Between Markets and Governments
This book proposes an institutional economics approach to development banking in the wake of the 2008 Financial Crisis. The role of national development banks in countering the adverse effects of economic recession is highlighted, alongside ways in which they can contribute to sustainable economic development and institutional change. Through acknowledging the distinctive features of development banks, a new theoretical model for development banking is presented. The proposed model is applied to a case study of the Greek economic development during the post-war period until the early 2020s. The role of development banks in the socio-economic transformation of the country is analyzed along with the evolution of development banking as the economy went through different financial regimes. This book aims to provide a modern framework for understanding the mechanisms for financing economic development and promoting institutional change. It will be relevant to researchers and policymakers interested in development and financial economics.
The Happiness Revolution in Europe
There is now a Happiness Revolution to go along with the earlier Industrial and Demographic Revolutions. The Happiness Revolution is captured using people's happiness scores, as reported in public surveys, whereas the earlier revolutions are reflected by economic production (such as GDP) and life expectancy. Increases in happiness are chiefly due to social-science welfare policies that alleviate people's foremost concerns - those centering on family life, health, and jobs. This Element traces the course of the Happiness Revolution throughout Europe since the 1980s when comprehensive and comparable data on people's happiness first become available. Which countries lead and which lag? How is happiness distributed - are the rich happier than the poor, men than women, old than young, native than foreign born, city than countryfolk? How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted happiness? These are among the questions addressed in this Element. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.
The Price of Citizenship
Discover the truth behind your tax burden - and how it quietly controls your entire life. Every time you receive a pay-check, make a purchase, or save for your future, a silent transaction takes place: you pay for the right to be a citizen. But what if this "social contract" is nothing more than an elaborate system designed to keep you financially dependent and politically powerless? In The Price of Citizenship, author and researcher Sreekesh Puthuvassery exposes how modern taxation has transformed into a tool of economic enslavement, far beyond its original purpose of funding development and welfare. This groundbreaking book peels back the layers of complexity to reveal how taxation is strategically used by governments and global financial institutions to maintain control over citizens. A book that every citizen should read at least once in their lifetime. What you'll learn inside: The hidden history of taxes and how they evolved into a global mechanism of control.How income tax, GST, fuel taxes, and hidden levies drain your hard-earned money.The connection between taxation, inflation, and national debt traps.Why the middle class and poor pay the highest price in the name of "nation-building".The psychology of forced compliance - how laws, media, and education normalize taxation as duty.The link between global economic policies, corporate greed, and your shrinking financial freedom.Practical insights to rethink your role as a taxpayer and citizen in a rigged system. Who should read this book? This book is for every Indian who has ever questioned where their hard-earned money goes. It is for the salaried employee who watches a significant portion pf their pay-check disappear each month without truly understanding why. It is for small business owner trying to navigate a maze of regulations and tax codes that seem to built to confuse rather than clarify. it is for the young professional just entering the workforce, eager to understand the true cost of being a law-abiding citizen in a system that often gives a little back in return. This is not just a personal finance book. It's a critical examination of the social, economic, and political structures that silently shape your life. Whether you're an entrepreneur, salaried employee, business owner, investor, or simply a concerned citizen, this book will change the way you view money, governance, and freedom. Benefits of reading this book: Gain financial literacy beyond the usual "save & invest" advice.Understand how systemic economic control affects your daily life.Learn why government policies and taxes often benefit the rich at your expense.Get equipped to make informed financial and political decisions.Open your eyes to the true cost of being a citizen in a modern nation-state.
Japan’s Financial System
This book is a collection of papers from the Tokyo Center for Economic Research's (TCER) research project on Japan's financial markets and financial system, including: (1) Current Japanese situation of cashless payments for individuals and households, (2) The possibility that digital currencies replace the current payment system in which the banking system provides the means of credit transactions, (3) Long-turn measurement of the value added generated by Japan's financial intermediaries, with an overview of Japanese banking industry's business model, (4) Regional financial institutions' recent efforts to support their clients' businesses by consultation, (5) The impact of the digitalization of stock trading on the Japanese market: factor investing and high-frequency trading (HFT), (6) Analysis of theoretical and real-world portfolio allocations based on the concepts of model uncertainty and ambiguity aversion, (7) An empirical analysis on ESG investment in Japan, focusing on the heterogeneity of institutional investors, (8) Japanese firms' corporate governance: financial vs internal governance, (9) Japanese companies' use of corporate insurance as a company-wide decision-making process, (10) The coexistence of zombie firms and debt-free healthy firms since the 1990s. (11) The validity of Japanese government's liquidity provision for troubled firms during the financial crisis and the Covid-19 crisis. This is an open access book.
