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Books > Business & Economics > Economics > Economic systems
This book contributes to the microeconomics of growth among SMEs in less-developed countries. It begins with an overview of the Kosovo economy, and takes the case of Kosovo to explore the dynamics and determinants of firm growth. The author does this by exploring dynamics of firms' creation; survival and exit; organisational capabilities of firms; and looks at how external (environmental) factors affect firms' growth. The author pays special attention to innovation capabilities. This study makes a major contribution to European Studies by dealing for the first time with economic development in Kosovo. This book will be of relevance to development specialists including policy makers, researchers, consultants, students, and field staff of donor organisations active in Kosovo, the wider Balkan region and other low-income countries. It will also be of value to policy makers working in fields of economic development, entrepreneurship, industrial policy and innovation policy, and European and EU studies.
The book examines why and how global capitalism has entered a phase of unsustainable crises of accumulation and legitimacy, and looks at various solutions to such crises, from mild reform to radical overhaul. The book then examines the various scenarios from a Latin American perspective, arguing that different countries follow diverse paths in adapting to the crisis - with significantly different outcomes. Their common challenge is how to achieve economic growth with social inclusion.
Capitalist growth is widely heralded as the only answer to the crisis still sweeping the global economy. Yet the era of corporate globalisation has been defined by unprecedented levels of inequality and environmental degradation. A return to capitalist growth threatens to exacerbate these problems, not solve them. In The Poverty of Capitalism, John Hilary reveals the true face of transnational capital in its insatiable drive for expansion and accumulation. He exposes the myth of 'corporate social responsibility' (CSR), and highlights key areas of conflict over natural resources, labour rights and food sovereignty. Hilary also describes the growing popular resistance to corporate power, as well as the new social movements seeking to develop alternatives to capitalism itself. This book will be essential reading for all those concerned with global justice, human rights and equity in the world order.
For most economists, 'Austrian economics' refers to a distinct school of thought, originating with Mises and Hayek and characterised by a strong commitment to free-market liberalism. This innovative book explores an alternative Austrian tradition in economics. Socialist in spirit but too diffuse to be described as a single school of thought, it shares a common conviction that the market, while possibly a good servant, is a very poor master. Demonstrating how the debate on the economics of socialism began in Austria long before the 1930s, this unique book analyses the work and impact of many leading Austrian economists. Beginning with the Austro-Marxist theorists Otto Bauer and Rudolf Hilferding and moving through to the new generation of social democratic economists, most prominently Kurt Rothschild and Josef Steindl, The Alternative Austrian Economics provides insight into the history and evolution of socialist economics in Austria. Offering a previously underrepresented discussion of a century of Austrian socialist economics, this engaging book will prove to be of great value to Marxian and heterodox economists, historians of economic thought and political scientists interested in political economy.
This book provides the analysis on capital markets in China, focusing attention upon (1) the bubble phenomena (whether or not a Chinese bubble really exists and might burst), (2) foreign direct investment and (3) integration, through all of which we could recognize the current situation and the future prospects of Chinese marketization. As regards to the bubble phenomena, particularly 'early warning indicator' of the bubble, this book attempts to utilize the Grubbs-Smirnov Test to discover the 'abnormal value' in several asset markets. Investigations of this book suggest that the distinctive features of the Chinese market have been significantly different from the markets of capitalist countries such as the United States and Japan. As far as Japan's foreign direct investments in China are concerned, this book tries to reveal the Chinese characteristics on FDI phenomena with FDI-trade ratio. The analysis of this book suggests that Chinese FDI from Japan has undoubtedly revealed the distortions caused by non-economic factors, which also mean that the distinctive features of the Chinese market have been different from the markets of the United States and Japan etc. Regarding integration, this book provides the analysis on the 'G2' system between the United States and China (cooperation or conflict between them). The considerations of this book conclude that it might be difficult to have good cooperation between them because of significant differences between the Chinese system and the US system.
