Search results for ""edward elgar publishing""

Herbert A. Simon has been a leading contributor to cognitive psychology, computer science, public administration, philosophy and statistics, and is the winner of the 1978 Nobel Memorial Prize in economics. As this collection demonstrates, his impact on economics has been felt in areas as diverse as the theory of the firm and economic organization, consumer behaviour, law and economics, and environmental economics. Central to his work is the notion of bounded rationality - the mismatch between human decision-making capacities and the scale of the decision problems that people face, which results in satisficing rather than optimizing behaviour - and his belief that economic research should start from the study of actual behaviour rather than being based on convenient but unrealistic assumptions. Peter Earl's choice of articles shows both the kind of economics that emerges when Simon's philosophy is followed comprehensively, and what happens when neo-classical economists partially adopt his ideas.

Read more less

Much environmental deterioration - the greenhouse effect, deleption of the ozone layer and acid rain - has an intrinsic international dimension. The lack of a supra-national authority requires that countries agree on the decision to co-operate for pollution control. Hence, negotiations on international environmental issues need to be approached through appropriate policy strategies. This book presents new and important papers which examine international environmental negotiations and agreements seeking to protect the global environment. Policy analysis is performed within a game-theoretic strategic framework. Issues discussed include: existence, size and environmental impacts of self-enforcing agreements, the role of an arbitrator in environmental negotiations, the problems of interactions between environmental and trade and industrial polices, the influence of uncertainty on negotiations and agreements, the role of myopia of negotiators and of asymmetric interests between developed and less developed countries. This book not only presents current debates but also provides stimuli for further research.International Environmental Negotiations will be of special interest to students, academics and professional environmentalists as well as policymakers.

Read more less

During the 1980s, economic theory has been revolutionised by game theory. The game theory approach is now very widely used throughout the profession and has become a major tool for the construction of new economic models. It is the basic tool in the construction of a modern theory of industrial organisation and it has led to important developments in finance, labour economics and international trade. This major new collection - prepared by a leading international authority - is oriented towards researchers, professors and graduate students who are interested in the interface between game theory and economic theory. They include the seminal and most important recent papers on the development and application of game theory in economics.

Read more less

Fiscal reforms have been an integral and essential component of the structural adjustment programmes implemented in the least developed countries (LDCs) since the 1980s. The need for fiscal reform in the LDCs was motivated by the accumulation of unsustainable fiscal deficits, constraints on the availability of external finance, the adverse impact of distortionary tax systems on economic efficiency and deficiencies in public administration. Fiscal reform in the LDCs encompassed deficit reduction, the restructuring of the tax system, and the reform of public administration and public expenditures.The empirical research in this volume provides an analysis of the experience of the fiscal reforms carried out since the early 1980s in four different LDCs - Bangladesh, The Gambia, Malawi and the United Republic of Tanzania. The case studies examine the nature and budgetary impact of the fiscal reforms in these countries, assess the extent to which reforms have achieved their objectives and discuss the major obstacles to the success of fiscal reform. The empirical studies are supplemented by a chapter outlining the contribution which economic theory can make to the design of optimal tax and expenditure systems in developing countries and to the implementation of fiscal reforms. An overview chapter, which also serves as an introduction to the volume, discusses the reasons why LDCs have embarked on fiscal reforms, summarizes the salient findings of the country case studies and assesses the lessons which can be learnt from these empirical studies.

Read more less

This important new book is an extensive, yet concise overview which critically surveys the application of economic valuation techniques to environmental problems in less developed countries. The authors argue that economic valuation has just as important a role to play in the developing as in the developed world in valuing environmental resources and change. Additionally, the information which such techniques provide is invaluable when helping to devise sound environmental policies. The book demonstrates that economic valuation is of extreme importance in raising the profile of the environmental aspects of development initiatives and policies, and that the application of economic valuation is both widespread and successful in developing countries.This book will be essential reading for professional environmental economists, particularly those working in the developing world, project appraisal analysts, policymakers in development organizations and graduate students of development and environmental economics.

Read more less

Successful Transformations? contrasts the recent experience of economic development in Eastern Germany and the Czech Republic. It provides a comparative up-to-date account critically assessing the transition from central planning to a free market economy. The book highlights the very different paths that these two economies have taken. Eastern Germany has been absorbed almost entirely into the political and economic framework of West Germany. In contrast the Czech Republic - which is widely acclaimed to have made the speediest transition - has from the outset adopted an independent line. The book illustrates the strengths and weaknesses of these two different paths and addresses the key question as to whether the relative success of these two economies can point to a special policy regime which might aid economic transition in other former communist countries.