Nature-Positive Water Utilities
Water utilities are under pressure from climate change, water scarcity, and ecosystem degradation. Nature-Positive Water Utilities shows how to integrate sustainable water management, climate resilience, and environmental governance into utility operations. This practical guide addresses how utilities can improve water security and support ecosystem restoration using scalable, cost-effective strategies. Inside this book, readers will learn how to: Embed climate resilience and sustainable water management into utility governance and operationsAlign with environmental governance frameworks to support biodiversity, reforestation, and long-term water planningDesign and implement green infrastructure and urban greening strategies that reduce flood risk and improve water qualityUse ecosystem restoration and nature-based solutions to increase service reliability and reduce operational costsAccess public and multilateral climate finance to support infrastructure that delivers measurable environmental outcomesApply cost-benefit analysis methods that include ecosystem services, avoided costs, and resilience metricsStructure tariff models that incentivize water conservation while funding ecological improvementsAdopt digital tools for ecosystem monitoring including remote sensing, IoT sensors, and geospatial mapping platformsThis book is essential for professionals working in water utilities, urban planning, or climate adaptation. It delivers actionable insights on sustainable water management, climate resilience, ecosystem restoration, and environmental governance, helping readers implement nature-positive strategies that support long-term water security and biodiversity protection.
The Happiness Revolution in Europe
There is now a Happiness Revolution to go along with the earlier Industrial and Demographic Revolutions. The Happiness Revolution is captured using people's happiness scores, as reported in public surveys, whereas the earlier revolutions are reflected by economic production (such as GDP) and life expectancy. Increases in happiness are chiefly due to social-science welfare policies that alleviate people's foremost concerns - those centering on family life, health, and jobs. This Element traces the course of the Happiness Revolution throughout Europe since the 1980s when comprehensive and comparable data on people's happiness first become available. Which countries lead and which lag? How is happiness distributed - are the rich happier than the poor, men than women, old than young, native than foreign born, city than countryfolk? How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted happiness? These are among the questions addressed in this Element. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.
Economics and the Family
Most economists think family economics began in the 1960s when price theory was applied to family behaviour. Instead, this book focuses on enduring concerns with family poverty across the last two centuries. In nineteenth-century Britain and Europe, economists debated the effects of poverty relief and sought to improve family productivity. In the US, interwar household consumer economists studied how to rationalise family consumption, because factories were producing goods for low-income families. From the 1960s onwards, 'New' household economists attributed family poverty to inadequate human capital investment in predominantly non-white families. Even when feminist, development, and queer economists problematised gendered injustices, they recentred family poverty, targeting the 'pauperisation' of motherhood and the marginalisation of 'families we choose.' Economics and the Family does not simply reconstruct this alternate history, it also shows how economists in all these periods overlooked injustices which must be shouldered today.
Subjectivism in Economics and Philosophy
Available open access digitally under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. Following on from The Hand Behind the Invisible Hand and A Realist Philosophy of Economics, this new book drawn from Karl Mittermaier's writings examines the intricate relationship between economic theory and real-world economic experiences. Despite the centrality of subjectivism in both philosophy and economics, these fields have often overlooked each other's insights. Mittermaier challenges this disconnect, advocating for a shift from deterministic models to a more reflective approach in economics. He examines the historical, methodological and philosophical dimensions of economic theory, highlighting its struggle to connect economic theory to empirical data and individuals' lived experiences. Originally penned between 1979 and 1982 and now published posthumously, this work remains a crucial contribution to contemporary economic discussions.
Time Series Econometrics
This text presents modern developments in time series analysis and focuses on their application to economic problems. The book first introduces the fundamental concept of a stationary time series and its relation to the basic properties of covariance funtions, investigating the structure and estimation of autoregressive-moving average (ARMA) models and their relations to the covariance structure. The book then moves on to non-stationary time series, highlighting its consequences for modeling and forecasting as well as regressions models and presenting standard statistical tests. Next, the text discusses volatility models and their applications in the analysis of financial market data, focusing on generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedastic (GARCH) models. The second part of the text is devoted to multivariate processes, such as vector autoregressive (VAR) models and structural vector autoregressive (SVAR) models, which have become the main tools in empirical macroeconomics. The text concludes with a discussion of co-integrated models and the Kalman Filter, which is being used with increasing frequency. The exposition finally connects to recent developments in the field. Mathematically rigorous, yet application-oriented, this self-contained text will help students develop a deeper understanding of theory and better command of the models that are vital to the field. Assuming a basic knowledge of statistics and/or econometrics, this text is best suited for advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students.
The Golden Passport
The first comprehensive on-the-ground investigation of the global market for citizenship, examining the wealthy elites who buy passports, the states and brokers who sell them, and the normalization of a once shadowy practice. Our lives are in countless ways defined by our citizenship. It is no wonder that obtaining citizenship is seldom easy--unless you have unusual means. For millionaires and billionaires like Peter Thiel and Jho Low, a new passport is just a question of price. More than a dozen countries, many of them small islands in the Mediterranean, Caribbean, and South Pacific, sell citizenship to 50,000 people annually. Kristin Surak investigated the industry. Some "investor citizens" parlay their new passport into visa-free travel or use it as a stepping stone to residence in a third country like the United States. Other buyers seek an insurance policy against their home states. Almost none intend to live among their new compatriots, who have a complex relationship with these global elites. A groundbreaking study of a contentious practice that has become popular among the nouveaux riches, The Golden Passport takes readers through the geopolitical hydraulics of a business that thrives on imbalances of power between big, globalized economies and tiny states desperate for investment. In between are the fascinating stories of buyers, brokers, and sellers, all poised to profit.
