This book examines Africa's water resources from pre-historic times to the present, illustrating how Africans and their rulers formulated water management systems to support water-sector activities including irrigation, livestock raising, fishing, river transportation, industry, and the generation of hydropower so crucial to the continent's socio-economic transformation of its communities. The recent increasing demand for water by Africa's growing population makes it clear that new water management strategies are necessary for the continent to benefit from sustained development. In the face of ongoing water shortages caused by reduced rainfall, frequent droughts, and global warming, new political and economic arrangements are essential to ensure cooperative use of available water resources. Kwadwo A. Sarfoh argues that such arrangements will inevitably bring peace to countries that share river basins.

This book highlights the importance of clusters for the competitiveness of companies and is divided into three interrelated parts. The first part focuses on localization economics, cluster theory, the role of innovation, and innovation partnerships in cluster formations. The second part of the volume presents original research carried out from 2018 to 2020 in the field of both natural clusters and organized clusters. In addition to examining the impact of cluster membership, the contributions also focus on additional factors that may affect the financial performance of companies. In the third part, an additional survey and case studies are presented, to examine the specifics of family businesses in selected industrial districts of the textile, glass, and jewelry industries. A broader overview of the development of dominant industries in the selected districts is provided, for an easier understanding of the relationships of competition among companies and locations in the business clusters. The book evaluates implications for microeconomic and macroeconomic policies and provides proposals for corporate inter-organizational behavior. This volume addresses scholars and researchers of economics, business, and management, as well as policy-makers and practitioners interested in a better understanding of innovation and performance drivers of business clusters.

What happens when previously autonomous firms from different countries, each with their own identities, routines, and capabilities, come together inside a single multinational corporation? Can a cooperative strategy be established that advances the development of the multinational as a whole, or do mutual misunderstandings and the unintended consequences of strategic interaction among the players lead instead to endemic conflict and disintegration? This book tackles these novel and important questions through an empirical study of the strategic constitution of an 'actually existing' multinational. It does so by tracing the historical construction of the multinational corporation from the confluence of multiple formerly independent firms and analyzing the interacting web of strategies pursued by different actors within it. The analysis reveals how workers, unionists, subsidiary managers, and corporate executives pursue separate strategic games rooted in their local contexts, whose global outcome contrasts sharply with idealized views of the multinational as an integrated and coordinated organization. By comparing these findings to those of the broader literature, the book proceeds to a theoretical examination of the challenges of managing the multinational, and the difficulties of resolving them through conventional organizational means. The authors propose new procedural solutions aimed at fostering mutual recognition and knowledge exchange within the multinational corporation, and explore how a multinational public may be created to press for the necessary reforms in corporate governance. As the success of such reforms is far from preordained, the book concludes with a series of alternative scenarios that illustrate the many obstacles to a smooth continuation of the globalization process. This is an important and original study of significance for researchers, academics, and advanced students of international business, business strategy, economics, organizational studies, economic sociology, economic geography, and international political economy.

This is a first evaluation of the physical impact of railway construction on the British coast. The building of railways has had a profound but largely ignored physical impact on Britain's coasts. This book explores the coming of railways to the edge of Britain, the ruthlessness of the companies involved and the transformation of our coasts through the destruction or damage to the environment. In many places today, railways are the first defence against the sea and similarly the embankments of long closed lines act as sea walls. It is ironic, at a time when climate change is very much favouring rail as a means of transport, that many lines are increasingly exposed to extreme weather and the very actions associated with their construction have exacerbated coastal erosion. With the benefit of hindsight, many coastal railways have been built in locations that would not have been chosen today. As our climate changes and storminess potentially increases, what might be the implications for some of Britain's lines on the edge? Features: unique combination of environmental and historical research; timely given the impact of the storms of January and February 2014; and, covers the breaching of the South Devon, Cambrian and Cumbrian coastal lines.

This two-volume set presents the conference papers from the 1st International Conference on Economics, Development and Sustainability (EDESUS 2019), organized by the University of Economics and Business, Vietnam National University, Hanoi. The collection addresses global changes and sustainable development in Vietnam and other emerging market economies in Asia, and covers wider topics such as economics and business (e.g. economic theory, national and international income distribution, macroeconomic policies, sectors of economy, productivity developments, financial market, business governance, bank financing), development and sustainability (e.g. developing process, development policy, public policy, sustainable growth, sustainability tools, sustainable livelihood, sustainable tourism, green growth), and resources and global change (e.g. human resources, natural resources, climate change, globalization, global challenges). The books are of interest to professors, researchers, lecturers, and students in economics and geography, consultants, and decision makers interested in global changes and sustainable development. Volume 1 focuses on economic development in Vietnam and other emerging market economies in Asia. This covers topics such as economics and business (e.g. economic theory, national and international income distribution, macroeconomic policies, sectors of economy, productivity developments, financial market, business governance, bank financing) and development studies (e.g. developing process, development policy, public policy, green growth).

