Economics Books

Book SynopsisAs the fastest growing segment of civil society, as well as featuring prominently in the global political arena, NGOs are under fire for being 'unaccountable'. But who do NGOs actually represent? Who should they be accountable to and how? This book provides the first comprehensive examination of the issues and politics of NGO accountability across all sectors and internationally. It offers an assessment of the key technical tools available including legal accountability, certification and donor-based accountability regimes, and questions whether these are appropriate and viable options or attempts to 'roll-back' NGOs to a more one-dimensional function as organizers of national and global charity. Input and case studies are provided from NGOs such as ActionAid, and from every part of the globe including China, Indonesia and Uganda. In the spirit of moving towards greater accountability the book looks in detail at innovations that have developed from within NGOs and offers new approaches and flexible frameworks that enable accountability to become a reality for all parties worldwide.Trade Review'Credible and effective accountability is quite simply a pre-condition for NGOs' continued historical significance as global and local agents of change. Prepared by informed and yet critical insiders, this book faces this reality unflinchingly whilst illuminating its real-life complexities and implications in today's daunting political context.' Simon Zadek, Chief Executive, AccountAbility, and author of The Civil Corporation 'This collection breaks out of the straitjacketed thinking that characterizes much of the accountability discussion today. Rather than treating NGO accountability as a technocratic endeavour based in managerial best practice, the authors confront its political and power-laden underpinnings head-on. Jordan and van Tuijl show us the dark side of accountability politics - how its language and mechanisms can be abused for suppressing basic rights of voice and political participation. Yet, they also give us a vision, grounded in field-based innovation, of what accountability can be: a pathway towards universal human rights and better democratic governance.' Alnoor Ebrahim, Visiting Associate Professor, Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations, Harvard University, and Wyss Visiting Scholar, Harvard Business SchoolTable of ContentsPart I - KEY QUESTIONS AND CONCEPTS IN THE CURRENT GLOBAL DEBATE * Rights and Responsibilities in the Political Landscape of NGO Accountability: Introduction and Overview * Accountability of Non-Governmental Organizations in Global Governance * Civil Society, Representation and Accountability: Restating Current Debates on the Representativeness and accountability of Civic Associations * Part II - TRADITIONAL APPROACHES: LEGAL ACCOUNTABILITY, CERTIFICATION AND DONOR REGIMES * The Limits and Risks of Regulation: The Case of the World Bank-supported * Issues in Legislation for NGOs in Uganda * NGO Accountability and the Philippine Council for NGO Certification: Evolving Roles and Issues * The Donor Accountability Agenda * Part III - THE BENEFITS OF EMBRACING ACCOUNTABILITY * NGO Governance in China: Achievements and Dilemmas * NGO Governance and Accountability in Indonesia: Challenges in a Newly Democratizing Country * Part IV - INNOVATIONS: EXPANDING THE ACCOUNTABILITY FRONTIER * Chameleons and Accountability: Linking Learning with Increasing Accountability in ActionAid International Uganda and the Ugandan Land Alliance * NGO Accountability and the Humanitarian Accountability Partnership: Towards a Transformative Agenda * Addressing Accountability at the Global Level: The Challenges Facing International NGOs * On Trying to Do Good Well: Practicing Participatory Democracy through International Advocacy Campaigns *