Although the new small and medium enterprises (SME) sector is emerging as one of the driving forces in transition economies, little is known about the conditions behind its successful development or about policies that could facilitate its expansion. This unique book explores the complex relationship between the growth of the SME sector and the current policies and institutional, historical and cultural forces that shape its fate.
WINNER OF THE 2019 MADAME DE STAEL PRIZE AND THE 2018 LEONTIEF PRIZE FOR ADVANCING THE FRONTIERS OF ECONOMIC THOUGHT SHORTLISTED FOR THE FT & MCKINSEY BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2018 Who really creates wealth in our world? And how do we decide the value of what they do? At the heart of today's financial and economic crisis is a problem hiding in plain sight. In modern capitalism, value-extraction is rewarded more highly than value-creation: the productive process that drives a healthy economy and society. From companies driven solely to maximize shareholder value to astronomically high prices of medicines justified through big pharma's 'value pricing', we misidentify taking with making, and have lost sight of what value really means. Once a central plank of economic thought, this concept of value - what it is, why it matters to us - is simply no longer discussed. Yet, argues Mariana Mazzucato in this penetrating and passionate new book, if we are to reform capitalism - radically to transform an increasingly sick system rather than continue feeding it - we urgently need to rethink where wealth comes from. Which activities create it, which extract it, which destroy it? Answers to these questions are key if we want to replace the current parasitic system with a type of capitalism that is more sustainable, more symbiotic - that works for us all. The Value of Everything reigniteS a long-needed debate about the kind of world we really want to live in.
Since 1986 Laos has been engaged in radical reform designed to transform its repressed socialist economy into a market economy open to international trade and investment. The Economics of Transition in Laos analyses the successes and failures of economic transition in the context of the institutional and political constraints faced by the reform process. It focuses on the change from a socialist economic system to a market-orientated system, and the transfer from subsistence to market agriculture. Special attention is given to the integration of Laos into the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). The author shows that this integration into ASEAN is likely to be an important determining factor in the transformation of Laos into a successful market economy. This authoritative book, the first of its kind, will prove essential reading to social scientists concerned with Southeast Asia, transition or development issues, and to all those interested in contemporary Indochina.
The purpose of this book is to reconsider economic liberalism from the viewpoint of political liberalism. The author argues that advocates of economic liberalism largely overlook empirical political preferences which, in many societies, go far beyond a limited role of the state. Recent difficulties of reforming the welfare state provide evidence that political preferences are at odds with liberal economic policy in numerous cases. This fact challenges a political conception which demands a limited state role but also claims that citizens' preferences 'as they are' should determine the content of policies. Using an evolutionary perspective on economic liberalism, the book develops new arguments about how economic liberalism can be brought into line with political liberalism. Drawing on an evolutionary theory of markets, Gerhard Wegner reinforces the claim that liberal economic policies are conducive to prosperity in society, but he argues that the liberal promise of prosperity does not translate into corresponding political preferences on the part of citizens. A tension between political and economic liberalism arises which lies at the centre of this book. Political Failure by Agreement will strongly appeal to postgraduate students and researchers of global governance, political theory, political economy and institutional economics.
'Capitalism is Change'. This famous expression of Joseph Schumpeter was not only characteristic of his time, but is certainly relevant as we enter the twenty-first century. The transition of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, the Asian crisis and European integration all characterise the continuous change of capitalism. What is the role of entrepreneurs in capitalist society? How effective are technological policies in changing institutions? Are the economic systems of the United States, Europe and Asia converging? In answer to these questions distinguished contributors - including Paul Krugman - focus on the theoretical foundations of the evolution of capitalist institutions. They apply these theoretical insights to the firm, sectors and economic systems. The combination of recent developments in theory with empirical studies will ensure that this book is essential reading for all those interested in evolutionary and institutional economics, political economy, technology policy, innovation and knowledge.