Provides a grounded analysis of globalization and urban change in the late twentieth century. Drawing upon multi-locale fieldwork, Kris Olds examines the role of two elite transnational cultures - ethnic Chinese property developers and modernist architects - in the planning and development of Pacific Rim mega-projects.

This book demonstrates the flow of the international trade of secondhand goods and examines the socio-economic background and mechanisms of the trade. It highlights the actors involved in the trade of secondhand goods and how traditionally secondhand good have largely been traded through social or ethnic networks in order to effectively transfer quality and market information. The development of information technology and emergence of new information platforms have changed these business models. The policies and regulations relating to the trade of secondhand goods are explored, alongside the negative impact of these trades, and the growing awareness of the circular economy. This book illustrates how importing countries as well as international institutions have developed regulations in order to balance these two issues. It will relevant to students and economists interested in development economics and economics geography.

Applied Evolutionary Economics and Economic Geography aims to further advance empirical methodologies in evolutionary economics, with a special emphasis on geography and firm location. It does so by bringing together a select group of leading scholars including economists, geographers and sociologists, all of whom share an interest in explaining the uneven distribution of economic activities in space and the historical processes that have produced these patterns. Methodological advances in three domains are examined in detail: * demographic techniques, which allow for systematic analysis of the spatial evolution of industries * social network analysis providing new tools to analyse the geography of networks at different spatial levels * spatial econometric techniques, which are used to understand the growth dynamics of cities and regions. The book also contains two case studies on the evolution of high-tech regions and a policy chapter on evolutionary planning of transportation networks. This book will be warmly welcomed by evolutionary economists, industrial organisation scholars and researchers interested in policy science, the economics of innovation and economic geography.

Utilizing innovative ethnographic research, "Swept Up Lives?" challenges conventional accounts of urban homelessness to trace the complex and varied attempts to care for homeless people Presents innovative ethnographic research which suggests an important shift in perspective in the analysis and understanding of urban homelessnessEmphasizes the ethical and emotional geographies of care embodied and performed within homeless services spacesSuggests that different homelessness 'scenes' develop in different places due to varied historical, political, and cultural responses to the problems faced

Landscape ecology focuses on spatial heterogeneity, or the idea that where things are and where they are in relation to other things can have important consequences for a wide range of phenomena. Landscape ecology integrates humans with natural ecosystems and brings a spatial perspective to such fields as natural resource management, conservation, and urban planning.

The thirty-seven papers included in this volume present the origins and development of landscape ecology and encompass a variety of perspectives, approaches, and geographies. The editors begin with articles that illuminate the discipline's diverse scientific foundations, such as L. S. Berg's keystone paper outlining a geoecological analysis based on soil science, physical geography, and geology. Next they include selections exemplifying landscape ecologists' growing awareness of spatial pattern, the different ways they incorporated scale into their work, the progression of landscape ecology from a qualitative to a quantitative discipline, and how concepts from landscape ecology have come to permeate ecological research and influence land-use policy, conservation practices, landscape architecture, and geography. Together these articles provide a solid introduction to what is now widely recognized as an important area of research and application that encourages new ways of thinking about natural and human-dominated ecosystems.

A Historical Geography of Europe represents the first multi-authored comprehensive study of European historical geography. It is written by a team of distinguished European historical geographers, economic historians, and archaeologists, and provides readers with an overview and analysis of the main problems in the subject.

An Historical Geography of Europe represents the first multi-authored comprehensive study on the subject. It provides the reader with an analytical and explanatory account of European historical geography from classical times to the modern period, including the vast changes to landscape, settlements, population, and in political and cultural structures and character that have taken place since 1500. The book takes account of the vast volume of relevant research and literature that has been published over the past two or three decades, in order to achieve a unique coverage and synthesis of this very broad range of evidence and opinion, and has tried to engage with many of the main themes and debates to give a clear indication of changing ideas and interpretations of the subject. This book brings together British and European authors from a number of disciplines who have considerable distinction in the various fields of historical geography and related fields, including a significant number who have already written on the wider problem of European historical geography. It is amply illustrated with maps and diagrams to present many of the issues in a visual form.

This proceedings book addresses the main issues of contemporary political geography and international relations, providing a platform for discussion and collaboration of experts in the fields of Political Geography, Geopolitics, International Relations, etc. Participants from all over the world consider the controversies and challenges posed by globalization, focusing, in particular, on the ideologies of globalization and regionalism, migration crises, prevention of ethnic conflicts, and measures to promote sustainable development. The content of the book may be interesting to expert community, academics and popular audience.

