This book explores the complex history of Catalonia in relation to Spain from an economic and political perspective. It begins in the Middle Ages and ends in the present day, analysing the intricate political problems of modern day Catalonia within a context of European integration and nationalism.

This book analyses the social and cultural status of high streets in the age of recession and austerity. High streets are shown to have long been regarded as the heart of many communities, but have declined to a state where boarded-up and vacant retail units are a familiar sight in many British cities. The book argues that the policies deemed necessary to revive the fortunes of high streets are often thinly-veiled attacks on the tastes and cultures of the working class. Policy-makers often promote boutiques, art galleries and upmarket cafes at the expense of some of the outlets frequented by less affluent populations, including betting shops, fast food takeaways, discount stores and bargain booze outlets. Highlighting the social and cultural roles that so-called 'dying' high streets continue to play in the lives of working class and disadvantaged populations, this book provides a powerful argument against retail gentrification, and a timely analysis of class conflict in austerity Britain. It will be of great interest to scholars of geography, social policy and cultural studies.

Firm Size, Innovation and Market Structure uses evolutionary dynamic theory, non-linear mathematics and computer simulation techniques to explore the relationship between firm size, innovation and market structure. The book begins by reviewing the connection between these variables from a theoretical and an empirical point of view, and goes on to illustrate how analytical tools may be used in order to explore Schumpeterian propositions regarding firm size, innovation and the specific role of idiosyncratic events. In the concluding chapter, Mariana Mazzucato focuses on the US automobile industry from 1900-1997, and uses empirical evidence in order to determine whether or not there is a relationship between market share instability and stock price volatility, and to what degree the relationship is connected to industry specific factors. This innovative new book will prove invaluable to researchers, lecturers and scholars of industrial organisation, technology and market structure.

Adam Smith's An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations was the product of the rich tradition of the Scottish Enlightenment but the book's fame immediately spread across the whole of Europe. This book looks at the long journey of Smith's ideas from Scotland to peninsular Spain, reconstructing in detail the reception, adaptation, interpretation, and application of Smith's central concepts from 1777 up to 1840. In light of methodological advances during the last two decades in the history of economic thought and the studies on the late Spanish Enlightenment and early Liberalism, the book tackles a series of significant issues and gaps in the historiography. In particular: this book sheds new light on the role of France as an intermediate step as the ideas spread from Britain southwards; the analysis draws not just on translations but also handwritten materials, book reviews, syntheses, summaries, plagiarism and rebuttals; a wide range of methods of dissemination are considered including the printing press and periodicals, parliamentary debates, academic chairs and societies; the role of individual translators and agents is given due prominence; the political interpretations of the Wealth of Nations and the ways in which the book was incorporated into the work of Spanish economists in the decades following publication are also considered. This book marks a significant contribution to the literature on the reception of Smith's Wealth of Nations, studies of the Spanish Enlightenment and history of economic thought more broadly.

The Annual Report objectively reflects the whole year's progress of politics, economy, society, culture, system, environment, innovation and reform, as well as the problems, challenges and countermeasures in traditional special economic zones and new special economic zones. It analyses China's Special Economic Zones, including overall review on the whole year's development state of the reform experimental zone and part of new special economic zones, which focuses on analyzing the transformation of special economic zones, use of resources, the sustainable development, economic and social development, social security and technical innovation from the aspects of present situation of development, the comparative analysis, and policy suggestions and puts forward development suggestions for each specific issue.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has seen major advances in recent years. While machines were always central to the Marxist analysis of capitalism, AI is a new kind of machine that Marx could not have anticipated. Contemporary machine-learning AI allows machines to increasingly approach human capacities for perception and reasoning in narrow domains. This book explores the relationship between Marxist theory and AI through the lenses of different theoretical concepts, including surplus-value, labour, the general conditions of production, class composition and surplus population. It argues against left accelerationism and post-Operaismo thinkers, asserting that a deeper analysis of AI produces a more complex and disturbing picture of capitalism's future than has previously been identified. Inhuman Power argues that on its current trajectory, AI represents an ultimate weapon for capital. It will render humanity obsolete or turn it into a species of transhumans working for a wage until the heat death of the universe; a fate that is only avoidable by communist revolution.