The CEO
The CEOs of Britain's largest companies wield immense power, but we know very little about them. How did they get to the top? Why do they have so much power? Are they really worth that exorbitant salary? Michael Aldous and John Turner provide the answers by telling the story of the British CEO over the past century. From gentleman amateurs to professional managers, entrepreneurs, frauds, and fat cats, they reveal the characters who have made it to the top of the corporate ladder, how they got there, and what their rise tells us about British society. They show how the quality of their leadership influences productivity, innovation, economic development and, ultimately, Britain's place in the world. More recently, issues have arisen regarding high CEO pay, poor performance, and a lack of professionalisation and diversity. Are there lessons from history for those who would seek to reform Britain's flagging corporate economy?
Capital Without Borders
In today's global economy, mobilizing domestic and foreign investment is essential for sustaining growth and competitiveness. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) can be a powerful tool for economic transformation, yet its flow remains unpredictable-concentrated in specific regions, creating both opportunities and challenges. This uneven distribution can either accelerate technological advancement or widen development gaps.Capital Without Borders: Direct Investments and Strategic Insights for Economic Growth explores FDI's role in driving innovation, growth, and global competitiveness. It examines investment strategies, allocation priorities, and the evolving significance of FDI in shaping economies. Through lessons from transition economies like Central Eastern Europe and China, as well as insights into top donor nations-the US, Japan, China, and the EU-the book provides practical recommendations for optimizing investment strategies.Designed for policymakers, business leaders, economists, and academics, this book offers a comprehensive analysis of investment trends, motivations, and regulatory frameworks. Whether shaping economic policy or guiding corporate or investment strategy, readers will gain the tools to navigate complex investment landscapes and maximize FDI's returns.
Power, Politics, and Tariffs
In an era where trade has become a weapon of geopolitical influence, Power, Politics, and Tariffs delivers a masterful analysis of the hidden forces shaping global commerce. Written by Alan Bennett, a distinguished international trade law expert with decades of experience advising multinational corporations and governments, this authoritative work exposes how nations manipulate tariffs, economic sanctions, and trade barriers to advance their strategic interests. Bennett takes readers on a revelatory journey through the evolution of international trade, from the post-WWII expansion to today's strategic competition. With penetrating insight, he examines landmark trade disputes, dissects the weaknesses of the World Trade Organization, and reveals how economic nationalism threatens the rules-based trading system that has underpinned global prosperity for generations. Drawing on his unique expertise as a former legal advisor to the IMF and adjunct professor of international trade law, Bennett offers a comprehensive framework for understanding today's most contentious economic battles-from Brexit to the U.S.-China tariff wars, from environmental protectionism to digital trade barriers. Most importantly, Bennett doesn't just diagnose the crisis in global trade governance-he prescribes bold, innovative reforms to create a more equitable, efficient, and sustainable international economic order. For business leaders, policymakers, and citizens navigating an increasingly fragmented global economy, this book provides the essential roadmap to understanding-and surviving-the age of trade warfare.
Food Fight
Society's most basic challenge is arguably to produce and distribute enough food for its citizens. In 2023, 733 million people faced hunger and 2.3 billion were moderately or severely food insecure. Feeding a growing world population is becoming more difficult in the face of climate change, pest resistance to traditional treatments, and misguided government policies that limit how much food ends up on our plates. Policies to support biofuels, organic agriculture, local foods, and small farms and to oppose genetically modified foods all reduce food production on existing land. This leads to higher food prices, increased carbon emissions, and less natural habitat as cropland expands. Food Fight documents the challenges to adequately feeding the world in the twenty-first century and illustrates the ways in which contemporary food policies in the United States, Europe, and beyond imperil food security. Richard J. Sexton provides a window into the world of modern agriculture and food supply chains. He separates the wheat from the chaff to distinguish policies that will limit, or expand, the global food supply, and he explains how we can construct a food system that forestalls future hunger and environmental degradation.
In the Herder’s Boots
How are Mongolia's resilient cashmere herders overcoming harsh conditions and economic challenges to thrive?In the Herder's Boots explores the struggles of Mongolia's nomadic cashmere goat herders to survive on the arid Alta Plateau of the Gobi Desert. They face harsh conditions: frigid winters, scorching summers, and scarce grazing. Despite producing the world's finest cashmere, they're trapped in a market dominated by China, earning a mere fraction of its value. Stephen Parliament, contracted by USAID and Mercy Corps, helped organize herders into cooperatives. This enabled them to sell directly to indigenous Mongolian processors in Uluunbaatar, Mongolia's capital city, rather than Chinese traders, improve their herds, and access better veterinary care. By working with Mongolian colleagues, he fostered sustainable practices and empowered herders to thrive, even amidst powerful neighbours.Ideal for students, educators, and scholars interested in Asian Studies. It is also essential for readers concerned with the challenges of globalization and economics.
