Volume II deals first with the contributions of some economists to the policies of specific countries, providing examples of how economic theories have been used in the formulation of practical proposals.

Everyone has heard of environmentalism, but what is it? Is it ideology or religion? Like socialism, environmentalism is a political program, but even more diffuse. Environmentalists hold diverse opinions, from wanting to take care of nature in human interest to putting nature above man. The latter is religious environmentalism, with nature taking the place of the supernatural. This book is a critique of this type of environmentalism, appropriately named ecofundamentalism. This may be a minority or even marginal opinion, but it seems to shape people's thinking to an unwarranted degree. In the worst of cases, it would bring the end of civilization as we know it. Without massive monocultures, supported by pesticides and fertilizer, we could never feed ourselves. Almost 90 percent of our primary energy comes from fossil fuels, without which there would be no air travel, cars and trucks, reliable electricity, and even much of our food supply. Putting a premium on biodiversity and getting serious about greenhouse gas emissions would force us to go without these things, putting us back in the Middle Ages. Fortunately, there is no need to heed any of these environmentalist prescriptions. Contrary to the notion that economic growth is unsustainable and our core problem, it is actually the core solution. Economic growth and technology has made it possible for food production to outpace population growth since the industrial revolution. Economic growth is one reason why population growth worldwide has fallen so that the "population bomb" may never explode. It has also made us largely independent of the weather except for growing our crops. Meanwhile, ecofundamentalism would cause more harm than good.

This book presents a selection of contributions on the timely topic of structural reforms in Western economies, written by experts from central banks, the International Monetary Fund, and leading universities. It includes latest research on the impacts of structural reforms on the market economy, especially on the labor market, and investigates the results of collective bargaining in theory and practice. The book also comprises case studies of structural reforms. A literature survey on the topic serves as a valuable source for further research. The book is written by and targeted at both academics and policy makers.

Beginning with the economic meltdown of 2007/8, this book shows that the predatory mortgage lending and overleveraging-which is to say, the overextension of credit-which precipitated The Great Recession was a response to a crisis of overproduction reflective of an unavoidable contradiction at the heart of competitive capitalism. This contradiction, in addition to portending capitalism's inevitable ultimate demise, invites both a pragmatic and moral comparison of (US) capitalism with (Chinese) socialism. Simon V. Glynn provides a critique of political economy and an analysis of the economic logic of capitalism, pointing to the inevitable triumph of socialism.

The popular view is that information technology will change the world by boosting productivity and economic growth. But while IT has many visible effects on the modern economy, studies have found little correlation between IT investment and overall productivity.

By presenting new micro- and macroeconomic evidence, this volume shows that in recent years IT investment has exerted a strong influence on productivity and economic growth in many industrial and newly industrialized countries. It also identifies national IT strategies to promote participation in the information economy.

This book is a work of contemporary economic history focusing primarily on the US and the UK. It shows that, historically, much of the wealth of the ultra-wealthy has been based on inheritance, tax evasion, political influence, or wage theft. Today, much of the wealth of the rentier class-the super-rich-is based on income from ownership or control of scarce assets, or assets artificially made scarce. As a result, the super-rich reap much of their wealth from patents, monopolies, and subsidies. Their banks retain the right to speculate on risky derivatives, and their credit-card companies are not limited by usury laws that reduce interest rates. The super-rich have lowered (or escaped) inheritance taxes, shifted much of their income to lower taxed capital gains, practiced wage theft, fought minimum wage laws, outsourced jobs, and resorted to temps and contract labor to avoid unions and decent wages. They use tax havens where trillions of dollars remain untaxed, transfer profits of their intellectual and financial property to subsidiaries in low-tax regimes, and defend for-profit health insurance that is unaffordable and inequitable for millions. This book states in qualitative and quantitative terms how expensive the super-rich have become, why they are unsustainable for the rest of us, and what the way forward to greater economic equality may be. In sum, the super-rich are unaffordable.

This book is a practical guide to the uncertainty analysis of computer model applications. Used in many areas, such as engineering, ecology and economics, computer models are subject to various uncertainties at the level of model formulations, parameter values and input data. Naturally, it would be advantageous to know the combined effect of these uncertainties on the model results as well as whether the state of knowledge should be improved in order to reduce the uncertainty of the results most effectively. The book supports decision-makers, model developers and users in their argumentation for an uncertainty analysis and assists them in the interpretation of the analysis results.

Is there a limit to technological advancements? Are technological advancements creating a more equal and fair world? Starting from influential thinkers driving a never-ending evaluation of development discourse - incorporating theories of modernisation, endogenous growth, globalisation, neoliberalism and several others - Seung-Jin Baek answers these questions and sets out practical steps to create societies that are more equal in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This book explores why Western-centred development strategies are unlikely to bring about similar developmental paths and outcomes in developing economies. By theoretically and empirically assessing the Technology-Development-Inequality nexus, Baek explores why a distorted developmental path has been observed in recent years, with high income countries being associated with rising inequality. This is important reading for all those seeking to understand international development in a twenty-first century context.

