Economics Books

Book SynopsisThis book explores current foreign relations and economic ties with North Korea. Topics discussed in this compilation include foreign assistance to North Korea including energy aid and food assistance; China-North Korea relations including PRC objectives and policy issues for the United States; the legislative basis for U.S. economic sanctions; imports from North Korea including existing rules, implications of the KORUS FTA and the Kaesong Industrial Complex and non-governmental organisations'' (NGOs) activities in North Korea.

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Book SynopsisThe purpose of this book is to get the reader acquainted with the basic features that run through the fields of corporate, public and global governances; to introduce the new subject of Governance Risks, within the context of organisations in a global economy; to provide a set of tailor-made tools and make them operational, so as to cope with governance risks. It also provides a clinical approach to diagnose and treat governance failures, the incremental cash-flow model that strongly articulates with the clinical approach, the index of governance performance, from which the metrics of governance risks evolves eventually. This book conveys a self-contained treatment based on step-by-step learning, from the basics of the subject through building blocks that deal with tools for decision-making, and ending up with the Governance-Risk Scoreboard.

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Book SynopsisThe main theme of this book is to examine the globalisation of the South Pacific region and Fiji and more particularly the globalisation of Fiji by examining the supply chain of garment industry. This book will not only attempt to explain how Fiji and the South Pacific region are integrated into the global economy, but also how they are influenced by sub-regional, regional and global forces. This book will demonstrate the analytical tools of ''the State'', ''the firm'', and ''the global forces'' to the centre stage of discussion and analysis. This focus allows the unravelling of the key element in the global commodity supply chain analysis advanced in this book.

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Book SynopsisThe Small Business Administration (SBA) has provided "technical and managerial aides to small-business concerns, by advising and counselling on matters in connection with government procurement and on policies, principles and practices of good management" since it began operations in 1953. Initially, the SBA provided its own small business management and technical assistance training programs. However, over time, the SBA has relied increasingly on third parties to provide that training. This new book examines the historical development of federal small business management and technical assistance training programs; describes their current structures, operations, and budgets and assesses their administration and oversight, and the measures used to determine their effectiveness.

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Book SynopsisNot many scholars have noticed "globalisation" as a thinking-horizon, and much less, begun engaging in its exploration. This book calls attention to this exciting dimension of globalisation. This volume is divided into "problems and prospects" and "cultural intercourse". The book presents concrete and specific problems and prospects kicked up by globalisation including world economics of cancellation of debt of developing nations; Africa''s problem of knowledge production; economic problems of foreign aids in Bangladesh; infusion of Taoism to Western therapy of anxiety and globalising counselling paradigm. This book also presents unique perspectives on the causes and solutions to the problem of today''s globalisation.

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Book SynopsisThis series examines issues and economic matters particular to small businesses. The term Small Enterprise (or Small Organization) is sometimes used for this same category of business or organization. A small enterprise/organization may also be a non-profit organization. This volume covers several topics. The first chapter identifies and fills several gaps in the understanding of the retirement savings behaviour of business owners and the self-employed. The second chapter explores the security of information, systems, and networks in small businesses as it applies to customers, employees, and trading partners. The book also looks at the relationship between employee turnover and firm size as it relates to compensation using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY).

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Book SynopsisThis book contains chapters on education leadership, management and governance in relation to schools in South Africa supplemented with a chapter on gender issues in Zimbabwe. It has been fifteen years since a new Constitution dawned, which promised a society based on the people of South Africa, that recognised the injustices of the past and would be built on fundamental human rights and justice for all no matter their race, ethnicity, or economic power. South Africa has moved a long way in developing a democratic society. The emergence of this book is the result of a collaborative effort of people with diverse cultural, social and ethnic roots, who share a common belief in the development of a just and equal society, and who share a specific interest in developing schools as a fundamental element in developing this equal and just society.

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Book SynopsisIt is almost 15 years since repeal of what was the nation''s major cash welfare program assisting low-income families with children, the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program, and its replacement with a block grant of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). This book focuses on trends in the economic well-being of female-headed families with children, the principal group affected by the replacement of AFDC with TANF.

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Book SynopsisGreece is at a critical juncture of its recent history. The economic policies of the last three decades have brought it close to bankruptcy. Much of the debate about Greece''s current problems has focused on the short-run management of the crisis. This book contributes to public debate by bringing into discussion important economic, political and social issues which have played a major role in preventing Greece''s transformation into a modern capitalist economy.

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Book SynopsisThis book explores Hong Kong today and since the People''s Republic of China (China) resumed sovereignty over Hong Kong on July 1, 1997, an event frequently referred to as the "Handover". Discussed are the prospects for democracy in Hong Kong and the 2012 election reforms; the political and economic climates; the civil liberties of the people of Hong Kong and the recent social and cultural trends.

