Policy design efforts are often hampered by an inadequate understanding of how policy tools and actions promote effective policies. This book addresses this gap by proposing a causal theory of the linkages between policy actions and policy effects. Adopting a mechanistic perspective, it identifies the causal processes that activate policy effects and help achieve policy goals. Bringing together established and emerging scholars in the field, Making Policies Work introduces new concepts of first- and second- order policy mechanisms developed from epistemological and theoretical perspectives, and considers how they can be activated through design. Theoretical concepts are explored through empirical cases from different policy arenas and contemporary policy issues such as partnerships in healthcare, food waste prevention, retirement savings, EU regulations and public sector reform. Graduate students in public policy, public administration and political science will find the powerful analytical tools offered in this book useful in exploring the theoretical elements of effective policy design. Policymakers and practitioners in governmental and non-governmental organisations interested in the practical applications will also benefit from reading this timely book. Contributors include: S. Busetti, G. Capano, M.E. Compton, B. Dente, C.A. Dunlop, M.T. Galanti, S. Giest, M. Guidi, M. Howlett, E. Lindquist, E. Ongaro, C.M. Radaelli, M. Ramesh, P. 't Hart, A. Virani, R.K. Weaver, A. Wellstead

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.

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.

A FINANCIAL TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR A call to action for the creative class and labour movement to rally against the power of Big Tech and Big Media. Corporate concentration has breached the stratosphere, as have corporate profits. An ever-expanding constellation of industries are now monopolies (where sellers have excessive power over buyers) or monopsonies (where buyers hold the whip hand over sellers) - or both. Scholar Rebecca Giblin and writer and activist Cory Doctorow argue we're in a new era of 'chokepoint capitalism', with exploitative businesses creating insurmountable barriers to competition that enable them to capture value that should rightfully go to others. All workers are weakened by this, but the problem is especially well illustrated by the plight of creative workers. By analysing book publishing and news, live music and music streaming, screenwriting, radio, and more, Giblin and Doctorow deftly show how powerful corporations construct 'anti-competitive flywheels' designed to lock in users and suppliers, make their markets hostile to new entrants, and then force workers and suppliers to accept unfairly low prices. In the book's second half, Giblin and Doctorow explain how to batter through those chokepoints, with tools ranging from transparency rights to collective action and ownership, radical interoperability, contract terminations, job guarantees, and minimum wages for creative work. Chokepoint Capitalism is a call to workers of all sectors to unite to help smash these chokepoints and take back the power and profit that's being heisted away - before it's too late.

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.

Exploring Instagram’s public pedagogy at scale, this book uses innovative digital methods to trace and analyze how publics reinforce and resist settler colonialism as they engage with the Trans Mountain pipeline controversy online. The book traces opposition to the Trans Mountain pipeline in so-called Canada, where overlapping networks of concerned citizens, Indigenous land protectors, and environmental activists have used Instagram to document pipeline construction, policing, and land degradation; teach using infographics; and express solidarity through artwork and re-shared posts. These expressions constitute a form of “public pedagogy,� where social media takes on an educative force, influencing publics whether or not they set foot in the classroom.

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.

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.

An acclaimed author and celebrated journalist breaks down the history of electricity and the impact of global energy use on the world and the environment.​

Global demand for power is doubling every two decades, but electricity remains one of the most difficult forms of energy to supply and do so reliably. Today, some three billion people live in places where per-capita electricity use is less than what's used by an average American refrigerator. How we close the colossal gap between the electricity rich and the electricity poor will determine our success in addressing issues like women's rights, inequality, and climate change.

In A Question of Power, veteran journalist Robert Bryce tells the human story of electricity, the world's most important form of energy. Through onsite reporting from India, Iceland, Lebanon, Puerto Rico, New York, and Colorado, he shows how our cities, our money--our very lives--depend on reliable flows of electricity. He highlights the factors needed for successful electrification and explains why so many people are still stuck in the dark.

With vivid writing and incisive analysis, he powerfully debunks the notion that our energy needs can be met solely with renewables and demonstrates why--if we are serious about addressing climate change--nuclear energy must play a much bigger role.

Electricity has fueled a new epoch in the history of civilization. A Question of Power explains how that happened and what it means for our future.

The Covid-19 pandemic has tragically exposed how today's welfare state cannot properly protect its citizens. Despite the valiant efforts of public sector workers, from under-resourced hospitals to a shortage of housing and affordable social care, the pandemic has shown how decades of neglect has caused hundreds to die. In this bold new book, leading policy analyst Ursula Huws shows how we can create a welfare state that is fair, affordable, and offers security for all. Huws focuses on some of the key issues of our time - the gig economy, universal, free healthcare, and social care, to criticize the current state of welfare provision. Drawing on a lifetime of research on these topics, she clearly explains why we need to radically rethink how it could change. With positivity and rigor, she proposes new and original policy ideas, including critical discussions of Universal Basic Income and new legislation for universal workers' rights. She also outlines a 'digital welfare state' for the 21st century. This would involve a repurposing of online platform technologies under public control to modernize and expand public services, and improve accessibility.