Search results for ""edward elgar""

This book deals with some of the most important questions in innovation research such as the role of corporate governance, national systems of innovation, and government regulation in the development and adoption of innovations. In particular, it presents new evidence on the factors which shape innovation in construction by drawing on extensive interviews with construction firms across Europe. The authors offer broad lessons for the systems of innovation approach and suggest that particular structures of ownership and management, and inter-organisational relations are responsible for variations in the economic performance of the construction industry in different European countries. The particular challenges posed by the adoption of sustainable technologies such as natural thermal insulation and active solar heating systems are also explored. These environmental innovations are expected to have an impact on sustainable building and regeneration, and at a more general level can help identify the factors which can facilitate or inhibit the innovation process. Importantly, the book does not simply focus on the relationship between technology, firm organisation and competitiveness, but also considers the social and institutional aspects which affect the construction sector's ability to innovate. The extensive case studies from 5 European countries allow the reader to analyse innovation performance from an international comparative perspective. Innovation in Construction represents an important contribution to the theoretical debate on innovation. It will be highly useful to scholars and students interested in innovation studies, environmental management, and construction management and economics.

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Manuel Castells - one of the world's pre-eminent social scientists - has drawn together a stellar group of contributors to explore the patterns and dynamics of the network society in its cultural and institutional diversity. The book analyzes the technological, cultural and institutional transformation of societies around the world in terms of the critical role of electronic communication networks in business, everyday life, public services, social interaction and politics. The contributors demonstrate that the network society is the new form of social organization in the Information age, replacing the Industrial society.The book analyzes processes of technological transformation in interaction with social culture in different cultural and institutional contexts: the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Finland, Russia, China, India, Canada, and Catalonia. The topics examined include business productivity, global financial markets, cultural identity, the uses of the Internet in education and health, the anti-globalization movement, political processes, media and identity, and public policies to guide technological development. Taken together these studies show that the network society adopts very different forms, depending on the cultural and institutional environments in which it evolves.The Network Society is an outstanding and original volume of direct interest in academia - particularly in the fields of social sciences, communication studies, and business schools - as well as for policymakers engaged in technological policy and economic development. Business and management experts will also discover much of value to them within this book.

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The Governance of World Trade focuses on the roles, influence and impacts of the so-called 'GATT operatives' or WTO practitioners. It is widely assumed that they have little influence on decisions and policies made, but, according to the authors, the GATT/WTO Secretariat has played an active role in promoting multilateral cooperation.This unique study of the internal operation of the GATT/WTO argues that the invisible yet indispensable international civil servants are the permanent machinery within the institution. They have, the authors ascertain, an important coordinating function and act according to a specific scale of values that transcend those of individual states, providing the continuity and the cement, the credibility and the connection among self-interest-driven states. The book concludes that as one of the most 'democratic' international organizations, operating on the principle of consensus, the WTO needs a creative Secretariat as a necessary condition for multilateral cooperation to work.Using case studies to analyse the workings of Secretariat officials in trade negotiations, and the influence and role of international civil servants, this book will be a fascinating read for a wide ranging audience including: political scientists and economists, international civil servants, think tanks, NGOs, and government agencies.

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The Environmentalism of the Poor has the explicit intention of helping to establish two emerging fields of study - political ecology and ecological economics - whilst also investigating the relations between them.The book analyses several manifestations of the growing 'environmental justice movement', and also of 'popular environmentalism' and the 'environmentalism of the poor', which will be seen in the coming decades as driving forces in the process to achieve an ecologically sustainable society. The author studies, in detail, many ecological distribution conflicts in history and at present, in urban and rural settings, showing how poor people often favour resource conservation. The environment is thus not so much a luxury of the rich as a necessity of the poor. It concludes with the fundamental questions: who has the right to impose a language of valuation and who has the power to simplify complexity? Joan Martinez-Alier combines the study of ecological conflicts and the study of environmental valuation in a totally original approach that will appeal to a wide cross-section of academics, ecologists and environmentalists.

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The promotion of liberalised and deregulated markets by bilateral and multilateral aid donors, and by global institutions such as the WTO, has led to significant attention being paid to competition and regulatory reforms in developing economies. The process of reform involves the transfer and diffusion of market models derived from practice and theory in developed countries. However, in developing countries, regulation needs to do more than simply promote competitiveness and consumer interests: it also needs to ensure that the market nurtures development. By rigorously examining the numerous impacts of regulation, this book will help to fill a significant gap in the literature on economic and social development.The book draws together contributions from leading experts across a range of disciplines including economics, law, politics and governance, public management and business management. The authors begin with an extensive overview of the issues of regulation and competition in developing countries, and carefully illustrate the important themes and concepts involved. Using a variety of country and sector case studies, they move on to focus on the problems of applicability and adaptation that are experienced in the process of transferring best practice policy models from developed to developing countries. The book presents a clear agenda for further empirical research and is notable for its rigorous exploration of the links between theory and practice. Although there is substantial interest in competition and regulation, as yet there has been relatively little investigation of these issues in developing economies. This book redresses the balance and will be a valuable resource for researchers, academics, teachers and students interested in development economics and development studies. It will also be of great relevance for practitioners and policymakers working in the fields of competition policy and regulatory reform.