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Book SynopsisThis book includes chapters that investigate the development of international migration policy in major emigrant countries in Asia; and that in today''s highly mobile world, migration has become an increasingly complex area of governance, inextricably interlinked with other key policy areas including economic and social development, national security, human rights, public health regional stability and inter-country co-operation. Role of institutions in facilitating or de-facilitating migration, the potential impact of environmental degradation on population displacement are key contents of the book. This book recommends that migration policy be aligned in a way so as to incorporate migrants'' rights. Migrants, wherever they move on and whatever their status is must not be stripped of their human rights. Due to the fact that migrants, especially female migrants are more vulnerable at the destination point to multiple abuses than at their original location, migration policy has to take this into account.

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Book SynopsisChile is recognised around the world for a strong economy, openness and political stability. There have been important advances in our economic model, educational system, and environmental regulation for sustainability, but further work needs to be done to improve Chilean competiveness and, most importantly, citizens'' welfare. This book presents recent research on environmental, political and social issues in Chile. Each chapter provides diagnostic information and presents proposals and new ideas for sustainable development in Chile. This book explores the current situation of water resource management in Chile, as well as the implications of the exploitation of natural resources on the economic and social dimensions. The dynamics of urban expansion and structure in Chilean cities is also analysed. Regarding the social dimension, immigration and gender issues are included, as well as a sound diagnosis of the higher education system.

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Book SynopsisIn aiming to create a "democratic, well-governed state" in Afghanistan, the United States chose an extremely difficult candidate for nationhood or nation-building assistance. At its most basic level, a modern nation must be comprised of people, a functioning government, a recognized territory, and an economic base. Even when compared against that modest standard, the case of Afghanistan is problematic. Considering Afghanistan''s history, as well as its geography, demographics, tribalism, warlordism, existing political cultural norms, drug trade, crime, and history of ineffective governance and corruption, it becomes abundantly clear that there are major obstacles standing in the way of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization''s (NATO) ambitious goals of effective democratic governance and nationhood. This book examines Afghanistan''s post-Taliban governance, security, U.S. policy and future struggles to nationhood.

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Book SynopsisThe federal government''s basic procurement or acquisition process involves an agency identifying the goods and services it needs, determining the most appropriate method for purchasing these items, and carrying out the acquisition. Although this process is simple in theory, any given procurement can be complex, involving a multitude of decisions and actions. A contracting officer may need to determine, for example, whether to use a federal supply schedule, what type of contract to use, whether simplified acquisition procedures may be used, or whether the procurement should be set aside for small businesses. This book describes the most common elements of the federal procurement process and resources that may be used in that process. Also discussed is the Buy American Act; government procurement in times of fiscal uncertainty; environmental considerations in federal procurement; The Berry Amendment; multiyear procurement (MYP) and block buy contracting in defense; and legal requirements for contract types.

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Book SynopsisThis book compiles articles from the Asia Pacific Journal of Life Sciences. Topics discussed include clinical colposcopic practive guideline for colposcopists consulted by cervical-cancer-prevention via providers; knowledge increased after training via cryotherapy clinical-training-skill course of the Thai department of health; and benchmarking a novel linear regression model for evaluating the relationship between AHI and height in senior sleep apneics.

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Book SynopsisThe number of workers age 55 and over experiencing long-term unemployment has grown substantially since the recession. This raises concerns about how long-term unemployment will affect older workers'' re-employment prospects and future retirement income. In light of these developments, this book examines how older workers'' employment status has changed since the recession; what risks unemployed older workers face and what challenges they experience in finding re-employment; how long-term unemployment could affect older workers'' retirement income; and what other policies might help them return to work and what steps the Department of Labor has taken to help unemployed older workers.

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Book SynopsisOn January 4th, 2011, the GPRA Modernization Act of 2010 became law. The acronym refers to the Government Performance and Results Act. When GPRA 1993 was enacted, it was regarded as a watershed for the federal government. For the first time, Congress established requirements in statute for most agencies to set goals, measure performance, and report the information to Congress for potential use. Agencies submitted this information in three major products: multi-year strategic plans, annual plans, and annual reports. This book provides an overview and background on GPRA 1993 and its modernization changes in 2010. The law was especially intended to address the needs of Congress in its policy making, oversight, and budgeting work, and the needs of agency program managers.

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Book SynopsisBelarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko snuffed out Belarus''s modest progress toward democracy and a free market economy and created an authoritarian regime shortly after being elected as president in 1994. His regime is a throwback to the Soviet era. Those advocating a stronger U.S. role in trying to bring democratic change to Belarus say that the country is important to the United States because Belarus is an obstacle to the U.S. goal of making Europe "whole and free." Another concern is Belarus''s support for pariah regimes, including through arms sales. Relations between Belarus and the EU and United States have been particularly poor since Lukashenko''s brutal repression of the opposition after fraudulent presidential elections in December 2010. The EU and United States have imposed strengthened sanctions against key Belarusian leaders, businessmen, and firms. Russia has taken advantage of this situation to increase its political and economic influence. This book examines new developments, relations and U.S. interests in Belarus.