Read more less

A unique and comprehensive source of information, the International Yearbook of Industrial Statistics is the only international publication providing economists, planners, policymakers and business people with worldwide statistics on current performance and trends in the manufacturing sector.Covering more than 120 countries/areas, the 1996 edition of the Yearbook contains data which are internationally comparable and much more detailed in industrial classification than those supplied in previous publications. This is the second issue of the annual publication which succeeds the UNIDO's Handbook of Industrial Statistics and, at the same time, replaces the United Nation's Industrial Statistics Yearbook, volume I (General Industrial Statistics). Information has been collected directly from national statistical sources and supplemented with estimates by UNIDO.The Yearbook is designed to facilitate international comparisons relating to manufacturing activity and industrial performance. It provides data which can be used to analyse patterns of growth, structural change and industrial performance in individual industries. Data on employment trends, wages and other key indicators are also presented. Finally, the detailed information presented here enables the user to study different aspects of industry which was not possible using the aggregate data previously available.

Read more less

During the past two decades, the macroeconomic policy debate has been dominated, both in developed and developing countries, by supply-side considerations. Distinguished contributors to this important new book conclusively argue that this has led towards depression at a world level, and particularly in transitional and developing economies.Restoring Demand in the World Economy examines the necessity to rehabilitate the role of effective demand, in both the analysis of past economic events and in shaping current economic policy. At the theoretical level, the contributors argue conclusively that the level of effective demand and the aggregate distribution of income play a dominant role in the macroeconomic framework of all economic systems. This economic theory is then applied to specific situations including: austerity and monetary union in Europe the demand implosion in Eastern Europe and the former USSR the problem of financial fragility in developing countries the demand links between East Asia, Japan and the United States inflation paranoia, deflationary gaps and imbalances in the major industrial countries the failure of post-war schemes for the stabilization of global demand. This important contribution presents a strong case for rehabilitating the role of demand in economic policy and decision making. This book will be of use to economic theorists, policymakers and academics with an interest in international economics.

Read more less

This volume contains a collection of the most important articles on independent central banks and economic performance. The collection is comprehensive and divided into four parts: theoretical foundation of central banks independence, central bank independence, empirical evidence on central bank independence and determinants of central bank independence. The editor has prepared a new introduction discussing the main developments in this field. The volume will be a basic reference source for professors, lecturers, researchers, central bankers and other policymakers interested in studying the fundamental articles on central bank autonomy.

Read more less

Industrial innovation is essential for national and corporate competitiveness. Understanding the nature, determinants and consequences of innovation is a key task of managers, public policymakers and all students of industry and business. This major new reference book brings together specially commissioned contributions by many leading world experts on a wide range of issues concerning innovation. The first section provides an introduction to the significance and process of industrial innovation, and to the contexts or 'systems' within which it occurs. A series of sectoral and industrial studies is followed by assessments of the key issues affecting innovation. Another section examines one of the main constraints on successful innovation: the strategic management of technology in both products and processes. As well as the benefits of innovation, the problems and challenges of the processes, management and outcomes of innovation are raised throughout the book. Select bibliographies chosen by international experts are included to ensure that this comprehensive reference tool is an indispensable guide for students, scholars, innovators and policymakers.

Read more less

This authoritative and in-depth collection presents seminal papers from leading academics in the field of organisation and bureaucracy. It encompasses sections on organisational boundaries, neo-Schumpeterian theories, hierarchy and international organisation, organisational culture and behaviour, power politics and authority, as well as organisational institutions and practices. Professor Jackson has chosen works which have shaped the views of how the economics of organisation and bureaucracy are viewed today and has included papers from conflicting ends of the spectrum to illustrate the fluid and evolving nature of the subject. This indispensable volume, with an original introduction by the editor, will be of immense value to students, scholars and practitioners interested in this topical and relevant field.

Read more less

This is the sixth volume in a ten-volume set designed for publication in 1997. It reprints in book form a selection of the most important and influential articles on probability, econometrics and economic games which cumulatively have had a major impact on the development of modern economics. There are 242 articles, dating from 1936 to 1996. Many of them were originally published in relatively inaccessible journals and may not, therefore, be available in the archives of many university libraries. The volumes are available separately and also as a complete ten-volume set. The contributors include D. Ellsberg, R.M. Hogart, J.B. Kadane, B.O. Koopmans, E.L. Lehman, D.F. Nicholls, H. Rubin, T.J. Sarjent, L.H. Summers and C.R. Wymer. This particular volume deals with the econometric exploration and diagnosis.

