Search results for ""Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd""

It is clear that the transition to ecologically sustainable patterns of development requires significant institutional change, yet we face a paradox. Although institutions are the primary means of driving reform, they are themselves a root cause of unsustainable development and a barrier to positive change. This volume moves beyond the current debate by advancing our understanding of the nature of institutional change, the features of more appropriate institutional settings, and the manner in which change can be enabled. Institutional Change for Sustainable Development presents a flexible, accessible, yet robust conceptual framework for comprehending institutional dimensions of sustainability, emphasising the complexity of institutional systems, and highlighting the interdependence between policy learning and institutional change. This framework is applied and developed through the analysis of five significant arenas of institutional and policy change: environmental policy in the EU; New Zealand's landmark Resource Management Act; strategic environmental assessment; emerging National Councils for Sustainable Development; and transformative property rights instruments. From these explorations, key principles for institutional change are identified, including the institutional accommodation of a sustainability discourse, the interdependence of normative and institutional change; reiteration and learning; integration in policy and practice; subsidiarity; and legal change.Institutional Change for Sustainable Development will be of interest to researchers, policymakers and practitioners concerned with sustainability, resource management and environmental policy.

Read more less

This highly topical book discusses the potential enlargement of the EU to embrace the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the enormous challenges, opportunities and threats this poses for parties on both sides. Understanding of the diversity of the issues raised, even by an experimental expansion, is limited and rarely extends beyond the concerns voiced in a particular policy arena. This volume brings together contributions from specialists across the spectrum of the social sciences who consider the possible outcomes of expansion per se. The authors consider the countries to which membership might rationally be extended, and discuss the future of a Union that continues to be exclusive, but which must advance in the context of the overall march of globalisation. The contributions from numerous disciplines are complementary and include both macro- and micro perspectives.EU Expansion to the East is designed to be accessible to all scholars of European affairs, as well as those interested in transition and policymakers at national, regional and local levels.

Read more less

Research on consumption from an environmental perspective has exploded since the late 1990s. This important new volume cuts across disciplines to present the latest research in the field. The book is divided into three parts, the first of which addresses the problems of consumption both as a concept and as an economic and social force with high environmental impact. In the second part, the authors try to explain consumption as an attempt by individuals to satisfy different types of needs whilst simultaneously being embedded in certain lifestyles and constrained by time and daily routines. The final section looks at how change towards less environmentally damaging consumption patterns can be achieved through national sustainability and consumer policy measures, as well as through community building and individual action. In accordance with the transdisciplinary nature of ecological economics, the original contributions emanate from a variety of different perspectives to reflect the diversity of research in this growing field.By seriously exploring the role of consumption within ecological economics, this fine book will provide invaluable reading for students and researchers interested in sustainable consumption, ecological economics and consumer research.

Read more less

The IMF, the World Bank and GATT/WTO have had to adapt to changing circumstances in the past 60 years as they guided the world economy to growing interdependence and prosperity. Now they face several simultaneous challenges. In this book, David Robertson discusses the rise of new economic players, including proliferating NGOs, self-promoting UN agencies and 'emerging' economies (such as Brazil, China and India), which call into question the management of G7 governments. This volume assesses the future of international economic relations as economic imbalances are exacerbated by these developments and by changing international alliances. The author also considers the interests of small developing countries, which are acting collectively to seek 'a place at the table', as well as more preferential treatment. International socialism has re-invented itself as 'participatory democracy', which is employed by 'civil society' to challenge inter-governmental agencies. The future of international economic integration will depend on how these developments affect trade, finance, aid and development policies.Providing a review of international economic relations, while taking account of political, environmental and social issues, this analytical assessment of anti-globalisation forces will be of interest to anyone concerned with international affairs.

Read more less

This comprehensive and far-reaching book describes the growth and economic integration of the European economy from 1500 to 1913. The authors apply macroeconomic techniques to identify growth rates, inflation, product markets, trade networks and business cycles across a set of countries over the period. The book demonstrates that growth was the natural state for European economies throughout the period although, under the impetus of the industrial revolution, growth rates generally accelerated by the end of the nineteenth century. Similarly, business cycles in the modern sense seem to have been in evidence at the beginning of the period but by the eighteenth century there is no doubt that modern cycles affected these countries, sometimes simultaneously. Inflationary episodes are both distinct and shared in this long period, with the long inflation of the sixteenth century attesting to the integration of European markets. Finally, the authors find abundant quantitative evidence to support the argument that economies linked by international trade in 1500 came close to achieving global integration by 1913.The European Macroeconomy will be of interest to scholars of economic history, international economics and macroeconomics.

Read more less

Paul Davidson investigates why the 1990s was a decade of financial crises that almost precipitated a global market crash. He explores the reasons why the global economy still struggles with the aftermath of these crises and discusses the possibility that volatile financial markets in the future will have real impacts on whole industries and national economic systems.The author highlights the central role that domestic and international financial markets play in determining the economic growth rate, unemployment rate and international payments position of capitalist economies. He explains why the primary function of financial markets is to create liquidity and demonstrates that a liquid market cannot be efficient, and an efficient market cannot be liquid. He also proves that preventing liquidity problems from developing in national and international financial markets is the key element in fostering prosperity. Statistical evidence and theoretical analysis are combined to demonstrate why orthodox prescriptions for 'liberalizing' labor, product, and capital markets are the wrong policies for promoting a civilized society in the 21st century.Professional economists, financial reporters, government policy makers, those working in international economic organizations such as the IMF, the World Bank and the WTO, and concerned citizens will all benefit greatly from reading this highly acclaimed book.