Using the Regenerative economic model - also known as Doughnut Economics - Susan Hayward offers a thought-provoking sketch for a renewed, tentatively revolutionary approach to both film theory and film practice. This book attempts to answer the questions posed by T.J. Demos (in Against the Anthropocene, 2017): how do we find a way to address planetary harm and the issues it raises within the field of Film Studies? How do we construct a theoretical model that allows us to visualize the ecological transgressions brought about by the growth-model of capitalism which is heavily endorsed by mainstream narrative cinema? By turning to the model set out in Kate Raworth's book Doughnut Economics (2017) and adapting its fundamental principles to a study of narrative cinema, Film Ecology proposes to show how, by using this model, we can usefully plot and investigate films according to criteria that are not genre/star/auteur-led, nor indeed embedded in anthropocentric theoretical models, but principles which are ecologically based. These arguments are brought to life with examples from mainstream narrative films such as The Giant (1956), Mildred Pierce (1945), Erin Brockovich (2000), Wall Street (1987), Hotel Rwanda (2004), and Missing Figures (2016). This approach will inspire film practitioners, film theorists, critics and analysts, film students and film lovers alike to consider how they might integrate this Doughnut model into their thinking or work as part of their process.

The discipline of law and economics has earned a reputation for developing plausible and empirically testable theories on the social functions and the impact of legal institutions. Property rights are a field in which this has been very successful. In this book, economic property rights theories are applied to case law in order to examine the practice and solution of real life conflicts. The author examines the economic problems which are dealt with in these cases and evaluate the courts' decisions from an economic angle. Cases are examined from across the UK, the US, Germany, Belgium and Canada to allow international comparisons to be made. These comparisons reveal that, regardless of the legal system, many legal issues have similar economic roots and therefore similar models of economic analysis can be applied. The analysis of these cases also shows that the discipline of law and economics is not only successful in developing explanatory models but also useful to generate better considerations and solutions for legal conflicts in individual cases. This book aims to bridge the gap between the academic and professional literature and demonstrate the benefits of the economic analysis of property rights cases to all those who are interested in law and economics.

This book offers a rare glimpse into China's Korean minority, which dominates the area bordering North Korea; even as Korea is riven into capitalist and communist societies, China's Koreans register this dilemma as one internal to the society they live in, in China's postindustrial Northeast. As this research makes clear, once driven by state investment in industry, the Northeast is now struggling to define its identity as a post-industrial region; the ethnic Koreans there even more so. This monograph provides a distinctive look at a group shaped by political turmoil, economic transformation, and cultural struggle; the study may offer an idea of what the future of the Korean peninsula itself might be, disentangling the puzzling contradictions and synergies between nationality, locality and development in China.

The Soviet Economy is a well informed work which seeks to acquaint students with the structure and problems of the economy of the USSR, analysing the practical and theoretical problems within the institutional structure of the Soviet system.

Efforts to combine the outstanding economic performance in the decades following the Second World War with social security appear to be endangered half way through the first decade of the 21st century. This book draws together an international team of contributors, including Douglass North, Harold Demsetz and Michael Piore to assess the current world order.

This book serves as a one-stop source for comprehensive information on the entertainment industry, providing a historical overview of the economics of the field, a series of short biographies of the impact makers, and an extensive annotated bibliography of more sources for in-depth research. Entertainment Industry: A Reference Handbook casts the spotlight on the evolution of the entertainment industry over the entire span of the 20th century, covering everything from vaudeville to radio and from sports to television and movies. It explores how the entertainment industry stands apart from other high-dollar, big-business enterprises with regard to how its economy is sustained, and it serves as a handy source for more in-depth information that general readers will find fascinating. An extensive annotated bibliography guides reader through their research, while a historical overview of the economics of the industry, a series of short biographies of the impact makers in the industry, and sources of more current information makes this work essential reading for anyone seeking comprehensive and specific information about the entertainment industry.