Despite the severity of the global economic crisis and the widespread aversion towards austerity policies, neoliberalism remains the dominant mode of economic governance in the world. What makes neoliberalism such a resilient mode of economic and political governance? How does neoliberalism effectively reproduce itself in the face of popular opposition? States of Discipline offers an answer to these questions by highlighting the ways in which today's neoliberalism reinforces and relies upon coercive practices that marginalize, discipline and control social groups. Such practices range from the development of market-oriented policies through legal and administrative reforms at the local and national-level, to the coercive apparatuses of the state that repress the social forces that oppose various aspects of neoliberalization. The book argues that these practices are built on the pre-existing infrastructure of neoliberal governance, which strive towards limiting the spaces of popular resistance through a set of administrative, legal and coercive mechanisms. Exploring a range of case studies from across the world, the book uses 'authoritarian neoliberalism' as a conceptual prism to shed light on the institutionalization and employment of state practices that invalidate public input and silence popular resistance.
Despite the severity of the global economic crisis and the widespread aversion towards austerity policies, neoliberalism remains the dominant mode of economic governance in the world. What makes neoliberalism such a resilient mode of economic and political governance? How does neoliberalism effectively reproduce itself in the face of popular opposition? States of Discipline offers an answer to these questions by highlighting the ways in which today's neoliberalism reinforces and relies upon coercive practices that marginalize, discipline and control social groups. Such practices range from the development of market-oriented policies through legal and administrative reforms at the local and national-level, to the coercive apparatuses of the state that repress the social forces that oppose various aspects of neoliberalization. The book argues that these practices are built on the pre-existing infrastructure of neoliberal governance, which strive towards limiting the spaces of popular resistance through a set of administrative, legal and coercive mechanisms. Exploring a range of case studies from across the world, the book uses 'authoritarian neoliberalism' as a conceptual prism to shed light on the institutionalization and employment of state practices that invalidate public input and silence popular resistance.
This volume brings together original and timely writings by internationally renowned scholars that reflect on the current trajectories of global capitalism and, in the light of these, consider likely, possible or desirable futures. It offers theory-informed writing that contextualizes empirical research on current world-historic events and trends with an eye towards realizing a future of human, social and economic betterment.
The attention economy is a notion that explains the growing value of human attention in societies characterised by post-industrial modes of production. In a world in which information and knowledge become central to the valorisation process of capital, human attention becomes a scarce and hence increasingly valuable commodity. To what degree is the attention economy a specific form of capitalist production? How does the attention economy differ from the industrial mode of production in which Marx developed his critique of capitalism? How can Marx's theory be used today despite the historical differences that separate industrial from post-industrial capitalism? The Attention Economy argues that human attention is a new form of labour that can only be understood through a systematic reinterpretation of Marx. It argues that the attention economy belongs to a general shift in capitalism in which subjectivity itself becomes the territory of production and exploitation of value as well as the territory of the reproduction of capitalist power relations.
This highly original new book examines the scientific status of economics from the perspective of practising economists. It studies how they evaluate their theories, the relationship between those theories and the phenomena they are intended to represent, and the philosophy, methodology and scientific credentials of economics. It examines the tension between economics as the logic of rational choice and as a predictive science, that is reason and reality respectively. It surveys the five most influential schools of thought in the methodology of economics, with special emphasis on theory appraisal: logical positivism, instrumentalism, a priorism, scientific realism and rhetorical analysis. Professor Fox assesses the extent to which economists have followed the precepts and consequences of their methodological position. He extends the discussion to consider the purpose of such economic inquiry, the scope of application and the appropriate structure of economic theory, as the legitimate sources of economic knowledge. In conclusion he argues that a resolution of existing and emerging methodological controversies in economics must begin with a better understanding of the various voices within the discipline. Intended as an introduction to the major schools of thought in economics, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of economics, philosophy and economic methodology.
