across the public and private sectors is complex and competitive. Against a backdrop of sociodemographic shifts and technological advancement, there is the ongoing quest to stay relevant.This book aims to address the distinctive management challenges of non-profits in Singapore. It draws on the context of this island city-state to discuss strategies and management frameworks that will enable leaders and managers in non-profit organisations to more effectively achieve social impact amidst internal organisational issues and an evolving external landscape.

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Book SynopsisThe book conducts a comprehensive study on urbanization and the development of cities in China. It provides detailed and systematic evidence on agglomeration effects on the urban labor market and industrial development. It studies the impact of economic agglomeration on the urban labor market and industrial development. It concludes that agglomeration will not only promote employment and incomes for workers, but also accelerate the growth of manufacturing and service industries. This book emphasizes the importance of increasing economic agglomeration and encouraging the free flow of production factors across regions in achieving coordinated development among regions. This book also provides policy implications to other developing countries in its conclusion.

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Book SynopsisThis book is for anyone with ambitions to scale their impact at work in Asia. As a leader in Asia, you're standing at the edge of greatness — as an individual, a team, and an organization. This is a fast-growing market that truly resonates with mobile first, with a large and growing population that is incredibly young. Universal access to knowledge and technology is empowering the individual to be a powerful force for positive change in the world. So why do we feel so powerless?Every day, you are under immense pressure to perform at the top of your game. But perfection is such a fragile thing. It's not something you can cling on to, no matter how hard you work. Instead, you end up overwhelmed and burnt out. Somehow, somewhere, you got derailed. Where did you lose your edge? And more importantly, how do you get it back?This book will bring you into the corridors of power in Asia, the pantheon of the gods in the modern world. We dive into the murky depths of the minds of the most powerful individuals in organizations. I hope these incredible stories will not only engage your mind but inspire your corner-office lust when you realize that you, in fact, every one of us, are born for greatness.To dance on the edge of greatness.

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Book SynopsisOften, 'Customer First', or even 'Customer as the Sole Purpose', has been touted as the golden principle to conduct business in our commercial world. But to a lot of people, practising it is not as simple as it sounds. People interpret the principle in their own ways and adopt different approaches in practice.This book develops a 'Left-Right Circles' theory where customer needs are depicted as the 'Left Circle'. The book also analyzes various levels of customer needs and the key approaches to satisfying those needs. The 'Right Circle' in this theory depicts how a company develops its own strengths as competencies. The book describes how the Left and Right Circles interact, move in sync in a perfectly harmonious manner, offer products and services that customers will repeatedly purchase, and thereby builda strong base of loyal supporters for the company. The Left Circle driven approaches are applicable equally to serving customers and stakeholders. The approaches apply effectively to non-profit organizations as well as to profit-making companies. The theory can also be extended to interpersonal relationships, helping to enhance harmony and joy in personal lives.

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Book SynopsisThe book studies the impact of COVID-19 on the Chinese economy and the country's response to policies. It examines various aspects of national macroeconomic operations, industrial shocks, changes in financial markets, regional economic order, public governance challenges. It also analyzes changes in the world economy while integrating economic, financial, industrial, and environmental disciplines.At the macro level, the book emphasizes counter-cyclical responses, with an emphasis on comprehensive measures and precise efforts. It highlights differentiated development strategies for industries and promotes structural adjustment and supply-side reform. At the micro-level, the book emphasizes enterprises' resumption of work and production and supply chain management. The book promotes the concept of integration, stressing that China's economy was and is sufficiently resilient and the importance of maintaining and improving public confidence. At the same time, it attaches importance to prescribing the correct remedies for shortcomings, strengthening weaknesses, confronting the obstacles and difficulties in economic development, and restoring social order. The studies are not restricted to the facts but also focus on transforming and upgrading a modernized socialist economy and governance in the long term.