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Book SynopsisAccording to conventional economic wisdom, it is believed that the beneficial functioning of competition is not secured spontaneously but must be supported by state action, ie: specific antitrust laws and agencies. Hence, competition is regarded as an instance in which the visible hand of the state is believed to be needed in order to enable the invisible hand of the market to function more effectively. Topics discussed in this book include the competition and antitrust policy in the Austrian economic perspective; competition in the pharmaceutical market in Austria; a study of the greed factor in capitalism; consumption behaviours in a vertical differentiation model; the effects of mergers in the retail sector; and market competition with irrational agents.

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Book SynopsisRelations among major political factions have worsened substantially since late 2011, threatening Iraq''s stability and the perception of the achievements of the long U.S. intervention in Iraq. Sunni Arabs, always fearful that Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki would seek unchallenged power for Shiite factions, accused him of an outright power grab as he seeks to purge the highest-ranking Sunni Arabs from government and to cripple attempts by Sunni-inhabited provinces to achieve greater autonomy. Iraq''s Kurds have also become increasingly distrustful of Maliki over territorial, political, and economic issues, and similarly accused him of authoritarian practices. More recently, the Shiite faction of Moqtada Al Sadr joined the other groups to put pressure on Maliki to share power. This book examines the politics, governance and human rights challenges of Iraq under Nuri al-Maliki.

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Book SynopsisThe State Partnership Program (SPP) is a Department of Defense security cooperation program run by the National Guard. It also serves as a mechanism for training National Guard personnel. Since the program began in 1992, it has expanded to the point where nearly every state National Guard participates, including Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia. The SPP relates to several areas of potential interest to Congress, including improving the capabilities of partner nations to protect their citizens; strengthening relationships with partners to facilitate cooperation, access, and interoperability; improving cultural awareness and skills among U.S. military personnel; and fostering the integration of reserve and active component forces into a "total force." This book provides an overview of the origin and development of the program; summarizes its unique aspects; and outlines its statutory basis, funding mechanisms, organization, and activities; with a focus on recent legislative and executive branch actions.

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Book SynopsisThis book examines the strategic risk posed by a smaller and restructured Army; the "health" of the Army given the impending downsizing; the draw-down and restructuring of the U.S. Army, including the role of the National Guard and Reserves. On 26 January 2012, senior DOD leadership unveiled a new defence strategy based on a review of potential future security challenges, current defence strategy, and budgetary constraints. This new strategy envisions a smaller, leaner Army that is agile, flexible, rapidly deployable, and technologically advanced. This strategy will rebalance the Army''s global posture and presence, emphasising where potential problems are likely to arise, such as the Asia-Pacific region and the Middle East. The proposals to draw-down and restructure the Army have a number of strategic implications, including the capability to conduct stability and counterinsurgency operations, the ability to fight two simultaneous wars, shifting strategic emphasis to the Asia-Pacific region, and how the Army will maintain presence in the Middle East.

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Book SynopsisHistory and geography have given Mexico a unique status in the U.S. immigration system, and have made the Mexico-U.S. migration flow the largest in the world. Mexicans are the largest group of U.S. migrants across most types of immigration statuses - a fact that may have important implications for how Congress makes U.S. immigration policy. This book reviews the history of immigration policy and migration flows between the countries and the demographics of Mexicans within the United States. It also analyses contemporary issues in U.S. immigration policy and the impact Mexico may have on U.S. immigration outcomes.

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Book SynopsisThis book compiles biographical sketches of top professionals in the field of business, finance and economics research, as well as research summaries from a number of different focuses in these important fields.

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Book SynopsisThe globalisation of commerce and science means that new structures of governance are required to handle new and novel situations, such as across state and institutional boundaries. Sound governance, including elements that encourage foresight, is an important ingredient of managing global and local crisis situations. These crises are ever more apparent as a result of interdependence between consumer, firms and states across the world, especially with the ever increasing advent of instantaneous and low cost communication. This book examines the role of governance in local and multi-national businesses and in local, national and international political forums and organisations.

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Book SynopsisIn the wake of the worst U.S. financial crisis since the Great Depression, Congress passed and the President signed into law sweeping reforms of the financial services regulatory system through the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. This book provides an overview of the regulatory structure of consumer finance under existing federal law before the Dodd-Frank Act went into effect and examines arguments for modifying the regime in order to more effectively regulate consumer financial markets. Also analysed is how the CFP Act changes the legal structure, with a focus on the Bureau''s organization; the entities and activities that fall and do not fall under the Bureau''s supervisory, enforcement, and rule-making authorities; the Bureau''s general and specific rule-making powers and procedures; and the Bureau''s findings.