21st-Century Africa
Will the 21st century witness Africa's major push toward catching up with other world regions? Or will the continent continue to underperform its peers? A flagship report published by the World Bank in 2000 asked, Can Africa Claim the 21st Century? It provided a blueprint for Africa to navigate in the uncertain future. A quarter century later, Africa's progress reveals some advancements, yet efforts to overcome pivotal challenges identified at the century's outset have fallen short. The agenda to mitigate conflicts, invest in people, bolster economic competitiveness, and reduce dependence on external financing remains unfinished. What will it take to reshape Africa's trajectory, not only for the few countries that have made notable advancements but also for current and future generations across the continent? The goal of fostering inclusive green growth remains, yet its attainment is increasingly daunting. Based on labor-intensive, polluting industrialization that once brought wealth elsewhere, the growth model is unlikely to succeed as automation expands, trade patterns shift, and climate pressures mount. Amid rapid population growth, achieving social and economic inclusion becomes more arduous. Moreover, sustainability confronts threats not solely from pollution and resource overextraction but also from the exacerbating impacts of the changing climate. Nevertheless, promising instances and hopeful examples in numerous African nations demonstrate that no inherent barriers are preventing Africa from accelerating development and narrowing the gaps with other world regions. To achieve this, countries must intensify efforts to address three crucial enablers of development: 1. Governance with accountable leadership and a competent and committed state. Without this, progress on any aspect of development is unattainable. 2. Young Africans equipped with skills, technology, and access to quality health care, enabling them to engage in society and the economy. 3. Robust, well-functioning market systems that cultivate growth, foster opportunities, and generate productive employment. This sequel report, 21st-Century Africa, analyzes past achievements, enduring obstacles, and potential policy alternatives and outlines strategies for governments to enhance support for sustainable growth. The report delves into ways the continent can empower its expansive, young labor force with the requisite skills and resources for a modern, productive economy. It also explores how trade in goods and services can distribute economic gains across what historically has been the most fragmented world region.
Development Cooperation between India and Neighbouring Countries
The present book examines the opportunities and challenges involved in fostering economic cooperation between India and its neighbouring countries. It focuses on four critical sectors: Agriculture and Allied Activities; Trade, Finance and Development; Demography and Social Sector Issues; and Sustainable Development & Environmental Concerns. The book emphasizes the potential for regional development through globalization and cooperative initiatives aimed at achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It envisions these efforts as tools to generate income, break the cycle of poverty, and enhance access to the broader economy.A special emphasis is placed on the North Eastern Region of India, exploring how localized sustainable development and regional cooperation can benefit not only this area but also neighbouring countries. Through development partnerships, the book seeks to identify ways to enhance economic and social well-being across borders, offering mutually beneficial strategies.This publication will serve as a useful resource for students, researchers, and academics pursuing work in international development, regional economics, and policy studies. Additionally, it offers insights for policymakers engaged in foreign affairs and cross-border economic planning, helping them frame strategies that can promote inclusive and sustainable growth across South Asia.
Bayesian Persuasion
This volume brings together the collected contributions of Matthew Gentzkow, Emir Kamenica, and several coauthors on the theme of Bayesian Persuasion.The collection starts with an introduction that positions the research on Bayesian Persuasion relative to prior work on information economics. Earlier work typically takes the informational environment - what agents know about the underlying states of the world that matter for their decision problems - as given. The agenda of Bayesian Persuasion focuses on optimizing the informational environment: deciding who should know what and when.The chapters in the volume cover foundational contributions to the literature on Bayesian Persuasion as well as extensions of the basic model (costly information generation, multiple senders, dynamic information revelation, etc), methodological approaches to information design, and the implications of the results for important topics in social science such as whether competition in the market place for ideas induces more information revelation.
Explaining Pakistan’s Long-Run Growth
This book explains the behaviour of output and its growth over time. It does so by deliberating over a choice among three fundamental models--the Samuelson-Swan-Solow neoclassical model, the Harrod-Domar model and the Keynesian model--to choose one fit for purpose. The criteria for goodness of fit are some mathematical properties of growth models. The model chosen for meeting these properties is the Keynesian model, which is a bit better on all these counts. The chosen Keynesian model of aggregate demand has been used to explain the observed behaviour of Pakistan's long-run growth of gross domestic product (GDP). Pakistan's GDP growth over the long run between 1973 and 2019 is marked by a statistically significant hiatus at approximately 1992. Pre-1992, GDP growth on trend approximated 6 percent per annum. Post-1992, it drops on trend to approximately 4 percent per annum. Applied to the hiatus in Pakistan's GDP growth after 1992, this model shows that pre-1992, high GDP growth is explained by high investment growth, paired with a low marginal propensity to consume (MPC), while post-1992, lowered GDP growth is explained by lower investment growth paired with a higher MPC. Thus, Pakistan's higher GDP growth pre-1992 was investment-led while its lower GDP growth post-1992 has been consumption-led. The book then traces the causality of these trends in investment and consumption to a falling trend in public investment. This is linked to an increasingly austere regulatory policy environment, while private investment fails to step in and maintain aggregate investment.