This comprehensive and lucid study, first published in 1985, reconstructs the history of Western Marxist theories of the breakdown of capitalism. It provides a critical reading of theories of breakdown, with their conflicting interpretations of a single text, their invulnerability to empirical defeat, and their retreat from class analysis, as events in the history of ideas. This study traces the sources of theoretical conflict in a series of historical and epistemological issues that shift over time and generate new conditions for speculations concerning the fate of the system. In seeking to understand that durability of the concept of breakdown, the author raises important questions about the social conditions and consequences of theoretical work and the status of critical thought in society. This title will be of interest to students of history and economics.
What can prosperity possibly mean in a world of environmental and social limits? The publication of Prosperity without Growth was a landmark in the sustainability debate. Tim Jackson's piercing challenge to conventional economics openly questioned the most highly prized goal of politicians and economists alike: the continued pursuit of exponential economic growth. Its findings provoked controversy, inspired debate and led to a new wave of research building on its arguments and conclusions. This substantially revised and re-written edition updates those arguments and considerably expands upon them. Jackson demonstrates that building a 'post-growth' economy is a precise, definable and meaningful task. Starting from clear first principles, he sets out the dimensions of that task: the nature of enterprise; the quality of our working lives; the structure of investment; and the role of the money supply. He shows how the economy of tomorrow may be transformed in ways that protect employment, facilitate social investment, reduce inequality and deliver both ecological and financial stability. Seven years after it was first published, Prosperity without Growth is no longer a radical narrative whispered by a marginal fringe, but an essential vision of social progress in a post-crisis world. Fulfilling that vision is simply the most urgent task of our times.
An intense debate has played out in recent years regarding how to implement a so-called "flexicurity system"-a labor market reform that combines flexibility, particularly in the hiring and firing process of firms, with security in the employment and income of the workforce. In Flexicurity Capitalism, Flaschel and Greiner lay out the macroeconomic structure of this system, providing the detailed mathematical models necessary to ponder seriously how such a system can work. Their book rests on three pillars of thought: Marx, Kalecki-Keynes, and Schumpeter. The authors highlight the relevant contributions from the work of each and build upon it. They in turn provide a basic framework for flexicurity capitalism and then compare their economic system to pure capitalism to determine the best and most practical way forward. Their scope is ambitious: to address the shortcomings of a narrow focus on mass unemployment, selective-schooling systems, property rights based solely on ownership without qualified business decision-making expertise, financial markets that do not of channel savings properly into real investment, and innovations that ignore human rights or moral sentiments. Flaschel and Greiner's Flexicurity Capitalism provides serious discussion and feasible mathematical models necessary to consider moving in this direction.
First Published in 1968. This is a study of the impact of the First WorId War on the role of government in the economy of a country which was the prototype of modern industrial society and focuses on the economic control and social response during 1914 to 1919.
The Future of Capitalism After the Financial Crisis: The Varieties of Capitalism Debate in the Age of Austerity contains thirteen world leading political economists writing from within eight different countries who critically analyze the current crisis tendencies of capitalism both globally and in particular countries. Given the likelihood of an increasingly crisis prone future for capitalism, it is important not only to rethink capitalism in its current manifestations or varieties. It is also important to rethink research methods and conceptual frameworks in preparation for understanding an increasingly rocky future in which capitalism itself could go the way of the many species that in the past were endangered only to become extinct. More and more titles of books and articles are suggesting that capitalism or perhaps civilization itself is endangered if we do not make radical changes in the near future. This book breaks with academic path dependency and attempts to open new vistas of political economy and of multidisciplinary analysis that are crucially important if our thought processes are to be effective in a world in jeopardy. The varieties of capitalism (VoC) debate itself came into being as the Soviet Union unraveled. It drew in scholarship from a cross-section of Marxian and heterodox political economy. The key argument of VoC was that if capitalism was the only global option then those on the Left must get involved in policy discussions on how capitalist economies can be fashioned to become competitive as well as progressive. However, the financial crisis has seen policy across the advanced economies veer toward competitiveness coupled with austerity. The lesson for the Left is that alternatives to capitalism must be sought in the here and now.