This book provides a fully revised and up-to-date analysis of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). With four entirely new chapters on responses to the financial crisis and the debate on reform options, Tomann assesses the EMU in comparison with other currency regimes through the adoption of a historical analysis. The book discusses in detail basic issues with currency and comprehensively analyzes monetary policy, highlighting problems of policy coordination. Tomann explores new monetary institutions that have been established in response to the financial crisis, before addressing long-term issues and reviewing reform proposals. By focusing on monetary issues the book offers a better understanding of macroeconomic policies and international policy cooperation, and, by extension, provides a thorough economic assessment of the EMU as an institution as it stands today.

This book examines the evolution of trade and trade patterns in Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC) and assesses the implications of these patterns on structural change and economic development within transition economies. Taking the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989 as a starting point, the authors discuss the transition of former communist CEE countries from centrally planned to market-driven economies, arguing that trade was the primary engine for the economic growth and transition process they experienced. The chapters in this book incorporate the results of previous studies - some of which are based on original research conducted by the authors - dedicated to the integration process of international and European trade. More importantly, the authors look at the broader aspects of structural change and economic development, indeed the whole process of economic transformation. Thus, the book moves well beyond the core 'trade and growth' framework to look at technological progress, foreign investment, institutional development and structural change in Central and Eastern European countries.

Capitalism Russian-Style provides a progress report on one of the most important economic experiments going on in the world today: the building of capitalism in Russia. It describes Russian achievements in building private banks, companies, stock exchanges, new laws and law courts. It analyzes the role of the mafia, the new financial empires, entrepreneurs, business tycoons, and the shrinking Russian state. Thane Gustafson tells how the Soviet system was dismantled and the new market society was born, and examines the prospects for a Russian economic miracle in the twenty-first century.

This book puts forward a new perspective on the planned economies of communist Eastern Europe, demonstrating in detail how economic practice in such countries was shaped by the interplay among planners, managers and Party apparatchiks. Based on extensive original research, including interviews with former employees of industrial enterprises, the book argues that shortages, chronic over-capacities and erroneous planning decisions were present from the very beginning, rather than the consequences of later plan mistakes. They were the natural outcome of a profound conflict between leaders' attempt to adapt the basic laws of economics to their ideology and interests, and the requirements for rational bureaucracy of an increasingly sophisticated economy. The book discusses the evolution of and debates about the planned economy, considers the practice of plan development and implementation, and provides very detailed examples of how the planned economy actually worked at the level of the factory, at the point where plans and managers interacted with workers and production.

This book is about the basis and scope of impact that Taiwan - a democracy with a population of around 23 million - has on China, the most powerful remaining Leninist state which claims sovereignty over Taiwan and has a population of over 1.3 billion. It examines how Taiwan has helped China in its economic transformation, but argues that the former exercises greatest influence through its soft power. The expert and timely contributions in this book demonstrate how Taiwan exerts real influence in China through admiration of its popular culture, be it in music or literature, as well as its reach into politics and economics. As mainland Chinese visit Taiwan, they are most impressed with civility in everyday living based on a modernized version of the traditional Chinese culture. However, discussions in the book also reveal the limits of Taiwan's impact, as the Chinese government tightly controls the narrative about Taiwan and does not tolerate any Taiwanese posing a threat to its monopoly of power.

This book covers the econometric methodsnecessary for a practicing applied economist or data analyst. This requiresboth an understanding of statistical theory and how it is used in actual applications. Chapters 1 to 9 present the material concerned with basic statistical theory. Chapters 10 to 13 introduce a number of topics which form the basis of more advanced option modules, such as time series methods in applied econometrics. To get the most out of these topics, companion files include Excel datasets and 4-color figures. It includes pull down menus to graph the data, calculate sample statistics and estimate regression equations. FEATURES: Integration of econometrics methods with statistical foundations Worked examples of all models considered in the text Includes Excel datasheets to facilitate estimation and application of models Features instructor ancillaries for use as atextbook