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Multinational Enterprises, Innovative Strategies and Systems of Innovation explores the extent to which multinational enterprises (MNEs) are decentralising the creation of new technological capabilities to various different countries. The book contends that technological strategies and innovation activities undertaken by firms are a critical part of the increasing internationalisation of economic activity, and that MNEs are the main actors for these changes. It goes on to explain that MNEs must now effectively manage new technological assets in order to cope with extensive changes in the nature of international competition.Experts from a network of thirteen European countries attempt to promote a better understanding of tendencies towards a new international dynamic of technology creation and diffusion. The contributors to the book then explore the factors determining the process of decentralisation and the resulting consequences for national systems of innovation.This thorough and easily accessible analysis of new trends in the technological strategies of MNEs and their implications for national systems of innovation will be of enormous interest to those specialising in the internationalisation of the economy or the economic analysis of technical change. In addition, the book will provide an excellent source of background information for policymakers when drafting new policies, and for corporate decision-making in the private sector.

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This important Handbook provides a unique overview of information systems (IS) research by focusing on the increasing interest in critical-related issues. Representing a significant step forward in the development of critical perspectives on the IS field, the Handbook draws together original contributions from leading authors who offer alternatives to the current mainstream approaches to IS research. In order to accommodate the various strands of critical understanding, a broad range of views and theoretical standpoints are encompassed, thereby combining theory with practical applications, and offering a valuable source of reference for this emerging area of research. Recent years have witnessed a more explicit focus on critical research and, continuing in that vein, the editors adopt an inclusive approach which considers alternative insights that can arise from critical IS research. Topics explored include, amongst others: management trends and IS flexibility, freedom and women's emancipation 'consuming passions' in the global knowledge economy critical discourse analysis for the study of information systems evaluation of e-governance projects in India rationalities and emotions in IS innovation• capital, information technology and enterprise development mediated work in global business organizations. Reflecting on key themes and emergent issues in critical information systems research, this Handbook will be invaluable reading for both academics and practitioners with an interest in a critical understanding of information systems from a variety of perspectives.

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Recalling the Lisbon strategy defining structural reform in the EU, and stressing the need to integrate the acceding countries in the reform process, this book argues that meeting the ambitious challenges set is not impossible. It scrutinises both reforms already undertaken and those yet to be tackled.The main thrust of the book is that the sharing of mutual experiences is important for generating an acceptable policy mix, both at EU and national levels. The contributors highlight key financial issues, including the role of FDI and of foreign banks in the still 'under-banked' acceding countries, the re-launch of social security systems and the fiscal challenges of financing the catch-up process. They also examine the ongoing EU debate surrounding the application of the Stability and Growth Pact in Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) and go on to explore the contrasting evidence that some CEECs have shown more extensive privatisation efforts than some EU countries.Linking general theory and empirical research with practical evidence from EU and acceding countries, this accessible volume will be invaluable to a wide-ranging readership, encompassing economists and specialists - whether academic or professional - in the fields of CEECs and European integration and enlargement, as well as governments, banks and international organisations.

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Recent crises in emerging markets have raised doubts about the desirability of relaxing controls on capital mobility. George Fane, however, uses evidence from the crises in Asia and Latin America to reassert the traditional case that such controls are an excessively blunt instrument for achieving financial stability.This book argues that recent official proposals for reforming the 'international financial architecture' are also unlikely to reduce the frequency of currency and financial crises to an acceptable level. The author proposes an alternative plan to achieve greater financial stability: banks should have to double the currently accepted percentage of capital to risk-weighted assets from 8 to 16 percent and the risk-weights for loans to emerging markets should also be raised substantially the financial sectors in emerging markets should be fully opened to foreign competition bankruptcy procedures in emerging markets should be greatly strengthened central banks should adopt flexible exchange rates, backed by credible targets for inflation or monetary growth. If flexible exchange rates are not adopted, central banks should at least avoid the widespread practice of trying to sterilise the monetary effects of capital flows The author argues that the implementation of this plan will be a far more effective way of enhancing financial stability than controlling international capital flows, or trying to force private lenders to make new loans to countries that suffer crises.This book will be required reading for scholars and policymakers in the areas of international financial economics, financial regulation, development economics and Asian studies.

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Knowledge is fast becoming one of the main sources of wealth, yet it can also become a source of inequalities. The New Knowledge Economy in Europe attempts to determine whether it is possible to hasten the transition towards a knowledge-based economy and enhance competitiveness with increased employment and improved social cohesion across Europe.The book is an amalgamation of the scientific and political agendas which led to the European strategy for the knowledge-based economy adopted by the European Union. Its authors illustrate their own influence on European policy making with contributions on a broad range of subjects, including: the potential for the growth of a knowledge-based global economy new challenges for the welfare state emerging trends in employment the role of international benchmarking as a policy learning tool the construction of European identity the building of multilevel governance required to undertake reforms. The results of the European strategy for the knowledge economy have become apparent throughout the EU in policy areas including research, innovation, single markets, education and employment, amongst others. This is the new blueprint for economic and social modernisation in the EU.The New Knowledge Economy in Europe will be of great interest to academics, managers, public administrators and professional organisations involved in studies of Europe or innovation.

