Government interest in wellbeing as an explicit goal of public policy has increased significantly in recent years. This has led to new developments in measuring wellbeing and initiatives aimed specifically at enhancing wellbeing, that reflect new thinking on 'what matters' and challenge established notions of societal progress. The Politics and Policy of Wellbeing provides the first theoretically grounded and empirically informed account of the rise and significance of wellbeing in contemporary politics and policy. Drawing on theories of agenda-setting and policy change, Ian Bache and Louise Reardon consider whether wellbeing can be described as 'an idea whose time has come'. The book reflects on developments across the globe and provides a detailed comparative analysis of two political arenas: the UK and the EU. Offering the first reflection grounded in evidence of the potential for wellbeing to be paradigm changing, the authors identify the challenge of bringing wellbeing into policy as a 'wicked problem' that policymakers are only now beginning to grapple with. This pioneering account of wellbeing from a political science perspective is a unique and valuable contribution to the field. The authors' theoretical and empirical conclusions are of great interest to scholars of politics and wellbeing alike.

By necessity, understanding of leadership has been based on who used to be business leaders, namely men. In the last few years, Asian women have been making their mark in corporate America. Although Asian women have become part of the American workforce, and some have achieved spectacular success, there is little discussion about them. Many of these women could be first general immigrants, still balancing the strong pull of two cultures. Even for second or third generation immigrants, Asian cultures can often exert immense pressures. Thus, the achievement of these women deserves far more attention than it has received, and comprehensive research on these advances should be presented. Asian Women in Corporate America: Emerging Research and Opportunities traces the history of Asian women's presence as executives of major American corporations, presents biographical sketches of a select few, draws upon factors (individual, corporate, and societal) that influenced their journeys, and links to past theories on business leadership. The chapters serve to bring attention to a minority group in leadership and extricates factors that helped in the success of Asian American women in these prominent roles. While highlighting topics such as existing leadership theories, gender and ethnicity in leadership, models of theories regarding Asian women, and their involvement in major corporations, this book is a valuable reference tool for managers, executives, researchers, practitioners, academicians, and students working in fields that include women's studies/gender studies, business and management, human resources management, management science, and leadership.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and knowledge management can create innovative digital solutions and business opportunities in Asia from circular and green economies to technological disruption, innovation, and smart cities. It is essential to understand the impact and importance of AI and knowledge management within the digital economy for future development and for fostering the best practices within 21st century businesses. The Handbook of Research on Artificial Intelligence and Knowledge Management in Asia's Digital Economy offers conceptual frameworks, empirical studies, and case studies that help to understand the latest developments in artificial intelligence and knowledge management, as well as its potential for digital transformation and business opportunities in Asia. Covering topics such as augmented reality. Convolutional neural networks, and digital transformation, this major reference work generates enriching debate on the challenges and opportunities for economic growth and inclusion in the region among business executives and leaders, IT managers, policymakers, government officials, students and educators of higher education, researchers, and academicians.

Many democratic theorists have viewed the recent innovations adopted throughout Latin America in a positive light. This evaluation has engendered the idea that all innovations are democratic and all democratic innovations are able to foster citizenship. Presenting a realistic analysis of both the positive and negative aspects of innovation, this book argues that these innovations ought to be examined at the intersection between design and the political system. The Two Faces of Institutional Innovation offers a new perspective on developments such as participatory budgeting, the National Electoral Institute (INE) and the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE) in Mexico and comites de vigilancia in Bolivia, and evaluates the extent to which, in reality, citizens were involved in decision-making, distributive policies and citizen education. Further chapters also examine the expansion of innovation to the field of judicial institutions - one of the key areas in which innovation took place in Latin America, showing that the role of legal corporations in democracy cannot be compared with the role of engaged citizens. Contemporary and astute, this book will captivate students and scholars researching in the areas of innovation policy and regulatory governance. Its analysis of the positive and negative aspects of democratic innovation will also benefit democratic theorists and policy-makers alike.

Crisis management has become one of the core challenges facing governments, but successful crisis response depends on effective public leadership. Building on insights from Pragmatist philosophy, this deeply nuanced book provides guidance and direction for public leaders tackling the most challenging tasks of the twenty-first century. This timely and insightful book demonstrates how Pragmatism enables leaders to strategically address the fog of uncertainty that characterizes crises. Illuminating the power of practical rationality in crisis situations, Christopher Ansell and Martin Bartenberger develop a model of Pragmatist political crisis management and contrast this with crisis decision making and meaning making guided by principle. Examining the interplay of practical rationality and principle during the US financial crisis of 2008, the authors develop empirical indicators to evaluate when and why crisis leaders may adopt Pragmatist or principle-guided strategies. Flawlessly blending theory with practice, Ansell and Bartenberger offer key insights to those active in the crisis management community. Crisis management and public administration scholars will benefit from the detailed overview of Pragmatism and its applications to concrete issues of governance, while practitioners will profit from the book's insight into crisis leadership and decision making.