This book offers a fresh take on a major question of global debate: what explains the rise in economic fraud in so many societies around the world? The author argues that the current age of fraud is an outcome of not only political-economic but also moral transformations that have taken place in societies reshaped by neoliberalism. Using the case of Uganda, the book traces these socio-cultural and especially moral repercussions of embedding neoliberalism. Uganda offers an important case of investigation for three reasons: the high level of foreign intervention by donors, aid agencies, international organisations, NGOs and corporations that have tried to produce the first fully-fledged market society in Africa there; the country's reputation as having adopted neoliberal reforms most extensively, and the intensification of fraud in many sectors of the economy since the early 2000s. The book explores the rise and operation of the neoliberal moral economy and its world of hard and fraudulent practices. It analyses especially the moral-economic character of agricultural produce markets in eastern Uganda. It shows that neoliberal moral restructuring is a highly political, contested and conflict-ridden process, predominantly works via recalibrating the political-economic structure of a country, and deeply affects how people think and go about earning a living and treat others with whom they do business. The book offers an in-depth, data-based analysis of the moral climate of a market society in motion and in so doing offers insights and lessons for elsewhere in the Global South and North.
This book offers a fresh take on a major question of global debate: what explains the rise in economic fraud in so many societies around the world? The author argues that the current age of fraud is an outcome of not only political-economic but also moral transformations that have taken place in societies reshaped by neoliberalism. Using the case of Uganda, the book traces these socio-cultural and especially moral repercussions of embedding neoliberalism. Uganda offers an important case of investigation for three reasons: the high level of foreign intervention by donors, aid agencies, international organisations, NGOs and corporations that have tried to produce the first fully-fledged market society in Africa there; the country's reputation as having adopted neoliberal reforms most extensively, and the intensification of fraud in many sectors of the economy since the early 2000s. The book explores the rise and operation of the neoliberal moral economy and its world of hard and fraudulent practices. It analyses especially the moral-economic character of agricultural produce markets in eastern Uganda. It shows that neoliberal moral restructuring is a highly political, contested and conflict-ridden process, predominantly works via recalibrating the political-economic structure of a country, and deeply affects how people think and go about earning a living and treat others with whom they do business. The book offers an in-depth, data-based analysis of the moral climate of a market society in motion and in so doing offers insights and lessons for elsewhere in the Global South and North.
The malicious acts against or within the chemical industrial sector pose a significant threat to both the employees working in the industry, to the communities around them, and to the nation they serve. This new book, the third in a series on critical infrastructure and homeland security, helps chemical manufacturers and processors prevent the devastating effects of such an attack by providing sound security principles and measures that they can implement in their chemical facilities. Addressing the security threats chemical production managers, chemical import managers, design engineers, and others must be prepared to meet on a daily basis, this book encourages a concerted effort to incorporate security upgrades in existing systems or to plan security in all new chemical processing sites. It addresses issues of monitoring, response, critical infrastructure redundancy, and recovery to minimize risk to the facility, the infrastructure, and the surrounding community.
Neoliberalism is a doctrine that adopts a free market policy in a deregulated political framework. In recent years, neoliberalism has become increasingly prominent as a doctrine in Western society, and has been heavily discussed in both academia and the media. In The Origins of Neoliberalism, the joint effort of an economist and a philosopher offers a theoretical overview of both neoliberalism's genesis within economic theory and social studies as well as its development outside academia. Tracing the sources of neoliberalism within the history of economic thought, the book explores the differences between neoliberalism and classical liberalism. This book's aim is to make clear that neoliberalism is not a natural development of the old classical liberalism, but rather that it represents a dramatic alteration of its original nature and meaning. Also, it fights against the current idea according to which neoliberalism would coincide with the triumph of free market economy. In its use of both history of economics and philosophy, this book takes a highly original approach to the concept of neoliberalism. The analysis presented here will be of great interest to scholars and students of history of economics, political economy, and philosophy of social science. |
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