Economic systems and structures Books

Book SynopsisChinese culture has a very long and extraordinary tradition. With China’s rapid economic growth and a population of more than one billion people, China has become a very important market for many companies. In order to conduct business in a particular country, it is necessary to also understand the culture of that country. After all, culture influences people’s behavior and communication – also in the world of business. That is why an understanding of a country’s culture is crucial when communicating with all relevant stakeholders including its consumers, businesses, employees, and government authorities. This eighth volume of the Freiberger Beiträge seeks to provide some essential insights into Chinese culture to help improve transactions and relationships with Chinese stakeholders. The contributing authors help explain the various facets of Chinese culture revolving around communication, business negotiations, and conflict management.Table of ContentsContents: Michael B. Hinner: General Introduction: Chinese Culture and the World of Business – Edwin R. McDaniel: The People’s Republic of China: Historical Development, Cultural Legacy, and Contemporaneity – Ling Chen/Jung Hui Becky Yeh: Traditional Value Orientations and Argumentative Tendencies in Chinese Societies – Ee Lin Lee: Assumptions of Personhood in the Discourse about Chinese Identity in Malaysia – Geert Hofstede: Europe versus Asia: Truth versus Virtue – Young Yun Kim: Beyond Cultural Differences: An Integration of Eastern and Western Perspectives – Marieke de Mooij: Chinese Communication Theory and Practice – Peiren Shao: On the Chinese Traditional Acceptance of Information from the View of Contemporary Communication Theory – Sanjiu Yan/Feng Liu: The «Harmony» Philosophy in Chinese Culture and Its International Communication – Guo-Ming Chen: Harmony as the Foundation of Chinese Communication – Teruyuki Kume/Noriko Hasegawa/Hongtao Zhang: A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Chinese and Japanese Communication Styles: Focusing on Small Group Discussion – Xuying Wang/Junhao Hong: The Change in Space and Time of the Stage in Chinese Contemporary Drama – Jing Yin: Portraits of the Woman Warrior: Cultural Values in Disney and Chinese Stories of Mulan – Mei Zhong: An Examination of Value Changes in Contemporary China through Literature and Media Products – Mei Zhong/Hongmei Shen/Li Gong: A Study of Chinese Cultural Values and Chinese Identity through Cultural Fare Consumption – Ming-Yi Wu: Consumer Relations in Business to Consumer (B2C) Electronic Commerce Environments: A Study of Taiwan and the United States – Morris A. Shapero: Managing China’s Millennials: Considerations for Multinationals – Jun Xu/Eileen Küpper: The Voices of Chinese Students in the 2+2 Programme in China and Germany – James W. Neuliep: The Evolving Dimension of Collectivism in China – Hairong Feng: An Integrated Analysis of Cultural Similarities and Differences in Supportive Communication – Vivian C. Sheer: Sino-Western Business Negotiator Credibility, Expectancy, and Culture Perceived in the Eyes of the Counterparts: A Johari Window Comparison – Paul S.N. Lee: A Study on Chinese-American Cultural Differences in Interpersonal Conflict Management – Steve Sizoo/Jerome Agrus/Eileen Küpper: Preparing for Chinese Tourists: How Far Eastern & German Visitors Perceive Service Failures in the U.S.A. – Ruifang Zhang/Stella Ting-Toomey: Analyzing an Intercultural Conflict Case Study: Application of a Social Ecological Perspective – Lisheng Dong: An Analysis on the Relationship between the Contemporary Chinese Administrative Culture and Administrative Reforms – Victor Lux Tonn: Cultures and Sino-American Catching-Up Advancement: Ecultrnomics as an Approach of Xystematics.

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Book SynopsisThis book investigates the institutional underpinnings of the relatively strong economic performance in Central Asian countries since their independence. The New Institutional Economics as well as Political Economy approaches provide the conceptual framework for case studies. All contributions consider factor markets and institutions as fundamental drivers of economic growth. This volume scrutinizes the evolution, design, and performance of factor markets in the region including land and natural resources, labor, physical and human capital.Table of ContentsContents: Joachim Ahrens/Herman W. Hoen: Institutional Change and Performance of Production Factor Markets in Central Asia – Christian Danne: Commitment Devices, Opportunity Windows, and Institution Building in Central Asia – Saule Sagandykova: The Effects of Foreign Direct Investment on Wages in Kazakhstan – Abdul Ghaffar Mughal: Migration and Remittance Flows within and from Selected Countries of Central Asia and the South Caucasus – Munira Aminova/Marc Jegers: Are Hofstede’s National Cultures Homogeneous? The Case of Uzbekistan – Kamiljon T. Akramov/Nurbek Omuraliev: Institutional Change and Agricultural Performance in Kyrgyzstan – Olav Heidelbach/Raushan Bokusheva: Factors Determining Crop Insurance Market Development in a Transition Economy: The Case of Kazakhstan.

