Issues relating to the size of firms in manufacturing are central to the discussion of development strategies. This book offers an interpretation of growth trajectories in selected Asian economies in terms of the size-structure of enterprises in the manufacturing sector of these economies.

The book presents a comparative survey of distribution of enterprises by size across Asia, including India, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Thailand, Bangladesh and Vietnam. A broad survey of official data on the size structure of manufacturing helps to identify three distinct patterns of manufacturing sector development and makes the connection between enterprise development and the overall impact on the economy. The book goes on to investigate the problem of the peculiar dual size structure of manufacturing in India, with its two modes at the low and high end of the size distribution and conspicuous missing middle, and the effect that this has on the economy. This pattern is contrasted with the East Asian, model with a more even size distribution, and the more recent experience of the newly developing countries of Asia with size distribution skewed to the right. It is an important contribution to studies on Asian Economics and Manufacturing Industries.

The Global Economic Prospects is a World Bank Group Flagship Report that examines global economic developments and prospects, with a special focus on emerging market and developing economies.

Over five decades of economic and technical assistance to the countries of Africa and the Middle East have failed to improve the life prospects for over 1.4 billion people who remain vulnerable. Billions of dollars have been spent on such assistance and yet little progress has been made. Persistent hunger and hopelessness threaten more than individuals and families. These conditions foster political alienation that can easily metastasize into hostility and aggression. Recent uprisings in the Middle East are emblematic of this problem. Vulnerable people give rise to vulnerable states. This book challenges the dominant catechism of development assistance by arguing that the focus on economic growth (and fighting poverty) has failed to bring about the promised "convergence." Poor people and poor countries have clearly not closed the gap on the rich industrialized world. Pursuing convergence has been a failure. Here we argue that development assistance must be reconstituted to focus on creating economic coherence. People are vulnerable because the economies in which they are embedded do not cohere. The absence of economic coherence means that economic processes do not work as they must if individual initiative is to result in improved livelihoods. Weak and vulnerable states must be strengthened so that they can become partners in the process of creating economic coherence. When economies do not cohere, countries become breeding grounds for localized civil conflicts that often spill across national borders.

This volume is concerned with labor market developments in China from a comparative perspective on selected East and South Asian countries. It closely examines the changing structure of China's labor market in the context of the Lewisisan turning point in ecomomic development.

This book is an in-depth analysis of the key players (China, India, Brazil, Russia, Turkey, Indonesia, North Africa) of the unprecedented international economic integration of the last 25 years. Despite their success, the fragilities of their banking systems pose constraints to domestic growth and risks to global financial stability.

Where do new multinationals come from? How do firms in developing economies become global players? Gita Sud de Surie provides new perspectives on internationalization and the multinational corporation by focusing on firms in emerging markets rather than established multinationals in industrialized economies. She shows that firms in developing countries are not passive recipients of technology; rather, the attempt to absorb new technologies builds capabilities and generates new aspirations propelling them from being adopters of technology to innovators and participants in the global knowledge economy. Knowledge, Organizational Evolution, and Market Creation documents the emergence of the Indian multinational by looking at data from firms in the 'old' economy, such as those in manufacturing, steel-making, automotive components and heavy machinery and the 'new economy' such as software and biotechnology. The author provides insights on knowledge transfer, innovation and capability building processes through in-depth case studies in these industries and suggests that both entrepreneurship and distributed innovation are critical for the growth of firms globally. This book will be valuable for scholars in international management, business policy and strategy, organization and management theory, economic sociology and history and technology and innovation management. Analysts, consultants and executives will find many useful insights in this book as well.

For the business and government relationship in Japan, the pre-war period was an era of considerable change. Framed by Japan's nation-building efforts, the relationship adapted and evolved with the often fluid economic and political circumstances. As both business and government had vested interests in the direction and success of Japan's industrialization process, on one level they became partners. At the same time, though, they were both stakeholders in the fiercely competitive iron and steel industry. This book explores how that partner-competitor relationship worked during the amalgamation of this strategic industry from 1916 to 1934, demonstrating how both parties engaged in meaningful negotiation through the open forum of the Shingikai - or Councils of Deliberation - throughout the pre-war period. Drawing upon the original minutes of the debates, it shows the ways in which the participants defended their vested interests and sought to forge agreement, taking the forum seriously as a means of influencing outcomes, and not simply as a mere exercise of artifice deployed to shroud the real locus of decision-making. Business-Government Relations in Prewar Japan is an important contribution to the literature on the relationship between government and business in pre-war Japan.

