This edited volume presents comparative research on how the courts in Southeast Europe apply international law. After the introductory Part I, Part II discusses specific areas of international law, notably the law of Association Agreements between the EU and third countries, the law of the World Trade Organization, and international environmental law (the Aarhus Convention). Part III consists of country reports on how national courts in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia are currently applying international law.

Fiction, including novels, plays, and films, can be a powerful force in educating students and employees in ways that lectures, textbooks, articles, case studies, and other traditional teaching approaches cannot. Works of fiction can address a range of issues and topics, provide detailed real-life descriptions of the organizational contexts in which workers find themselves, and tell interesting, engaging, and memorable stories that are richer and more likely to stay with the reader or viewer longer than lectures and other teaching approaches. For these reasons, Exploring Capitalist Fiction: Business through Literature and Film analyzes 25 films, novels, and plays that engage the theories, concepts, and issues most relevant to the business world. Through critical examinations of works such as Atlas Shrugged and Wall Street, Younkins shows how fiction is a powerful teaching tool to sensitize business students without business experience and to educate and train managers in real businesses.

A number of developing countries, including small island states have common problems that have affected their development and growth. Knowledge Management (KM) initiatives can be used to address some of these issues, but these developing countries need to understand what is needed to implement them, in order to improve economic conditions. While many of these countries have access to technologies that can be used to assist in knowledge management, relevant and low cost KM initiatives need to be considered in improving their existing KM processes. Sectors critical to the growth of these developing countries include health care, crime management, disaster recovery management, small and medium size enterprise development. Knowledge Management for Development: Domains, Strategies and Technologies for Developing Countries highlights the opportunities in these sectors and provides advice as to how these countries should go about understanding, building and adopting the relevant KM strategies and technologies. This book identifies appropriate technologies which should be considered to increase productivity within the identified sectors in the developing countries and also sectors in where knowledge management initiatives can yield maximum value. It also considers the constraints of these territories, recommending appropriate technologies and strategies for KM initiatives. It provides advice on how these technologies should be adopted in these sectors of developing countries. Investing in these strategies should benefit these countries development and growth.

The essays in this volume explore several key issues facing democracies today. They discuss the dilemma of how to protect civil liberties and individual freedoms in the light of external threats and assess the policies adopted by governments in this area. The book also addresses the question of how free, exactly, free markets should be in an economy in order to secure social peace, before going on to highlight the rudiments of the model of social market economy, as applied in Germany. It examines the problem of the democratic and legitimacy deficits that beset European integration and suggests reforms for a more democratic European Union. Last but not least, by looking back in history, they provide evidence and propose policies for the revitalization of institutions in present-day democracies. The book is of considerable interest to researchers and students in economics and political science, as well as to readers who wish to gain insights into the thorny social issues involved.

This book explores the changing socio-economic and technological landscape of the 21 century and what it means. It adopts an industrial economic approach, whilst proposing a road map leading to the adoption of a 'societal market economy' model as an appealing and politically acceptable third-way between capitalism and socialism.

Agent-based models are tools that provide researchers in economic fields with unprecedented analytical capabilities. This book describes the power of agent-based models along their methodology, and it provides several examples of applications spanning from public policy evaluation to financial markets.

Transforming Management in Central and Eastern Europe analyses changes in enterprises in seven European countries since 1989 - Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Russia, and Slovakia. Economic trends have differed vastly between these countries, but nevertheless, there are common objectives, common problems, and significant similarities in developments. This book shows the continuities, as well as the discontinuities, between the Socialist and the post-Socialist periods. It argues that Central and Eastern European countries are developing a distinctive, hybrid form of post-Socialist economic system, largely dominated by enterprise managers in alliance with state administrations-politicized managerial capitalism. Privatization has not transformed management practices, competition has.

Gianaris examines the theoretical and practical aspects of different economic systems in countries with varying ideologies. These include the United States, the European Community, and Japan with their capitalist or free market economies; the Swedish welfare state; communist China; and the former Soviet republics and Eastern Europe with their movement toward free markets and democratization. This interplay of economics and politics seen in the world arena presents new problems of production and distribution, as well as new rules and institutions. This work analyzes the dramatic developments now underway in many parts of the world and outlines a trend toward economic and political synthesis or convergence.

This work will be of interest to scholars and students of comparative economic systems, political economy, comparative politics, and international economic relations.

The social market economy has served as a fundamental pillar of post-war Germany. Today, it is associated with the European welfare state. Initially, it meant the opposite. Rebuilding Germany examines the 1948 West German economic reforms that dismantled the Nazi command economy and ushered in the fabled 'European Miracle' of the 1950s. Van Hook evaluates the US role in German reconstruction, the problematic relationship of Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and his economics minister, Ludwig Erhard, the West German 'economic miracle', and the extent to which the social market economy represented a departure from the German past. In a nuanced and fresh account, Van Hook evaluates the American role in West German recovery and the debates about economic policy within West Germany, to show that Germans themselves had surprising room to shape their economic and industrial system.