Following the positive impact of microfinance on poverty reduction, women empowerment, and microenterprise development in some countries in Asia and Africa, a huge amount of time has been devoted by researchers to understanding how this concept can be used as a catalyst for transforming and sustaining the economies of developing and emerging countries. Though there are a few books on the role of microfinance in reducing poverty in developing countries across world, there is no specific book that explores the role of microfinance in transforming and sustaining economies of developing and emerging countries. Transforming Economies Through Microfinance in Developing Nations seeks to explore how the provision of microfinance to individuals and groups can contribute to the economic transformation and sustainability of the economies of developing and emerging countries. Covering key topics such as climate change, entrepreneurship, and rural development, this reference work is ideal for government officials, entrepreneurs, policymakers, researchers, academicians, practitioners, scholars, instructors, and students.

The public space of democracies is constructed in a context that is marked by the digital transformation of the economy and society. This construction is carried out primarily through deliberation. Deliberation informs and guides both individual and collective action. To shed light on the concept of deliberation, it is important to consider the rationality of choice; but what type of rationality is this? References to economic reason are at once widespread, crucial and controversial. This book therefore deals with arguments used by individuals based on the notions of preferential choice and rational behavior, and also criticizes them. These arguments are examined in the context of the major themes of public debate that help to construct the contemporary public space: "populism", social insurance, social responsibility and environmental issues. Economic Reason and Political Reason underlines the importance of the pragmatist shift of the 2000s and revisits, through the lens of this new approach, the great utilitarian and Rawlsian normative constructs that dominated normative political economics at the end of the 20th century. Alternative approaches, based on the concept of deliberative democracy, are proposed and discussed.

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences, business and law, expertly written by the world's leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas. In this updated second edition, internationally renowned scholar B. Guy Peters provides a succinct introduction to public policy and illustrates the design approach to policy problems. Peters demonstrates how decision-makers can make more effective choices and why a design approach to public intervention can improve policy formulation. Key features of the second edition include: Analytical identification and evaluation of the vital components of policy design Reflections on the challenges posed by Covid-19 and public policy solutions An expanded overview of evaluation and behavioral public policy analysis Critical discussions of alternatives to cost-benefit analysis. Offering a timely and concise approach to the field, this book will be crucial for high-level students who are new to public policy, as well as scholars and researchers hoping to improve and advance their understanding of the design perspective. Its analytic and theoretical grounding will also prove useful for policy practitioners, enabling sophisticated solutions to common policy problems.

The definitive story of COVID-19 and how global politics shape our health - from a world-leading expert and the pandemic's go-to science communicator

Professor Devi Sridhar has risen to prominence for her vital roles in communicating science to the public and speaking truth to power. In Preventable she highlights lessons learned from outbreaks past and present in a narrative that traces the COVID-19 pandemic - including her personal experience as a scientist - and sets out a vision for how we can better protect ourselves from the inevitable health crises to come.

In gripping and heartfelt prose, Sridhar exposes the varied realities of those affected and puts you in the room with key decision makers at crucial moments. She vibrantly conveys the twists and turns of a plot that saw: deadlier varients emerge (contrary to the predictions of social media pundits who argued it would mutate to a milder form); countries with weak health systems like Senegal and Vietnam fare better than countries like the US and UK (which were consistently ranked as the most prepared); and the quickest development of game-changing vaccines in history (and their unfair distribution)

Combining science, politics, ethics and economics, this definitive book dissects the global structures that determine our fate, and reveals the deep-seated economic and social inequalities at their heart - it will challenge, outrage and inspire.

Budgeting has long been considered a rational process using neutral tools of financial management, but this outlook fails to consider the outside influences on leaders' behavior. Steven G. Koven shows that political culture (moralistic, traditionalistic, individualistic) and ideological orientations (liberal vs. conservative) are at least as important as financial tools in shaping budgets.

Koven examines budget formation at the national, state, and local levels to demonstrate the strong influence of attitudes about how public money should be generated and spent. In addition to statistical data, the book includes recent case studies: the 1997 budget agreement; Governor George W. Bush's use of the budget process to advance a conservative policy agenda in the state of Texas; and Mayor Marion Barry's abuses of power in Washington, D.C.

Koven demonstrates that administrative principles are at best an incomplete guide for public officials and that budgeters must learn to interpret signals from the political environment.