This innovative collection of essays from an international range of contributors describes various means of preserving, protecting and presenting vital cultural resources within the context of economic development, competing claims of "ownership" of particular cultural resources, modern uses of structures and space, and other aspects of late twentieth-century life.

Culture has been defined as the sum of all the resources, be they material, intellectual, emotional, or spiritual, that people draw upon to give meaning to their lives. All models of development are essentially cultural in that they reflect perceptions of and responses to the problems faced by human societies. Yet despite international recognition of their inter-connectedness, represented by the 1995 report of the World Commission on Culture and Development, published by UNESCO, most development policies and interventions are based on an assumption that 'modernization' in the Western sense is the ultimate goal. Culture is therefore regarded either as an impediment to progress, or as something to be kept outside the economic and political spheres and consigned to the areas of religion and ritual. This anthology, written by a variety of aid practitioners and scholars, shows the need to go beyond viewing culture merely as an important dimension of development, to seeing development itself as a cultural expression, and culture as the basis upon which societies can develop through self-renewal and growth.

This collected edition captures the essence of private equity development in emerging markets, examining the evolution of the private equity industry as well as exit opportunities, financial performance, and anticipated future trends. It also discusses the 'hands-on' aspects of private equity investing in emerging markets.

This book explores the role of financial co-operative models in promoting and sustaining local development.

Since the 2008 global financial crisis, there has been a great deal of disillusionment with the banking system, as well as a reaffirmation of the importance of a healthy society for the welfare of the individual. This edited volume argues that the crisis has shown the limits of the mainstream theory of markets and rational expectations, and therefore that new and innovative ways of providing finance are be needed, especially when strengthening the development of local societies. The volume assembles an international set of contributors, and combines theoretical contributions on co-operative finance and its role in local development with empirical investigations and case studies of the relationship between financial co-operative models and local development.

During the past twenty or so years, foreign direct investment (FDI) flows have increased at rates approaching the astounding, especially so during the 1990s. While much of the increase was due to unprecedented cross-border mergers and acquisitions among high-income countries, the amount of FDI flowing to developing nations also grew substantially. This volume examines the economics of this FDI to developing countries. Some chapters are theoretical in nature, others empirical, and still others are largely policy-oriented. Topics covered include whether FDI makes an autonomous contribution to growth in these nations and whether or not 'spillovers' are generated by this investments. Also covered are effects of policy intervention by governments on FDI flows and whether non-economic factors (e.g. cultural factors) might figure as determinants of location of FDI.

Following the acquisition of its sovereignty from the Netherlands in 1949, Indonesia experienced serious economic and political problems during the 1950s and 1960s, before entering a three-decade-long period of rapid economic growth. Hard-hit by the financial crisis of the late 1990s, Indonesia undertook a wide range of economic and financial reforms. These reforms served to prepare it well for the 2007-08 global financial crisis, through which Indonesia passed relatively unscathed.

Drawing on empirical research, this book presents a comprehensive empirical study on the key macroeconomic relations and monetary policy issues in Indonesia. The book analyses monetary, fiscal and exchange-rate policies, looking at their interactions and impacts on the economy. It demonstrates how important macroeconomic management for monetary and financial stability is to sustained national economic growth and development.

Data from the 1970s is compared and contrasted with 1950s data to analyse macroeconomic policies and issues in an historical context. Statistical and econometric techniques are juxtaposed with general empirical results to supplement informative discussion of macroeconomic and monetary developments. This book is a useful contribution to studies on macroeconomics and international development, as well as Southeast Asian studies.

This book examines the various economic, political and developmental policy challenges that Malaysia faces in her shift from a middle income to high-income economy. This issue is of great interest to academics, policy makers and development practitioners in the developing world, particularly in middle-income economies where there is a widespread concern about the challenges of managing such a transition. Malaysia is one of the developing world's greatest success stories. The book argues that as one of the developing world's most open economies, with a reputation for prudent macroeconomic management, Malaysia has achieved consistent growth since independence. It has moved from a largely resource-based economy to a multinational-led, export-oriented, industrial economy. Despite this success, Malaysia, like other developing countries, is currently at a crossroads in its development strategy; it is in danger of being unable to graduate to the level of more advanced economies - such as Korea, Taiwan and Singapore - but with the basis of its success at risk from competition from efficient, lower-wage countries - such as China, India and Vietnam. Moreover, there are new threats to the political stability and affirmative action programmes which have successfully held together a very racially diverse population.