This book examines human-interest stories, unpacking from them violence inherent to neoliberalism, and considers if it is possible to find in these stories hints of people and labour that suggest other narratives.

This edited collection investigates the role of Italy in pursuing the EU five targets by 2020: R&D/innovation expenditures; the energetic measures for climate change; migration; the counter actions against poverty and social exclusion. This ambitious book uses a multidisciplinary approach and original field studies to tackle this important topic.

This book presents in a concise and accessible way why the EU institutional system exists in its present form, how the EU fits into the world as a system of governance, and who is involved in EU policy processes. It outlines the historical context which has shaped the EU system, gives a summary of the system's basic principles and structures, and describes its actors, procedures and instruments. The main theme is to show that EU decision-making is not just a matter of action at some higher and separate level, of 'them and us', but rather that it involves different forms of cooperation between European, national and regional authorities, as well as interaction between public and private actors. Numerous short case studies illustrate how people's day-to-day activities are affected by EU decisions, and how individuals' concerns are represented in the decision-making process. The book provides insights and examples which will be very helpful for all students of European integration. It will also be a valuable resource for European citizens wishing to understand the basic realities and rationales, as well as some of the dilemmas, behind EU policy-making.

This text develops an original critical analysis of the origins and evolution of the euro and the current debt crisis that envelops the euro-zone. It provides a comprehensive critical historical narrative of the evolution of European Monetary Union (EMU). The history of the euro, culminating in the Maastricht blueprint in 1992, reveals that this deeply flawed monetary edifice was informed by the prevailing neoliberal/monetarist economic doctrines, favoured by Germany. The final blueprint witnessed the birth of an international currency which was devoid of a coherent sovereign power.
The author's critique is informed by post-Keynesian theories of endogenous money. Lucarelli provides an essential contribution to the critique of the existing economic theories that continue to inform the evolution of the euro. In the absence of political union and a corresponding fiscal framework, the survival of the euro remains problematic. The imposition of harsh, neoliberal, austerity measures by the IMF/EU/ECB (Troika) on Europe's peripheral, deficit countries threaten the very existence of the euro-zone in its present form, and have set in motion powerful centrifugal forces, which could ultimately derail the entire post-war European project.

This book calls for a radical reappraisal of economic policy in the UK. It argues that a much lower exchange rate is needed to re-establish sufficient manufacturing capacity to enable Britain to pay its way in the world. Mills makes the case for the removal of balance of payments constraints to achieve growth and avoid endless austerity.

The book aims to present "traditional features" of regional science (as geographical concepts and institutions), as well as relatively new topics such as innovation and agglomeration economies. In particular it demonstrates that, contrary to what has been argued by recent economics literature, both geography and institutions (or culture) are relevant for local development. In fact, these phenomena, along with the movement of goods and workers, are among the main reasons for persisting development differentials. These intriguing relationships are at the heart of the analysis presented in this book and form the conceptual basis for a promising institutional approach to economic geography.

This book analyses the ongoing reform of the European economic union in the light of the new objective of 'stability of the euro area as a whole' in Article 136(3) TFEU. On the basis of the relevant legal sources, it qualifies this objective as the obligation to preserve the existence of the monetary union, the establishment of which was an EU goal laid down in Article 3(4) TEU. While to date the objective has been achieved through fiscal and macroeconomic consolidation in the member states and the activation of stabilisation mechanisms in cases of emergency, the book argues that full stability requires a better system of economic governance, either through a process of partial fiscal centralisation or the return to a more efficient and sustainable market discipline of public finances. It also analyses the concrete legal challenges these raise, including compliance with the conferral principle, the longstanding democratic deficit of the governance and the balance between financial solidarity and fiscal responsibility.