Read more less

Towards Sustainable Project Development is an important new book which addresses the sustainability of development projects from an environmental as well as from a human resources perspective. It extends beyond the traditional concentration on economic issues, and is highly focused on practical experience, research, and operational analysis.In this book an outstanding group of international contributors explores sustainable project development in three main ways. It begins by considering environmental sustainability for development projects both methodologically and in practical policy terms, with emphasis on incorporating environmental policies more effectively into development programmes. The discussion develops to examine the success of projects in relation to approaches to human resource development and how the planning process is transformed into a manageable reality. Special emphasis is placed on managerial effectiveness as a key requirement for sustainable project initiatives. Finally the authors explore, with the aid of country case studies, the extent to which donors and recipients have developed their approaches to project and programme development and consider the opportunity for long term sustainability of development projects.This outstanding book will be invaluable to undergraduate and postgraduate students of development studies, to project and programme planners and managers, officials of international organizations and government departments.

Read more less

Fiscal Policy and Interest Rates in the European Union is a comprehensive study concerned with the potential effects of fiscal policy on financial markets in the European Union. It takes into account the gradual liberalization of capital movements throughout Western Europe and the institutional framework of the European monetary system. Klaas Knot takes a fresh approach to the impact of budget deficits on interest rates, especially in relation to international financial integration, and concludes that the increases in European budget deficits since the early 1970s have raised interest rates in the long term throughout the Union. In conclusion he argues that balanced budget deficits are necessary to maintain low interest rates.This important new book will be of interest to students, academics and policymakers concerned with monetary and public economics.

Read more less

Labour Relations in Transition provides a unique insight into the realities of Russian industrial enterprises in the transition period as it affects workers on the shop floor.Based on a unique collaborative programme of ethnographic and case study research, this volume includes original work by Western and Russian scholars focusing on the restructuring of wages, employment and industrial relations, and how workers have responded to these changes. As well as presenting pioneering analysis of trade unions and industrial conflict, Labour Relations in Transition addresses changing status hierarchies within the workforce, the position of women in production, the process of bankruptcy, and insider and outsider control.This is the third volume in the series Management and Industry in Russia and will be welcomed by sociologists and Russian specialists for addressing contemporary Labour-Management relations within the context of the changing significance of work and work relations in the lives of Russian workers.

Read more less

Economic Policy for the Environment and Natural Resources presents some of the most important recent work on the theory and application of environmental policy at both the national and international level. At the national level it focuses on instruments for pollution control. At the international level it discusses measures to promote international cooperation for the protection of the environment.This book covers a wide range of major issues including the legal aspects of environmental protection, environmental policy under oligopolistic conditions, voluntary agreements as a policy instrument, participation in international coalitions and environmental policy in dynamic trade models. In discussing the applications of environmental policy, it includes issues such as the profitability of emission saving techniques, water management and acid rain models.This book will be essential reading for both policymakers and professional economists who are concerned with environmental policy.

Read more less

Knut Wicksell is increasingly recognized as one of the great economists and as a major influence on modern economics. Wicksell brilliantly summarized and developed neoclassical economic theory, making major contributions to marginal productivity theory, to public finance and to monetary theory. Torsten Gardlund’s acclaimed biography, although long out of print, remains the classic interpretation of Wicksell’s life. As Lars Jonung explains in his preface, ‘Gardlund’s book has kept its sparkle over the forty years which have elapsed since it was first published. . . Its clarity and vitality have made it a classic in its own right.’ Mark Blaug, the eminent economic methodologist and historian of economic thought, has described it as ‘my favourite biography of a great economist.’This edition of The Life of Knut Wicksell will be welcomed as an excellent introduction to the life of a major economist whose theories and ideas have shown themselves to be of lasting value.

Read more less

Asian nations increasingly have to balance energy needs with environmental impacts and economic growth. These critical issues for the development of Asian nations and the quality of life of their citizens are extensively addressed in this major new volume which focuses on research and policy perspectives.A distinguished group of researchers from Asia, Europe and North America, focuses on Asian initiatives on global and regional environmental problems, the impact of energy and environment on development and international trade in Asia, the problems associated with siting major energy facilities, the Asian green movement and public reaction to environmental degradation, and the role of communities in achieving a balance between energy, environment and economics.Researchers and policymakers, public policy and management researchers and environmentalists will welcome this important book which addresses the key issue of balancing the conflicting objectives of energy planning, environmental management and economic development.

Read more less

Energy is of major importance for the competitive performance of firms and of nations and for the long-term growth of the world economy. This major two volume collection reprints the most significant theoretical and empirical research on energy economics that has been conducted during the last 70 years.The first volume includes a discussion of why energy matters together with demand side issues, conservation and modelling. The second volume looks at supply side issues; markets - players and prices; markets versus governments; and issues which concern developing countries.This authoritative collection will be an essential reference source for students, economists, policymakers and practitioners concerned with the global economic and environmental impact of energy.

