'This book offers an exciting indigenous perspective on Chinese governance model and Professor Hongjun Zhao is to be applauded for his invaluable contribution!' - Tony Fang, Stockholm University, Sweden 'This book traces the root of China's past failure as well as its success since 1978 to the inertia of its government governance, which was in turn shaped by its environment, geography and natural endowment. The book makes an important contribution to the Neo-institutional school by introducing geographical factors to explain the puzzling stability of the traditional Chinese government governance and the new challenges this type of governance is facing in an increasing globalizing world.' - Guanzhong James wen, Trinity College, US 'Professor Zhao's book offers us a unique and valuable perspective on China's present and future from a historical perspective. The book also makes use of a large amount of valuable quantitative statistics on various aspects of Chinese history.' - Debin Ma, London School of Economics, UK This book takes a long-term perspective to examine the evolution of Chinese governance and its lasting impact on Chinese economic development. Through its broad exploration of the style, strength, and effectiveness of Chinese governance through the years, it touches on a universal relationship between economic development and governance and institutions, translating the experiences of one of the world?s oldest civilizations into widespread, current economic relevance. Hongjun Zhao first examines the formation of Chinese style governance, the core contents of this governance, and its vitality compared with other governance patterns in Chinese history. He also discusses the effectiveness of this governance pattern in supporting the economic development before the Song dynasty, the failure of this governance during the past 3-5 centuries and the governmental role in pushing development since 1978. Finally, he makes a prediction of the direction of Chinese governance patterns in over the next 20-30 years. Scholars and researchers interested in China's long term economic development will appreciate this comprehensive examination of the subject, as will high level undergraduate and graduate students interested in keeping pace with China?s rapid development.

This book is a must read for those interested in the role cooperatives play in fostering local rural development and alleviating rural poverty. Through conceptual pieces, case studies, essays and empirical work, the papers in this volume illustrate the complex challenges facing cooperatives as they attempt to address market failures, remain cost competitive vis-a-vis transnational agribusinesses, adopt good internal governance practices, navigate the political challenges in their local environments and adapt to and influence the institutional environment in which they operate.' - Murray Fulton, University of Saskatchewan, CanadaAgricultural cooperatives and producer organizations are institutional innovations which have the potential to reduce poverty and improve food security. This book presents a raft of international case studies, from developing and transition countries, to analyse the internal and external challenges that these complex organizations face and the solutions that they have developed. The contributors provide an increased understanding of the transformation of traditional community organizations into modern farmer-owned businesses. They cover issues including: the impact on rural development and inclusiveness, the role of social capital, formal versus informal organizations, democratic participation and member relations, and their role in value chains. Students and scholars will find the book's multidisciplinary approach useful in their research. It will also be of interest to policy-makers seeking to understand the wide diversity of organizational forms and functions. NGOs, donors and governments seeking to support rural developments will benefit from the discussions raised in this book. Contributors: J. Bijman, K. Blokland, M.L. Cook, J. Duncan, A.Groot Kormelinck, M. Hanisch, J. Hellin, G. Hendrikse, Y. Hu, X. Jia, B. Losch, R. Muradian, G. Muricho, D.J. O'Brien, S. Pascucci, D. Pesche, C. Plaisier, R. Ruben, J. Schuurman, B. Shiferaw, S. Singh, K. Wedig

This book analyses how closer regional connectivity and economic integration between South Asia and Southeast Asia can benefit both regions. With a focus on the role played by infrastructure and public policies in facilitating this process, it provides a detailed and up-to-date discussion of issues, innovations, and progress. Country studies of national connectivity issues and policies cover Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, examining major developments in trade and investment, economic cooperation, the role of economic corridors, and regional cooperation initiatives.Thematic chapters explore investment in land and sea transport infrastructure, trade facilitation, infrastructure investment financing, supporting national and regional policies, and model-based estimates of the benefits of integration. They also identify significant opportunities for strengthening these integration efforts as a result of the recent opening up of Myanmar in political, economic, and financial terms. For the first time for these regions, the book employs a state-of-the-art computable general equilibrium (CGE) model incorporating heterogeneous firms to estimate the advantages of integration. Providing perspective on the latest thinking on integration policy, Connecting Asia is an essential resource for academics, policymakers, and business people alike. Contributors: A. Bayley, T. Chalermpalanupap, K. Cheewatrakoolpong, S. Chirathivat, M.I. Chowdhury, M.I. Corpuz, P. De, H. Florento, J.-F. Gautrin, F. Hutchinson, B. Karmacharya, R. Mishra, K.G. Moazzem, P.J. Morgan, N. Perera, M.G. Plummer, M. Rahman, P.B. Rana, S. Ray, F. Sehrin, T.M.M. Than, M. Thuzar, D. Weerakoon, D. Wignall, M. Wignall, G. Wignaraja, F. Zhai