This book offers an analytic history of Britannia (first England and Wales and then Great Britain) over eight hundred years of political turmoil, intermingled with economic stagnation, followed by the engine of the industrial revolution. The book draws on economics, political science, public choice, philosophy and the law to probe in depth into the evolution of Britannia from an impoverished feudal and then post-feudal autocracy into a constitutional monarchy with limited suffrage that provided the fulcrum for industrial and commercial success, making Britannia, by 1884, the richest nation, per capita, on the planet. The book challenges head-on the Whiggist liberal notion of Macaulay and Trevelyan that the path from oppression to freedom was one of unimpeded progress. Among its novel features, the book draws upon the dictator's handbook, as modeled by Bueno de Mesquita and Alistair Smith to evaluate the period of varying autocracy, 1066-1688. The book draws upon modern public choice theory and legal history to evaluate the fragile, corrupt constitutional monarchy that oversaw the initial phase of post-Glorious Revolution Britannia, 1689-1775. At each stage, the philosophical battle between those who sought order and unity and those who sought individual liberty is meticulously outlined. The book draws on the contributions of the Scottish Enlightenment (Hume, Ferguson and Smith) and of classical liberal philosophy (John Stuart Mill) to explain the final vault of Britannia from a weak and corrupt to a robust and admired constitutional monarchy grounded on the rule of law, over the period 1776-1884.

Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan - East Asia's newly industrialised economies (the NIE-3) - experienced a profound development transformation over recent decades. Christopher Dent makes a comparative study of their foreign economic policies, highlighting how the NIE-3 have engaged with the international economic system in an increasingly dynamic way. The book develops a new macro-framework of foreign economic policy analysis that provides the structure for this study. The author argues that the 'development context' of the NIE-3's foreign economic policies is grounded in their common development statism and semi-peripheralisation. He further contends that it is the pursuit of economic security that primarily motivates their respective foreign economic policies. This new conceptualisation of economic security in the context of foreign economic policy will appeal to academics, researchers and students in wide range of disciplines including: Asian studies, international relations, international political economy, economics and politics.

This book offers important new insights into recent advances and perspectives in the field of political economy of development in Southeastern European countries. In addition, it provides theoretical and empirical contributions to political economy of development in an international context. Written by authors from Greece, Serbia and Turkey, the book covers a broad spectrum of topics - from macroeconomics and economic policy to international political economy and globalization. Presenting new and original ideas, this is a valuable resource for anyone wishing to gain a deeper understanding of political economy of development in Southeastern Europe: academicians, policymakers and business practitioners.

Is it possible for visionary leaders to adhere to their idealism and integrity without becoming casualties of corporate conservatism and executive-level politics? This book says "yes," arguing for the need for visionary change agents in organizations and resolving the paradox of visionary change in a bureaucratic environment. Why do many companies state they want change but then often fire employees who truly rock the boat in their efforts to shift the paradigm to make improvements? How should "disposable visionaries"-leaders who are passionate about new ideas, but who underestimate or intentionally ignore the political environment that supports maintaining the status quo and consequently are in danger of losing their jobs-keep their passion regardless of the opposition... and also keep their jobs? Written with wit and filled with poignant insights and well-documented examples, this book provides practical advice and encouragement to those who are driven to promote new ideas and reach new levels of achievement. Not just for executive-level corporate leaders frustrated by their company's resistance to change, the information and inspiration presented will be enlightening to anyone who has ever been puzzled or annoyed by obstructive internal politics at work. Readers will come away with effective ways to deal with politics, champion breakthrough innovation, be recognized as their organization's most valuable asset, and unlock their potential to change the competitive playing field. The book will also be invaluable for business students who need to be aware of potential obstacles they will likely face as they embark on their careers. Helps visionaries to identify their character traits, both positive and negative, and gives them direction on how to hang on to their idealism while more clearly perceiving how their actions affect others in the organization, including their managers, corporate leadership, or board of directors Describes a previously undocumented yet common dynamic that has frustrated many ambitious employees, told from the visionary's own viewpoint Explains how to manage visionaries more effectively by encouraging them to make meaningful contributions that can be embraced and claimed by others in the organization Enables leaders who are change agents to improve their chances of staying in an executive position long enough for their ideas to gel and take positive effect Features interesting profiles of (ultimately) successful visionaries-maverick leaders who were often initially fired or smothered for their methods and mindsets-throughout the book

Hungary: Towards a Market Economy, first published in 1998, offers a comprehensive assessment of the Hungarian economy, and follows its evolution in the immediate aftermath of the revolutions in Central and Eastern Europe. Part I describes the macroeconomy, the evolution of monetary policy, the link between the exchange rate and inflation, the inability of fiscal policy to come to terms with public debt and deficits and the evolution of the underground economy. Part II focuses on the microeconomy; the consolidation of the banking sector, the evolution of corporate governance and an analysis of the profitability of export-orientated firms. The final part assesses the labour market and the system of welfare. Hungary: Towards a Market Economy is part of the successful sequence of volumes on major topics in international economics published under the auspices of the Centre for Economic Policy Research, of interest to both policy-makers and specialists.

Why do markets exist? How are they maintained? What are market systems and how are they formed? This book addresses these fundamental questions and challenges the traditional view that markets and market systems are 'natural', asserting instead that they are ideologically coloured and of dubious scientific value.