Read more less

Economics is full of puzzles and paradoxes that often frustrate and challenge everyone, including economists. This engaging book includes fifty puzzles and focuses on three types of paradox. First, everyday observations that appear to belie common sense (such as, why do some supermarket items sell for more per ounce in larger sizes?). Secondly, those paradoxes which have perplexed economists in the past but have since been fairly resolved (such as, the diamond-water paradox). Finally, empirical or conceptual anomalies that remain unresolved and present a challenge to today's economists (such as the voting paradox).Fifty puzzles and paradoxes are analysed in a clear framework. Examples include: the fairness of market wages, the alleged gold absurdity, Giffin goods and the Irish potato famine, the paradox of thrift, the supposed perversity of Wall Street, the leisure paradox, why the best Washington apples are shipped out of state (the Alchian-Allen theorem), the question of whether teachers are underpaid, whether studying economics makes people immoral and whether war is good for the economy.This original and unusual book will have a wide appeal, ranging from the lay person with an interest in everyday economic puzzles, to the student and teacher wishing to develop their understanding of some of the paradoxes that have existed and continue to exist in economics. It will serve as an ideal source for teachers who want to challenge their students with unusual economic problems.

Read more less

The majority of societies are facing a conflict between the increasing levels of road traffic congestion, especially during peak hours and in urban areas, and a decline in the social acceptability of road expansion. This has led governments as well as non-governmental organizations to consider other methods of reducing road traffic. This book examines the efficiency and feasibility of the regulation of road traffic congestion in theory and practice, and within the context of social and political feasibility.As long ago as the 1920s it was recognized that road pricing offered an efficient means of handling congested road traffic flows. Since then the severity of traffic congestion has increased so dramatically that it has turned the matter from an academic interest into one of the most serious problems affecting urbanized areas and transport arteries today. Increasing transport levels have other important external costs such as environmental effects, noise annoyance and accidents. As a result the need to find effective means of relieving congestion has become an important issue both at the national and local level. This book examines Pigouvian taxes, the most popular policy prescription among economists, as well as considering a variety of other policies which may be more politically and socially acceptable. The contributors discuss alternatives to Pigouvian taxes, as well as congestion and urban development, congestion pricing and road infrastructure investment, and road pricing and urban sustainability. This important and timely book will become an essential reference source for policymakers at the national and local level as well as academics and postgraduate students interested in transport economics and environmental economics.

Read more less

In recent decades, privatisation has been a key policy instrument in the move to more market-based economic systems in all parts of the developing world. Privatisation, however, has not necessarily been accompanied by an increase in market competition. In recent years, many public utilities have been privatised as monopolies and in addition regulatory systems have been developed to restrict their market power and protect the interests of consumers. These authoritative volumes bring together a collection of important papers that have shed new theoretical and empirical insights into privatisation and regulation and have provided new policy perspectives in relation to developing countries. Privatisation in Developing Countries will appeal to policymakers and researchers at the forefront of economic policy debates in developing countries.

Read more less

This book makes an important contribution at the forefront of business cycle theory. The contributors evaluate historical evidence, present new empirical results and suggest that the explanation of business cycle phenomena may, in part, depend on the way in which historical data is interpreted.This innovative book places great emphasis on the complementarity between empirical and theoretical business cycle research. The authors present studies of business cycles concentrating on the Great Depression of the 1930s, early and late nineteenth century American economic history, the United Kingdom before 1914, interwar Germany and Japan, and Canada and the United States during the Gold Standard era. A number of contributions address the Phillips curve and labour markets, and provide illustrations of the use of both macro and micro data. An important finding is the contribution to business cycle research made by hitherto untouched sources of historical labour market microdata. The book demonstrates the importance of the reconstruction of well researched data to our conception and understanding of business cycle phenomena. This book will be useful reading for academics and students of macroeconomics and economic history, with an interest in understanding business cycles.

Read more less

The World Economy in Transition brings together thoughts, arguments and analyses by some of the world's leading economists on domestic and international monetary issues of foremost current concern.This major book features contributions from outstanding scholars including three Nobel laureates in economics - Paul Samuelson, Robert Solow and James Tobin. The topics discussed include international and monetary aspects of unemployment, economic policy dilemmas in the United States, the economic downturn in Japan, European monetary union, the former communist countries, and a fresh look at the international monetary system. This volume is based on a lightly edited tape recording of their lively and active debate over a two day period. The editor's introduction has been written to provide useful background for all readers.Although of particular interest to specialists in international monetary economics, The World Economy in Transition is intended for a wide readership including non-specialists, undergraduates and graduate students who will find it an accessible and thought-provoking contribution to their understanding of real-world problems in economics.