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Book SynopsisThis book takes up a critical and realistic perspective on what is happening in China, India and other Asian countries in comparison with Western countries. It avoids hiding problems and difficulties, but communicates a positive message on the possibility to proceed in achieving a better situation. In this perspective the analysis of the public policies is a key point. These policies, in the Eastern as well as in the Western countries show objective difficulties and social contradictions but also that improvement is possible. The initial chapter is completely devoted to a study of China from within. The other topics analysed in the book are related to the social and natural environment’s sustainability: innovation, research and education on the one side and the life of workers on the other; also including the «invisible» people of the informal employment and the economic migrants, especially in Asia.Table of ContentsContents: Francesco Garibaldo/Dinghong Yi: Introduction – Gaofeng Liang: Discussing the labour union’s reform for harmony of the labour relationship in China – Xu Ji-ping: Reconstitution of Chinese Labour Common Joint Action System Based on the Practice – Ding Dajian/Huang Xiaoyu: Professionalization of Employment: Perspectives on Improving the Quality of Employment – Ying Chen/Xianming Yang/Yanping Zhou: The effect of social capital and its localization on the nonfarm employment of rural labor: an empirical study in the western border areas of China – Weimin Zhang/Dinghong Yi: The Analysis of Channels and Possibility On Wage Data Collection in China – Peter Hennicke/Tobias Schleicher: Sustainable Development, Ecological Modernisation and Jobs: How quality of life is interlinked with nature conservation – Béla Galgoczi: Transition to a low carbon economy and its impact on European industrial jobs – Friedrich Fuerstenberg: Regional Policy and Human Resource Development within the EU – Yunus Adeleke Dauda: Technology Innovation & Sustainable Economy: Research & Development Programmes in the ECOWAS Region – Jocelyne Robert: Trade union implication in the sustainable development: global position and contingent situations – Carsten Strøby Jensen: Climate, trade unions and industrial relations – Denis Harrisson: Mutual Aid Network: A form of solidarity at the base of Trade-Union renewal – Maria da Conceição Cerdeira/João Dias: Trade Union Strategies, Precariousness and Sustainable Development: an Analysis of the Portuguese Case – Erduo Liu: From the Urban-Rural-Binary Labour Market to the Urban-Internally Binary Labour Market – Sven Schaller: Sustainable Development in Rural China. The Interrelation of Agriculture, Renewable Energy and Labour Migration – Waman Salve: Labour Rights, Seasonal Migrant Women Workers in Sugar Industry and Sustainable Development in India – Anup Dash: Voluntary Poverty and the Moral Economics of Development: The Gandhian Paradigm – Marian Whitaker/Idaya Husna Mohd: A Minimum Wage for Malaysia: An analysis of the arguments and recent policy – Tanya Chavdarova: The Informal Self-employment and the Perception of Risk of Urban Youth in Sofia – Annamma Varghese/Joseph P. Varghese: Management and Strategies for the sustainable development of the labour Force in the Rubber Plantation Sector in India – João Dias/Ilona Kovács/Maria da Conceição Cerdeira: Quality of employment for older workers and social cohesion in the European Union – Siyan Wu/Yiming Zhang/Jianying Tang/Jiaojiao Qu: The Development of Employee Involvement in China’s State Owned Enterprises – Sabine Gensior/Lothar Lappe: Sustainable measures to stabilise labour markets during the Crisis: The role of Short-Time Work in Germany – Fengqi Yang: Psychological ownership of employees: A perspective from the nature of human capital properties – Birgit Vogelsang: Local Agenda 21 and the Economy in the City of Osnabrück - Opportunities for a sustainable development on a local level - an example – Varghese M. Mathunny: Mobilizing Labour for Sustainable Development and Women Empowerment – Ilona Kovács/Margarida Chagas Lopes: Employment and sustainable development: education, training and R&D in the regulation of the labour market – Maria João Santos/Carla Montefusco de Oliveira: The reality of corporate social responsibility in Brazil and Portugal – György Széll: Conclusion on Labour and Sustainable Development.

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Book SynopsisGlobal trade will increase over the coming years asking for solutions to cope with growing amounts of transported goods. Dryports can optimise the distribution of goods by accelerating transport flows, optimising logistics chains and improving the coordination of traffic infrastructures. The study presented in this book describes how and under what conditions dryports work efficiently as a complementary partner for seaports and as an option for future-oriented and sustainable logistics. The authors identify similarities and differences across four cases at: Bremen/Bremerhaven-Germany, Felixstowe-UK, Gothenburg/Falköping-Sweden, and Zeebrugge-Belgium and suggest under which conditions dryports have a good chance to succeed. The main conclusion is that spatial relief and environmental concerns in implementing and running a dryport do matter but, at the end of the day, competition and governance decide.Table of ContentsContents: Dimensions of the dryport concept: Spatial and environmental relief – Integration into the logistics chain – The functional dimension of the dryport concept – Enhancing the seaport’s competitive position – Governance issues – Case Studies: Bremen - Goteborg - Felixstowe - Zeebrugge – Conditions and prospects for successful dryport development.