The Interplay Between Inflation and Income. A Thorough Investigation
Research Paper (undergraduate) from the year 2024 in the subject Economics - Other, grade: A, course: B.Com. Business Studies, language: English, abstract: This study explorers the intricate relationship between individual incomes across various economic classes and the impact of inflationary pressures on income dynamics. The primary objective of this research is to assess how inflation affects different socio-economic groups. By employing both quantitative and qualitative methodologies, the study evaluates the influence of inflation rates on diverse income brackets and demographic segments. The research also examines the role of government policies, particularly in relation to pensions and economic frameworks, in mitigating these effects. Additionally, the study investigates the impact of inflation on consumers purchasing power, revealing the inflation has considerably reduced their ability to meet essential expenses. Special focus was given to analyzing the differential effects of inflation across various economic sectors.
Institutional Acceleration
This Element develops a theory of institutional acceleration to explain the transformation to a digital economy through a cluster of frontier technologies: artificial intelligence, blockchain, quantum computing, cryptography, and low-earth orbit infrastructure. Unlike previous technological revolutions, these technologies transform not how we organise things, but how we coordinate economic activity. The authors' supertransition thesis explains why these digital technologies shouldn't be understood in isolation, but rather should be understood in how they combine to create new institutional possibilities, leading to more open, complex, and global economic systems. Drawing on evolutionary economics and institutional theory, this Element shows how this evolutionary process is reshaping our institutional economic architecture. Ultimately, institutional acceleration drives greater computation and knowledge into our economic systems.
Agent-Based Macroeconomics
This Element is about agent-based macroeconomics in general, and in particular about a family of evolutionary, agent-based models (ABMs), which are called 'Schumpeter meeting Keynes' (or K+S). The K+S models knit together 'Schumpeterian' endogenous processes of innovation with 'Keynesian' mechanisms of demand generation. As with all well-constructed ABMs, the K+S models are populated by a multiplicity of agents which interact on the grounds of quite simple, empirically based, behavioural rules, whose collective outcomes are 'emergent properties' which cannot be imputed to the intention of any single agent. After the K+S model is empirically validated, the impacts of different combinations of innovation, industrial, fiscal, and monetary policies for different labour-market regimes and inequality scenarios are assessed. The Element offers a new perspective on macroeconomics considering the economy as a complex evolving system.
Institutional Acceleration
This Element develops a theory of institutional acceleration to explain the transformation to a digital economy through a cluster of frontier technologies: artificial intelligence, blockchain, quantum computing, cryptography, and low-earth orbit infrastructure. Unlike previous technological revolutions, these technologies transform not how we organise things, but how we coordinate economic activity. The authors' supertransition thesis explains why these digital technologies shouldn't be understood in isolation, but rather should be understood in how they combine to create new institutional possibilities, leading to more open, complex, and global economic systems. Drawing on evolutionary economics and institutional theory, this Element shows how this evolutionary process is reshaping our institutional economic architecture. Ultimately, institutional acceleration drives greater computation and knowledge into our economic systems.
Net Positive Economy
Discover how net positive strategies are redefining sustainable development and reshaping the future of business, finance, and policy. Net Positive Economy: Regenerative Growth, Inclusive Value, and Sustainable Business Transformation is the essential guide to building economies that give back more than they take. This book explores how regenerative models, inclusive practices, and systems thinking can restore ecosystems, empower communities, and drive long-term resilience. Covering everything from strategy and measurement to finance and governance, this comprehensive resource equips sustainability professionals, corporate leaders, ESG investors, and policymakers with the tools to implement net positive principles. Readers will learn about: Net positive economy fundamentals - Understand how this approach differs from net zero and carbon neutralityRegenerative business models - Build circular, restorative systems that enhance natural capitalInclusive value creation - Integrate equity, stakeholder engagement, and social impact into core strategySystems thinking for sustainability - Design resilient operations aligned with planetary healthMeasuring impact effectively - Use KPIs, lifecycle assessments, and integrated reportingAligning with global thresholds - Operate within planetary boundaries and social foundationsWith actionable insights, emerging frameworks, and real-world relevance, this book bridges the gap between ambition and implementation. Whether you're leading a corporate transition, shaping sustainability policy, or investing in systemic change, this guide will help you deliver lasting positive outcomes for people and the planet.