This book describes the transformation of the agricultural sector in East-Central European countries after the collapse of the socialist system at the beginning of the 20th century. Through considering their spatial diversity, it identifies diagnoses and evaluates the social and economic processes that have taken place in eleven countries which are currently the members of the European Community. The book analyses all important elements of spatial structure of agriculture such as land use, agrarian structure, agricultural population, technical facilities, structure and volume of production, yields, and types of farms. It also provides a wealth of maps and charts that facilitate the interpretation of the identified phenomena. As such the book is a great resource for academics, students, practitioners and policy-makers in geography and food economics.

This Open Access book provides detailed information about the incoming Mexican Emissions Trading System, including an analysis on why the system was implemented, how the system was designed, how it operates, how it could work, and how it could be strengthened by 2023 when it will be formally launched. This document is aimed at those who want to understand how an ETS can operate in an emerging economy. Although it has been written for experts and non-experts, this book does not provide the underlying theory of market-based instruments and emissions trading systems in general. The book can be read from start to finish, but can also be used as a reference for specific components of regional ETSs. The book draws upon a meticulous study of background documents and fieldwork from different authors to tell the story of how a Mexican ETS, the first of its kind in Latin America, can be set in the country. The emissions trading system cover many greenhouse gas emissions and has been hailed as one of the cornerstones of the Mexican climate policy. The book also examines and explains how the ETS is designed and implemented.

Rapid industrialisation is promoted by many as the most feasible way of rejuvenating the Indian economy, and as a way of generating employment on a large scale. At the same time, the transfer of land from rural communities and indigenous groups for industrial parks, mining, or Special Economic Zones has emerged as perhaps the most explosive issue in India over the past decade. Industrialising Rural India sheds light on crucial political and social dynamics that unfold today as India seeks to accelerate industrial growth. The volume examines key aspects that are implicated in current processes of industrialisation in rural India, including the evolution of industrial and related policies; the contested role of land transfers, dispossession, and the destruction of the natural resource base more generally; and the popular resistance against industrial projects, extractive industries and Special Economic Zones. Combining the work of scholars long established in their respective fields with the refreshing approach of younger scholars, Industrialising Rural India seeks to chart new ways in the study of contemporary industrialisation and its associated challenges in India. This cutting-edge interdisciplinary work will be of interest to scholars working on industrial development and land questions in India and South Asia alongside those with an interest in sociology , political science and development research.

In this volume, the contributors discuss some of the most remarkable global warming effects in Argentina and examine policies that Latin American countries could follow to achieve their individual climate goals. Climate change is one of the most pressing issues today. However, after many years of climate negotiations, the world has failed to introduce a common global policy. Differences in countries' climate agendas have led to unsuccessful efforts. Countries willing to pursue a climate policy have sought alternative strategies to mitigate and adapt to global warming's consequences within their jurisdiction. In this context, Latin American countries' role in shaping the regional climate agenda is yet to be explored. The book covers some papers from the well-received "First Workshop on Environmental Economics and Energy" in Argentina. Using data from Argentina, the contributors analyze the effects of global warming on agricultural yields and the impact of extreme weather on human health. From a global perspective, the contributors also describe the interactions between a reduction in carbon emissions, carbon emissions intensity, and economic growth; the role that trade policies can play to reduce carbon emissions; and the paradoxes that arise from promoting renewable energies in the region. The contributors also address the relationship between sustainability and economic growth; the private sector's role in shaping policies and providing sustainable solutions; and the Latin American challenges for the next generation. The book will be of interest to policy-makers, academics, researchers, and professionals worldwide working in climate change impacts and policy. It will also appeal to a general audience interested in climate change economics, its consequences, and the steps that countries in Latin America can take to move forward.

The term "market" originally portrayed a public space for economic transactions but the term has since evolved into an abstract and disputed idea. Despite modern markets seemingly omnipresent nature, their specific geographies have undergone relatively little analysis. This collection of new essays rediscovers the physical space that markets inhabit and explore how the impact of political, social and economic factors determine the shape of a particular market space. The essays present new research from the fields of geography, economics, political economy and planning and provide valuable case study material to show how markets are contested, constructed and placed. Rather than separate markets from the surrounding society and state, these essays connect markets to their wider context and showcase how economic geography can combine with other disciplines to throw new light on spaces of exchange.