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Book SynopsisDie Eisenbahn ist von großer Bedeutung für die Entwicklung eines Landes und seiner Gesellschaft. Dieser lange Zeit staatlich verwaltete Wirtschaftsbereich verlor seit der Massenmotorisierung trotz ökonomischer, ökologischer und sozialer Vorzüge kontinuierlich an Bedeutung. In den letzten Jahrzehnten wurde das neoliberale Paradigma wirtschaftspolitischer Konsens. Die Europäische Union versuchte nun auch die strukturellen Probleme des Schienenverkehrs mit den Rezepten des Neoliberalismus zu lösen. Auch in Österreich wurde der Schienenverkehr aufgrund von Richtlinien und Verordnungen der EU reformiert. Die Eisenbahnliberalisierung ist in Österreich weit vorangeschritten. Welche Auswirkungen hat die Liberalisierung des Schienenverkehrs mit sich gebracht? Dieses Buch will Klarheit schaffen.

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Book SynopsisThis book presents research articles and essays which analyze the consequences of decentralization on forest conditions and livelihoods in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Ethiopia. Authors from the East African collaborative research centers of the International Forestry Resources and Institutions (IFRI) Research Program demonstrate that the institutional changes resulting from decentralization create costs for those who need to re-institutionalize and re-organize the management of forest and land resources. This requires investment into information, communication, education and into the re-building of social capital. Cases in which collective action has worked and contributed to improving livelihoods and forest conditions can be exemplary, while failures can be equally useful for learning about East Africa and beyond.Table of ContentsContents: Franz W. Gatzweiler/Emily Obonyo: Introduction. Decentralization, Institutional Change and Learning for Sustainable Forest Management in Eastern Africa – Abwoli Y. Banana/Paul. O. Ongugo/William S. Gombya-Ssembajjwe/Tadesse W. Gole/Feyera Senbeta/Justine Namaalwa/Emmanuel Luoga/Joseph Bahati/L. A. Mbwambo/Valerie Graw/Franz W. Gatzweiler: Forest Governance Reforms in Eastern Africa: A Comparative Analysis of Institutional, Livelihood and Forest Sustainability Outcomes – Emmanuel Luoga/George C. Kajembe: The Role of Institutions for Sustainable Livelihoods in Eastern Africa Forest Landscapes: Experience from Tanzania – Daniel Waiswa/Stephen P. Prisley/William S. Gombya-Ssembajjwe/Abwoli Y. Banana/Joseph Bahati: Decentralized Forest Management in Uganda: Has it Impacted Forest Sustainability? – George M. Okwaro: Institutions, Livelihoods and Forest Dynamics: The Case of Ramogi and Mau Forests in Kenya – Paul O. Ongugo/Titus E. Mbuvi/Emily Obonyo/Jephin Mogoi/Joseph O. Maua/Charles K. Koech/Roxventa A. Othim: Emerging Roles of Community Forest Associations in Kenya: The Cases of Arabuko – Sokoke Forest Adjacent Dwellers Association (Asfada) and Meru Forest Enviromental and Protection Community Association (Mefecap) – Abwoli Y. Banana/Mukadasi Buyinza/Krister Andersson/Esther Mwangi: Resource, Recourse and Decisions: Incentive Structures for decentralized Forest Governance in Uganda – Kimani Samuel Munyua: Conflicting Policies: Institutional Approaches towards Decentralization and Governance of Common Pool Resources in Kenya – Andnet Deresse/Feyera Senbeta/Tadesse Woldemariam Gole: Local Institutions and their Influence on Forest Resource Management in Southwest Ethiopia: The Case of Yayu Forest – Purity Adhiambo Osumba: Pay Back Anticipation: A driving Force in Communities’ Participation in Forest Management – Roxventa A. Ongugo/Purity A. Osumba/Pasiens M. Tuzo: Traditional Forest Use and Institutional Change: Case Study of Loita Community Forest, Narok South District, Kenya – Melaku Merga Chemeda/Tadesse Woldemariam Gole: Demographic and socio-economic Correlates of Participatory Forest Management and Local People’s Perception: The Case of Chilimo Forest in Ethiopia – Emily Obonyo/Jephine A. Mogoi: Towards Adaptation: From Indigenous Management Systems to Decentralized Forest Governance – Namaalwa Justine/Abwoli Y. Banana/William Gombya-Ssembajjwe: Property Right Regimes and Sustainable Forest Management: Lessons from fourteen Years of Monitoring of Forest Resources in Uganda – Emmanuel Luoga/Paul Ongugo/George Kajembe/D.S.A. Silayo/Njabha Lyantura: Linking Mount Kilimanjaro Forest Resources to Institutional, Socio-Political and Physical Factors: A Cross-Border Comparative Analysis – Joseph B. Bahati/Abwoli Y. Banana/William Gombya-Ssembajjwe: Multi-Stakeholder Governance in Land and Forestry in Uganda: Conflict Mitigation, Scale, Knowledge and Collective Action – Concepta Mukasa/Alice Tibazalika/Harriet N. Muloki/David Obot/William Gombya-Ssembajjwe: Contribution of Forestry to Household Income and District Revenue in Uganda.

