Book Description

This book challenges the popular thesis of a downward trend in the viability of welfare states in competitive market economies.With approaches ranging from historical case studies to cross-national analyses, the contributors explore various aspects of the relationships between welfare states, industrial relations, financial government and production systems. ... Read more

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First published in 1983 ... Read more

Book Description

This invaluable collection compares the relatively unsuccessful economic development of Subsaharan Africa with that of the successful Asian economies, especially the Asian "tigers". It covers three main areas of comparison: the lessons for Africa from the Asian experience; secondly, the comparisons of various aspects of economic development in Africa and Asia; and finally, convergence: how far the laggard economies are catching up with, or diverging away from, each other.
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This book demonstrates that Russia intends to re-emerge as a full-fledged superpower before 2010--challenging America and China and potentially threatening a new arms race. Contrary to conventional wisdom, this goal would appear to be easily within the Kremlin's grasp, but the cost to the Russian people and global security would be immense.Hence, Steven Rosefielde proposes a sophisticated strategy to dissuade President Vladimir Putin from pursuing the destabilizing course. His analysis conflicts with the post-cold-war image of the Soviet Union as a westernizing, mass consumption society committed to "peaceful coexistence." ... Read more

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Book Description

This timely book provides an authoritative analysis of the pension reform process in nine countries, namely Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the UK and USA, with Japan being covered in the introduction by the editors. The book draws on the work of experts from each of these countries to provide a picture of how the pension systems work in each country.

The contributors examine the policy reform process in each country, against the background of the fiscal stresses arising from the aging populations in OECD countries. They also analyze whether different types of pension delivery systems (e.g. the public-private mix) generate different standards of living. Each study is prepared according to a common template allowing meaningful analysis of pension delivery and outcomes across countries using similar macroeconomic statistics and microdata.

Pension Systems and Retirement Incomes across OECD Countries is an extremely valuable and empirically sound book on a highly topical subject. It will appeal to scholars of economics, public policy, political science and finance as well as being of great interest to policymakers and practitioners involved in pension fund management. ... Read more

Book Description

The economic system of ‘high-growth-period’ Japan was characterized by various properties such as its unique banking system, industrial policy and lifetime employment. Juro Teranishi argues that since the ‘bubble period’ and the subsequent severe downturn of the economy during the 1990s, Japan’s economic system has been undergoing extensive changes.This book is informed by a historical evaluation of the ‘high-growth-period’ economic system in comparison with the preceding Meiji-Taisho economic system, set within a framework incorporating the role of the government and the private sector economic system as well as the government-private sector interface. Factors are identified that determined the emergence of the Japanese economic system, and the nature of, and reasons for, its transformation. Juro Teranishi reveals how the ‘high-growth-period’ economic system emerged because of the failure of the Meiji-Taisho economic system to adapt to changes in exogenous conditions, and that it is now obliged to change in order to accommodate those changes that took place during the 1990s. The book also includes a valuable evaluation of the performance of the Japanese economic system in terms of not only the growth of GDP, but also income distribution. Juro Teranishi’s book will appeal to scholars and students of the Japanese economy, institutional and financial economics, and corporate governance. ... Read more

Book Description

‘Competing Capitalisms is a superb collection of many of the most important articles of the last decade on the varieties of capitalism across regions of the industrialized world. Analytically informed, it provides the reader with insights into the sources of both stability and change while recognizing that diversity, if not divergence, is likely to continue to characterize contemporary capitalism.’

–Peter Lange, Duke University

This authoritative collection brings together the leading contributions to the comparative study of forms of capitalism. An introductory essay presents the context in which these contributions developed, discusses the major issues raised by such comparative work, and suggests likely future developments.

Topics include: the major theoretical issues involved in analyzing different kinds of market economies; the key frameworks for comparing systems of economic organization, both historically and between societies; the analysis of the distinctive varieties of industrial capitalism that have developed in the Anglo-Saxon countries, Continental Europe and East Asia; and studies of globalization and the connections between types of market economies and varying forms of economic performance, particularly in terms of sectoral development and technical change.