Agent-Based Macroeconomics
This Element is about agent-based macroeconomics in general, and in particular about a family of evolutionary, agent-based models (ABMs), which are called 'Schumpeter meeting Keynes' (or K+S). The K+S models knit together 'Schumpeterian' endogenous processes of innovation with 'Keynesian' mechanisms of demand generation. As with all well-constructed ABMs, the K+S models are populated by a multiplicity of agents which interact on the grounds of quite simple, empirically based, behavioural rules, whose collective outcomes are 'emergent properties' which cannot be imputed to the intention of any single agent. After the K+S model is empirically validated, the impacts of different combinations of innovation, industrial, fiscal, and monetary policies for different labour-market regimes and inequality scenarios are assessed. The Element offers a new perspective on macroeconomics considering the economy as a complex evolving system.
Causality and Objectivity in Macroeconomics
The book argues that contemporary macroeconomists cannot provide any conclusive evidence in support of causal hypotheses, and that macroeconomic policy analysis doesn't qualify as scientifically objective in any of the traditional meanings.
Digital Capitalism and New Institutionalism
Modern institutional economics was created to study the institutions of pre-digital economies and is based on reductionist approaches. But digital capitalism is producing institutions of unprecedented complexity. This book argues, therefore, that not only the economic institutions themselves but also the theoretical foundations for studying those institutions must now be adapted to digital capitalism. The book focuses on the institutional complexity of digital capitalism, developing an interdisciplinary framework which brings together cutting-edge theoretical approaches from philosophy (first of all, object-oriented ontology), sociology (especially actor-network theory), evolutionary biology, and cognitive science. In particular, the book outlines a new approach to the study of institutional evolution, based on extended evolutionary synthesis - a new paradigm in evolutionary biology, which is now replacing neo-Darwinism. The book develops an enactivist notion of extended cognition and cognitive institutions, rejecting the individualistic and mechanistic understanding of economic rationality in digital environments. The author experiments with new philosophical approaches to investigate institutional complexity, for example, the ideas of the flat ontology and the assemblage theory. The flat ontology approach is applied to the study of human-robot institutions, as well as to thinking about post-anthropocentric institutional design. Assemblage thinking allows for a new (much less idealistic) look at blockchain and smart cities. Blockchain as digital institutional technology is considered in the book not from the viewpoint of minimizing transaction costs (as is customary in the modern institutional economics), but by using the theory of transaction value which focuses on improving the quality of digital transactions. The book includes a wide range of examples ranging from metaverses, cryptocurrencies, and big data to robot rules, smart contracts, and machine learning algorithms. Written for researchers in institutional economics and other social sciences, this interdisciplinary book is essential reading for anyone interested in the interplay of institutional and digital change.
Global Economy and World Order in the Post-COVID-19 Era
This volume is jointly written by twenty experts and scholars from China. It aims to reflect and answer at least two kinds of questions from historical experience and academic perspective. First, how to view the world in the post-pandemic era? Second, how to view China in the post-pandemic era?
The Structure and Operation of Modern Economies
This book is about the economy rather than economics. It explores the structures, inner workings and problems of modern economies, showing how the organisations and networks that shape the structure of the economy are arranged to provide society with goods and services.At the centre of the analysis there is the economic system, characterised by organisational components carrying out economic functions (production, consumption, distribution, and establishment and control of the economic activities as well as provision of public goods and services) and by a co-evolving dynamic with the state. The economic system is thus a 'machine' that modern states have organised through their laws and international agreements. The book incorporates a historical approach which reveals the varieties, structure and evolution of capitalism as the defining economic system of the modern age. Ultimately, the book demonstrates that the economic sphere and the political sphere are the two powers ruling people's lives: the economy is the result of their interactions.This book will be of great interest to readers in political economy, economics, sociology and political science.
What Is Free Trade? An Adaptation Of Frederic Bastiat’S ”Sophismes conimiques” Designed For The American Reader
Unlock the timeless wisdom of economic freedom with "What Is Free Trade?" by Fr d ric Bastiat, a masterpiece that has been out of print for decades and is now beautifully restored by Alpha Editions. This collector's item is not just a reprint; it's a cultural treasure, meticulously revived for today's and future generations. Dive into Bastiat's brilliant adaptation of "Sophismes conomiques," crafted specifically for the American reader, and discover the enduring principles of free trade that challenge economic fallacies with wit and clarity. This book is a beacon of insight, offering a persuasive exploration of the benefits of free trade and the pitfalls of protectionism. Bastiat's engaging arguments and sharp observations make complex economic concepts accessible and compelling, appealing to both casual readers and classic literature collectors. Whether you're a seasoned economist or a curious mind, this edition promises to inspire and enlighten, making it a must-have addition to your library. Embrace the opportunity to own a piece of history and enrich your understanding of economic liberty with this timeless classic.
The African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement
This book examines the AfCFTA, dissecting its key provisions. The book also examines the importance of citizen participation for the success of the AfCFTA as well as exploring the role sub-state actors can play.