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Book SynopsisThis book examines the measurement and econometric effects of ethnic diversity. This issue is of great relevance to research and policy and is currently being discussed a great deal in the literature. In particular, a sizable literature has suggested that ethnic diversity constitutes a significant barrier to economic development. The precise measurement and interpretation of these results are a matter of substantial controversy. In this book, the dynamics of ethnic diversity are being empirically analyzed for the first time. Furthermore, it develops and applies a new measure of ethnic diversity which takes the distance between groups into account, thus focusing on diversity rather than mere fragmentation. This book convincingly confronts theoretical considerations with (new) data and thereby provides a good mix of theory and empirics, making significant contributions to the current debates.Table of ContentsContents: The Dynamics of Ethnicity – Theoretical introduction into ethnic fragmentation’s dynamics – Drivers of Ethnic Fragmentation – Empirical analysis of drivers for a changing ethnic fragmentation – Measuring Ethnic Diversity – New approach to develop a measure of ethnic diversity – The Implications of Ethnic Diversity – Empirical analysis contrasting measures of ethnic fragmentation and diversity.

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Book SynopsisIdentifying factors which stimulate regional growth and international competitiveness and using them for forecasting are the aims of this book. Departing from the theory of comparative advantages and their impact, the author demonstrates that such an approach has to be based on a sound theoretical foundation and on appropriate, advanced econometric methods. He proposes the use of heuristic optimization techniques, Monte Carlo simulation experiments and Lasso-type estimators to avoid bias or misleading findings, which might be the result of applying standard regression methods when key assumptions are not satisfied. In addition, the author demonstrates how some heuristic optimization-based methods can be used to obtain forecasts of industrial production in Russia and Germany founded on past observations and some leading indicators.Table of ContentsContents: Forecasting Russian Foreign Trade – Comparative Advantages in the Context of a Potential WTO Accession – Heuristic Optimization Methods for Dynamic Panel Data Model Selection: Application on the Russian Innovative Performance – Heuristic Model Selection for Leading Indicators in Russia and Germany – A comparative study of the Lasso-type and heuristic methods – Business Cycle Forecasts – Comparative Advantage – Dynamic Panel Data – Economy in Transition – Genetic Algorithms – Heuristic Methods – Innovation – Lasso – Leading Indicators – Model Selection – Threshold Accepting.

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Book SynopsisDie wissenschaftliche Reihe mit ihrem Herausgeber Detlef Wehling veröffentlicht grundlegende, praxisorientierte Schriften zur Unternehmensgründung und Unternehmerkompetenz. Sie beleuchtet die interaktiven Beziehungen von Persönlichkeit, Gründungsprozessen und institutionellem Umfeld sowie die Führungs- und Handlungskompetenz des Gründers. Opportunities, Märkte und Institutionen bestimmen die unternehmerischen Handlungsfelder. Der erste Band ist ein Übersichtsband zu diesem wissenschaftlichen Ansatz; in den Folgebänden werden die einzelnen Themenkomplexe vertieft.

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Book SynopsisDie Elektromobilität hat sich zu einem neuen branchenübergreifenden Innovationsfeld in Deutschland entwickelt. Auch für regionale Ökonomien und deren wirtschaftliche Entwicklungspfade gewinnt das Thema zunehmend an Bedeutung. Ausgehend von theoretischen Überlegungen an der Schnittstelle von Wirtschaftsgeographie und Organisationsforschung geht die Arbeit der Frage nach, wie die Elektromobilität als neues wirtschafts- und forschungspolitisches Standortthema auf der regionalen Ebene aufgegriffen und verankert wird. In der qualitativen Untersuchung werden zwei regionale Institutionalisierungsprojekte in Berlin und Stuttgart einer pfadtheoretisch informierten Prozessanalyse unterzogen. Als deren Ergebnis kann die Relevanz intersektoraler Plattformarbeit festgehalten werden.