The collection will be an indispensable reference source and will improve access to important papers that may not be available in many libraries. ... Read more

Book Description

In light of the Malaysian experience during the Asian financial crisis, this book, now available in paperback, examines the role of international capital mobility in making countries susceptible to financial crises and the use of capital controls as a crisis management tool. Malaysia provides an interesting case study of this subject given its significant capital market liberalization prior to the onset of the crisis, and its fundamental shift in crisis management policy in September 1998.

The prime focus of the book is on Malaysia’s radical policy decision to pursue an independent recovery path, cut off from world markets by a system of capital control, as a viable alternative to the conventional market-centered approach. The analysis suggests that, against the initial dire predictions of many economists, the capital controls have actually played a crucial supportive role in crisis management. Whether the controls have played a special role in delivering a superior recovery outcome in Malaysia compared to IMF-program countries remains a point of contention. However, there is strong evidence to suggest that this pragmatic policy choice was instrumental in achieving recovery, while minimizing potential economic disruption and related social costs. ... Read more

Book Description

This book brings together, for the first time under a single cover, international comparisons of the major topics in sports economics. Contributors are all renowned scholars of the international sports scene in Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, the Pacific Rim, North America, and Europe. The reader will find an overview of sports in particular countries and regions along with comparisons along the major topics of economic importance. In particular, the contributions compare and contrast revenues and costs, labor markets (restrictions and discrimination), market structures (league and association organizations) and outcomes (team profitability and competitive balance), and policy issues (especially competition policy). Aimed primarily at sports scholars, practicing sports professionals, and policymakers, the volume is also well suited for undergraduate sports economics, sports management, and sports law courses. ... Read more

Book Description

Taiwan, once one of the world’s leading manufacturing economies, is now transforming into a service economy, with an emphasis on knowledge-based services. This metamorphosis has not been easy. As well as major changes in the industrial sector, human resource and policy development have been required, the experiences and implications of which are addressed in this book.

Although Taiwan is only in the initial stage of transition from a material- or capital-based economy to a knowledge-based economy, the process has already provided valuable lessons to be learnt. The ramification of transformations in manufacturing, agriculture, finance, services, and the information technology industry are examined and discussed.

Tain-Jy Chen and Joseph S. Lee go on to reveal the problems and difficulties that Taiwan has encountered in creating itself a new knowledge based economy, including its outmoded service sector, the inability of businesses to pursue global production and services, and the lack of capacity to create knowledge and to innovate.

Providing a discernible insight into the transformation of one of the most prominent newly industrialized countries into a knowledge-based economy, this book will greatly appeal to academics, researchers, and those with a specific interest in knowledge management or Asian economies, as well as to economic analysts. ... Read more

Book Description

In this book, chapters by leading Mexican economists are matched with reactions from European colleagues. They offer a novel viewpoint on the critical assessment of the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA) process, and its implications for the economies of the two continents. ... Read more

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This is the fifth edition of this handbook, which presents statistical data concerning the foreign economic relations of the European member countries of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA): Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, the German Democratic Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the USSR. It includes information on Yugoslavia. The handbook provides facts and figures on international trade flows, and on turnover in selected trade commodities between the supranational trading groups such as OECD, EEC, EFTA, and CMEA, and between CMEA members. It also provides information on international indebtedness. ... Read more

Book Description

As the role of the multinational enterprise (MNE) in the economic development of countries grows, a focus on how MNEs influence the process of regulatory and legislative structures has developed among scholars of international political economy. Yusaf H. Akbar draws a conceptual link between the market strategies of MNEs and the convergence of regulatory systems internationally. Focusing on empirical evidence from Central Europe and industry-specific case studies, Akbar uses the example of the successful implementation of EU laws in Hungary as it bids to join the EU to demonstrate the profound impact of MNE strategies.
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Book Description

The ability of societies to manage the current transition to an innovation-driven learning economy is determined by the capacity of existing institutions to facilitate the changes underway. Individual and social learning dynamics are critical to the innovation process and essential for developing and maintaining a sustainable competitive advantage. The crucial issue is: how well suited are the institutions of a region, nation or international regime to the task of coping with the dramatic changes currently underway in the global economy?
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