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Book SynopsisIt is widely accepted that sustainability has an inescapable social component, but companies find it very hard to understand and measure their social impacts. Why is this? This book, by noted CSR practitioner, consultant and educator Adrian Henriques, provides the first coherent approach to identifying, understanding, measuring and accounting for corporate social impact. Beginning with an analysis of the nature of corporate social impact and the role of the stakeholder, the complex relationship of social impact to economic and environmental impacts is explored. This naturally leads to an examination of the contribution which social impact makes to business practice, profitability and ultimately to global sustainability. The second part of the book assesses the theory and practise of some of the critical measures of social impact which have been developed to date. This includes Social Return on Investment (SROI), local economic impact (LM3) and social capital as well as more established techniques. . It also explores new approaches such as 'social footprinting'. This is rounded out by presentation of a social accounting framework and how this can operate in parallel to standard financial accounting procedures. This volume provides a clear, digestible and practical roadmap for companies wishing to take responsibility for their role in society and improve their internal and external performance.Trade Review'Adrian Henriques has done it again ... Clear and well-written, the text will stimulate and challenge practitioners, students, policy-makers and academics.' Professor R.H. Gray, Director of The Centre for Social and Environmental Accounting Research, School of Management, The Gateway University of St Andrews 'There may be a temptation to blame the corporate sector for many of the world's problems, but ultimately it's a split of responsibility between the life style choices of individual consumers, the state and the corporation. To address this subject Adrian Henriques reviews an array of methods to try and measure the social outcome of individual companies in an attempt to answer the frequently asked question 'What's a company for?'' Dr Chris Tuppen, BT Director of Sustainable Development 'In developing policy and standards for business activity, social impact has long been the disadvantaged sibling of environmental and economic impacts of companies. Henriques goes a long way toward rectifying this disparity by providing rich and varied perspectives on the definition, measurement and assessment of the social footprint of commercial activity Along the way, he takes us well beyond the boundaries of conventional CSR, raises fundamental questions about the purpose of the corporation, and challenges both companies and stakeholders to rethink their interdependency in new and provocative ways.' Allen L. White, Co-Founder, Global Reporting Initiative; Senior Fellow, Tellus Institute 'Adrian Henriques has done it again. He has taken a refreshingly novel angle on an important issue in need of urgent attention. This much-needed attempt to move on from much of the staleness in the CSR debate is broad and wide-ranging. Clear and well-written, the text will stimulate and challenge practitioners, students, policy-makers and academics. My guess is that my personal reaction of positive response and outraged disagreement in roughly equal measure will be a fairly common one: in this regard it succeeds masterfully in advancing this debate in a challenging manner.' Professor R.H. Gray, Director of The Centre for Social and Environmental Accounting Research, School of Management, The Gateway University of St Andrews 'As we cannot stretch the surface of the planet, we cannot extend time. Space and time are the ultimate physical ingredients to anything we do. Measuring, therefore, our time footprint (or social footprint) becomes a key ingredient for any sustainability assessment, and I am thrilled that Adrian Henriques is exploring the time dimension as a metric for social impact.' Mathis Wackernagel, Global Footprint Network PresidentTable of Contents1. Introduction 2. The Social Purpose of Companies 3. Complicity and the Sexual Exploitation of Children - a case study 4. Sustainability's Social Side 5. Thinking like a Stakeholder 6. The Voice of the Stakeholder 7. Sociological Impacts 8. Signs of Impact 9. Reporting Social Impact 10. Measuring Economic Impact 11. Investing in Impact 12. Social Footprint 13. Accounting for Social Impact 14. The Elusiveness of the Social Revisited Appendix I - Market Research Appendix II - Analysis of GRI Social Indicators Appendix III - SROI Case Study Bibliography

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Book SynopsisTo maximise the effectiveness of their work, NHS employees need a clear understanding of the structures and systems of the organisation in which they work. However, this information can be widely spread, hard to access and difficult to gain a working overview of, and the pace of changes and initiatives can seem almost dizzying. This book draws together a clear picture of the modern NHS, from funding and governance to reports, inquiries and overarching legislation. The book is clear and easy to understand and crucially includes full references to provide a one-stop point of access to the most detailed and up-to-date information available. This book is essential reading for workers in the NHS at all levels, including managers, administrators and clinical professionals. It is vital reading for managers and staff at commercial companies working with the NHS. It will also be of interest to campaigners, patient interest groups, researchers and journalists with an interest in the NHS. Specialty registrars and consultants can also find the information from the book, and much more, in The Doctor's Handbook Parts 1 & 2, by the same author. 'Rather than long narrative histories or complex explanations, the author signposts readers to sources of further information, making this book the quick guide so many of us need' - from the Foreword by Sir Ian CarruthersTable of ContentsUnderstanding the NHS. Clinical governance and quality. The future. Funding and the NHS. Acts, Circulars, Reports and Inquiries.