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This book consists of detailed case studies of foreign direct investment (FDI) in China, India, Ireland, Malaysia, Mexico and Sub-Saharan Africa, providing a critical review of the determinants and impact of FDI on growth and development, employment, technology transfer and trade.The expert contributors examine a range of controversial issues including the contribution of the relatively large volume of FDI in China to its growth, whether India should fully liberalise its FDI regime and the impact of Mexico's membership of NAFTA on the volume of FDI it has attracted. Malaysia's economic policies, which appear to have attracted relatively large volumes of FDI but failed to generate the hoped for transmission of technology and skills are also questioned, along with the role of corruption in limiting the contribution of FDI to achieving social goals in Sub-Saharan Africa. The impressive record of the Irish Republic in attracting and harnessing FDI to development objectives is examined closely and provides a detailed analysis of policies likely to promote efficient utilisation of FDI.Foreign Direct Investment will be of interest to researchers, scholars and practitioners in the areas of international economics and international business - foreign direct investment and multinational enterprises in particular - and development economics.

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The economics of energy has been a contested issue over the past century. Although it has not figured prominently in mainstream economics, numerous alternative proposals have called for energy to play a more central role in economic theory. In this highly original and enlightening volume, Guido Buenstorf develops a new conceptual approach to the economics of energy which originates from recent advances in evolutionary economics.The book proposes a non-reductionist, evolutionary approach to the economics of energy and sets out by asking how energy use in production contributes to the use value of goods. Based on a sequential production framework, the author re-interprets the notion of factors of production, identifies long-term patterns of change in energy use, and highlights the role of technical interdependence in adopting new energy technologies. This approach is then applied to three historical cases of energy innovation: the transition from wood to coal, the introduction of the steam engine, and the electrification of industrial production. Academics and researchers in the fields of evolutionary economics, ecological economics and innovation will welcome this fresh and illuminating interpretation of the economics of energy and its role in the process of production.

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The role of stakeholders is integral to corporate sustainability as society increasingly demands that corporations play a role in achieving environmental objectives in addition to building shareholder wealth. In the first book to gather cutting-edge research on the interactions between stakeholders and organizations within the context of corporate sustainability, the contributors to this volume provide a diversity of perspectives from North America, Europe, and Oceania.The authors examine the role stakeholders play in influencing regulations on global issues such as climate change and national and regional problems. Stakeholder selection of companies and the sustainability issues they choose to target are explored, as are the ways in which organizations motivate them to participate in the evolution of holistic sustainable solutions. The interactions between stakeholder pressures, organizational characteristics and corporate sustainability practices are also covered. Finally, the volume provides an examination of the dynamic structure of organizational fields in the European automobile industry in order to analyze the factors that foster or hinder ecological modernization.Academics, environmental consultants, sustainability managers, NGOs, and international development institutions will find this timely volume of great value.

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This highly original book represents a major advance in the use of patents to compare countries' technological competitiveness. It tabulates and analyses 280,000 United States patents from countries across the world over a ten year period. Specifically, these patents were granted to 'not-for-profit' entities (mainly universities and research institutes), firms with no more than 500 employees, or to individual inventors. For each of these groups, the book provides statistics and discussion on how long patents are kept in force, the extent to which they are cited, and how far inventions made in different countries are in fact owned in the United States.Inter-country comparisons are provided between groupings of large and small advanced countries and between the sizeable number of countries for which patents are only just beginning to become economically important. The fact that all these patents have been subjected to the same examination process facilitates genuine like-for-like comparisons. Some of the more interesting emergent international differences in inventions are also explored. This book will provide a mine of reliable data for econometric studies of international competitiveness.Believed to be the first ever measurement of the patentable output of universities and research institutes worldwide because it provides the first fully international comparisons, this book will be invaluable to: patent offices and attorneys, university technical transfer offices, national industrial development agencies, as well as economists with an interest in international trade and technology.

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This rigorously analytical yet readable book examines trends in new terror - understood here to be the capacity of sub-state actors to secure religious or politically motivated objectives by violent means. The contributors argue that whilst the use of violence to achieve political ends is scarcely original, what distinguishes new terror is its potential for lethality. This, combined with its evolving capacity to draw upon the resources of globalisation, particularly the revolution in communications which has advanced global markets, has also rendered them, and the more developed core states in the international trading order, increasingly vulnerable to asymmetric threats.The book's objectives are to: examine the character of new terror and its ambivalent relationship to the evolving cybernetic order made possible by technology and globalisation identify emerging trends and threats in terrorism including cyber-terrorism, eco-terrorism, bombings and CBR material consider the implications of these characteristics for the Asia Pacific region. This careful examination of the key paradox facing the modern condition, namely that the freedoms of communication themselves facilitate terror cells aimed at unravelling the prevailing order, will be of great interest to academics and researchers of contemporary politics, international relations, business, and Asian studies. The lay reader will also find the book accessible.

