The transformation and industrialization of rural China is the underlying theme of this book. Using case studies of selected regions in south China where rural changes have been particularly dramatic, the book discusses and analyses (1) how, in the process of rural transformation, capital and labour are mobilized and reallocated, (2) some of the problems and consequences of rapid rural industrialization, (3) efforts of local governments to stabilize agriculture during the transition, and (4) the loss of farm land from urbanization and rural industrial growth.

One theme of this volume is whether the complementarity between technology and human capital is a recent phenomenon, or whether it can be traced through history. Different approaches to human capital as well as technology are applied, and besides historical surveys are total factor productivity and patent data employed. The studies deal with the Iberian peninsula, Scandinavia, and Canada, countries displaying different patterns in the international development.

Social financial reporting as an economic tool presents the firm as a socio-economic unit with empowered social capital to enable a sustainable economic solution, particularly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Islamic social finance (ISF) is a corporate social responsibility initiative in the form of humanitarian and socio-development programs by Islamic financial institutions and Shariah-compliant corporations. ISF is applied through various methods and tools that structure based on Islamic Sharia Law. For example, Islamic social finance tools would either be philanthropic, involving activities such as zakat (obligatory alms-giving), Sadaqah (voluntary alms-giving/charity), and waqf (endowment) or ta'awun (cooperation-based activities), which include Qardh al-hasan (benevolent loan) and kafala (guarantee). Thus, Islamic social finance instruments play a vital role in alleviating poverty and addressing socio-economic issues such as illiteracy, unemployment, malnutrition, and health issues. As such, integrated ISF reporting can empower sustainable economic development and lead to recovery. The Handbook of Research on Islamic Social Finance and Economic Recovery After a Global Health Crisis provides insights on the role of Islamic social finance in supporting and facilitating economic recovery in the post-COVID-19 era as well as reducing poverty and addressing the challenges of socio-economic problems such as education, unemployment, malnutrition, and health issues. This book is ideally intended for practitioners, stakeholders, researchers, academicians, and students who are interested in improving their understanding on the role of Islamic social finance theoretically and empirically in solving the issue of poverty and developing excellent funds management to achieve economic empowerment with better environmental sustainability.

The future success of many companies in the United States and Europe is becoming more dependent on effectively developing and expanding markets in new emerging and partially developed countries. Few companies, however, know how to do it well, if at all. Their success rate is low, while the cost of failure remains high. Caslione and Thomas provide insights, knowledge, special tools, and the experience that will show executives how to take hold of these challenges. Through case studies of companies in a wide cross-section of industries, the authors highlight the processes necessary to develop successful market entry, sales, and distribution strategies for their companies in emerging markets around the world.

Global business strategy can no longer be focused on only one country or region; the risks are too great. Only when a truly global company develops a holistic and global perspective and implements proven strategies can the success in the new global economy be achieved.

Since the economic crisis of 1997, there have been significant social policy reforms in East Asia. Using the concept of the developmental welfare state, this book seeks to answer whether the welfare reforms in East Asia have extended social rights while maintaining its developmental credentials. The Development Welfare State and Policy Reforms in East Asia explains the way in which the shift in economic strategy has influenced social policy reform in East Asia. It also analyzes the political dynamics of social policy in which economic imperatives for social reform were transformed into social policy reform.

Containing expert contributions from a variety of scholars working in these areas of research, this book explores contemporary concerns in economic development and globalization as well as examining how the issues have changed since Ajit Singh first began working on these subjects.

Once the world's largest ODA provider, contemporary Japan seems much less visible in international development. However, this book demonstrates that Japan, with its own aid philosophy, experiences, and models of aid, has ample lessons to offer to the international community as the latter seeks new paradigms of development cooperation.