Reexamining Economic and Political Reforms in Russia, 1985-2000: Generations, Ideas, and Changes analyzes the impact of generational changes and ideational changes on major political and economic reforms conducted in Russia during the late twentieth century. This book examines how the policy agenda was shaped by the ideas of the generations' representatives for the sixtiers and seventiers. Representatives of the generation of sixtiers conducted reforms from 1985 to 1991 and invested major efforts in political liberalization but did not pay enough attention to economic reforms. On the other hand, the reformers from the generation of seventiers, who were in charge of policy making from 1991 to 1998, were genuinely oriented toward market building but rather insensitive to the democratization of the political regime. This book explores how these differences in ideational agendas produced inconsistent and controversial outcomes from both stages of reforms. As a consequence, Russia only partially implemented the idea of market economic reforms, while the process of political reforms resulted in the rise of new authoritarianism.

Environmental policy is high on the political agenda in many countries. This book identifies the failures of the market mechanism in the face of environmental problems and shows how economic policy should be designed to overcome them. Special attention is paid to the possible benefits from a green tax reform.

Building on the success of the first edition, Game Theory and Public Policy, Second Edition provides a critical, selective review of key concepts in game theory with a view to their applications in public policy. The author further suggests modifications for some of the models (chiefly in cooperative game theory) to improve their applicability to economics and public policy. Roger McCain makes use of the analytical tools of game theory for the pragmatic purpose of identifying problems and exploring potential solutions, providing a toolkit for the analysis of public policy allowing for a clearer understanding of the public policy enterprise itself. His critical review of major topics from both cooperative and non-cooperative game theory includes less-known ideas and constructive proposals for new approaches. This revised edition features a new second half that focuses on biform games, combining cooperative and non-cooperative decisions in a simple and natural way to provide a working model of externalities that can be applied to issues such as monopoly policy and labor market policies. Drawing on comparatively well understood models in cooperative game theory and the author's own research on mathematical models of biform games, this unique approach and treatment of game theory, updated and expanded to stay on the cutting edge, will be a useful resource for students and scholars of economics and public policy, as well as for policymakers themselves.

For Marxists, imperialism is the highest stage of capitalism. Critical analysis of imperialism has been a feature of Marxist throughout the twentieth century. The conceptualising and theorising of imperialism by Marxists has evolved over time in response to developments in the global capitalist economy and in international politics. Murray Noonan here provides the first complete analysis of Marxist theories of imperialism in over two decades. Presenting three phases of imperialist theories, he analyses and compares 'Classical', 'Neo' and 'Globalisation-era' Marxist theories of imperialism. The book moves chronologically, tracking the origins of imperialism theorised by J.A. Hobson at the beginning of the twentieth century up to the present day. He critically identifies and engages with a new 'Globalisation-era' phase of Marxist imperialism theory. Through a detailed scholarly analysis of the history and evolution of these theories, Noonan offers vital new perspectives on imperialist theory and its relevance and application in the twenty-first century.

The in-depth analyses presented in this book have a dual focus: (1) Social mechanisms through which the gender wage gap, gender inequality in the attainment of managerial positions, and gender segregation of occupations are generated in Japan; and (2) Assessments of the effects of firms' gender-egalitarian personnel policies and work-life balance promotion policies on the gender wage gap and the firms' productivity. In addition, this work reviews and discusses various economic and sociological theories of gender inequality and gender discrimination and considers their consistencies and inconsistencies with the results of the analysis of Japanese data. Furthermore, the book critically reviews and discusses the historical development of the Japanese employment system by juxtaposing rational and cultural explanations. This book is an English translation by the author of a book he first published in Japanese in 2017. The original Japanese-language edition received two major book awards in Japan. One was The Nikkei Economic Book Culture Award, which is given every year by the Nikkei Newspaper Company and the Japan Economic Research Center to a few best books on economy and society. The other was The Showa University's Women's Culture Research Award, which is bestowed annually on a single book of research that promotes gender equality. Kazuo Yamaguchi is the Ralph Lewis Professor of Sociology at the University of Chicago.

There are two ways people coordinate their actions: through cooperation, exercised by economic power, and through control, exercised by political power. When economic and political power are held by the same people, the result is stagnation; when those who hold economic power are not the same people who hold political power, the result is progress. This book presents the ways in which economic power and political power can be separated, and how they can remain so, by analyzing the nature of power and the differences between economic and political power. The book then discusses the history of economic and political power, including hunter-gatherer societies, agrarian societies, and modern commercial and industrial societies. This background lends insight into why political and economic power were typically held by the same people, and why recently those without political power have been able to acquire economic power. Incentives play a key role in understanding how those two types of power can become separated, and why there is always a tendency for them to recombine. But ideas also play a crucial role, including the influence of the Enlightenment, on the progress that has occurred in the last several hundred years.