Read more less

This important book presents a comprehensive and systematic investigation of the effectiveness of environmental policy within the European Union at the dawn of the twenty-first century.The development of environmental policy, including the policymaking process, is analysed from an historical perspective. The authors then examine implementation and enforcement and present a critical appraisal of the impact of environmental policy throughout Europe. Key issues discussed include: trade and the environment environmental protection and the maintenance of industrial competitiveness agriculture and the environment energy and environmental policy transport and the environment tourism and the environment The authors provide insight into the problems of reconciling differing national interests, and present a number of proposals for environmental policy in the future. They conclude that what is required for effective environmental policy is not more radical measures but the opportunity for the measures already in place to be effectively implemented.This book will be of interest to a wide audience including students interested in environmental issues and the European Union, as well as postgraduates and academics working in the fields of environmental management and environmental studies. It will also be of use to environmental policymakers, consultants, advisers and non-government organizations.

Read more less

The end of the Cold War revolutionized East-West relations, yet we still live in an ungoverned world of states which recognize no authority above themselves and whose conduct is minimally constrained by considerations of law and morality.Security Issues in the Post-Cold War World focuses on the changing international security agenda and the serious political instabilities - many rooted in ethnic nationalisms and long-standing border disputes - which have resurfaced with the end of the Cold War. After essays re-examining perennial security problems - including collective security, nuclear proliferation and environmental security - a series of regional studies focuses on the particular problems facing Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.Drawing on a wide body of analysis and research on the international system, the contributors to this volume conclude that, despite the ending of the Cold War, 'security', whether defined narrowly or widely, is a scarce commodity.

Read more less

According to Joseph Schumpeter, ‘economic sociology’ is an area of interest to both economists and sociologists. Economic sociology is generally considered to have been invented towards the end of the nineteeth century when it quickly became both popular and successful. Its goal -- then as now -- is to analyse economic institutions from a sociological perspective. During 1930-1980 interest waned; but during the last 10 to 15 years there has been something of a renaissance in this field, especially associated with what is called New Economic Sociology. This volume contains many of the classic articles in economic sociology, both from the early period (especially Max Weber and Joseph Schumpeter) and from the current generation (such as Mark Granovetter and Viviana Zelizer).

Read more less

Foreign Direct Investment in Japan is the first serious and comprehensive examination of why the direct participation of foreign firms in the economy of Japan is lower than in any other advanced industrial nation. An internationally acclaimed group of scholars and practitioners addresses this problem and considers what policy actions, if any, the Japanese government can take to increase direct investment. Foreign exchange controls banned direct investment into Japan until the late 1970s and this is still partially responsible for the low penetration of foreign firms. A fundamental question addressed by the book is whether or not ownership advantages in technology and management know-how possessed by foreign firms are strong enough to overcome the extra costs of doing business in Japan. Such extra costs or locational disadvantages include very high land and labour costs as well as business practices unique to Japan, characterized by the long-term customized transaction relationship among assemblers, component suppliers, distributors and financial institutions and the long-time employment system. Although the Government of Japan desires to invite more foreign firms, this book demonstrates that there are many areas where direct investment has been adversely affected by internal regulation. Foreign Direct Investment in Japan explores this participation of foreign firms in this economy from the perspectives of economic theory, history, and the practical experiences of non-Japanese firms that have attempted to do business directly in Japan.

Read more less

The effectiveness and scope of operational analysis of sustainable development is explored in this major new book. Ecological Economics and Sustainable Development offers an integrated treatment of theory, methods and applications for economic-ecological analysis taking into consideration all the relevant interactions between economic, development and physical and biological processes.An overview of different theoretical perspectives, based on insights from economics, ecology and thermodynamics, is followed by discussion of the dimensions of sustainable development including ethics and intergenerational equity, sustainable and multiple use, and spatial sustainability. The second part of the book discusses methods for analysis, covering the choice of indicators, natural resource accounting, and integrated static, dynamic and spatial modelling, and evaluation, including multi-criteria and cost-benefit analysis. Attention is also given to decision support and the choice of policy instruments.Combinations of the various methods are applied in the final part of the book, using case studies which cover a range of ecosystems and regions, as well as a variety of issues and problems. These studies clearly show the potential of policy-oriented integrated economic-ecological analysis for sustainable development.