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Book SynopsisIn Africa's Odious Debts, Boyce and Ndikumana reveal the shocking fact that, contrary to the popular perception of Africa being a drain on the financial resources of the West, the continent is actually a net creditor to the rest of the world. The extent of capital flight from sub-Saharan Africa is remarkable: more than $700 billion in the past four decades. But Africa’s foreign assets remain private and hidden, while its foreign debts are public, owed by the people of Africa through their governments. Léonce Ndikumana and James K. Boyce reveal the intimate links between foreign loans and capital flight. Of the money borrowed by African governments in recent decades, more than half departed in the same year, with a significant portion of it winding up in private accounts at the very banks that provided the loans in the first place. Meanwhile, debt-service payments continue to drain scarce resources from Africa, cutting into funds available for public health and other needs. Controversially, the authors argue that African governments should repudiate these ‘odious debts’ from which their people derived no benefit, and that the international community should assist in this effort. A vital book for anyone interested in Africa, its future and its relationship with the West.Trade ReviewAfrica's Odious Debts is a path-breaking book that should be read by every student, professional and policymaker concerned with the causes of the region's underdevelopment. In a masterful, easily comprehendible and professionally thorough manner, the authors demolish the myth that African countries have received large net capital flows. In a detailed empirical presentation, they show quite the contrary: capital outflow from the poorest countries in the world, to the richest. This book should radically alter thinking and policy. * John Weeks, Professor Emeritus, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London *Africa’s Odious Debts: How Foreign Loans and Capital Flight Bled a Continent offers a compelling account of how loans and capital flight through illegitimate means, often aided and abetted by foreign banks, led to the large accumulation of external wealth by corrupt African leaders and their private associates. This book is a "must reading material" for anybody who wants to understand how African got into the debt crisis, how to avoid its repetition, and probably reverse the debt overhang. Ndikumana and Boyce have hit a "home run" with this book. Students of economic development will certainly benefit from the book. I highly recommend it to all interested in African development and development studies generally. * Kwabena Gyimah-Brempong, Professor and Chair, Department of Economics, University of South Florida *Ndikumana and Boyce present a coruscating analysis of the deleterious impact of crushing debt and capital flight on poor African countries that are ironically among the largest recipients of foreign aid. Eminently readable, it is a fascinating study on how absolute power corrupts absolutely beyond the tethers of human conscience. * Dev Kar, Lead Economist, Global Financial Integrity *This is probably the most important book on Africa in recent years; it is vital reading for everyone with an interest in African affairs. The story of Africa's revolving door of inflowing debts and outflowing capital is one with catastrophic consequences for the ordinary people of Africa. Léonce Ndikumana and James Boyce have put in many years of legwork to explore the dimensions of this scandal, and the data they marshal shows, conclusively, how Africa has become a net creditor to the rest of the world, while remaining shackled to poverty by outstanding odious debts. Much can be done to free African countries from this appalling burden, and the authors are right to identify strengthening transparency, curtailing money laundering, repudiating odious debt and recovering stolen wealth as top priorities. Enraging, enlightening and encouraging in equal measure, this book combines passion and research excellence: a genuine tour de force. * John Christensen, Director, Tax Justice Network *With this remarkable book Ndikumana and Boyce continue their path-breaking analysis of one of the most important, but under-researched, reasons for Africa's continuing poverty. Combining political analysis and historical research with convincing economic modelling, they present a compelling case for overhauling a financial system that has acted as a barrier to progress for too long. Crucially for a short book of this nature, it is a rattling read, full of anecdotes and explanations that make quite a complex subject understandable to everyone. * Jonathan Glennie, ODI research fellow and author of 'The Trouble with Aid' *African governments borrow money from abroad, the incoming cash fuels capital flight, and capital flight leaves death and deprivation in its wake for millions of people across the continent. This basic equation is brilliantly and wrenchingly elucidated by Boyce and Ndikumana. The truth will out and the remedy is at hand. Bravo for an important, timely, and influential work! * Raymond Baker, Director, Global Financial Integrity *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. Tales from the Shadows of International Finance 2. Measuring African Capital Flight 3. The Revolving Door 4. The Human Costs 5. The Way Forward Appendix 1: Tables Appendix 2: Summary Outcome and Policy Recommendations from the Senior Policy Seminar on Capital Flight in Sub-Saharan Africa, held in Pretoria, South Africa, November 2007. Notes References