The economic performance of African countries south of the Sahara generally has been poor during the past two decades. External factors such as high oil prices, deteriorating terms of trade, and wars, and formidable internal factors such as corruption, chauvinism, authoritarianism, and violence have continued to plague the region. Whereas in the 1980s the Subsahara was overwhelmed by drought, devaluation, and debt, the 1990s have brought the paradox of civil strife and a complex transition to democracy. This volume surveys the major political, economic, social, ecological, and gender related aspects of Subsaharan Africa's struggle toward democracy. Its essays pose two fundamental sets of ideas: that the internal equilibrium can be restored only through institutional changes with these countries; and that the political and economic dilemmas in the region are closely related to issues of gender and the environment. The volume will be of interest to scholars and students of comparative politics, developmental economics, and African studies.

Policy makers in Southern Africa are increasingly convinced that regional trade liberalization can improve growth performance and stimulate development throughout the region. To succeed where previous attempts have failed, however, governments must address two key issues. The first of these is policy coordination - the broad range of domestic policies must be made compatible with the proposed trade reforms. The second is institution building - concerted attention must be devoted to strengthening weak institutions and infrastructure. The contributors are among the leading authorities on regional integration in Africa.

The allocation of resources in international universities to adopt and institutionalize solutions must be prioritized above obsolete or wasteful practices. Changing economic and social cultures necessitate new and advancing educational strategies for the promotion of graduate student success. Advancing Innovation and Sustainable Outcomes in International Graduate Education is a critical scholarly resource that examines the impact of such drivers as technology and the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the need for a new approach to learning that directly impacts the teaching-learning process. Among the drivers that the book examines are the need for higher order and critical thinking, the need for developing cognitive and emotional intelligence with fluid intelligence enabling broad interdisciplinary thinking and wisdom, and the shifting values of millennials concerning the need for new approaches to education and attitudes to work. Underpinning the theme and chapters of this book is the need for ecosystemic thinking for sustainability framed from consciousness-based education. Featuring a wide range of topics such as data analytics, emotional intelligence, and workplace innovation, this book is ideal for educators, researchers, policymakers, curriculum designers, administrators, managers, academicians, and students.

Is the battle against inflation in China now over? Can Zhu Rongji, the economic guru turned Chinese premier who has successfully reduced the skyrocketing inflation of the mid-1990s to a near zero level, while yet maintaining high economic growth through the new millennium, relax? These are the key questions raised by China's current economic transition towards a market-based system, and they both revolve around the institutional economics that is the focus of this volume. Dealing specifically with the giant state-owned enterprises (SOEs), Industrial Reform and Macroeconomic Instability in China unravels the intriguing dynamics between industrial deregulation and inflation, in the context of China's continuous search for sustained, stable economic growth without runaway inflation. This book is unique among western studies: it addresses the very core, but to date least reformed sector of the Chinese economy. SOEs have monopolized key industrial supplies, commanded the bulk of national investment, disctated much of the nation's credit and finance, and have been the single most important source of state budget revenue. Continually faced with enormous internal wage pressures, all attempts at marketization and price liberalization are inherently inflationary. Based upon an independently, specifically designed set of questionnaires administered to 300 large and medium-scale state industrial enterprises in six major industrial cities, this book provides an in-depth analysis of the first decade of the reforms of the 1980s. The findings are formulated as pointers for understanding the macroeconomic vicissitudes that occurred after the launching of the campaign to create a 'socialist market economy' in the early 1990s. This book will be of use to China analysts, students, and businessmen who are interested in learning about the progress made, the remaining obstacles that the state-owned enterprises face, and their inevitable impact on China's economic growth and stability.

Sub Saharan Africa seems to be forgotten in the post-Cold War era. But Kaurou Ishikawa's analysis of Africa's history and its political and economic development suggests that a brighter future maybe in prospect for the nations of Africa. The African nations hosted dynamic societies prior to the slave trade era, and many of the obstacles to their future prosperity and dynamism have been removed. The focus of the book is on how African countries and the international community beyond Africa can work together to realize this potential and build on recent improvements, notably in health and the position of women in society. The ability of South Africa, no longer an international pariah, to be a locomotive for growth is assessed.