Read more less

Financial reform has been a major concern for China's transitional economy - especially in the realms of banking and insurance - since accession to the WTO in 2001. This book scrutinizes the development and limitations of these industries during the process of institutional transformation, and demonstrates that they are now facing severe challenges as well as opportunities. The relationships between the market structure, behavior and performance of China's banking and insurance industries are analysed. The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threat (SWOT) approach is utilized in investigating the impact of WTO accession on Chinese banking and insurance, and strategies for the prevention of future financial crises are prescribed. Exploring the juxtaposition of institutional transformation in China and the financial risk inherent in the old system, the book concludes that with WTO accession and the opening up of financial services to foreign companies, competitiveness will become fiercer, resulting in increased uncertainty, intensifying the level of risk even further. Banking and Insurance in the New China will prove invaluable to multinational enterprise managers, brokers, dealers and investors, business economists, students and academics with a specific interest in the Chinese economy.

Read more less

The Elgar Companion to Development Studies is an innovative and unique reference book that includes original contributions covering development economics as well as development studies broadly defined. This major new Companion brings together an international panel of experts from varying backgrounds who discuss theoretical, ethical and practical issues relating to economic, social, cultural, institutional, political and human aspects of development in poor countries. It also includes a selection of intellectual biographies of leading development thinkers. While the Companion is organised along the lines of an encyclopaedia, each of its 136 entries provide more depth and discussion than the average reference book. Its entries are also extremely diverse: they draw on different social science disciplines, incorporate various mixes of theoretical and applied work, embrace a variety of methodologies and represent different views of the world. The Elgar Companion to Development Studies will therefore appeal to students, scholars, researchers, policymakers and practitioners in the filed of development as well as the interested layman.

Read more less

This authoritative book presents a selection of the most important published articles and papers on the computing industry - an industry that after five decades of growth permeates virtually all areas of modern economic activity. Many economists believe the diffusion of computing has been a catalyst and a driver of economic growth. This has stimulated research into the microeconomic determinants and consequences of computing. This collection provides a state-of-the-art survey of advances in applied and empirical approaches to the industrial economics of computing. The first section of the book presents several distinct approaches to the measurement of frontier research in computing. The second section addresses the factors shaping the industrial structure for supplying computer goods and services. The third section focuses on the determinants of the adoption and diffusion of information technology.Shane Greenstein - a leading scholar in the field - has written a new and authoritative introduction which provides a comprehensive overview of the subject. This is an important feature of the volume which will be an essential reference source for both industrial and business economists concerned with the computing industry.

Read more less

Many developing and transition economies have not yet undertaken the policy integration measures needed to enhance the impact of industry on sustainable development. In this original and insightful book, national experts from Chile, China, the Czech Republic, Pakistan, Tunisia, Turkey and Zimbabwe - countries which all have designated national sustainable development strategies - report on the extent to which recent changes in industrial, environmental and technology policies have more closely aligned industrial development with the aims of sustainable development.For each country, the authors critically assess a number of important topics including, amongst others, broad trends in sustainable development; policies for promoting growth of the manufacturing sector; policies and institutions for (industrial) environmental management; efforts to encourage the use of environmentally sound technologies; obstacles to enhancing the contribution of manufacturing to sustainable development; and priorities for future action. The results prove disappointing and reveal that none of the seven countries has yet achieved the degree of policy integration that could be characterised as an industrial component of a national sustainable development strategy. Compared to ten years ago, industry in only two of the seven countries (China and the Czech Republic) is making any substantial contribution to socio-economic development whilst attempting to reduce its negative effects on the environment. However, the country reports do identify some positive steps that have been taken and that other countries might adopt in their efforts to enhance the impacts of industry on sustainable development. This book charts the progress towards sustainable development of seven developing and transition economies and the consequences of industry on this objective. The realistic assessment of the advances which have been made will be of particular benefit and interest to practitioners of economic development, industrial economics and environmental management.

Read more less

East Asia's Monetary Future is an illuminating and valuable work which uniquely focuses on a long-term monetary view of the region. There are multiple and varied future scenarios which can be applied to this region - an enlarged Singapore-Brunei currency area, a greater China monetary bloc and even a Northeast Asian bloc comprising Japan and Korea.Leading scholars from East Asia, Europe and the US contribute valuable new insights to the key questions facing the organization and future of the monetary system in East Asia. Central questions discussed and analysed in the book include, amongst others: should the region move towards monetary union? Should countries peg their exchange rates to the US dollar? Is complete dollarization an option for East Asia? The authors argue that, having realized price stability over the last twenty years, in contrast to Latin America and Africa, the next logical step would be the gradual formation of various currency blocs within the region. This comprehensive discussion of the fundamental issues at stake will ensure the book's appeal to academics and researchers of Asian studies and financial economics. Financial experts working in this area and policymakers will also find much of interest to them within this book.