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This book presents simple models of the major alternative types of political regimes, estimates of the parameters of these models, and quantitative estimates of the fiscal choices and economic outcomes of these regimes.William Niskanen provides valuable analysis of the effects of the voting rule, the progressivity of the tax structure, and the length of the fiscal horizon in democratic governments and interesting insights of the effects of alternative regimes on policies, such as war and immigration, that affect the number of people subject to the regime. Economists and political scientists who specialize in public finance, public choice, and the comparative analysis of political regimes will find much to engage them in this book.

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This book takes a fresh look at professions - their history and sociology, and at the nature both of professional practice and professional competence. Based on research by the authors across 20 varied professions, the book offers an innovative model of professional competence and throws new light on how competence is acquired. It identifies a range of informal learning processes, which seem to be just as important to becoming competent as formal training. As a result, the authors suggest a paradigm of professional development that combines informal and formal learning and also brings together academic and competence-based approaches.Professions, Competence and Informal Learning provides practical advice to professional developers on programme design as well as tips for individual professionals on how to exploit their informal learning opportunities. It draws on the research to forecast the future skills needs of professionals and suggests how professional development programmes may need to change in response.The book should be of value to anyone who is interested in professional competence, whether as a professional educator or developer, or as an individual professional. It is also potentially of use to trainers and educators in non-professional areas, especially those with an interest in informal learning.

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This concise and clearly focused Dictionary, with contributions by the leading authorities in their fields, brings order and clarity to a topic that can suffer from confusion over terminology and concepts. It provides a bridge between the academic disciplines involved and illustrates the application of transportation policy that crosses a variety of administrative divisions. Cutting through jargon, the entries concentrate on the social science aspects of transportation analysis, defining many of the terms used in transportation, and providing valuable information on some of the major institutions and technologies affecting this sector. This concise and comprehensive Dictionary will be an invaluable addition to libraries and research institutes and a helpful resource for anyone with an interest in the analysis of transport.

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A three-volume collection of the papers and correspondence of economist Roy F. Harrod, dating from the period between World Wars I and II.

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This book takes up the challenge of developing an empirically based foundation for evolutionary economics built upon complex system theory. The authors argue that modern evolutionary economics is at a crossroads. At a theoretical level, modern evolutionary economics is moving away from the traditional focus of the operation of selection mechanisms and towards concepts of 'complex adaptive systems' and self-organisation. On an applied level, new and innovative methods of empirical research are being developed and considered. The contributors take up this challenge and examine aspects of complexity and evolution in applied contexts. The topics covered in this book include innovation and technology in industry, industry life cycles, time series econometrics and evolutionary economics, complexity and variety, entrepreneurship and evolutionary theory and the relationship between ecological and evolutionary economics.Applied Evolutionary Economics and Complex Systems will appeal to evolutionary and industrial economists and scholars of innovation studies, as well as management scientists and policymakers involved with issues of innovation.

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Whilst all of the major industrialized countries are currently experiencing population ageing, Japan is at the forefront of this demographic trend. This important new book explores the serious economic and social challenges that a rapidly ageing Japanese economy will have to overcome in the first half of the 21st century. Following a comprehensive review of the economics of ageing both in general and in Japan, the authors present a range of future scenarios produced using an integrated economic-demographic model. This unique model integrates demography and the macro-economy, paying special attention to pensions, health care, and long-term care. The results reveal that, even if future demographic trends are more favourable than predicted, Japan will still experience a slowdown of economic growth, reduced savings, and rising costs of pensions, health care and long-term care. However, with appropriate policy measures and rapid implementation, the authors believe that a situation in which both young and old continue to experience long-term improvements in well-being remains possible.This book is arguably the best available English language survey on the economic implications of population trends in Japan. It will be widely read by researchers of economics, demography, public policy and public finance, and will also provide useful supplemental reading for graduate or upper undergraduate courses in economics, social policy, and Asian studies.

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Overeducation is one of the most important mechanisms for labour market adjustment when there is an excess supply of highly skilled workers. However, there is much debate about the consequences of this phenomena and the short- and long-term effects for both the overeducated worker and the economy as a whole. This book contributes to our understanding of recent developments in the research on overeducation by providing a detailed overview of the pertinent theoretical and policy issues. The authors study evidence that a substantial number of workers in Europe are overqualified and challenge the wisdom of greater investments in the education of the workforce. Although it may appear a waste of resources if many workers have a higher level of education than their job requires, others argue that overeducation may actually facilitate the development of a competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in Europe. They move on to look at labour mobility and skill mismatches in the labour market, and examine the impact of overeducation on earnings. They also address the somewhat controversial issue of how to measure employee overqualification, and propose an income ratio based on the difference between actual and potential earnings as an effective approach. Finally, they look at the effect of overeducation on specific groups in society such as licensed professionals, university graduates and ethnic minorities. Economists, social scientists, and academics interested in labour market theory and policy will find this an insightful and original volume which will make an important addition to the literature on overeducation.