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Book SynopsisThe cooperative movement has played a vital role in economic development around the world. Cooperatives also contribute to the achievement of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They generate revenue for economic growth, support the development of communities and local culture and help protect the environment. Cooperatives in Asia have been leaders in their approaches with comprehensive and supportive policies. Across Asia, there are unique models of cooperatives — some of which can be replicated internationally. They utilise collectivisation as an economic model with the cooperation of their populations. Cooperatives from Bangladesh, India, Israel, Japan, Nepal and the United Arab Emirates are also well-known for their proactive approach to sustainability.This book seeks to document the governance, leadership and sustainable best practices of cooperatives, to pave the way for the development of cooperatives internationally, utilising the sustainable cooperatives of Asia as examples. Addressing the current gap in research about cooperatives, the chapters showcase lessons for the cooperative world in its movement towards sustainability through the examination of original case studies, as well as quantitative studies. The volume offers new insights to researchers and policymakers to understand the ecosystem surrounding cooperatives and actions to take to work towards their strengthening and welfare.

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Book SynopsisChina has promised to achieve carbon peaking by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. To achieve this goal, the country must implement necessary reforms and focus on innovation in areas of economics and finance. This book explores main challenges that China may face in achieving green and low-carbon development, analyzes green and low-carbon related issues from the economic perspective and proposes countermeasures as required. The book further helps readers understand China's progress in protecting its environment, achieving sustainable development, facilitating green investments and in being a green economy.

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Book SynopsisIn far too many cases, recommendations of forensic reports on previous pandemics were ignored. Substantial weaknesses in the preparation by public health authorities and governments increased the health and economic costs of the COVID-19 pandemic relative to what they would have been if pre-existing recommendations had been followed and a wider set of plans had been put into place. We discuss parallels between the lack of preparation of financial system regulators prior to the global financial crisis and the lack of preparation by public health authorities and governments prior to COVID-19. These parallels relate to: required stocks (of capital or equipment), data collection and sharing, lending facilities, stress testing and war games, early warning indicators and systems, contagion from abroad, operational risks, a system-wide approach (including effects on the real economy), models incorporating the heterogeneity of individuals, and effects on less-regulated parts of the system. The recent COVID-19 crisis has demonstrated that, apart from the direct economic consequences from illness and death from the virus, the main costs have been due to the varying degrees of preventative measures taken by the public, firms, and governments that directly impacted health, as well as social, economic, and financial activity. We make recommendations for carrying out post mortems on the COVID-19 experience, planning for future pandemics, and establishing transparent and accountable governance systems. We then propose the use of regular, combined health, economic, and financial stress tests and exercises/war games in preparing for future pandemics and other major environmental shocks.

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Book SynopsisHow to learn both applied statistics (econometrics) and free, open-source software R? This book allows students to have a sense of accomplishment by copying and pasting many hands-on templates provided here.The textbook is essential for anyone wishing to have a practical understanding of an extensive range of topics in Econometrics. No other text provides software snippets to learn so many new statistical tools with hands-on examples. The explicit knowledge of inputs and outputs of each new method allows the student to know which algorithm is worth studying. The book offers sufficient theoretical and algorithmic details about a vast range of statistical techniques.The second edition's preface lists the following topics generally absent in other textbooks. (i) Iteratively reweighted least squares, (ii) Pillar charts to represent 3D data. (iii) Stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) (iv) model selection with Mallows' Cp criterion. (v) Hodrick-Prescott (HP) filter. (vi) Automatic ARIMA models. (vi) Nonlinear Granger-causality using kernel regressions and bootstrap confidence intervals. (vii) new Keynesian Phillips curve (NKPC). (viii) Market-neutral pairs trading using two cointegrated stocks. (ix) Artificial neural network (ANN) for product-specific forecasting. (x) Vector AR and VARMA models. (xi) New tools for diagnosing the endogeneity problem. (xii) The elegant set-up of k-class estimators and identification. (xiii) Probit-logit models and Heckman selection bias correction. (xiv) Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and areas under them. (xv) Confusion matrix. (xvi) Quantile regression (xvii) Elastic net estimator. (xviii) generalized Correlations (xix) maximum entropy bootstrap for time series. (xx) Convergence concepts quantified. (xxi) Generalized partial correlation coefficients (xxii) Panel data and duration (survival) models.

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