Applying the principles of Optimal Control Theory to the problem of regional allocation of investment can be a useful tool for demonstrating how the trade-off between regional equity and overall efficiency can be overcome. This book poses the following questions: are spatial inequalities harmful for overall efficiency? How is the economist to assist the policy-maker in establishing generally applicable criteria or policies when the aims include equity as well as efficiency? Alexiadis analyses the 'equity versus efficiency' dilemma in the allocation of scarce resources, expressing the argument in mathematical terms; an issue of particular importance in development planning and programming. This is invaluable reading for final year and postgraduate students of regional, development and mathematical economics, as well as researchers, policy makers and all those working in regional development institutions.

This open access handbook, Ten Crises systematically traces the economic historyof China from 1949 to 2020, unravelling the complex domestic and global factorsleading to the cyclical crises identified by WEN and his research team, andexamining the corresponding counteracting policies and measures by thegovernment to resolve or defer the crises. The book offers profound insights intoChina's endeavours and predicaments on the path of modernization, andcontemplates opportunities and lessons for the forging of alternative trajectoriesnot only for China but also for the global south: to reconstruct rural communitiesfor integrated cooperation and governance, and to revitalize ecological civilization.

This book provides a theoretical basis for understanding the phenomenon of renegotiations in Public Private Partnerships (PPPs). It analyzes the case of transport projects, and provides empirical evidence from a variety of real-world projects. What drives renegotiations? Why are some projects more likely to be renegotiated than others? What are the outcomes? How can we improve the performance of renegotiation processes? These questions form the core of discussion in this book. PPPs are a procurement model for the delivery of infrastructure and public services that have experienced significant growth over the last three decades, particularly in terms of the development of transportation projects. The empirical evidence suggests that most PPP projects are inevitably renegotiated, i.e., the original contract needs to be adapted to new and unforeseen circumstances. The impacts of these changes on the welfare of the respective stakeholders are frequently asymmetric. Most academic research and professional guidelines are focused on PPP contract design and preparation of the procurement process, and very little has been published on the management and, mainly, the process of renegotiating that will - in all likelihood - occur. This book fills this gap in the academic discussion. Several country-based analyses and case studies from Europe and the Americas provide the reader with practical applications of the theory.

Although economic theory has increased our understanding of some economic problems, it has rendered others, including the problem of capital accumulation, growth, and development, more difficult to understand. Focusing on capitalist economic systems, this book develops a theoretical approach to the study of aggregate capital dynamics. The theory is developed within the Keynesian framework of aggregate thinking and builds on the work of such Cambridge economists as Robinson, Kaldor, and Pasinetti. The approach helps to resolve some theoretical difficulties within the Keynesian framework for studying aggregate investment behavior. Dompere also provides a criticism of the neoclassical investment theory and the general neoclassical theoretical framework for studying aggregate capital accumulation, investment, and growth. Reexamining some questions on investment that earlier theorists have tried to answer, this study develops some of the basic ideas of Keynes, Robinson, Kaldor, and Pasinetti into a general theoretical system that allows an optimal aggregate capital and investment to be determined for a given information set.

This book includes a collection of articles that present recent developments in the fields of optimization and dynamic game theory, economic dynamics, dynamic theory of the firm, and population dynamics and non standard applications of optimal control theory. The authors of the articles are well respected authorities in their fields and are known for their high quality research in the fields of optimization and economic dynamics.

This is the first book to comprehensively examine the asymptotic behavior of dynamic monopolies, duopolies, and oligopolies where firms face information and implementation delays. It considers discrete and continuous timescales, continuously distributed delays, as well as single and multiple delays. It also discusses models with linear and hyperbolic price functions in three types of oligopolies: Cournot competition with quantity-adjusting firms, Bertrand competition with price-adjusting firms, and mixed oligopolies with both types of firms. In addition to the traditional Cournot-Nash equilibria, it introduces cases of partial cooperation are also introduced, leading to the analysis of cartelizing groups of firms and possible governmental actions against antitrust behavior. Further, the book investigates special processes for firms learning about the uncertain price function based on repeated market information. It addresses asymptotic properties of the associated dynamic systems, derives stability conditions, identifies stability switching curves, and presents in global analyses of cases of instability. The book includes both theoretical results and computer studies to illustrate and verify the theoretical findings.

The book provides a new conceptualisation of inflation in underdeveloped economies, through Sri Lanka's historical experience. It outlines a general theory of nationalisms in their diverse manifestations across the world, within a historical perspective of capitalist development and underdevelopment. The book, therefore, seeks to capture the production mode holistically, within both its infrastructural and superstructural levels probing their interactions. The theoretical structure through which inflation is analysed synthesises the theory of unproductive labour and Marxian theory of prices of production with labour surplus theory of late Dr. S. B. D. De Silva in the context of underdevelopment. In this light, Professor David Laibman's Allocation Problem is resolved within a Marxist framework to provide an operational significance to the theory and its application. In the same vein the book also provides a new theoretical interpretation of Sri Lanka's historical development from the British period onwards through application of theories of capitalist development and surplus labour.