Read more less

As a tribute to the exceptional contributions of Alan Walters to monetary theory and policy, this book draws together a distinguished cast of international contributors to write about money. In a series of essays they review controversies in monetary economics and debate current policy issues.Combining theoretical analysis with policy evaluation, this book touches on a whole spectrum of issues ranging from monetary union and exchange rate regimes, to credit rationing and policy games. The book focuses on the problems of modelling the effects of monetary and fiscal policy, and setting optimal policies for the future. It concludes with two stimulating panel discussions, one questioning whether the UK should join the Euro and the other discussing the appropriate targets of monetary policy.Bringing together for the first time papers celebrating Alan Walters' achievements in this field, this book will be warmly welcomed by those with special interest in monetary economics, particularly policymakers, students and academics.

Read more less

Modern liberalism asserts the transcendental, autonomous self's 'natural rights' against others' moralistic and political preferences, and regards the economist's utilitarian social welfare theory as instrumental to the achievement of 'social justice'. Timothy Roth argues that the liberal enterprise ignores Kant's 'two points of view', confuses Kantian autonomy with moral and political license, mistakes utilitarian impersonality for impartiality, and takes no account of the indeterminacy of social welfare theory's fundamental theoretical constructs. In contrast, the author shows that Kant's 'two points of view' inform the conservative's constitutive political position and animate the consequence-detached, explicitly normative work of the conservative, constitutional political economist. He shows that, unlike modern liberalism, conservatism is grounded in Kant's 'two points of view', that utilitarian social welfare theory cannot be instrumental to the achievement of social justice, and that constitutional political economy is conservative economics. Economists interested in political economy, methodological issues, social welfare theory, public choice theory, or the moral foundations of economics will find much of interest in this thought-provoking volume. Political scientists interested in the philosophical foundations of modern liberalism and conservatism will also want to add this title to their library.

Read more less

Analytical Strategic Environmental Assessment (ANSEA) is an insightful new approach to environmental evaluation, based on decision theory, policy analysis and environmental considerations. These concepts, though not new in their own fields of application, are combined and integrated in an innovative fashion. This book presents recent research on the implementation of the ANSEA approach which aims to ensure environmental values are properly integrated into the decision-making process. ANSEA was developed to contribute to the systematic integration of environmental protection objectives in strategic decision-making which, in turn, will contribute to the promotion of sustainable development. The method can be applied to analyse how environmental and sustainability issues are addressed in decision-making processes at both the national and local level for a variety of different policies. Importantly, the focus is on evaluating the decision-making process itself, rather than the quantitative output of an assessment. With explicatory examples and practical case studies, the distinguished, interdisciplinary authors clearly illustrate how a decision-centred approach to environmental assessment can be successfully achieved. At a time when a new European directive requires the implementation of strategic environmental assessment (SEA) into all relevant decision-making processes, this timely book will be required reading for environmental policymakers in all EU member states. It will also be a valuable source of information and reference for researchers, academics and consultants in the fields of planning, environmental evaluation and environmental management.

Read more less

The dramatic evolution of financial markets in the 1980s and 1990s, accompanied by increasing institutional integration between nations (most notably in the EU), have fostered a widespread belief that governments - particularly those of small economies - have essentially lost the power to pursue sovereign, independent economic policies. At the same time, it is widely assumed that the loss of monetary-policy control is a major opportunity cost for a country adopting a rigid exchange-rate regime or, in the European context, for countries joining the EMU.This book sheds light on these arguments by examining the relationship between the international integration of domestic money markets and the degree of monetary-policy independence in eleven small, open economies in Europe. The authors address these important issues in the context of a broad-based historical analysis of market formation and growth, exchange-rate policies and deregulation. They find that political motives, in conjunction with competitive forces, path dependence and institutional factors, are a major determinant of market development. Moreover, they reveal that credible commitment to a stability goal is a far more reliable predictor of monetary-policy autonomy than the adoption of a specific exchange-rate regime.This accessible investigation of the relationship between domestic money-market development, international financial integration and the monetary-policy options available to small, open economies will be welcomed by students and researchers of macroeconomics, financial economics and political economy. The extensive empirical research and original conclusions will also be of interest and benefit to corporate decisionmakers, bankers, policymakers and regulators.

Read more less

The influence of political developments on the evolution of economic thought is the main theme behind this book. As the authors reveal throughout the book, history has shown many times that political events can trigger the formulation of new economic conceptions that in turn influence the future economic development of a country. The papers are arranged into five main areas of interest: monetary theory and policy economic crisis in France and the emergence of the physiocratic school the co-evolution of political ideas and economic thought in different countries and periods in Europe continuity and discontinuity in Russian economic thought attempted economic solutions to the problems posed by the Great Depression and the associated political transformation. Political Events and Economic Ideas will hold great appeal and interest for researchers and scholars of political thought, as well as historians of economic thought worldwide.