This book provides a multidisciplinary analysis of the links between migration and remittances. The role of remittances in influencing migration decision is explored in relation to economic development, education, the labour market, and social factors. The impact of remittances on migration is examined from a global perspective, with a focus on both specific countries and larger regions, such as the European Union and the former Soviet states. The challenges in managing migration flows are also discussed, alongside the impact of COVID-19 on migration, and policy suggestions are made for the efficient management of labour migration. This book aims to offer a comparative analysis of the impact of remittances resulting from labour migration and foreign direct investment on the economic growth. It will be relevant to researchers and policymakers interested in labour and migration economics.

This book explores the origins, rationale, problems and prospects of the European fiscal policy framework. It provides the reader with a roadmap to EMU's budgetary framework by exploring its theoretical and empirical foundations, uncovering its historical roots and emphasising its supranational nature. The authors, who have been at the forefront of the academic and policy debate on economic policy in Europe, argue that fiscal policy has always been at the core of the EMU debate. The Maastricht criteria and the Stability and Growth Pact are the most contentious building blocks of EMU's institutional architecture: they have aroused heated controversies between academics and policymakers ever since their adoption. As EMU's budgetary rules undergo their first severe shock, Europe is still searching for its fiscal soul. The book's basic premise is that one cannot fully understand EMU's fiscal framework and the recent debate on its reform without placing them in a historical and institutional perspective and abstracting from the uniqueness of EMU, where sovereign countries retain a large degree of fiscal independence, and monetary policy is entrusted to an independent central bank with the overriding mission of maintaining price stability. Analysing all aspects of EMU's fiscal rules and institutions, this book will strongly appeal to students, academics and researchers of macroeconomic policy and European integration. Policymakers and fiscal policy experts at both national and international levels will also find the book to be of great interest.

Since the turn of the century, the world has been in pursuit of more established economic cities. Differences in governmental policy has pushed researchers to discover how the differing governments are implementing these changes and compare the process and structure to cities with an already established economy. Entrepreneurial Innovation and Economic Development in Dubai and Comparisons to Its Sister Cities provides innovative insights on entrepreneurship opportunities in Dubai, the influence of foreigner start-ups and their strategy for development, and models of entrepreneurship and how they compare to other cities. The implications will be two-fold: (1) to examine the issues in entrepreneurial activity as well as what level innovation is being developed; (2) to explore the changes that need to be conducted at national or regional levels in regard to innovation and economic development. Highlighting a range of topics including global business, quality management, and cluster branding, this publication is intended for business professionals, executives, economists, government officials, students, researchers, and policymakers.

Botswana's rapid transition between 1965 and 2016 from one of the poorest countries in the world to one rated as middle income has been extraordinary. Fifty years of change has seen the widespread disappearance of coal-fired locomotives and popularly used passenger trains, and ox drawn wagons. Blacksmiths, paraffin lamps, rondavels and thatched buildings, lime, women carrying buckets of water, metal water tanks have gone. The list goes on: the displacement of the round by the rectangular, migrant labour, hand cranked telephones and party lines, older men in army great coats, school children with bare feet, guttering and down pipes, granaries, the decoration of the lelapa, indigenous foodstuffs, the sub-language fanagalo, the crafts made for domestic needs. Yet more: changes in clothing, housing, property and vehicle ownership, means of entertainment, untarred main roads, do it yourself housing and in many places, general stores. The majority of the photos selected are of people. This is deliberate. It means that this book has no photographs that are routinely included in other books - the country's marvellous wilderness and wildlife, the Okavango and the Kgalagadi, the sand dunes and places of great natural beauty.