Behavioral Finance in the Digital Era
Due to swift technological changes and the resultant digital revolution, a wide range of new digital financial products and services have emerged in the financial markets, as witnessed in the context of the fintech sector, the economics of blockchain and NFT issuance. This book takes an in-depth look at the challenges faced by individuals who make investment decisions in a rapidly changing financial world and presents a concise and thorough overview of the multifaceted approach to investment and savings behavior. It explores behavioral digital finance, referencing the latest theories in economic psychology and financial markets and provides an analysis of the process of saving and investing in the context of our new digital reality, where an understanding of human-AI interaction and its benefits and threats is extremely important. It combines an accessible overview of classical and new behavioral theories, models of financial decision making as well as an analysis of the new trends in financial decision making. Special attention is given to financial decision support systems and the role of financial advice services, which are of growing importance, due to their increasing complexity and difficulty.The book combines theoretical considerations and wide-reaching empirical analyses from a representative sample of international respondents. It deals with the individual approach to human risk-taking, and human-AI interaction and its benefits and threats. The book explores how people react to algorithms, what drives algorithm aversion and appreciation, and how understanding of those mechanisms can be employed to improve financial advisory systems and also considers the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on financial behavior.Chapter 4 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 International license.
Heterodox Economics and Global Emergencies
From the financial crash to the climate emergency and Covid, this book demonstrates that recent crises have had unequal impacts, that they require a heterodox approach to economics for their understanding, and new ways of thinking are needed to address them.
L矇on Walras’s Economic Thought
This book sheds new light on the general equilibrium theory of L矇on Walras (1834-1910) from a historical perspective. Walras's construction of general equilibrium theory marked the dawn of modern economics, and the theory was greatly developed in the 20th century. However, Walras's own intentions and ideas behind the theory are still not fully understood.This book aims to clarify the intellectual background of Walras's economics by delving into his original writings, which have not received much attention until now. Part 1 of the book reconsiders the relationship between Walras and his predecessors, Adam Smith (1723-1790), Jean-Baptiste Say (1767-1832), and Achylle Nicolas Isnard (1749-1803), who are believed to have had a decisive influence on Walras's general equilibrium theory. In Part 2, the book explores Walras's views on the labor market, entrepreneurship, and non-selfish human nature, including concepts like sympathy, which have been overlooked in his general equilibrium theory and subsequently misunderstood to this day. Walras's economic thought is one of the foundational sources of modern economics. An accurate and in-depth understanding of it will provide a new perspective on the problems faced by modern economics and open future possibilities for economics as a social science.This book offers new insights not only to researchers and students of the history of economics but also to all those interested in the origins of modern economics.
Routledge Handbook of Evolutionary Economics
This handbook provides an overview of current trends and issues in the rapidly developing field of evolutionary economics, an approach which emphasises the levels of the micro (e.g. firms and households), meso (e.g. industries and institutions), and macro (e.g. economic policy, structure and growth).
Local Content Requirements
As anti-globalization and geopolitical tensions continue to rise, the use of Local Content Requirements (LCRs) around the world has become more noticeable than ever before.
James Mill, John Stuart Mill, and the History of Economic Thought
Commemorating the 250th anniversary of James Mill's birth and the 150th of John Stuart Mill's death, this volume analyses the Mills' discussions on topics such as environment, cultivation, education, utilitarianism, socialism, international relations, international trade, and living standard.John Stuart Mill is an important figure of the classical political economy, and his father played a critical role in the early stages of his intellectual development. The contributions of the two Mills are examined by leading scholars on the theory and history of economics from Japan, UK, and France. They not only deal with the Mills' individual contributions but also shed light on their relationships and associations with a number of economists and philosophers in Britain between the late 18th and the early 20th centuries, including Adam Smith, Malthus, Ricardo, Pennington, Torrens, Martineau, Longfield, Morris, Sidgwick, and Marshall.This book is an essential read for scholars interested in the economics of James and John Mill, and reconsideration of their theories and thoughts using the backdrop of the current state of society.
Critical Game Theory
The models in mainstream game theory generally assume that actors act according to a single, consistent utility function. Empirical studies, common sense, and humanistic wisdom all suggest that that assumption is too simple. This book starts with an assumption that actors are controlled by diverse, inconsistent forces and demonstrates that introducing this level of complexity allows for the creation of critical game theory models that can help to attain new insights into nature, human nature, human institutions, and human behavior.The book begins with an evolutionary, or Evo, model in which the players have concerns for the other player as well as egoistic interests. Part I analyzes the Prisoner's Dilemma using a literary, or Lit, model in which the players have entropic, or Entro, masochistic and sadistic drives as well as altruistic and egoistic ones. Part II suggests that the Lit model opens the door to a "where Entro is, let Evo be" critical perspective on politics. Part III considers how core stories in mainstream game theory can be usefully supplemented and deepened by critical models and reflects on possible futures for critical game theory. The discussion of games and subgames includes poems as well as matrices, in pursuit of a mode of presentation that respects the complex, simultaneously humanistic and scientific qualities of critical game theory.The vision of critical game theory advanced in the book will be of significant interest to researchers in an array of theoretical and applied disciplines, including but not limited to literature, psychology, political science, economics, computer science, ethics, business ethics, law, and law and economics.