Establishing a linkage between privatization and development is becoming increasingly important to decision-makers, economists, and political scientists. This book links privatization as an economic, political, and social phenomena with participation, decentralization, and development. It shows that privatization has rarely lived up to the ideal of generating sustainable development. In Part 1 the author looks at the relationship between privatization and development in theory and practice while in Part 2 the case of Jordan highlights the difficulties decision-makers face in implementing privatization.

Economists have long recognized the gains from international trade. The question is, does international trade - or more broadly, globalization - increase growth? Notwithstanding the debates, there are still many questions, old and new, need to be explored in order to improve our understanding on various aspects of globalization, including its consequences. This book addresses some of these questions, utilizing micro datasets of some East Asian countries. The focus on East Asia is particularly interesting for the reason that most of these countries have relatively more opened economy and experienced a rapid de facto integration quite recently. The book puts forward questions which are related to the relationship between globalization on the one hand, and firm performance, activities, or characteristics, on the other. The chapters draw recent theoretical framework from the relevant literatures, and then empirically test - mostly by econometric analysis - the hypotheses on these relationships. The extent or magnitude of the globalization impact is also demonstrated by the means of descriptive analysis. Finally, there are useful insights for policy decision-makers to be drawn from the empirical results. The book presents rigorous empirical analysis based on recent theoretical framework in international economics, focusing on the highest growing region in the world. The use of micro-data analysis - a key feature of this book - gives us much richer information on various issues of globalization. This book, therefore, should be of the interest to scholars and postgraduate students of international economics, development economics, and East Asian economics.

Behind the mystery of economic growth stands another mystery: why do some places fare better than others? Casual evidence shows that sizable differences exist at very different spatial scales (countries, regions and cities). This book aims to discuss the main economic reasons for the existence of peaks and troughs in the spatial distribution of wealth and people, with a special emphasis on the role of large cities and regional agglomerations in the process of economic development.

This book provides a unique laboratory of capabilities in practice in the Asia-Pacific region. It explores the application of the capability approach in development practice and public policy from a multidisciplinary perspective by bringing together scholars and practitioners from a wide range of disciplinary backgrounds, including development studies, health policy, political science, political theory, political economy, architecture, indigenous studies, urban planning and communication technologies.

The first part of the book provides a foundational theoretical framework to introduce the empirical applications of the capability theory in different areas of development practice and public policy in the Asia-Pacific region. This part discusses thorny issues in capability theory and raises the potential for capability theory to lead to new ways of thinking about old problems.

The second part discusses the application of the capability approach to intransigent problems of marginalisation and the articulation of public policy in New Zealand and Australia. In particular, this part focuses on the potential implications that a capability-based approach can have on the well-being of indigenous peoples in both countries, as well as children, older renters, and urban dwellers in Australia.

The third part elucidates how capability theory is being applied by researchers in the Asia-Pacific region to local issues in developing countries such as Samoa, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and Sri Lanka. In doing so, it provides original content to the world market in capability theory by focussing on this often-neglected area of scholarship.

As a whole, this volume offers a unique and innovative scrutiny of a multifaceted capability-based analysis of development practice and public policy. The scope and breadth of this volume advance the application of the capability approach and offer an indispensable resource to scholars, researchers, policy makers and policy practitioners interested in the theoretical insights and practical implications of the capability approach.

The Asian economic crisis of 1997-99 showed that the model of growth through export manufactures adopted by Korea could not sustain the country to the next rung of economic development; even after the crisis the labour market remained under considerable stress. This new book looks at the major issues that have faced the Korean labour market since the financial crisis, tracing the rise in inequality and division between workers in different sectors and the effect of expansion in higher education, increased longevity and the low fertility.

This book brings together key contributions from Korean labour researchers, containing a guide to the data on Korean workers and firms. For those who want to understand the challenges that face a successful developing country on the road to the top rungs of economic progress, the book lays them out and describes new policy solutions.