Ensuring optimal diets and nutrition for the global population is a grand challenge fraught with many contentious issues. To achieve food security for all and protect health, we need functional, equitable, and sustainable food systems. Food systems are highly complex networks of individuals and institutions that depend on governance and policy leadership. This book explains how interconnected food systems and policies affect diets and nutrition in high-, middle-, and low-income countries. In tandem with food policy, food systems determine the availability, affordability, and nutritional quality of the food supply, which influences the diets that people are willing and able to consume. Readers will become familiar with both domestic and international food policy processes and actors, and they will be able to critically analyze and debate how policy and science affect diet and nutrition outcomes.

The first volume of The Cambridge Economic History of the Modern World traces the emergence of modern economic growth in eighteenth century Britain and its spread across the globe. Focusing on the period from 1700 to 1870, a team of leading experts in economic history offer a series of regional studies from around the world, as well as thematic analyses of key factors governing the differential outcomes in different parts of the global economy. Topics covered include population and human development, capital and technology, geography and institutions, living standards and inequality, international flows of trade and labour, the international monetary system, and war and empire.

This book explores the changing spatial distribution of the United States of America's poorest and most affluent counties over the 30 years from 1980 to 2010. While overall rates of poverty have changed somewhat during this period, the geography of counties where affluence and poverty rates are the highest have also shifted as economic fortunes wax and wane. The spatial understanding of poverty and affluence is an important dimension of addressing the complex economic and social contexts within which poverty occurs, and which vary substantially depending on several factors. While there has been significant focus on poverty in the United States, including some analysis of its spatial characteristics, since the 1960s there has been relatively little research on the concomitant geography of affluence. The geographies of poverty and affluence analyzed in this book give a view of spatial economic segregation. Spatial aspects of both the poorest and most affluent counties are focused on, as well as the changing gap and relative geographies between rich and poor over three decades.

This book provides a conceptual framework for understanding the inclusive city. It clarifies the concept, dimensions and tensions of social and economic inclusion and outlines different forms of exclusion to which inclusion may be an antidote. The authors argue that as inclusion involves a range of inter-group and intragroup tensions, the unifying role of local government is crucial in making inclusion a reality for all, as is also the adoption of an inclusive and collaborative governance style. The book emphasizes the need to shift from citizens' rights to value creation, thus building a connection with urban economic development. It demonstrates that inclusion is an opportunity to widen the local resource base, create collaborative synergies, and improve conditions for entrepreneurship, which are conducive to the creation of shared urban prosperity.

This book presents the first empirically tested, comprehensive study on shifting cultivation in Mizoram. Shifting cultivation is a unique and centuries-old practice carried out by the people of Mizoram in Northeast India. Today, it is a non-economic activity as it does not produce sufficient crops, and as a result, the area under shifting cultivation is decreasing. Such cultivation leads to the burning and degradation of vast areas of forestland and therefore has adverse impacts on the floral and faunal resources. This book is a valuable resource for government workers, policymakers, academics, farmers and those who are directly or indirectly associated with practical farming, or with framing and implementing policies. It is equally important to master's and Ph.D. students of geography, resource management, development, and environmental studies who are involved in research and development.

Harvard professor Michael Porter has been one of the most influential figures in strategic management research over the last three decades. He infused a rigorous theoretical framework of industrial organization economics with the then still embryonic field of strategic management and elevated it to its current status as an academic discipline. Porter's outstanding career is also characterized by its cross-disciplinary nature. Following his most important work on strategic management, he then made a leap to the policy side and dealt with a completely different set of analytical units. More recently he has made a foray into inner city development, environmental regulations, and health care services. Throughout these explorations Porter has maintained his integrative approach, seeking a road that links management case studies and the general model building of mainstream economics.
With expert contributors from a range of disciplines including strategic management, economic development, economic geography, and planning, this book assesses the contribution Michael Porter has made to these respective disciplines. It clarifies the sources of tension and controversy relating to all the major strands of Porter's work, and provides academics, students, and practitioners with a critical guide for the application of Porter's models. The book highlights that while many of the criticisms of Porter's ideas are valid, they are almost an inevitable outcome for a scholar who has sought to build bridges across wide disciplinary valleys. His work has provided others with a set of frameworks to explore in more depth the nature of competition, competitive advantage, and clusters from a range of vantage points.

This volume is devoted to the geographical-or spatial-aspects of population research in regional science, spanning spatial demographic methods for population composition and migration to studies of internal and international migration to investigations of the role of population in related fields such as climate change and economic growth. If spatial aspects of economic growth and development are the flagship of the regional science discipline, population research is the anchor. People migrate, consume, produce, and demand services. People are the source and beneficiaries of national, regional, and local growth and development. Since the origins of regional science, demographic research has been at the core of the discipline. Contributions in this volume are both retrospective and prospective, offering in their ensemble an authoritative overview of demographic research within the field of regional science.