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Book SynopsisInterim Manager formen mittlerweile zunehmend einen Archetypus atypischer Beschäftigung. Die Paradigmen der modernen Arbeitswelt gehen auch an qualifizierten Managern nicht spurlos vorbei. Unternehmen lagern inzwischen sogar Management-Aufgaben aus. Ist ein Interim Manager also lediglich die Umkehrung eines angestellten Managers? Oder gibt es Besonderheiten, die nicht ohne weiteres aus der Angestellten-Perspektive zu betrachten sind? Der Autor beleuchtet das Phänomen Interim Management aus dem Blickwinkel eines Interim Managers. Dazu wählt er als Ausgangspunkt die drei Dimensionen Ressourcen, Wettbewerb und Variable Vergütung. In zahlreichen Experteninterviews werden Informationen darüber gesammelt, wie Interim Manager ihr instabiles Geschäftsmodell langfristig erfolgreicher gestalten können. Darüber hinaus bietet das Buch anwendungsorientierte Instrumente, die von selbständigen und angestellten Managern gleichermaßen als Quelle eines Self-Profiling genutzt werden können.

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Book SynopsisDieses Buch beschäftigt sich mit der Führung von homogenen und multikulturellen Gruppen und der Arbeit in diesen aus der Sicht von BerufseinsteigerInnen. Ziel ist es, einerseits kulturelle Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede zwischen Nationen aufzuzeigen und andererseits aus der Untersuchung kulturübergreifender Zusammenarbeit in unterschiedlichen Settings innerhalb der Gruppen und zwischen Gruppenmitgliedern und Nachwuchsführungskräften Erkenntnisse zu gewinnen. Dazu wurde ein Experiment durchgeführt, in dem die Wahrnehmungen und Zuschreibungen von BerufseinsteigerInnen und Graduierten aus Österreich, der Türkei, China und den USA erforscht wurden.

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Book SynopsisKazakhstan has become a successful market reformer under the leadership of President Nursultan Nazarbayev. But what type of a market economy has emerged in the country since 1991? This book focuses on Kazakhstan’s transition path, examines the role of the state in steering economic processes, and analyses the state – business interaction. The Varieties of Capitalism approach and a core – periphery analytical framework are applied to classify the evolving model of capitalist economy in the country in detail. The research design is based on a qualitative cross-sectional interview study, where 159 semi-structured interviews were conducted. This study makes an innovative contribution to the scholarly literature on the economic and institutional transition of Kazakhstan.Table of ContentsContents: Economic transition in Kazakhstan – Varieties of Capitalism approach in Kazakhstan – Qualitative cross-sectional interview study – Elite interviewing – Qualitative content analysis – State – business interaction – The core – periphery hybrid market economy in Kazakhstan – State capitalism – Emerging economies.

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Book SynopsisIm Hinblick auf eine zukunftsorientierte und wettbewerbsfähige Wirtschaft sind die Personalbindung in Unternehmen sowie die Rolle der regionalen Cluster als Unternehmensstandort wichtige Themen. Die Autorin untersucht, welchen Herausforderungen die Akteure eines regionalen Clusters hinsichtlich der Mitarbeiterbindung unterliegen. Am Beispiel der Weinbaucluster in Deutschland überprüft sie, inwieweit sich theoretische Überlegungen als tatsächlich relevante Faktoren für die Personalbindung in der Praxis erweisen. Territorial, Network und Societal Embeddedness der Akteure kommen dabei in unterschiedlicher Ausprägung zum Tragen. Die Ergebnisse der Untersuchung geben Anlass zum Umdenken in der Personalbindungspraxis hin zur Verlagerung der Bindung auf eine kollektive (regionale Cluster-)Ebene.

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Book SynopsisDieses Buch untersucht lebenslanges Lernen im Rahmen der zunehmenden digitalen Anreicherung unserer Lebensbereiche. Die Lern- und Arbeitswelten verändern sich und damit auch die Anforderungen an Aus-, Fort- und Weiterbildung. Immer mehr Wissen ist verfügbar, gleichzeitig schrumpft die Zeitspanne, in der es aktuell bleibt. Lebenslanges und digitales Lernen wird so nicht nur zur Notwendigkeit für jeden Einzelnen, sondern auch zwingend erforderlich für Unternehmen, Branchen und ganze Regionen, um konkurrenzfähig zu bleiben. Der Autor widmet sich auf Basis theoretischer Ansätze aus Psychologie, Pädagogik und Ökonomie der Frage, wie und warum wir lernen. Er untersucht darauf aufbauend mit qualitativen Experteninterviews, welche Bedeutung Online-Weiterbildung im Tourismus hat.