Read more less

The September 2001 terrorist attacks shocked the world. But what did they change? In this book Asia specialists from academe and policy think tanks assess the impact of 9/11 on the Asia Pacific. Drawing on unique fieldwork, access to a wide range of documents and inside expertise, the authors consider how old geo-strategic and cultural fault lines have been overlaid with new security threats from state and non-state actors. With chapters on specific countries and regions, defense policies, terrorism, and current and potential conflict zones, this collection critically examines the Asia Pacific region's post-9/11, as well as post-Iraq war, security architecture. The 14 contributors to this volume consider regional and global security in ways that go beyond the narrow focus on nation-states. They examine the 'hardware' of security (WMD, missiles, etc.) without excluding more fundamental issues of governance, identity, religion, economic collaboration, and the destabilizing impact of poverty and disease. The depth and breadth of research provides a wide perspective on security problems in the Asia Pacific.A timely and comprehensive examination of the effects and consequences of September 11 and the war in Iraq, Regional Security in the Asia Pacific is a critical book for political scientists, scholars and policymakers engaged in security and terrorism debates, as well as all those interested in the changing landscape of global relations.

Read more less

This encyclopaedic work celebrates the scores of leading pioneers who created the modern economic field of industrial organization, at the heart of which lie competition and monopoly, the two great forces that drive modern markets. Their pioneering work has shaped the field's growing research as well as the past, present and future debates in Europe and America over several centuries. This landmark book includes authoritative entries on all the major figures in both Europe and North America.Pioneers of Industrial Organization also reveals how public policies such as antitrust and regulation - and deregulation since the 1970s - can promote, or impede economic results and progress. Readers will find the intellectual pioneers, the theories and policies, and the debates, in all their variety herein. Some pioneers have been free-market advocates, others have been more protective of popular values, but all have strained to make the economic engine promote more wealth, progress and fairness. This book presents the people, ideas and debates with careful neutrality, and also with clear, concise writing.For all those interested in modern economic progress and its problems, this book provides deep insight as well as great personal colour. It will be an essential source of reference for students, researchers and professors of economics, as well as those concerned with the historical foundations or the conceptual and thematic developments in industrial organization.

Read more less

Institutions and Wage Formation in the New Europe addresses the role played by institutions in European wage formation with a focus on EMU and institutional change in labour markets. Under this general heading there are three broad but distinct themes. The first emphasises the role of institutions in affecting the dispersion of wages across occupational, age, skill, and industry and employment contract categories. The contributors make clear the profound effect that European institutions can have in influencing, and in most cases compressing, such pay differentials with consequent implications for the employment prospects of certain segments of the labour force. The second theme is the explanation for recent wage moderation in Europe. The contributions under this theme stress the role of developments in the bargaining systems of European countries and the presence of a number of temporary or specific factors, which have helped to bring about pay moderation. The final theme is the extent to which institutions are changing within Europe in the light of EMU and the adoption of new business practices.This book will appeal to academics with an interest in labour markets and EMU issues, and also industrial relations specialists with an interest in institutional topics.

Read more less

This book contributes to the expanding field of cross-cultural and comparative management, and addresses the issue of whether the main Scandinavian countries - Denmark, Norway and Sweden - exhibit such similarities in management style and practice as to constitute a country cluster.It is based on a qualitative, interview-driven study of managers in companies matched by industry in the three countries and seeks to contextualise the research findings in a general discussion of the Scandinavian countries, showing their intertwined histories and similar institutions and values. The book argues that the central values of these managers are equality, informality, decency, and conflict avoidance; it shows that the behaviour of Scandinavian managers is inspired by these values and that they can be attributed to national culture and not to the peculiarities of any particular industry.Management in Scandinavia will be of interest to students and teachers of international management, as well as practitioners of business and management.

Read more less

This important volume presents key contributions to the study of financial crises from many different areas of economics. The book offers an economic history of financial crises, empirical studies of crises in the modern era, and classic works on the theory of banking crises. It also covers specialized topics, with sections on currency crises and financial contagion. Undergraduate students of money, banking, macroeconomics and financial crises alike will find this collection to be an invaluable overview of a critical area of study.

Read more less

This authoritative collection of previously published articles emphasizes recent empirical research on mergers and corporate governance. The papers included present provocative questions dealing with the causes and effects of takeover and restructuring activity, the distribution of wealth gains between bidding and target firms, and the relevance of governance in modern corporations. The discussion of such questions presents the latest thinking on mergers and corporate governance and also offers guidance for future work in the area. The body of work included in the volume is of particular relevance to scholars in corporate finance and industrial organization as well as policymakers in antitrust, corporate law, and securities regulation.

Read more less

Networks provide the foundation for the functioning of our societies and economies. Their study has had a long tradition in such fields as engineering, operations research, management science and computer science. More recently, the disciplines of finance and economics have come to be rich and fascinating sources of network-based problems and applications. This focused and refereed volume of contributions from leading international scholars provides a wealth of innovations in the study of financial and economic networks. The volume presents entirely new results: the conceptualization of the stock market as a graph, the evolution of financial systems as networks, the incorporation of electronic transactions in international finance (from a network perspective), new formalisms for the study of supply chains (as fluid models and in an network economic framework) and new applications of agent-based computational economics trade networks with intermediaries and worker-employer networks. Finally, trade networks in web-based caching are introduced. Financial applications covered include: portfolio optimization with transaction costs, integrated pension and corporate planning, evolutionary financial networks, international finance and electronic transactions as well as hedging instruments for transportation networks. Innovative approaches to economic networks are developed in the context of supply chain and distribution networks, a variety of trade (including web-based caching) networks and even worker-employer networks.A major addition to this exciting and important subject, Innovations in Financial and Economic Networks will be an invaluable resource for economists and the networks community, as well as researchers and students in computational economics and finance, operations research, management science, applied mathematics and computer science.