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This two-volume set brings together a selection of key articles which examine the shadow economy and its relationship with underground activities. The set contains important work on surveys and conceptual considerations, theoretical approaches and policy implications. It further focuses on the empirical results of studies into the shadow economy, and considers tax evasion, tax compliance, tax morale and government institutions. This authoritative publication will be of interest to anyone seeking a comprehensive investigation into the shadow economy.

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The book analyses the evolution of research and innovation policies in the world's leading countries. The last decade has witnessed a radical transformation of the landscape shaped after World War II, as described in the seminal collection edited by Richard Nelson in the early 1990s. Even though national systems have inherited different institutional arrangements and trajectories, analyses show three major converging trends in their public policies. There has been a retraction from support to large firms and programmes and a shift toward small to medium enterprises and the innovation infrastructure; the focus on public research and training capabilities is growing; and there has been a redesign of public intervention with the growing role of regions and states on one hand and multinational authorities on the other, particularly in the European Union.The authors, all leading scholars in innovation research, provide thorough analytical descriptions of the national innovation system in their country and set that system in historical perspective. Each chapter is written so the reader can easily make comparisons between countries and regions. Six major issues are identified and addressed in each chapter: the dynamics of universities and their relations with the economy the evolving role of defence R&D and other large public programmes the growth of technology policies and the innovative capabilities of SMEs the changing rationale for government laboratories the growing role of regions in fostering innovation the capability of government to adapt to rapid changes in innovation systems. This essential book will be of interest to scholars and students of science, technology and innovation policy, management, institutional economics and managers of research and innovation policies at a national and local level.

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The theme of this book is moral leadership in action as it manifests itself implicitly and explicitly in European business organizations. We understand leadership as interplay among people at all levels within organizations and also within the economic system by which people are bound together through particular forms of interaction. The contributions collected in this volume mirror the plurality of approaches we find in the theoretical writings of academics in different European countries. The additional business cases from six different nations show how leaders actually have adopted and integrated working with values in their own organizations, i.e. how they put moral leadership into action. While the selected papers are not meant to be representative of each country, particular economic and cultural traditions are apparent in both thinking and managing moral leadership. The contributors, by presenting this emerging multicultural pattern of Europe, contribute to a better and more knowledgeable understanding of how European business leaders pursue their goals.Managers, students and teachers in business, ethics and leadership studies will find this volume an indispensable guide to the unique contributions of European leadership scholars.

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Dick Netzer, a leading public finance economist specializing in state and local issues and urban government, brings together in this comprehensive volume essays by top scholars connecting the property tax with land use. They explore the idea that the property tax is used as a partial substitute for land use regulation and other policies designed to affect how land is utilized. Like many economists, the contributors see some type of property taxation as the more efficient means of helping to shape land use. Some of the essays analyze a conventional property tax, while others consider radically different systems of property taxation.The first paper sets the stage, modeling taxes on land and buildings in the context of a dynamic model of real estate markets. The remaining papers examine how various tax mechanisms and non-tax alternatives to regulating and determining land use, such as zoning and private neighborhood associations, complement or substitute for one another. Urban planners and economists interested in local public finance will welcome this comprehensive study.

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This comprehensive Dictionary is an important reference tool for all those interested in environmental science and environmental studies. Written in a clear and accessible style, the dictionary includes over three thousand up-to-date entries, all accompanied by a detailed yet straightforward definition covering all aspects of the subject.The book also includes three primers, which will bridge the gap between each discipline covered. These consist of introductions to environmental economics, international environmental problems and environmental systems, dynamics and modelling. Another unique feature is the inclusion of an appendix which lists and describes the world's major international environmental agreements.This Dictionary with its primers and appendices will prove immensely useful to all students and scholars of environmental science and studies.

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The antitrust litigation process is, to a large and perhaps surprising degree, driven by the underlying economic literature. The articles in this volume have been chosen to provide a sense of both the history and the current state of thinking about antitrust.The opening section considers the flaws in the 1960s view on monopoly. Part II then examines economic thinking with respect to mergers. The next three sections contain selections on three specific sets of practices that have been frequent targets of antitrust scrutiny. Part VI examines perspectives on exclusionary behavior. Part VII studies the literature on network externalities. The final part explores works in the area of bureaucracy and politics.This insightful volume will be a valuable source of reference for both economists and lawyers concerned with antitrust and competition issues.

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Islamic finance refers to methods of undertaking banking and financial transactions that are in conformity with the precepts of Islam. As such, the system offers a challenge to conventional Western ways of thinking about financing. This indispensable set of papers brings together the most important previously published papers on the subject of Islamic Finance from the last four decades. Issues explored include: the prohibition on interest; financing instruments; accounting and regulatory issues; institutional structures and recent developments.

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This research review covers the main theories and justifications for and against state intervention as they have developed over two centuries. It also incorporates an institutional approach to the role of the state in enforcing "the rules of the game" of the economy as well as examining specific issues including market failure, rent-seeking and regulation. Economists and political scientists alike will find this to be the ideal guide to the classic and modern arguments surrounding the state's role in the economy.