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Book SynopsisThis book contains a selection of the best theoretical and applied papers from the inaugural International Choice Modelling Conference. The conference was organised by the Institute for Transport Studies at the University of Leeds and held in Harrogate, North Yorkshire on 30 March to 1 April 2009. The conference brought together leading researchers and practitioners from across the many different areas in which choice modelling is a key technique for understanding behaviour and evaluating policy. The diversity of the field was reflected in presentations by both academics and practitioners, coming from six continents and a variety of fields including transport and economics. Key contributions include papers from Professor Daniel McFadden, from the University of California, Berkeley - Nobel Prize laureate in Economics and chief architect of random utility modelling. The conference also included keynote presentations by five other leading choice modellers, namely Professor Moshe Ben-Akiva, Professor Chandra Bhat, Professor Michel Bierlaire, Professor David Hensher, and Professor Riccardo Scarpa.Trade ReviewAn important collection of papers by many of the world's leading researchers in choice modeling. With topics that range from the conceptual basis of choice to the pragmatics of data collection, this volume provides a vivid snapshot of the current state of the field.A" Kenneth Train, University of California, Berkeley.Table of ContentsPART I: Guest Speaker Papers 1. Sociality, Rationality, and the Ecology of Choice - Daniel McFadden 2. Planning and Action in a Model of Choice - Moshe Ben-Akiva 3. Attribute Processing, Heuristics, and Preference Construction in Choice Analysis - David Hensher 4. The Multiple Discrete-Continuous Extreme Value (MDCEV) Model: Formulation and Applications - Chandra R. Bhat & Naveen Eluru 5. Capturing Human Perception of Facial Expressions by Discrete Choice Modelling - Matteo Sorci,Thomas Robin, Javier Cruz, Michel Bierlaire, J.-P. Thiran and Gianluca Antonini Part II: Data Collection 6. Serial Choice Conjoint Analysis for Estimating Discrete Choice Models - Michiel C.J. Bliemer and John M. Rose 7. Observed Efficiency of a D-Optimal Design in an Interactive Agency Choice Experiment - Sean M. Puckett and John M. Rose 8. Effects of Stated Choice Design Dimensions on Model Estimates - Phani Kumar Chintakayala, Stephane Hess, John M. Rose and Mark Wardman 9. Stated Choice Experimental Designs for Scheduling Models - Paul Koster and Yin-Yen Tseng Part III: Concepts & Methodology 10. Systematically Heterogeneous Covariance in Network GEV Models - Jeffrey P. Newman 11. On Estimation of Hybrid Choice Models - Denis Bolduc and Ricardo Alvarez-Daziano 12. A Model of Travel Happiness and Mode Switching - Maya Abou-Zeid and Moshe Ben-Akiva 13. On Path Generation Algorithms for Route Choice Models - Emma Frejinger and Michel Bierlaire Part IV: Endogeneity and Heterogeneity 14. Mode Choice Endogeneity in Value of Travel Time Estimation - Stefan L. Mabit and Mogens Fosgerau 15. Accommodating Coefficient Outliers in Discrete Choice Modelling: A Comparison of Discrete and Continuous Mixing Approaches - Danny Campbell, Stephane Hess, Riccardo Scarpa and John M. Rose 16. Addressing Endogeneity in Discrete Choice Models: Assessing Control-Function and Latent-Variable Methods - Cristian Angelo Guevara and Moshe Ben-Akiva 17. Latent Class and Mixed Logit Models with Endogenous Choice Set Formation Based on Compensatory Screening Rules - Matthieu de Lapparent Part V: Transport Matters 18. Transport Welfare Benefits in the Presence of an Income Effect - James Laird 19. Which Commuters will Car Share? An Examination of Alternative Approaches to Identifying Market Segments - Jon Crockett, Gerard Andrew Whelan, Caroline Louise Sinclair and Hugh Gillies 20. Modelling Choice in a Changing Environment: Assessing the Shock Effects of a New Transport System - Maria Francisca Yanez and Juan de Dios Ortuzar 21. What do We Really Know About Travellers' Response to Unreliability? - Yaron Hollander Part VI: Beyond Transport 22. Optimizing Product Portfolios Using Discrete Choice Modeling and TURF - Thomas J. Adler, Colin Smith and Jeffrey Dumont 23. Preference Stability: Modelling how Consumer Preferences Shift after Receiving New Product Information - Harmen Oppewal, Mark Morrison, Paul Wang and David Waller 24. Investigating Willingness to Pay -Willingness to Accept Asymmetry in Choice Experiments - Bruno Lanz, Allan Provins, Ian J. Bateman, Riccardo Scarpa, Ken Willis and Ece Ozdermiroglu 25. Clustering Ranked Preference Data Using Sociodemographic Covariates - Isobel Claire Gormley and Thomas Brendan Murphy 26. Continuous versus Discrete Representation of Investing Firm Heterogeneity in Modelling FDI Location Decisions - Simona Rasciute and Eric J. Pentecost 27. Development of Integrated Choice and Latent Variable (ICLV) Models for the Residential Relocation Decision in Island Areas - Eleni Kitrinou, Amalia Polydoropoulou and Denis Bolduc