Read more less

This book surveys how economists engage with knowledge and beliefs in various fields of economic analysis, such as general equilibrium theory, decision theory, game theory, experimental economics, evolutionary theory of the firm, financial markets and the history of economic thought.The contributors to this book also suggest the need for a more integrated perspective on the meaning, as well as the role, of knowledge and beliefs in economics in the future. Possible lines of future research, such as the extension of the concept of rationality in economics or the focus on cognitive processes in economic action, are discussed.A platform for future research and investigation into the role of knowledge and beliefs in economics, this book will be of great appeal to advanced scholars interested in cross-fertilization between different fields of the social sciences and also to post-graduate students interested in the lines of research suggested in the book.

Read more less

This book explores Europe's third sector - the non-profit organisations and providers of social services such as mutuals, co-operatives, associations, voluntary organisations and charities: these elements of a civil society are important yet often overlooked features in contemporary socio-economics and social policy. The pathbreaking contributions examine the third sector in Europe within a framework which seeks to conceptually integrate two hitherto separate debates: that concerning the 'social economy' of co-operatives and mutuals, and the debate on voluntary, civil society and non-profit organisations. Theoretical concepts are developed and debated, and the relationship between the development of national societies, public welfare and the third sector are explored. The book goes on to discuss the crucial role of the state and public policies - including measures that have been introduced at the European Union level. The contributions reveal the need for policy perspectives and forms of governance that respect the added value of third sector organisations, without separating them. It is argued that, in future European welfare models, it is not the size of a third sector that matters, but rather the overall impact of its civic principles.With its informative contributions about the third sector in various EU countries, the theoretical approaches offered and the ways in which policy issues are dealt with, this book will be of great interest to a wide-ranging audience including: social policy scholars, economists, political scientists and policymakers with an interest in the evolution of the third sector.

Read more less

This book provides coherent theoretical and empirical analysis of firms' investment and financing decisions. It assesses the role of uncertainty, financial imperfections, corporate governance and taxation. Evidence is obtained using several unique and high quality microeconomic data-sets, which explore features seldom addressed. Overall, the empirical results confirm theoretical precedents. Some firms are indeed financially constrained, for fixed investment as well as for R&D projects. The 'free cash-flow' hypothesis holds, that is managers divert excess funds away for their own interests, but less so in closely controlled companies. In accordance with the real option theory, the results suggest that uncertainty leads firms to adopt a 'wait and see' strategy which eventually reduces investment, especially for irreversible investment. Corporate governance features are shown to affect managers, discipline and companies' restructuring plans. Finally, different tax reforms are evaluated, and an alternative tax structure that would stimulate growth is proposed.Scholars, including those with an interest in microeconomics and econometrics, and staff within central banks and national and international organisations will also find the book of interest, as will policymakers and decision-makers concerned with the role of financing, corporate governance and taxation on firm's decisions.

Read more less

Europe's achievements in economic integration have attracted worldwide interest and are seen as an example for other regions to follow. Ten years after the completion of the Single Market Programme, this book is able to utilise empirical data not available to previous studies, also building on research by reputed academic experts and staff at the European Commission. The book reveals that European product market integration has a significant impact on the conditions of competition, the strategies of companies and the structure of industry. It adds a quarter of a percentage to annual GDP growth rates and has not led to an increased exposure of the EU to asymmetric shocks. However, the book argues that further improvements in the functioning of European product markets are needed in order to improve the EU's growth performance over the next decade. Invaluably, the book provides not only current information about Europe's achievements in economic integration but also methodology to assess the outcome of economic integration in other regions of the World, such as NAFTA, MERCOSUR and ASEAN.Offering a uniquely up-to-date and comprehensive empirical analysis and assessment of the European integration process, this book will be of great use and interest to international institutions and NGOs as well as researchers and scholars of European studies and economics.

Read more less

This timely volume reviews key issues and developments in the controversial area of public sector information (PSI). It addresses the fundamental themes, challenges and conflicts surrounding the access to, and use of, PSI in the new digital era. Using detailed empirical analyses and case studies from across Europe and the USA, the authors focus on the crucial policy, economic, legal and social issues. The public sector is the biggest single producer and holder of information including administrative and government documents, regulatory texts, political data and public registers. The authors demonstrate that this huge store of information is a key resource for a broad range of stakeholders such as citizens, civic organisations, private businesses and public sector agencies. They argue that charging the marginal cost of dissemination, a policy favoured in the US, will lead to optimal economic growth in society and will far outweigh the immediate perceived benefits of aggressive cost recovery. They illustrate how open government information policies create significant economic advantages to society and are beneficial in both the short and long term for the general public, the private sector and for governments themselves. This is one of the first books devoted to addressing the new challenges of access to PSI and the role of public policy. The international contributors, including leading experts from Europe and US, have produced an informative and coherent resource that will be of interest to scholars, students and decision-makers working in the fields of public policy, economics, political science, law and information technology.