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John Chipman is one of the most esteemed economists working in international trade theory. This major reference work, presented in two volumes, offers his principal work in an accessible form. Expanding and elaborating on the theoretical work presented in Volume 1, this broad yet cohesive collection presents a carefully selected presentation of his principal articles. It offers a wide-ranging exploration of international trade by one of the leading thinkers in the field.Volume 2 collects the author's most influential work on the theory of international movements of capital (both physical and financial). The main emphasis is the effects of these movements on resource allocation within countries, and the consequent changes in relative prices and thus both real and nominal exchange rates, as well as the terms of trade. It is argued that chronic deficits or surpluses in countries' balances of payments on current accounts are in all but a few cases the consequence of capital movements resulting from demographic, governmental budgetary, and other causes, as opposed to the popular view that they result from the manipulation of exchange rates.This landmark book and its companion volume gather together truly seminal articles that are widely scattered through the literature, and will be an essential source of reference for both instructors and graduate students concerned with international trade theory.

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Aid is one of the major issues in development and international relations. Over the last 50 years there have been remarkable changes in our understanding of aid's limits and potentialities as an instrument of economic, social and political change. This important collection brings together major landmark contributions to the analysis, structured around key issues and debates and offers an overview of present understanding. Aid's role in the new global political economy is under intense scrutiny, as analysts, politicians and civil society struggle to reach a consensus on such issues as how much and what kinds of aid to support, to which countries to allocate aid and under what conditions. Equally accessible to economists and non-economists, Foreign Aid in the New Global Economy provides an invaluable reference for anyone with a policy interest in aid, its consequences for international development and the theoretical underpinnings.

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In this book, a group of distinguished authors addresses three broad questions: what broad strategies and macroeconomic policies best support poverty reduction efforts in Asia; what role should targeted antipoverty interventions play, and how should such interventions be designed; and how is poverty measured, what new approaches are needed, and how does measurement affect our understanding of poverty. Each of these three broad themes is also considered together in chapters examining the poverty situations in a number of countries in Asia and the Pacific.The book represents a major scholarly contribution of the Asian Development Bank to the literature on poverty in the region it serves. The organization adopted poverty reduction as the principal objective of its lending in 1999. This book will be of interest to scholars and students of development economics and Asian studies, and will be useful reading for policymakers and development practitioners working in national, international or nongovernmental organizations.A Joint Publication with the Asian Development Bank

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This book focuses on pension policies in Europe and interestingly includes comparisons both within the EU and between EU countries and the US. The authors show how different countries are confronted with similar problems and that comparison of national experiences may be of great help for the 'open method of coordination' now adopted in the EU.The papers deal mainly with the effects of the huge payroll taxes differentials between countries on individual retirement choices and the labour market, with taxation of contributions and pensions, and with the portability of occupational pensions. The main impact on labour supply is shown to be early retirement due to actuarially unfair pension formulae. The authors also argue that the US experience shows that taxation of contributions and savings for old-age may not generate the hoped for incentive effects, while an example of inconsistent taxation of pensions is offered by Germany. Finally, it is shown that limited portability of defined benefits plans does not appear to be a strong impediment to labour mobility in Europe.Pension Policy in an Integrating Europe will be valued by scholars of both public policy, public finance and European studies, and those practitioners and policymakers involved in insurance in the EU.

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This timely research review highlights the most important and influential articles and papers on ageing and later life of the past half century. The authors examine policy creation and implementation, practice and critical gerontology including both feminist and international perspectives. The work provides a critical perspective on the field and will be of immense assistance to anyone looking to understand the consequences of our ageing population on society.

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The Evolution of Scientific Knowledge aims to reach a unique understanding of science with the help of economic and sociological theories. The economic theories used are institutionalist and evolutionary. The sociological theories draw from the type of work on social studies of science that have, in recent decades, transformed our picture of science and technology.Science - and more broadly research - is a field where economics and sociology meet in an attempt to understand how complex organizations emerge and work. While the authors argue that science is neither an institution nor an order that emerged as the result of conscious and willful design, nor is it like a 'normal' market, they also acknowledge that science has aspects of market orders and aspects of orders created by design. Furthermore, science develops in specific ways that are to some extent like the development of economic systems, and at the same time are very different. This fascinating book will be of great interest to economists, philosophers, historians and sociologists by focussing on a multidisciplinary understanding of science.

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Corporate Citizenship (CC) has emerged as a widely used way of describing the role of business in wider society. As such, CC has been popular with academics, business leaders and politicians alike, as it locates the private corporation within a network of mutual responsibilities and obligations in their social environment. This title takes stock of the debate by tracing back its origin, identifying the key topics and delineating the key controversies. The book places the discussion on corporate citizenship in a political context within the wider debate on the role of business in society. In doing so, the individual chapters feature major contributions by the leading scholars in this area and provide an overview of ongoing developments, in particular at the transnational level.