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Book SynopsisA reference and sourcebook to the organizations involved in environmental and resource conservation in all parts of the world and to their activities. It describes over 2000 organizations and programmes in over 200 countries, providing access to sources of information, expertise and action. A user's guide identifies who is doing what in over 50 areas, such as air quality, environmental economics, toxic materials and wildlife. There are also regional overviews, detailed analyses of the UN system, over 250 intergovernmental agencies, over 400 international NGOs, and over 1500 national organizations with full country and area listings, plus indices, a glossary and a list of landmark events.Trade Review'[An] indispensable tool for anyone engaged in environmental work.' Aslib Book Guide 'This ishould be a standard in all higher education libraries.' TEG NewsTable of ContentsPart 1: Introduction - How to Use This Book * Glossary * Introduction * The World Directory and the World Wide Web * Some Landmark Events * Part 2: Who's Doing What: Problems, Resources, and Biomes - Broad Concerns * Agriculture and Environmental Protection * Air Quality * Appropriate Technology * Arid Lands * Biodiversity * Biotechnology * Business and the Environment * Caves * Climate and Global Environmental Change * Communications Media * Conflict and the Environment * Cultural Heritage * Development and the Environment * Economic Aspects * Education and Training * Energy, Geology, and Mining * Fish and Fisheries * Forests and Forestry * Future Grasslands * Grasslands * Hazardous Materials * Health and the Environment * Human Settlements * Indigenous Peoples and the Traditional Ecological Knowledge * Lakes, Rivers, and Waterways * Landscape Architecture * Land Use * Law and Legal Action * Mountains * Natural Areas, Parks, and Wilderness * Noise * Nuclear Energy and Radiation * Occupational Safety and Health * Oceans, Coastal Zones, and Islands * Pest Management * Plants * Polar Zones * Politics and Policy Processes * Population and Growth Management * Religion, the Humanities, and Environmental Protection * Social Science and Psychology * Soil * Solid Waste and Resource Recovery * Specialized Support Services * Tourism Impacts * Transportation and Environmental Protection * Tropical Ecosystems * Water * Wetlands * Wildlife * Women and the Environment * Youth and the Environment * Part 3: The World Regions: An Overview ? Africa * Antarctica and the Southern Ocean * Arctic Ocean * Atlantic Ocean * East and South Asia * Europe * Indian Ocean * Latin America and the Caribbean * North America * Oceania * Pacific Ocean * West and Central Asia * Part 4: The United Nations ? The United Nations * Specialized Agencies of the United Nations * Other Organizations * Part 5: Other Governmental Organizations * Part 6: International Non-Governmental Organizations * Part 7: Country and Area Listings * Index: Countries; International and Selected National Organizations

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Book SynopsisThe NHS pension scheme is the largest in Europe. This guide explains how it works and how to maximize its benefits and avoid its pitfalls. The book covers: recent changes to the scheme including new provisions for early retirement; personal pensions, financial planning and investment options; advice on preparing for retirement and working after retirement; state benefits; and health and leisure in retirement. It is written for all NHS staff and should be of particular value to GPs and salaried doctors.Table of ContentsAn overview of evidence-based management * Managing the job * Using information and knowledge * Are we doing a good job? * Improving decision making * Learning to practise evidence-based management * Organisational culture * In conclusion

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Book SynopsisWhen you subtract the amount of hours you sleep, work, and commute, you probably don''t have more than one or two hours a day to do what you would like to do-and that''s if you have the money to do it.Don Failla has been teaching his simple network marketing method which allows anyone to learn how to own his or her life by building a home-based business. It doesn''t require selling, and the best part is, it won''t take much of your time.The 45-Second Presentation That Will Change Your Life is a virtual training manual on network marketing, designed to teach you a step-by-step plan for building a profitable, sustainable network marketing business. Network marketing is a system for distributing goods and services through networks of independent distributors. This guide not only unlocks the secrets of successful network marketing, but it provides the method to sponsor people in your organization using Failla''s 45-Second Presentation.With nearly four decades'' worth of instructions and insights from Failla, The 45-Second Presentation That Will Change Your Life provides you with the essentials for building and maintaining your lucrative home business.

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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