Read more less

The Economics of Pollution Control in the Asia Pacific adapts environmental economics to the special conditions of the Asia Pacific region, emphasizing the importance of local conditions and culture. Global warming, air pollution and water pollution are all addressed by a distinguished group of authors who rigorously apply economics to the analysis of pollution control in societies undergoing rapid industrialization. As this pioneering volume demonstrates, citizens of rapidly developing Taiwan and Korea are willing to pay substantial amounts for the protection and improvement of air and water quality, and face potentially huge losses from global climate change. A number of the papers also point to some cost effective alternatives for helping to reduce global greenhouse gas emission. As this major book reveals, the make-up of Asian politico-economic systems has a direct impact on environmental policies, from benefit estimation to instrument choice. As the authors argue, policymakers and researchers in the Asia Pacific cannot draw on European and American methods, arguments and conclusions without considerable modification for regional conditions.

Read more less

This pioneering study shows that economic integration in the Americas is not simply a matter of removing trade barriers. Economic Integration in the Americas addresses the pervasive effects of economic integration on the economy as a whole.This important book examines elements of financial integration and capital mobility in North America and addresses in turn the effects of the North American Free Trade Association on Mexico, comparisons between NAFTA and the European Union, the impact of NAFTA on issues such as social protection, migration and Canadian agricultural policy, and finally, regionalism and multilateralism in the Western hemisphere. While drawing on the experience of European integration, the authors recognize that new, broader analyses are required in the Western hemisphere to allow for the ranges of country size, natural resource endowments and per capita incomes. Sensitive to the political interests involved in economic integration between unequal partners, Economic Integration in the Americas offers students, researchers and policymakers a better understanding of policy at both national and supranational levels.

Read more less

This important three volume set is a collection of key writings on game theory published before 1963. It makes many frequently-cited and historically important articles conveniently available to a wider audience. The collection includes comprehensive coverage of the game theoretical writings of von Neumann, Nash and Wald. The editors have written a succinct introduction to accompany the articles.

Read more less

As economic activity has become more information-intensive and ideas about the information society have been canvassed widely, information technology has overshadowed thinking about the role of communication and information. In the advanced economies investment in information-handling equipment has grown rapidly in importance and almost throughout the world telecommunications facilities are advocated as the leading edge of development.This wide-ranging collection charts the responses of the economics discipline to these changes, initially slowly but with gathering pace, as communication and information have moved from the sidelines to centre stage.This book will be an indispensible reference source by all those in the economics community, those interested in information science, library studies and communication.

Read more less

This important new book is the first general overview of the macroeconomic nature and recent history of the Singapore economy.After discussing general features of modern Singapore's economy, government and development strategy, the authors analyse its macroeconomic history over the past three decades, as well as reviewing current macroeconomic theory regarding small, open economies. Singapore's monetary system, trade patterns, balance of payments and the nature of its exchange rate mechanism and policy are all described and analysed in the subsequent chapters which also look at its growth and cyclical experiences and provide a review of the ways economists have attempted to model the economy. The Singapore Economy integrates much previous research scattered in many sources as well as containing an extensive bibliography of references about the economy and the statistical sources used. It will be suitable for students of macroeconomics and economic development in Asia, and the general reader interested in the nature, structure and recent growth of the Singapore economy.

Read more less

In The Theory of Corporate Finance, Michael J. Brennan has brought together a set of major papers which defines the current status of the theory of corporate finance. This authoritative collection emphasizes recent research, while also including representative classics in the field. The main paradigms in corporate finance are addressed in these volumes, with particular attention to the problems raised by information asymmetries and the responses to them. Major sections deal with issues including shareholder objectives, agency and monitoring, adverse selection and signalling, reputation, and contracting and incentives. The Theory of Corporate Finance also covers the application of the paradigms of corporate finance to particular aspects of corporate financial decisions and relationships. These include initial public offerings of common stock, the role of debt contracts, the relation between financial structure and the real asset and product markets, capital investment decisions, hedging and disclosure policy, insider trading, the effect of taxes on financial policy, takeover contests and the assignment of voting and control rights, and corporate bankruptcy.Michael J. Brennan’s two volume set brings together key articles and papers which represent the current state of the financial theory of the corporation, ensuring that this collection will be an invaluable resource for scholars, students and practitioners of finance and financial economics.

Read more less

Contaminated land policy is a key concern of governments and policy makers across the globe, yet discussion has traditionally focused on the particular experience of the United States. This major new book develops a framework for assessing laws and regulations regarding contaminated land and polluted properties, their clean up and reuse, and the assignment of costs and responsibilities for reclamation.In Contaminated Land, the authors, a European and two Americans, lay out a framework for cross- national comparisons of policy contexts as well as ways of examining the outcomes of different approaches to contaminated land and systematically compare approaches to this issue in both the EU and US. The use of this framework leads to a reassessment of specific policies, such as the polluter pays principle, which may be more successful in the EU than it has been in the US, and subsidiarity which, while problematic in Europe, may hold promise in a US application. Specific issues discussed include the nature and extent of the contaminated land problem, legal implications, regulation in the US, the 1980 Comprehensive Environmental Liability, Compensation and Reclamation Act, European experience and EU environmental policy, integrated comparative analysis and some lessons for the future.Contaminated Land offers valuable insights on policy responses to the problem of badly polluted land from the perspectives of planning, economics and sociology. In particular, this volume offers frameworks for comparison of different national settings to help determine the preferred and most promising approaches to contaminated land in any social, economic and legal policy context.