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The formation of preferences is an elusive subject that many social scientists, and especially economists, have tended to avoid. In this original new book, Wilfred Dolfsma combines institutional economics with insights from the other social sciences to analyse the way in which preferences are formed in a social context.The author demonstrates how preferences for specific goods, and symbolic goods in particular, are mediated through the institutional settings that both individuals and groups find themselves in. He develops a Social Value Nexus, which indicates how institutions relate to the socio-cultural values of a society. He goes on to argue that tensions at the institutional or socio-cultural level will alter the institutional setting and therefore affect preferences. The sudden and radical change in consumption patterns for music in the late 1950s and early 1960s provides convincing evidence of the author's claim. By focusing on an event with great societal significance and using unique empirical material, he skilfully elucidates the theoretical arguments made in the book.This study offers both a novel explanation of the formation of preferences and a significant elaboration of the economic theory of institutional change. It will engage and enlighten scholars and students of the social sciences, especially those with an interest in consumption, institutional economics, cultural studies and sociology.

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This significant book demonstrates how the 'systems of innovation' approach can be utilised to understand the complex interactions between innovation and growth which, in turn, can enhance the prospects of developing nations.Systems of Innovation and Development confronts the challenges and opportunities of the knowledge era, focusing particularly on the new conditions for industrial and technological advancement. The distinguished contributors address many of the most significant issues including the globalising learning economy, the finance-dominated accumulation regime, learning and development divides, systems of innovation and local productive arrangements. They also define the conceptual and methodological instruments which can be used to analyse and understand the core issues of learning, knowledge and innovation. In doing so, they demonstrate the value of the systems of innovation approach in the design and implementation of strategic development policies which are urgently required in many countries. This book represents a significant contribution to the debates surrounding globalisation and local systems of innovation. The diverse perspectives on global and local processes combined with original insights on developing countries will be of immense value to scholars and students of economics, social science, political science, and business administration. The book will also be of interest to policymakers in governmental and non-governmental bodies, particularly international development agencies.

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This book focuses on modelling in ecological economics and offers a comprehensive overview of current and emerging methods of applying mathematical, computational and conceptual methods to environmental issues. Following a detailed introduction, the authors investigate various modelling techniques including: evolutionary modelling input-output modelling neo-Austrian modelling entropy in ecological economics thermodynamic models multi-criteria evaluation agent-based modelling the environmental Kuznets curve. In each of the specially commissioned chapters, the expert authors have tried to limit the level of complexity to create a unique and accessible resource. As such, this book should have a wide appeal amongst scholars, researchers and students with an interest in modelling techniques and their use in ecological and environmental economics.

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Examining cutting-edge issues of international relevance in the ongoing redesign of the South African local government fiscal system, the contributors to this volume analyze the major changes that have taken place since the demise of apartheid. The 1996 Constitution and subsequent legislation dramatically redefined the public sector, mandating the development of democratic local governments empowered to provide a wide variety of key public services. However, the definition and implementation of new local functions and the supporting democratic decision-making and managerial capabilities are emerging more slowly than expected. Some difficult choices and challenges commonly faced by developing countries must be dealt with before the system can evolve to more effectively meet the substantial role envisioned for local governments. The contributors outline these choices and challenges, consider options for meeting them, and review the implications of different decisions. Their analyses also highlight the interrelationships among the elements of the local fiscal structure, and emphasize the often-ignored challenge of how to define an appropriate fiscal decentralization implementation strategy in an environment where local governments are extremely diverse in terms of needs, resources and capacities. Though the research, much of it based on newly collected data, is specific to South Africa, the approach provides a model for other countries facing similar fiscal decentralization policy challenges.Applied public finance and policy academics, policymakers in developing countries, researchers and program managers in international development organizations, and students interested in local government finance in developing countries will find this timely and comprehensive volume a valuable addition to their libraries.

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The drivers of globalization are removing the barriers that segregated the competitive space of the small and large firms in the past. It is becoming increasingly difficult for independent small firms to thrive in their traditional markets unless they are globally competitive. Managing an enterprise's commercial, industrial and political relations well, regardless of size and location, is the essence of the entrepreneurial challenge in this competitive arena. Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) often face very different issues than do large multinational enterprises when confronting internationalization. This volume provides an in-depth discussion of these challenges.The contributors to this volume explore the emerging patterns of SME growth and international expansion in response to the evolving competitive environment, dynamics of competitive behavior, entrepreneurial processes and formulation of strategy. They examine the basis and requirements of growth and expansion from three perspectives: the rapidly-changing environment in which business is conducted, entrepreneurial characteristics, and the evolving strategic and competitive response to this changing business environment.Business leaders, scholars and students interested in international business and entrepreneurship will welcome this timely and authoritative volume.

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Climate change is currently at the centre of scientific and political debate, and the need for well-designed international climate policies is widely recognised. Despite this, the complexity of both the climate change problem and the international negotiation process has resulted in a large number of outstanding issues which still require attention. The authors of this book attempt to address and resolve some of the problems which have remained on the climate change agenda, without serious action, for far too long.The authors contribute to the many discussions on international climate policy and provide an in-depth analysis of the main characteristics of the problem of climate change. They highlight the various potential solutions to the problem and their consequences, and look at the development and implementation of the international climate regime. Adopting a long-term perspective, they pay particular attention to the economic, institutional, political and social aspects of climate change.Issues in International Climate Policy is a comprehensive book which makes the complicated themes and issues accessible to a wider audience. It will be invaluable reading for all scientists, policymakers and environmental economists with a serious interest in climate change and the negotiation process.