This timely book documents and analyses the seriousness of growing national inequality in different regions around the world. It argues that the treatment of inequality in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is wholly insufficient due to their failure to recognise the growing difference between the income of work and the income of capital and the super rich, and the strain this places on a country's social fabric. Sustainable Development Goals and Income Inequality provides a critical view on how inequality is dealt with in the process of setting global goals. It reviews the development of inequality globally and the various processes leading up to formulation of the SDGs. With chapters from top researchers on inequality and development economics it provides a strong and unique intellectual basis for a more prominent treatment of inequality in the follow up process to the SDGs. Combining a global perspective and in-depth regional analysis, this book will be of interest to students and academics in sustainable development, social policy and development economics. Contributors include: T. Addison, A. Cornia, P. Edward, R. Jolly, M. Luebker, D. Nayyar, A. Sumner, P.A.G. van Bergeijk, R. van der Hoeven, J. Vandemoortele, R. Vos

This book brings together fresh economic thinking for China at a turning point for the country. Decades of growth have brought new prosperity to China; economic turbulence in 2022 has led to calls for new thinking. 20 of China's top economists came together at 2022's Wudaokou Forum with innovative ideas and radical new perspectives; this book collects the best of the forum, in a volume that will be of interest to economists, China scholars and journalists.

In Islam, philanthropy is a spectrum of activity, and these activities differ in their purpose and in the principles on which they operate. To fully understand philanthropy, it is vital to examine not only its purpose but its motive and outcomes. This book identifies three types of philanthropy within this spectrum: Philanthropy as relief (zakat), which seeks to alleviate human suffering; philanthropy as an improvement (waqf), which seeks to maximize individual human potential and is energized by a principle that seeks to progress individuals and their society; and philanthropy as reform (sadaqah), which seeks to solve social problems. Philanthropy as civic engagement seeks to build better community structures and services and is directed by civic responsibility. This book explores philanthropy in Islam that covers the three primary spectra of activity: zakat, waqf, and sadaqah. Combining contributions from the Conference on Philanthropy for Humanitarian Aid under the joint organization of Sultan Sharif Ali Islamic University and the International Research Centre of Islamic Economics and Finance, International Islamic University College in collaboration with the Islamic Research and Training Institute, this book will be of interest to students, policymakers, practitioners, and researchers in the areas of Islamic finance and Islamic economics.

The D-8 (Developing Eight) organisation was officially formed in 1997 and has Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey as full members. The D-8 economies encompass nearly 62% of the Muslim population or about 1.17 billion people globally. The economic, cultural, social, political and geographical diversity that exists amongst the D-8 member countries differs radically from other Muslim or regional blocks. Furthermore, D-8 member countries are developing economies that do not solely rely on oil, ancient civilizations, or roles as historical powerhouses, but their populations aspire to be better educated, scientifically more advanced, have higher incomes and improved human rights. It is imperative to study the implications of these developments for cultural identity and life quality. This book studies the contemporary socio-economic developments and challenges faced by D-8 countries. It explores questions on the socio-economic and political formation, sustainability, economic participation, and the vitality of the D-8 member countries. It deepens our understanding of recent global economic systems and governance, and suggests areas for future research and publications.

African economies can benefit tremendously from the new wave of digital innovation and information technology by using it to build and maintain sustainable systems. However, the gap in the theory and practice of providing these solutions remains poorly understood and difficult to fill. Only by addressing this gap head-on can it be traversed to the greater benefit of African citizens. Digital Solutions and the Case for Africa's Sustainable Development is a pivotal reference source that presents existing technologies and their relevant solutions and further inspires inventions and innovation to provide sustainable solutions to African problems. Highlighting a wide range of topics including artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency, and digital identity, this book is ideally designed for government officials, public officials, computer engineers, economists, IT specialists, entrepreneurs, researchers, academicians, and students.