Read more less

Trade and investment liberalization in the Pacific has highlighted the importance of structural competitiveness for both corporate executives and national policymakers. In Structural Competitiveness in the Pacific, a distinguished group of authors contributes to our understanding of patterns of structural competitiveness affecting trade and production links between East Asia and North America. Interaction between national policies and corporate strategies has given East Asian states clear advantages over North American competitors. The place of the Pacific in the world economy, infrastructures and financial structures in the region, American and Japanese structural competitiveness, sourcing by Japanese and American multinationals in the Pacific, as well as structural interdependencies and the potential for collective management across the region are all addressed in this volume.Unlike previous comparative work addressing the decline in American competitiveness, Structural Competitiveness in the Pacific takes into account the significance of transnational production by international firms and places US problems in a regional comparative context which includes Japan and the industrializing East Asian states.

Read more less

Trust is increasingly recognized as a crucial aspect of successful economic relationships, albeit a difficult one to define, and Mark Casson has been at the forefront of recent research in this area.In this sequel to his classic work The Entrepreneur, Professor Casson examines how the entrepreneurial firm succeeds by synthesizing information from different sources. The quality of this information is just as important as the quantity and the cheapest way to ensure quality is through a moral obligation to tell the truth. The author argues that a nation needs to invest in social institutions, such as schools, families and organized religion, in order to instil a sense of moral obligation and so sustain entrepreneurial success. Themes raised in this important volume include cultural perspectives on economic issues, entrepreneurship in a cultural context and the political economy of national culture.Entrepreneurship and Business Culture presents a state-of-the-art analysis of entrepreneurship and the social structures in which it is embedded. Together with its companion volume, The Organization of International Business, this topical and wide-ranging book offers a definitive analysis of the importance of trust in economic life as well as the related concepts of networking, consultation and empowerment.

Read more less

This important book presents the most important articles by leading scholars in their fields which bring together three basic aspects of research into nonlinear dynamics and economics. The first papers deal with the theoretical methods used in analysing chaotic dynamics and the statistical tools to detect the presence of non linearities in economic data. The following articles discuss the models which are currently being used to stimulate nonlinear economic phenomena. The final papers apply these methods to a number of economic time series.The editor has written a new introduction to accompany the piece.

Read more less

This book presents some of Arnold Zellner's outstanding contributions to the philosophy, theory and application of Bayesian analysis, particularly as it relates to statistics, econometrics and economics. The volume contains both previously published and new material which cite and discuss the work of Bayesians who have made a contribution by helping researchers and analysts in many professions to become more effective in learning from data and making decisions. Bayesian and non-Bayesian approaches are compared in several papers. Other articles include theoretical and applied results on estimation, model comparison, prediction, forecasting, prior densities, model formulation and hypothesis testing. In addition, a new information processing approach is presented that yields Bayes's Theorem as a perfectly efficient information processing rule.This volume will be essential reading for academics and students interested in qualitative methods as well as industrial analysts and government officials.

Read more less

At the end of the 20th century economists and policymakers face an unprecedented dual challenge: to avert ecological disaster and to end mass unemployment by accelerating and redirecting world economic growth.This major volume brings together contributions from environmental and technological economists. The first part discusses the ecological challenge to economists and policymakers and shows that both need a radical change in their approach. The second part discusses the institutional and legal changes which are necessary to address this challenge. The final part deals with the technological revolution, focusing on microelectronics and biotechnology, which is now transforming the world economy, and sets it in the context of long term fluctuations in economic growth and the relative stagnation since 1973. The protection of the environment, and economic growth with full employment are not necessarily opposed. On the contrary, as this volume demonstrates, what is required to return to full employment and more rapid growth is vigorous and concerted government action to give an 'eco-friendly' direction to technological and economic change.

Read more less

This book reflects Robert Dorfman's important contributions to the analysis of economic theory and public decision making during the last forty years.The central concern of much of Professor Dorfman's career has been social decisions: how to reach them and how to judge them. This has meant that he has worked in a wide range of areas within economics including statistics, economic theory, natural resource and environmental economics, social decisions and the history of economic thought. In more recent papers he has challenged the traditional concepts relating to the maximisation of social welfare.This outstanding collection of essays is a true reflection of the diversity of Robert Dorfman's interests and the depth of his economic knowledge. It will appeal to academics and students interested in economic theory, public sector economics and environmental economics and to historians of economic thought.