Development Without Aid provides a critique of foreign aid as unable to provide the dynamism needed to propel the world's poorest countries out of poverty and develops an alternative.

The twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall saw many reflect on the political, economic and social changes of recent years. The legacy of communism and the economic prospects of post-communist countries are rigorously analysed in this stimulating study of the long term consequences of transition.

There is a complex challenge of economic recovery and reconstruction given long-term economic deterioration and war-related destruction in the Balkans. The Balkan Stability Pact stands for a networked approach of international organizations to deal with these problems. The analysis critically looks into strategies, actors, and preliminary results. There are shortcomings and inconsistencies and there is some potential for transatlantic conflicts over the issue of burden sharing. There is also a risk of EU imperial overstretch facing eastern and south-eastern EU enlargement.

This book reviews the latest methods of sustainable investing and financial profit making and describes how ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) analysis can identify future business opportunities and manage risk to achieve abnormal returns. Megatrends such as climate change, sustainable development and digitalisation increase uncertainty and information asymmetry and have an impact on the future returns on investments. From a profit perspective, it is largely about how ESG factors affect the long-term value added by companies and the valuation of companies in the financial markets. Although sustainability provides an opportunity for abnormal returns, this phenomenon must be considered in a critical light. The book describes the risks and limitations associated with the accountability and availability of ESG data and tools. This book provides both academic findings and practical models for assessing the sustainability of investees and introduces practical tools and methods to make ESG analysis practice. It focuses on the ESG analysis of equity investments and fund investments in institutional investment organizations and provides a handbook for all investment analysts who are involved with investment decisions. Readers will benefit from understanding the methods, opportunities and challenges that professionals use in their ESG analysis with cases, interviews and practical tools for both institutional and private investors.

This book examines the economic consequences of immigration and asylum migration, it focuses on the economic consequences of legal and illegal immigration as well as placing the study of immigration in a global context.

The world is seeing a shift in economic power from west to east. Japanese FDI differs from the American example, and this will become crucial. This book tracks trends in Japanese FDI to other Asian countries, suggests future policies, analyzes methodological aspects, and provides an overview of Japanese FDI.

Energy is becoming a prominent driver of economic development. Each year, billions of dollars are invested around the world by the public and private sectors in low-emissions energy development and energy efficiency planning. Energy-based economic development (EBED) is a domain that seizes the opportunities inherent in clean energy development to drive innovation and generate economic growth. Energy-based economic development: How clean energy can drive development and stimulate economic growth delivers working definitions, common approaches, descriptions of supportive policy mechanisms, and suggested metrics for evaluation. The book offers a unified framework for EBED that is supported by examples and leaves readers better equipped to design, plan, and implement EBED initiatives. Case studies illustrate how national and subnational initiatives adopt to a locale's energy asset base, energy and economic development needs, and the context in which the initiative operates. Descriptions of the energy projects supported by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act offer insights about what worked and what did not and suggest ways in which governments can be better prepared to manage EBED projects in the future. This book provides the tools necessary to work toward simultaneous energy and economic development goals and facilitates discussion for an advanced policy agenda of energy efficiency, energy diversification, innovation-led economic growth, and job creation.

This book investigates Central America's political economy seen through the lens of its powerful business groups. It provides unique insight into their strategies when confronted with a globalized economy, their impact on development of the isthmus, and how they shape the political and economic institutions governing local varieties of capitalism.

All four authors of Building Bridges Among the BRICs take a close look at the national culture of their nations with their strengths and weaknesses for politics and business. They examine the origins of these cultures from the historical and geographical perspectives.

This volume examines the relationship between Nordic social policy and economic development from a comparative perspective. It identifies the driving forces behind the development of the Nordic welfare model and the problems and dilemmas the model is facing at present. The book also traces the link between democratization and social policy, drawing attention to the role of the state and non-governmental organizations. Social Policy and Economic Development in the Nordic Countries examines Nordic social policies on unemployment, social care, family, education and health care policies, and reviews future challenges of the welfare state in the information society.