, The papers in this collection, written by a cross-regional group of experts, provide insights into the causes of declining levels of citizen participation and other distinct forms of civic activism in Europe and explore a range of factors contributing to apathy and eventually disengagement from vital political processes and institutions. At the same time, this volume examines informal or unconventional types of civic engagement and political participation corresponding to the rapid advances in culture, technology and social networking. The volume is divided into three interrelated parts: Part I consists of critical essays in the form of theoretical approaches to analysing weakening political participation and citizen estrangement; Part II is dedicated to an exploration of the role and deployment of technologically advanced media, such as the internet, as determinants of changing patterns of political participationist behaviour. Finally, Part III presents findings of empirical research on the issue of political participation. Combining theoretical and empirical perspectives, the book contributes towards a better understanding of the disquieting trend of voter apathy and disenchantment with politics in the context of the ongoing process of European integration, and offers a variety of analytical tools for decoding both the emergence of alternative conceptualizations of citizenship and other forms of meaningful civic and political engagement.

This book explores the debate on the policies required to overcome the crises of 2008 and 2011, in which the focus on short-term measures has overshadowed the need to analyze the low growth rate in the European Union, and especially the Eurozone, as the basis for interventions that will counteract the tendency toward stagnation. Factors that lie at the root of the low growth are examined in depth, covering, for example, the impact of the demographic trend toward an aging population in Europe, consequences of inequality for growth, challenges posed by technological change, competition from emerging countries, and difficulties in improving European governance. In addition, potential actions to foster innovation and avoid long-term stagnation, such as new measures to open up markets, stimulate competition in services, and promote green growth, are discussed. The book comprises a selection of contributions presented at the XXVII Villa Mondragone International Economic Seminar, which brought together renowned economists and representatives of a broad range of countries and leading international institutions. It will appeal to all who are interested in the latest thinking on stagnation/growth, inequality, governance, competitiveness, and innovation in Europe.

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.

Early Islam and the Birth of Capitalism proposes a strikingly original thesis-that capitalism first emerged in Arabia, not in late medieval Italian city states as is commonly assumed. Early Islam made a seminal but largely unrecognized contribution to the history of economic thought; it is the only religion founded by an entrepreneur. Descending from an elite dynasty of religious, civil, and commercial leaders, Muhammad was a successful businessman before founding Islam. As such, the new religion had much to say on trade, consumer protection, business ethics, and property. As Islam rapidly spread across the region so did the economic teachings of early Islam, which eventually made their way to Europe. Early Islam and the Birth of Capitalism demonstrates how Islamic institutions and business practices were adopted and adapted in Venice and Genoa. These financial innovations include the invention of the corporation, business management techniques, commercial arithmetic, and monetary reform. There were other Islamic institutions assimilated in Europe: charities, the waqf, inspired trusts, and institutions of higher learning; the madrasas were models for the oldest colleges of Oxford and Cambridge. As such, it can be rightfully said that these essential aspects of capitalist thought all have Islamic roots.

RIPPING THE LID OFF THE MYTH OF THE FREE MARKET 'TRIUMPH'
Many of us are increasingly puzzled and angered by the problems that government seems unable to resolve. Recent revelations by whistle-blowers only add to the sense that powerful forces control our lives and that we have no say in what they decide. There is, in general, a distinct loss in confidence in the democratic process.
In MYTHS, POLITICIANS & MONEY, former Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury Bryan Gould casts new light on these issues. Using examples of his involvement with many of the pressing political and economic issues that have troubled governments in the West over the last four decades, Gould shows that these problems have a common cause: the surrender of our democracy to those who control and dominate the global economy.
MYTHS, POLITICIANS & MONEY exposes why politicians around the world distort economic policy against the interest of ordinary people, how neo-liberalism has been allowed to rise to prominence and why the break-down of a European super-state will create economic stability for millions.
Controversial and shocking, this is the insider story of the rise of the free market ideology, its entrenchment within politics and the terrible impact that it has had on society.