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This book reveals significant lessons on how economic prosperity was secured for people over three decades in eight Asian countries. It focusses on the careful way in which these nations designed and implemented pro-growth, liberal economic and financial policies. A new phenomenon - namely financial fragility - in the more liberalised fast growth Asian economies is also examined.The authors explore why only some of the early reformers among China, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore, and Thailand succumbed to a serious financial crisis in 1997 whilst others did not. They also analyse the impact of policies implemented by the crisis-hit economies, either under the IMF restructuring programs or independent pursuit of capital and currency controls. The book goes on to identify the weaknesses of the banking sector in order to explain the reasons behind the financial crisis. The book concludes with lessons for other emerging economies undertaking economic and financial development through liberalization. These examples reveal policies that could be prescribed in order to prevent future problems. Focusing on post-crisis reforms and their policy impacts, and on post-crisis evaluation of restructuring implemented in the financial sector, this book will appeal to academics and those with specific interests in Asian studies and/or banking and finance. Policymakers - in particular those at central banks and treasuries, along with professionals in financial institutions and multinational firms, will find the book to be a fascinating read.

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Strategic Business Alliances examines key issues in the analysis, management and performance of international joint ventures using a sample of UK-European equity joint ventures. The authors consider the viewpoint of all configurations of the international joint venture - UK parent, European parent and joint venture management. Factors discussed include motives for formation, partner selection criteria, joint venture management, and control and performance, all of which have been identified in the literature as the core dimensions of joint venture activity.The book also explores the emerging issue of learning in strategic alliances, as well as the sensitive question of cultural differences in the mix of factors that surround the complexities of modern international joint ventures. Empirical evidence examined by the authors suggests that learning and cultural differences are vital elements in the operation and performance of these ventures.Given that inter-firm collaborative activity in an increasingly globalised world economy is a crucial aspect of the strategy of many firms, this book will be invaluable to students, researchers and academics with an interest in international business and strategic management. Managers and practitioners who require insight into the core dimensions of international joint venture activity will also find this book very useful.

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This essential book collects together, for the first time, the writings of Deirdre McCloskey on economic history and the rhetoric of economics. The essays have been presented to show McCloskey's evolution over time: from economist to critic, positivist to postmodernist, conventional economist to feminist economist, man to woman. Measurement and Meaning in Economics allows the reader to experience an astonishing personal and intellectual journey with one of today's most fascinating economists.McCloskey argues that economics has become ahistorical and narrowly scientific, which is a harmful development for a moral science. In all of the papers presented in this volume she writes with historical consciousness and critical understanding, in an attempt to repair the dysfunctional relationship between economics and the humanities.This book should be read not only by students and scholars of economic history and philosophy, but by all those concerned with the state of economics and its place in the social sciences.

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Philipp Maier offers a unique examination of the extent to which governments and various interest groups have exerted pressure on central banks. The book looks in particular at the Deutsche Bundesbank - which acted as the blueprint for the European Central Bank (ECB) - and utilises an original set of indicators to measure external pressure and support from the government and other institutions.The author demonstrates that although some of the rhetoric of the Bundesbank may have been a response to political pressure, the operation and conduct of German monetary policy has not been influenced. The role of various pressure groups remains a more contentious issue, as there is evidence that the Bundesbank may have acted to appease the financial sector. The author also finds that a high degree of public support towards the Bundesbank has helped to mitigate the effect of external forces. As the ECB was closely modelled on its German counterpart, the author is able to extend his analysis to the European level and draw out explicit predictions for the ECB. He argues that external pressure is unlikely to influence the conduct of monetary policy, as it will be less efficient and organised, and public support is likely to be high. In the future, however, this could be jeopardised by a rapid enlargement of EMU which may result in more concentrated and powerful pressure groups.This interesting empirical study of the effect of governments, interest groups and public support on the behaviour and rhetoric of Central Banks will be welcomed by financial and monetary economists, students and scholars of European finance and European policymakers.

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From Industrial Districts to Local Development introduces a set of papers representing the main contribution of the 'Florence school' to the recent literature on industrial districts. The authors illustrate that the revitalisation of the concept of industrial districts, returning to Alfred Marshall's nineteenth-century writings, is rooted in an unconventional interpretation of the economic development of Tuscany after the Second World War.Models of industrial organisation and empirical investigation of industrial tendencies are featured, and Alfred Marshall's concepts of the advantages of the geographical agglomeration of specialised small firms in industrial districts are reintroduced. The authors extend the analysis of purely economic effects of agglomeration, including social, cultural and institutional foundations of local development, and current case studies are presented.This book will appeal to scholars, lecturers and researchers focusing on industrial economics, development economics and economic geography. Its references to Italian political experiences will also be of interest to policymakers in both developed and developing countries.

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