Read more less

In the first exhaustive treatment of the field in 20 years, Scott Shane extends the analysis of entrepreneurship by offering an overarching conceptual framework that explains the different parts of the entrepreneurial process - the opportunities, the people who pursue them, the skills and strategies used to organize and exploit opportunities, and the environmental conditions favorable to them - in a coherent way.Given the level of interest devoted to entrepreneurship in the economy and among academics at business schools, one would think that researchers would have deep insights into this phenomenon. However, those who look closely at academic investigations of entrepreneurship realize that scholarly understanding of this field is quite limited. Unlike its sister fields of accounting, marketing, finance, organizational behavior and strategic management, entrepreneurship is rather poorly explained by academics. Scott Shane resolves this by considering the nexus of enterprising individuals and valuable opportunities and by using that nexus to understand the processes of discovery and exploitation of opportunities, the acquisition of resources, entrepreneurial strategy and the organizing process.This authoritative study will be a central reference and standard text for researchers, academics, and students in the field of entrepreneurship.

Read more less

An illustrious group of economists contribute to this volume honoring Dick Netzer, the public finance economist well-known for his research on state and local taxation, the provision of urban public services, and non-profit organizations. Following in his tradition, the contributors apply microeconomics to real world problems facing urban areas and use statistical analysis to gain insight into practical solutions. The first four chapters of the book provide in-depth explorations of alternative methods of financing urban government such as: the relative merits of income and property taxation at the local level, the impact of sales and income taxation on property taxation, and the feasibility of adopting a land value tax. The next two chapters focus on government expenditures: the impact of subsidized housing investment on property values, and the theoretical and historical explanations for public ownership and direct provision of public services. The final two chapters of the book turn their attention to the non-profit sector, exploring subsidies to non-profit arts organizations and the role of the non-profit sector in providing K-12 education, specifically addressing the implications for segregation and equity. Comprehensive and engaging, professionals and scholars in the fields of public finance, urban economics and public administration will find this collection of great interest.

Read more less

This book provides an in-depth analysis of the processes of innovation found in industrial clusters. The authors focus particularly on the characteristics of innovation clusters and their operation in the food industry. This is revealed through novel case studies, detailed research on the dynamic cluster relationship between academia and industry, and the role of competencies, resources, interactions and leadership. The results reveal that innovation processes are significantly different from product development processes and that many failures of innovation can be explained by a lack of distinction between the two. The authors also offer informative insights on the interactions between different technologies, the convergence between technologies and consumers, and the manner in which these two elements are handled in the innovation process. They move on to identify three different phases of the innovation process and illustrate how the importance of cluster partners, competencies and management can vary at each stage. In addition, they highlight the importance of allowing innovations to grow and develop, and emphasise the fact that successful innovations cannot simply be 'assembled' from the necessary components.Entrepreneurs, R&D managers and academics working in the fields of innovation, technology management and industrial strategy will all value the in depth case-studies and rigorous analysis which adds a new and significant dimension to the many arguments surrounding cluster management.

Read more less

This book combines a theoretical and empirical cross-national perspective to examine how societal transformations in European welfare states affect patterns of solidarity between men and women, and across generations. The authors' research has highlighted substantial discrepancies in various countries between the assumptions made at the macro-level of social policy on family issues and the reality of women's and men's contributions at home. In countries where social policy relies on family solidarity as the main source of support, this may result in growing social inequality. Finally, the chapters reveal the crucial role of women in the transformation of family life and welfare state policy. These conclusions could have important ramifications for European welfare policy. The cross-national perspective allows for a detailed understanding of the similarities and differences between the various European countries and their policies. Solidarity Between the Sexes and the Generations will appeal to scholars and researchers of social policy, sociology and welfare as well as women and gender studies. Because of its comparative perspective the book is also of interest to those involved in developing social policy in European countries.

Read more less

Capitalizing on the extensive experience of the author in estimating shadow prices, Shadow Prices for Project Appraisal forges a bridge between theory and practice, explaining what shadow (or accounting) prices are, how they are used, and how they can be estimated.Starting from the basic principles of applied welfare economics, Elio Londero's book provides a step by step derivation of those formulas more frequently utilized in estimating shadow prices. The preparation and use of input-output techniques are examined in detail, and different estimation approaches and updating procedures are presented. Finally, a detailed case study of shadow prices for Colombia illustrates their practical application.This book will be essential reading for students and teachers interested in cost-benefit analysis, and in shadow prices as a specialized field of applied welfare economics. In addition, the book will be an invaluable source for applied economists and practitioners interested in calculating shadow prices.

Read more less

This compendium of essays brings together some of William Baumol's most distinguished and acclaimed papers with some that are more rare, including a discussion of the growth and innovation mechanism that accounts for the unprecedented growth performance of the market economies. Amongst many other papers of note are a discussion of appropriate regulatory principles for privatized and deregulated firms, and a survey of the accomplishments of economists in the past century and the past millennium. This collection includes the following essays: Productivity Growth, Convergence and Welfare: What the Long-Run Data Show On the Possibility of Continuing Expansion of Finite Resources Social Wants and Dismal Science: The Curious Case of the Climbing Costs of Health and Teaching Towards Microeconomics of Innovation: Growth Engine Hallmark of Market Economics Use of Antitrust to Subvert Competition Predation and the Logic of the Average Variable Cost Test. The papers engage with an eclectic range of issues and represent a vignette of the author's varied contributions to the economic literature.