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Book SynopsisThese memoirs portray an individual coping with the adversities and surrealistic qualities of life and work under communism. The author recollects his adolescence, next, how he tried to avoid head-on conflicts, dissented, and how he finally became a known critic of the system. As such, he belonged to a group of advisers to the underground «Solidarity» leadership. His memoirs help to understand the collapse of the communist system and the stormy period of systemic change from a personal perspective. The author participated in these changes as an already well known Sovietologist, as well as through his own on- and off involvements in post-communist transition politics, participating in various advisory bodies (including that advising President Walesa).Table of ContentsContents: Growing up in the Stalinist World – Studying and Working under Communist Orthodoxy – Mane-Thekel-Fares: The (Still Barely Visible) Writings on the Wall – «Solidarity Picnic» and Its Aftermath – Communism: Game Over – Long Term Economic Trends and Transition to Freedom – Vanishing Output and Intellectual Invasion of Doubting Thomases – Coming to the Rescue of Transition: The Power of the Market – A Collision of Emotions, Ideology, and Economics.

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Book SynopsisThis book focuses on the nexus between constitutions adopted by post-socialist countries of Europe and Asia after 1989 and economic transition in the region. It takes the perspective of Constitutional Political Economy and argues for the role of constitutions as commitment-enhancing mechanisms for political decision makers in the field of post-socialist economic reforms. For the first time in economic studies of constitutions this book employs the synthetic control method – a novel empirical approach allowing to account for endogeneity and causality issues. The blend of theory (including evolutionary insights) and empirical results allows to formulate recommendations for constitution drafters, emphasizing the role of factual constitutional court independence for successful economic reforms.Table of ContentsContents: Constitutions and economic policy - The theoretical nexus – Post-socialist constitutions in a nutshell – Regression analyses of economic effects of post-socialist constitutions – The synthetic control approach to estimating economic effects of post-socialist constitutions – An evolutionary perspective on the role of post-socialist constitutions.

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Book SynopsisSmart people make a smart city. This volume presents a collection of papers on the concept of smartness, smart development and the international practices in the field. There are five key topic areas: the conceptual, smart economy, smart specialisation, smart city and public governance. The concept of a smart social system is grounded on comparative analysis of competing concepts such as intelligence, knowledge driven, digital, learning, networked, innovative, agile and sustainable.Table of ContentsContents: Robertas Jucevicius/Jurgita Bruneckiene/Gerd-Bodo von Carlsburg: Introduction – Giedrius Jucevicius/Shlomo Maital: National Strategies of Smart Development: Turning Constraints into Growth Opportunities – Robertas Jucevicius/Palmira Juceviciene: Smart Social System – Jaime del Castillo/Jonatan Paton/Belen Barroeta: Clusters and Territorial Development: The Great Basque Transformation Towards Smart Specialisation – Jurgita Bruneckiene/Julia Lopez Ventura: Building Smart Economy: Barcelona Case – Pekka Lindroos: Evolution and Concurrent Thinking on Industrial Strategy: Case of Finland – Inmaculada Periáñez Forte/Manuel Palazuelos Martínez/Dimitris Kyriakou: Strengthening Decision-Making Capacity Through Stakeholder’s Engagement in Smart Specialisation – Jaime del Castillo/Jonatan Paton/Belen Barroeta: A Governance Model for Smart Specialisation – Thomas A. Bryer/Pamela Medina: Smart Virtual City: Applying Smart Design to a City’s Online Structure and Identity – Billy Fields: Evaluating the Challenge of Conceptualising the Smart City in Urban Planning: Greenway Planning in Texas – Palmira Juceviciene/Justina Suchankaite: Smart Decisions as a Critical Indicator of a Smart City: The Case of Druskininkai Town – Michiel S de Vries/Iwona Sobis: From Evidence-Based Policies to Evidence-Based Public Sector Reforms – Paul Joyce: Case Studies in Public Governance, Strategic Management and Economic Performance – Rita Juceviciene/Giedrius Jucevicius: Emergence of Trust in Inter-Organisational Relations: Overcoming Dilemmas in Trust Development.

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Book SynopsisThe author analyses how finance flows can be guided towards low-carbon value generation and growth. He investigates the arrangements between actors in the innovation system and policy measures such as technology push, demand-pull and regulation with regard to their influence on private investments. The case studies include innovation intermediaries, energy service contracting for LED lighting and renewable energy project finance. The results show that barriers to low-carbon innovation inhibit the financing for companies, projects and infrastructure. Also, transparent structures which focus on risk and return facilitate private investments and, finally, both science, technology and innovation policies and regulation are needed to spur private finance.Table of ContentsContents: Analysis of barriers to low-carbon innovation – Policy mix to overcome consequences for finance – Structures for mobilizing private investments – Case studies on innovation intermediaries, LED lighting and energy service contracting, renewable energy technologies – Public-private cooperation.