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Book SynopsisOur rural communities are home to some of the most hard working and fiercely self-reliant Americans in the United States. Strong and secure rural communities are essential to creating an economy built to last that rewards hard work and responsibility -- not outsourcing, loopholes, and risky financial deals. While the security of the middle class has been threatened by the irresponsible financial collapse and the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, rural Americans continue to come together to work hard and make ends meet. The values that have helped hard-working, responsible families weather the storm continue to move our economy forward. This book lays out the economic landscape rural America faces today and presents some of the Administration''s many efforts to promote economic growth and job creation in rural communities.

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Book SynopsisScience, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workers drive our nation''s innovation and competitiveness by generating new ideas, new companies and new industries. However, U.S. businesses frequently voice concerns over the supply and availability of STEM workers. Over the past 10 years, growth in STEM jobs was three times as fast as growth in non-STEM jobs. STEM workers are also less likely to experience joblessness than their non-STEM counterparts. Science, technology, engineering and mathematics workers play a role in the sustained growth and stability of the U.S. economy, and are a critical component to helping the U.S. win the future. This book explores workforce trends and policy considerations for STEM students and workers.

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Book SynopsisMunicipal securities are debt instruments that state and local governments typically issue to finance diverse projects. Individual investors, through direct purchases or investment funds, own 75% of the estimated $3.7 trillion in municipal securities in the U.S. market. In the secondary market, where these securities are bought and sold after issuance, trading largely occurs in over-the-counter markets that are less liquid and less transparent than the exchange-traded equity securities market. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act required GAO to review several aspects of the municipal securities market, including the mechanisms for trading, price discovery, and price transparency. This book examines municipal security trading in the secondary market and the factors that affect the prices investors receive and the SEC and self regulatory organizations'' enforcement of rules on fair pricing and timely reporting.

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Book SynopsisThe President and leading Members of Congress have stated that fundamental tax reform is a major policy objective for the 112th Congress. Some Members have said that fundamental tax reform is needed in order to raise a large amount of additional revenue, which is necessary to reduce high forecast budget deficits and the sharply rising national debt. Congressional interest has been expressed in both a major overhaul of the U.S. tax system and the feasibility of levying a consumption tax. Some proponents of reform argue that the tax base should be broadened by reducing or eliminating many tax expenditures. An alternative to increasing tax revenues is cutting spending. Thus, Members are faced with considering the best mix of tax increases and spending cuts in order to reduce deficits and slow the growth of the national debt. This book examines major fiscal reform proposals for tax reform with a focus on business tax reform and the extension of the "Bust Tax Cuts".

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Book SynopsisA reverse mortgage is a special type of home loan for older homeowners that requires no monthly mortgage payments. Borrowers are still responsible for property taxes and homeowner''s insurance. Reverse mortgages allow seniors to access the equity they have built up in their homes now, and defer payments of the loan until they die, sell, or move out of the home. The original purpose envisioned for reverse mortgages was to convert home equity into cash that borrowers could use to help meet expenses in retirement. Borrowers could choose between an income stream for everyday expenses, a line of credit for major expenses (such as home repairs and medical expenses), or a combination of the two. This book examines the changes that have taken place in the marketplace and in the consumers who use reverse mortgages, with a focus on consumer protection concerns.

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Book SynopsisThe Impoundment Control Act (ICA), established a new framework for congressional notification and review of rescissions requested by a President. The 1974 law requires the President inform Congress of all proposed rescissions in a special message, containing specified information on each proposed rescission. With regard to congressional oversight of presidential rescissions, the ICA provides that the funds must be made available for obligation unless both houses of Congress take action to approve a rescission request included in the message received from the President within 45 days of "continuous session"; days in which either chamber is in recess for more than three days are not counted. This book examines the expedited rescission authority of federal funding with testimony presented during the hearing on "Enhancing the President''s Authority to Eliminate Wasteful Spending and Reduce the Budget Deficit".

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Book SynopsisIn the United States, how a business is taxed at the federal level is partly dependent on how it is organised. Publicly traded corporations known as subchapter C corporations are taxed once at the corporate level according to the corporate tax system, and then a second time at the individual-shareholder level according to the individual tax system when corporate dividend payments are made or capital gains are realised. This leads to the so-called "double taxation" of corporate profits. Businesses that choose any other form of organisation are, in general, taxed only once at the individual level. That is, the income of certain businesses passes through to the individual business owners and is taxed according to the individual income tax system. Examples of these alternative "pass-through" forms of organisation include sole proprietorships, partnerships, subchapter S corporations, and limited liability companies. This book summarises the general tax treatment of corporate and pass-through businesses and analyses the most recent business data from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

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