Read more less

Modern evolutionary economics is now nearly two decades old and in this excellent book, a distinguished group of evolutionary economists identify the most important developments and discuss the direction of future research.By moving away from traditional concerns with the operation of selection mechanisms towards a preoccupation with the manner in which the novelty and variety provide fuel for such mechanisms, the authors identify a key development in the field. Evolutionary economists have been drawn into the modern complexity science literature which attempts to provide an understanding of how and why 'complex adaptive systems' engage in processes of self-organization. The goal is to provide an integrated analysis of both selection and self-organization that is uniquely economic in orientation. After a brief overview of the many key achievements and continuing challenges, the first part of the book deals with theoretical perspectives, discussing institutional change, social constructions, complexity, selection and self-selection and the usefulness of theory. Part two deals with empirical perspectives and includes discussion of replicator dynamics, the measurement of heterogeneity and complexity, and modelling organizations as complex adaptive systems. This unique book will appeal to evolutionary and industrial economists and policymakers involved with issues of innovation and management scientists.

Read more less

This provocative book challenges traditional tenets about behavioral regulation in society as well as in business. Verner Petersen asserts that attempts to solve ethical problems by creating explicit guidelines, codes and rules discourage individual reflection and responsibility. Likewise, attempts to put important aspects of human life into tabular form, by devising schemes for counting everything that matters, have serious flaws, leading to further erosion of individual responsibility and insight. This book stresses the importance of tacit knowledge, ineffable values and a shared social grammar, as the foundation for individual responsibility and ethical awareness. It shows how the moral fabric of societies may be inculcated, changed and kept alive through individual decisions and actions. Based upon these ideas he argues that the open-endedness of self-regulation is the only viable alternative to modern bureaucratic attempts to regulate and control behavior. Instead of explicit regulation from the outside, putting a leash on a straining economic logic, it argues that this logic can be contained by the self-regulation of business and the responsible entrepreneurship of individual decision-makers. To make this possible Petersen presents a new view of leadership. He shows how spirited leadership can give direction, sense and latitude to employees, and asserts the importance of tacit knowledge and ineffable values for achieving coherence and unity of purpose.Scholars and students interested in management, leadership and ethics will find this well-argued volume intriguing and convincing as will business practitioners, HR professionals and those concerned with public regulation.

Read more less

This concise book, by one of the leading scholars in development economics, has been developed from a series of lectures given to masters students and will serve as an excellent introduction to the principles of growth and development theory. The author presents conventional wisdom with a critical eye and charts development economics as it has evolved from Adam Smith to 'new' or endogenous growth theory. Thirlwall is critical of the latter, and its predecessor neo-classical growth theory, and tries to put back demand as a driving force in growth theory. He argues that in an open developing economy one of the major constraints is the availability of foreign exchange to pay for imports, so that export growth which relaxes a balance of payments constraint on demand becomes a crucial determinant of overall growth performance. Demand creating its own supply in a growth context, rather than the pre-Keynesian view of supply creating its own demand, provides an alternative framework to the neo-classical one for understanding the differential growth performance of nations.This highly original book will be essential reading for all students and scholars of development and growth economics.

Read more less

It is an accepted truism that the Great Depression did more for the development of modern economics than any other single event. Some of the greatest economists of the twentieth century were inspired to go into the field as a direct result of their experiences during this period.This book explores the most prominent economic explanations of the Great Depression and how it affected the lives, experiences, and subsequent thinking of economists who lived through that era. Presented in interview format, this collection of conversations with Moses Abramovitz, Morris Adelman, Milton Friedman, Albert Hart, Charles Kindleberger, Wassily Leontief, Paul Samuelson, Anna Schwartz, James Tobin, Herbert Stein and Victor Zarnowitz provides a record of their reflections on the economics of the Great Depression and on the major events which occurred during those critical years. This volume is also another chapter in the legacy of the interwar generation of economists and is intended as a token of gratitude for the contributions they have made to the economics profession. Randall Parker has given us a window into the lives of these gifted scholars and an important glimpse into the world that shaped them.Any student or scholar of economics will find this homage to and record of the brightest voices to come out of this critical time to be indispensable.

Read more less

Honoring David Boyce for his legendary contributions to the fields of transportation modeling and regional science, the chapters in this festschrift highlight and analyze state-of-the-art and state-of-the-practice methodologies and theories in transportation modeling, regional and urban planning. Authors from academia and industry, all experts in planning, engineering, management, economics and related disciplines, provide important new contributions to this wide-ranging literature, as well as extensions of David Boyce's seminal work. This volume goes well beyond the traditional festschrift and stands as an important reference tool in its own right.Academics, researchers and students will find this comprehensive volume a valuable additional to their library.

Read more less

The studies included in these two volumes have been selected to highlight key recent contributions to scholarship on the political economy of international monetary relations. Over the last decade, the central theme of research in this area has been the growth and increasingly pervasive influence of capital mobility. The papers collected here have significantly advanced theoretical and analytical understanding of the causes and, even more importantly, the political and economic consequences of financial liberalization. Among the issues addressed are the impact of growing capital mobility on domestic policy, the choice of exchange-rate regimes and monetary institutions, governance of international capital, policy cooperation and monetary integration. These volumes will be of particular interest to specialists in international political economy.