Much has been written about the wealth of nations, the history of unequal distribution of wealth, and the creation of zones of affluence and deprivation, both within and between societies. This book sets out to explore why some Asian nations are more prosperous than others through an examination of how their interaction with and utilization of resources has changed over the centuries.

Growing concerns about the impacts of climate change and dependence on fossil fuels have intensified interest in bioenergy from sugar cane and other crops, highlighting important links between energy, environment and development goals. Sub-Saharan Africa is characterized by severe poverty; the possibility to exploit a renewable energy resource offers valuable avenues for sustainable development and could support a more dynamic and competitive economy. This book describes how the bioenergy expansion will improve rural livelihoods, reduce costly energy imports, reduce GHG emissions, and offer new development paths.

Drawing on international experience, it is shown that harnessing this potential will require significant increases in investment, technology transfer, and international cooperation. Because of its high efficiency, the authors argue that sugar cane should be viewed as a global resource for sustainable development and should command much greater focus and concerted policy action. Through an analysis of the agronomy, land suitability and industrial processing of sugar cane and its co-products, along with an assessment of the energy, economic and environmental implications, this volume demonstrates that sugar cane offers a competitive and environmentally beneficial resource for Africa's economic development and energy security.

With fourty-four authors representing thirty organisations in sixteen countries, the book offers a truly international and interdisciplinary perspective by combining technical and economic principles with social, political and environmental assessment and policy analysis.

First published in 1964, The Economic Development of South-East Asia: Studies in economic history and political economy contains eight papers originally written for a study group at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. The papers, edited by Professor C. D. Cowan, are written against a background of economic underdevelopment in large parts of Asia. Economic problems increasingly plagued the governments of Asia after the Second World War, and while Western governments were willing to help foster economic development, relations with Asian governments were somewhat hindered by the heritage of their colonial past. Problems also related to the growth of traditional trading ports and export crops, and to the importation of colonial regimes, western funds and skills in the nineteenth century. Such developments come under the loosely generalised concept of imperialism, with its strongly emotional overtones, whose use impedes the objective assessment and analysis of facts. While we understand a good deal about conditions of economic growth in the West, much of what has fostered or retarded growth in other parts of the world remains less clear.

Written by a senior advisor at the United States Agency for International Development in Liberia, this book analyzes the development problems facing Africa today. Rather than the typical doom-and-gloom approach, the book takes a positive approach and looks at African achievements.

By 2008, total Fair Trade purchases in the developed world reached nearly $3 billion, a five-fold increase in four years. Consumers pay a "fair price" for Fair Trade items, which are meant to generate greater earnings for family farmers, cover the costs of production, and support socially just and environmentally sound practices. Yet constrained by existing markets and the entities that dominate them, Fair Trade often delivers material improvements for producers that are much more modest than the profound social transformations the movement claims to support. There has been scant real-world assessment of Fair Trade's effectiveness. Drawing upon fine-grained anthropological studies of a variety of regions and commodity systems including Darjeeling tea, coffee, crafts, and cut flowers, the chapters in Fair Trade and Social Justice represent the first works to use ethnographic case studies to assess whether the Fair Trade Movement is actually achieving its goals. Contributors: Julia Smith, Mark Moberg, Catherine Ziegler , Sarah Besky, Sarah M. Lyon, Catherine S. Dolan, Patrick C. Wilson, Faidra Papavasiliou, Molly Doane, Kathy M'Closkey, Jane Henrici

Written for the nontechnical reader and intended to intervene in the policy debate, " Debt Disaster?" offers informative analysis, controversial assessments, and concrete solutions to bring a close the bleakest period for the Third World since the end of World War II. Out of this volume comes a clear message: the indebted countries cannot grow if they seek to pay their debts, no matter what policies they follow.

The contributors include: Barry Herman, Rolph van der Hoeven, Karin Lissakers, Paul M. Sacks, Chris Canavan, Robert Liebenthal, Peter Nicholas, Robin A. King, Michael. D. Robinson, Richard D. Fletcher, JOse D. Epstein, William L. Canak, Danilo Levi, Louellen Stedman, Peter Hakim, Vali Jamal, Bruce Morrison, Rudiger Dornbusch, Osvaldo Sunkel, William Darity, Jr., and MIchael Pl. Claudon.