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Book SynopsisThis book offers a comprehensive analysis of the shareholder wealth effects of the financial sector consolidation in the Asia-Pacific region and its impact on the acquirer’s cost of debt. By not only examining the capital market reactions to the institutions directly involved in M&A transactions, but also their closest rivals, it is possible to draw clearer conclusions in regard to the overall success of the financial sector consolidation in this region. In addition, by investigating the acquiring institution’s CDS market reaction to merger announcements, valuable insights are offered in regard to the difference between equity and debt market perceptions of bank M&As. The analyses suggest that equity and debt markets consider different factors when evaluating the success of mergers.Table of ContentsContents: Bank mergers and acquisitions in the Asia-Pacific region – Shareholder wealth effects of the consolidation process – Impact of bank mergers on the acquirer’s cost of debt.

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Book SynopsisThe author examines the dynamics of participation in and welfare impact of integrated aquaculture-agriculture (IAA) value chain by using three-year panel data from indigenous households in the northern and north-western regions of Bangladesh. By different panel estimation methods he analyses the IAA value chain participation dynamics and indicates that education and household size, access to extensions and market information, community-based organisations (CBO) membership are positively associated with participation and continuing participation in IAA value chain activities. Welfare impact results indicate that IAA value chain participation is positively correlated to household income and consumption frequency of some goods, particularly fish. Assessment of the comparative socio-environmental impacts of rice monoculture and rice-fish based IAA practices suggests that rice-fish based IAA is a sustainable alternative to rice monoculture.Table of ContentsContents: Performance of Integrated Aquaculture-Agriculture (IAA) Value Chain – Determinants and constraints of smallholder participation dynamics in the IAA value chain activities – Welfare impact of IAA value chain participation dynamics – Socio-environmental Impacts of Rice-Fish Based IAA – Household Panel Data – Integrated Aquaculture-Agriculture – Welfare – Value chain – Indigenous smallholders – Bangladesh.

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Book SynopsisSelten hat ein wettbewerbspolitischer Fall so viel Interesse und Kontroversen hervorgerufen wie der E-Book-Fall rund um Amazon, bei dem führende Verlage und große Unternehmen wie Apple involviert sind. Doch dieser spiegelt nur eine von vielen unternehmerischen Vorgehensweisen Amazons wider. Der Kern dieses Werkes stellt die wettbewerbspolitischen Vorwürfe gegenüber Amazon systematisch dar und würdigt diese auf der Basis ökonomisch-theoretischer Überlegungen. Die Analysen offenbaren dabei die ökonomischen Besonderheiten von Onlinemärkten und berücksichtigen die wachsende ökonomische Bedeutung mehrseitiger Märkte. Die Untersuchungsergebnisse geben eine Antwort auf die sich aus der aktuellen Medienbrisanz um Internetplattformen ergebende Frage, ob Amazon as the Next Google einzuordnen ist. Darüber hinaus bewertet die Autorin Ansätze zur Ausgestaltung einer wettbewerbspolitischen Regulierung von Internetplattformen wie den More Technological Approach oder die Implementierung einer eigenen Regulierungsbehörde.

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Book SynopsisDiese Studie verknüpft die Kapitalanlageentscheidungen privater Haushalte im internationalen Rahmen mit der Konvergenz von Rechnungslegungssystemen. Hierzu betrachtet der Autor zunächst die Investitionsentscheidungen privater Investoren aus einer mikroökonomischen Perspektive, um darauf aufbauend die Rechnungslegungskonvergenz und ihre positiven Effekte auf internationale Investitionen ökonometrisch mittels des Gravitationsmodells zu untersuchen. Hierbei senken sowohl eine Konvergenz im Bereich des Disclosures als auch des Enforcements die länderübergreifenden Informationskosten und fördern so internationale Investitionen. Die Untersuchung macht deutlich, dass Disclosure und Enforcement in einer interdependenten Beziehung stehen: So ist die Wirkung der Disclosure-Konvergenz umso stärker, je mehr das Enforcement konvergiert.

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Book SynopsisAnhand unterschiedlicher Produktkategorien untersucht diese experimentelle Studie den wachsenden M-Commerce-Markt. Die Autorin führt aus, wie der mobile Kommunikationskanal für Unternehmen eine Vielzahl einzigartiger Eigenschaften bietet. Im Mittelpunkt des Interesses steht dabei, welchen Einfluss Mobile Marketing auf die Einstellungsbildung hat und wie mobile Verkaufsfördermaßnahmen die Kaufentscheidung beeinflussen. Die Autorin fragt, welchen Einfluss QR-Codes, als pull-basierte mobile Verkaufsfördermaßnahme, auf Einstellung und Verhalten haben und stellt fest, dass die Stärke des Einflusses zwischen den Produktkategorien variiert.