Foreign Aid in a World in Crisis
This book investigates the geopoliticisation of foreign aid in recent years, against a background of global overarching crises such as climate change, conflict, Covid-19, economic crisis, energy shortages and migration.Foreign aid has historically been understood as assisting both with the development objectives of the recipients and with the trade and geopolitical interests of the donors. In the first decades of the 21st century, however, this balance has been shifted by a series of complex global challenges. This book argues that donors have now moved towards framing aid as a geopolitical instrument, wherein aid can be given or withheld based on power or political intent, thus imposing the donor's specific values and norms. This book provides an in-depth analysis of this weaponisation of foreign aid within a framework of global disruption and ultimately concludes that the world is at a tipping point towards a new socio-political world order.Asking important questions about the power dynamics at play within the aid sector, this book will be an important read for researchers across development studies, political science, international relations and global affairs.
The Art of Teaming
This Art of Team Working book offers a practical and inspiring journey towards building team-oriented communities. This book questions the traditional hierarchical management approach and reveals a new culture where teams are at the core of learning and decision-making. This book has been written for: - Team coaches and leaders that want to strengthen their skills in coaching leadership. - Developers of organisations and builders of learning communities. - Everyone that is looking for new approaches in creating meaningful and inclusive work environments. The reader is invited to challenge their own mindset and be encouraged to move towards a learning culture where learning, effective dialogue and a shared vision are at the core of the experience. - The Art of Team Working includes: - The principles and practices of team learning. - Tools and models for team development. - Stories of successes and learning challenges in team environments - Introduction to the core of coaching leadership This book is much more than a reading experience, it is a real invitation to be part of a change that releases the real potential of teams.
Imperial Borderlands
What are the institutions which govern border spaces and how do they impact long-term economic and social development? This book focuses on the Habsburg military frontier zone which originated in the sixteenth century as an instrument for protecting the empire's southern border against the threat of the Ottoman Empire and which lasted until the 1880s. The book outlines the conditions under which this extractive institution affected development, showing how locals were forced to work as soldiers and exposed to rigid communal property rights, an inflexible labor market, and discrimination when it came to the provision of public infrastructure. While the formal institutions set up during the military colony disappeared, their legacy can be traced in political attitudes and social norms even today with the violence and abuses exercised by the imperial government transformed into distrust in public authorities, limited political involvement, and low social capital.
The Two-Parent Privilege
The surprising story of how declining marriage rates are driving many of the country's biggest economic problems. In The Two-Parent Privilege, Melissa S. Kearney makes a provocative, data-driven case for marriage by showing how the institution's decline has led to a host of economic woes--problems that have fractured American society and rendered vulnerable populations even more vulnerable. Eschewing the religious and values-based arguments that have long dominated this conversation, Kearney shows how the greatest impacts of marriage are, in fact, economic: when two adults marry, their economic and household lives improve, offering a host of benefits not only for the married adults but for their children. Studies show that these effects are today starker, and more unevenly distributed, than ever before. Kearney examines the underlying causes of the marriage decline in the US and draws lessons for how the US can reverse this trend to ensure the country's future prosperity. Based on more than a decade of economic research, including her original work, Kearney shows that a household that includes two married parents--holding steady among upper-class adults, increasingly rare among most everyone else--functions as an economic vehicle that advantages some children over others. As these trends of marriage and class continue, the compounding effects on inequality and opportunity grow increasingly dire. Their effects include not just children's behavioral and educational outcomes, but a surprisingly devastating effect on adult men, whose role in the workforce and society appears intractably damaged by the emerging economics of America's new social norms. For many, the two-parent home may be an old-fashioned symbol of the idyllic American dream. But The Two-Parent Privilege makes it clear that marriage, for all its challenges and faults, may be our best path to a more equitable future. By confronting the critical role that family makeup plays in shaping children's lives and futures, Kearney offers a critical assessment of what a decline in marriage means for an economy and a society--and what we must do to change course.
Financing for Development
This book provides a robust argument for an upgrade of the financial system to enable a more sustainable approach. The author argues that a new green Bretton Woods 2.0 will provide the agenda to transform our economy and our society, and a Green Transition plan is included in the book.
Carbon Pricing in Emerging Economies
Carbon pricing is one of the key policy instruments available to help countries reach the goals of the Paris Agreement and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Fiscal Policy in Focus
The book argues that inclusive and sustainable development requires the State to act as an active enabler and regulator. A complementary public-private relationship is indispensable for promoting social welfare. The subject matter also discusses the strengths and limitations of tax-expenditure policies.