Read more less

This book focuses on one of the major challenges facing countries in Eastern Europe, namely the creation and maintenance of jobs in the agricultural sector. It argues that future employment will critically depend upon the completion of the privatization process, as well as improved efficiency and market opportunity. Privatization in Rural Eastern Europe prescribes radical restructuring of the East European countryside and examines the future prospects for restitution and privatization from both national and regional perspectives. The economic and political history of rural Eastern Europe is examined in the context of the transition process. The discussion then develops with the extensive use of detailed country case studies which analyse the growth of private economic activity in Albania, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia in a clear and systematic way. The book offers careful consideration of the future of the rural economy and emphasizes the importance of rural diversification and the development of the service sector to create new employment opportunities in rural areas.This book will prove invaluable to academics with an interest in agricultural and transitional economics as well as to businessmen interested in East European agriculture, food processing and farm machinery.

Read more less

This authoritative collection presents the key contributions on the economic history of Japan from the Meiji Restoration to the Second World War. It covers broad patterns of economic development and also focuses specifically on the zaibatsu and Japanese management techniques; technology transfer; banking and financial systems; labour, education and human capital; the economic role of Japanese women; and the economic dimensions of imperialism and war. This two-volume set brings together important texts around these themes, including less well-known work first published in Japan. It will be a valuable reference work for scholars and students of history, economics, political science and Asian studies.

Read more less

This collection of essays features debate among neoclassical, institutionalist and feminist theorists, providing an invaluable guide to the evolution of economic approaches to the family. The clash of paradigms illuminates some issues of profound concern to economics as a whole, such as the relative importance of altruism and self-interest. Both abstract mathematical models and interdisciplinary approaches are represented, and the empirical articles explore trends in developing as well as advanced industrial countries. The list of specific topics includes bargaining power models, fertility decline, intergenerational transfers, intrahousehold allocation, class inequality, and state policy. The editor's introduction provides a broad overview of the fascinating controversies that are emerging in this relatively new field of economics.

Read more less

This book is the first English language edition of Le Commerce et le Gouvernement by the distinguished eighteenth century economist and philosopher Condillac. It was one of the most original contributions to French economics in the eighteenth century. In this edition the editors provide an English translation of the original and a comprehensive account of Condillac's life and contribution to economics. In the late eighteenth century Condillac used the clarity and precision of thought of a leading philosopher to derive a fundamental set of economic principles and their implications for policy. He arrived at the same free trade conclusions as Adam Smith, and Le Commerce et le Gouvernement was published in the same year as The Wealth of Nations. Condillac's economics was initially condemned by the physiocrats because in his utility-based analysis, industry and commerce and not just agriculture contributed to the wealth of France. The original French edition was quickly dismissed by those in positions of power in France who preferred dirigism to competition, while across the Channel the British were unaware of its existence. The importance of Condillac's contribution to economics was recognised after the marginal revolution of the 1870's. In the eighteenth century Condillac won the respect of Voltaire and Rousseau, and the high regard of the King and the Church. His work has since been admired by Allais, Hayek, Menger and Weulersse, while Jevons believed that it provided the first distinct statement of the true connection between value and utility. Commerce and Government will be of special interest to historians of economic thought and those interested in the economic history of the eighteenth century.

Read more less

This volume contains 21 papers divided into three parts: introductory issues; the measurement and effects of diversity; and classification. The final parts looks at the scope of and the reasons for studying international accounting. There are also some papers on the causes of international differences, in particular the effects of international influences on a country's accounting practices. The papers in the second part examine the degree of accounting difference internationally and the reactions to this of companies and users of financial statements. The third part looks at several attempts to put countries into groups by similarities and differences in accounting. Several of these papers refer critically to others in the group, so that a corpus of knowledge in this field has been built up.

Read more less

Classical location theory is extended from its least cost approach to a maximum profit framework in this outstanding collection of Melvin L. Greenhut's key essays. This extension of classical location theory changes the analysis used in location economics from that of pure competition to oligopolistic competition. Using the analysis which is developed in this volume, locational interdependencies and, in turn, industrial location are shown to be affected by, diverse factors, including among others, marginal cost curves, demand curves and the number of firms in the market. Employing empirical findings to relate theory to practice, the author establishes a general theory via which he investigates and resolves specific issues and problems.These essays make a major contribution by enabling the reader to appreciate the important developments that have taken place over recent years in location economics. Location Economics and its companion volume, Spatial Microeconomics, will be welcomed by students, teachers and practitioners of economics for improving access to Professor Greenhut's many important essays and papers.

Read more less