Read more less

The loss of biodiversity has put increasing pressure on the stability and continuity of ecosystems, and their ability to provide goods and services to mankind. This valuable new book addresses this issue and presents an integrated ecological-economic perspective on the analysis of biodiversity loss and conservation. It adopts a multidisciplinary approach and attempts both to provide a definition of biodiversity benefits as well as investigate alternative perspectives on biodiversity. The book also presents a classification of biodiversity values and effectively illustrates which economic valuation methods can best measure which type of biodiversity value. The distinguished authors move on to discuss the utility of the application of the economics-ecology interface and integrated modelling for the assessment of biodiversity values. In doing so, they consider the use of multi-criteria evaluation and meta-analytical methods to deal with the aggregation of information from multiple disciplines and past valuation studies, respectively. The book concludes by addressing the role of biodiversity indicators and monetary information for policy design and biodiversity management, devoting special attention to the certification and the ecolabeling of biodiversity benefits.The integration of economic and ecological theories and methods, and the strong methodological orientation will be of immense benefit to students, academics and researchers of environmental economics, environmental science and ecology. Policymakers involved with nature policy and management will also find this volume to be of great practical value.

Read more less

This important book collects together Peter Nijkamp's work on spatial-economic markets, particularly housing and labour markets, and the increasing impact of information technology on mobility and the location of firms, residents and job seekers.The first part deals with applied modelling and theoretical advances in housing market dynamics and research. The papers address issues such as the implications of household dynamics for relocation decisions, migration movements in Europe, and the driving forces for migration decisions of ethnic groups. The second part focuses on the spatial labour market, dealing with recruitment channel and search channel choices by job seekers and firms, vacancy durations and the opportunities offered by ethnic entrepreneurship for improving the chances of ethnic groups. The third part comprises an analysis of spatial mobility flows and interaction patterns and the final part emphasises the scope and effect of information technology in transport. This includes the effect of real-time information on the behaviour of car drivers, the effect of telematics devices on public transport users, the importance of telematics for the freight transport sector and the adoption mechanisms of ICT users and their related policy implications.This collection will be essential reading for scholars and students interested in the housing and labour markets and the impact on both of developments in IT and transport.

Read more less

This collection brings together Peter Nijkamp's work in the areas of innovation, entrepreneurship, growth and spatial development. The first part comprises work of a theoretical nature and addresses issues such as the micro-economic foundation of spatial development, the relevance of spatial innovation and urban incubation theory, the role of network growth, policy and the importance of novel evolutionary perspectives for understanding regional economic dynamics. The second part focuses attention on empirical macro and meso dimensions of economic development, dealing inter alia with the economic growth impact of public policy, the local factors critical for successful innovation, the importance of networks for regional growth and the implications of the rational expectations paradigm for industrial dynamics. The third part focuses on empirical micro-studies of economic performance and the final part emphasises the scope and effect of public policy for spatial-economic performance, including policies for ICT, regional development, urban sustainability and learning capabilities. This collection will be essential reading for scholars and students interested in regional science, innovation studies, entrepreneurship and economic development.

Read more less

This important collection brings together Peter Nijkamp's work in the area of environmental and resource economics. The essays selected pay particular attention to theory and modelling, environmental analysis as well as policy issues and implications. The first part focuses on the economic management of environmental goods and scarce resources, the analysis of spatial-environmental externalities, the study of biodiversity from an economic perspective, the economics of water use and the implications of climate change for global economic policy. The second part focuses on environmental-economic modelling. It presents new advances in modelling and evaluation, dealing with the role of endogenous technology and trade in economic growth models, the design of second-best energy policies and the implications of environmental externalities in the aviation sector. The third part considers the relevance and applicability of evaluation studies for environmental management and the final part examines the scope of environmental policy analysis. This collection will be essential reading for scholars and students in both environmental and ecological economics.

Read more less

This comprehensive volume presents a selection of country studies on European Accounting published since 1995. It concentrates on financial accounting, but also gives research on management accounting, auditing, professionalisation, history and critical accounting. It sheds light on financial reporting as it is currently practised, as well as on the regulatory framework and the accounting environment. The articles range from descriptions of the development of accounting systems in the transitional economies of Eastern Europe to analyses of theory and practice in Western European countries with a more established research tradition.This collection has international appeal and can be appreciated with relatively limited prior knowledge of the countries or specific techniques.

Read more less

The past few decades have witnessed a growth in the importance of services in the economy, yet until the 1980s, scholarly literature on the expanding role of trade in services in the world economy remained scarce. This timely research review, edited by a leading analyst in the field, brings together seminal works on the WTO and trade in services published in the last twenty-five years. Areas covered in this important set include the determinants and patterns of trade in services, services in regional integration agreements and the GATS. This book will be of immense value to scholars and practitioners interested in this evolving and increasingly relevant field of study.

Read more less

This two-volume collection includes the most important and influential contributions to environmental economics during the last ten years. The articles cover a broad range of topics, and the collection gives an excellent overview over the present state of knowledge in the field. These timely volumes will be invaluable to students and researchers alike.

Read more less

Recent years have witnessed massive development in both the venture capital market and in academic research relating to this market. The aims of this timely collection are to identify leading contributions to this developing area from the past two decades; to reflect the growing multi-disciplinarity of research on venture capital; and to highlight the need to recognize international differences in venture capital markets.The editors have written an authoritative overview, signaling where venture capital research has come and where it is going. This is a vital collection of writings for those wanting to become familiar with venture capital research.

Read more less