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Book SynopsisDer Sammelband enthält die Beiträge der 2. Deidesheimer Gespräche zur Tourismuswissenschaft. Er beschäftigt sich mit den Auswirkungen des demografischen Wandels auf den Tourismus. Die Autorinnen und Autoren thematisieren dabei Chancen und Herausforderungen barrierefreier touristischer Angebote und eines Tourismus für Alle. Aufgezeigt werden Wege und Beispiele der Umsetzung eines Tourismus für Alle, etwa die Umsetzung im ländlichen Raum oder die Zertifizierung barrierefrei gestalteter Angebote. Ebenso beleuchtet das Buch das Verhalten von älteren Reisenden, die Rolle des demografischen Wandels für den Wandertourismus, Anforderungen an barrierefreie Webdesigns im Tourismus und die Wahrnehmung von barrierefreier Infrastruktur aus Sicht der Gäste.

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Book SynopsisIm vor einigen Jahren erschienenen Buch Die bedürfnisorientierte Versorgungswirtschaft eine Alternative zur Marktwirtschaft hat der Autor ein auf einer Kritik des Kapitalismus basierendes Modell einer nichtkapitalistischen, menschenfreundlichen Ökonomie entworfen. Obwohl darin auch kurz der Übergang vom Kapitalismus zur nicht-kapitalistischen Ökonomie zur Sprache kam, wurde der Frage, wie der Kapitalismus an sein Ende kommt, wenig Platz eingeräumt. Das soll nun mit den Ausführungen in dieser Abhandlung nachgeholt werden und zwar in kritischer Auseinandersetzung mit Vorstellungen von Kapitalismuskritikern und tatsächlichen Versuchen, den Kapitalismus zu überwinden.

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Book SynopsisThis book examines the main causes of financial instability and highlights that,with the exception of wars and pandemics, the financial system is the source of thecrisis, not just a means of spreading it, as most mainstream experts believe. Based onthe following findings, the innovative sections of this book provide academics andpolicymakers with important and practical knowledge: because negative shifts in thefinancial system precede recessions, financial indicators can predict the onset of acrisis much earlier than real variables; the proposed recession forecasting model canpredict the emergence of the crisis a month in advance. When the economy’s sensitivityto the financial system is reduced, there will be only modest negative economicgrowth and no true recessions.Table of ContentsIntroduction — THE RADIOGRAPHY OF THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM, WITH A FOCUS ON THE U.S.— Historical, conceptual and empirical approaches to crises — Coordinates and determinants of financial instability — Potential solutions for financial stability — Economic CrisIs Forecast Model — References — List of Appendixes — List of Figures — List of Tables .

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Book SynopsisThe book evaluates the importance of constitutional rules and property rights for the German economy in 1990–2015. It is an economic historical study embedded in institutional economics with main references to positive constitutional economics and the property rights theory. This interdisciplinary work adopts a theoretical-empirical dimension and a qualitative-quantitative approach. Formal institutions played a fundamental role in Germany’s post-reunification economic changes. They set the legal and institutional framework for the transition process of Eastern Germany and the unification, integration and convergence between the two parts of the country. Although the latter process was not completed, the effects of these formal rules were positive, especially for the former GDR.Table of Contents 1. Category of institution in selected disciplines 2. Opening balance. Two German economies towards reunification 3. Constitutional rules in the GDR and the FRG. Implementation of West German solutions 4. Relationship of the FRG Constitution to the German economy 5. The institution of property rights. Property regulations in the GDR and implementation of West German solutions 6. Regulations of property rights in Germany after reunification and their relationship to the economy

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Book SynopsisElektromobilität gewinnt auf dem Weg zu einer umweltfreundlichen Mobilität zunehmend an Aufmerksamkeit und Bedeutung. Ziel dieser Studie ist es, die für die Akzeptanz von Elektromobilität im Pkw-Bereich relevanten Einflussfaktoren aufzudecken. Dabei wird auf bestehender Forschung aufgebaut, diese ergänzt und erweitert sowie im aktuellen Stadium der Akzeptanz von Elektromobilität evaluiert. Dadurch wird eine Vielzahl unterschiedlicher Faktoren identifiziert und empirisch untersucht. Besonders rückt dabei nicht nur die Untersuchung der Akzeptanz der Elektromobilität generell, sondern auch der von Batterieelektro- und Brennstoffzellenfahrzeugen in den Fokus. Diese Arbeit zielt darauf ab, die für die Steigerung der Akzeptanz von Elektromobilität in Deutschland elementaren Einflussfaktoren zu erarbeiten. Darauf aufbauend werden erste Handlungsempfehlungen für die Bearbeitung dieser Faktoren und Steigerung der Akzeptanz von Elektromobilität gegeben.

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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