This survey of portfolio theory, from its modern origins through more sophisticated, "postmodern" incarnations, evaluates portfolio risk according to the first four moments of any statistical distribution: mean, variance, skewness, and excess kurtosis. In pursuit of financial models that more accurately describe abnormal markets and investor psychology, this book bifurcates beta on either side of mean returns. It then evaluates this traditional risk measure according to its relative volatility and correlation components. After specifying a four-moment capital asset pricing model, this book devotes special attention to measures of market risk in global banking regulation. Despite the deficiencies of modern portfolio theory, contemporary finance continues to rest on mean-variance optimization and the two-moment capital asset pricing model. The term postmodern portfolio theory captures many of the advances in financial learning since the original articulation of modern portfolio theory. A comprehensive approach to financial risk management must address all aspects of portfolio theory, from the beautiful symmetries of modern portfolio theory to the disturbing behavioral insights and the vastly expanded mathematical arsenal of the postmodern critique. Mastery of postmodern portfolio theory's quantitative tools and behavioral insights holds the key to the efficient frontier of risk management.

This book demonstrates the continuing relevance of economics for understanding the world, through a restatement of the importance of plurality and heterodox ideas for teaching and research. The Great Financial Crash of 2007-8 gave rise to a widespread critique of economics for its inability to explain the most significant economic event since the 1930s. The current straightjacket of neo-classical undergraduate economic teaching and research hinders students' understanding of the world they live in. The chapters in this book provide examples to demonstrate the importance of pluralistic and heterodox ideas from across the breadth of economics. The authors' plurality of approach is indicative of the fact that economics is a much broader discipline than the dominant neo-classical orthodoxy would suggest. This volume provides undergraduate students with a range of alternative ideas and university lecturers with examples whereby the curricula have been broadened to include pluralist and heterodox ideas.

This book addresses core questions about the nature and structure of contemporary capitalism and the social dynamics and countervailing forces that shape modern life. From a robust and self-consciously sociological framework, it analyzes and interrogates such issues as the nature of the social, the power of the sacred, the nature of authority, the problem of representation, reification, alienation, utopia, and collective resistance. Historical materialism reveals that the scope of productive functions is broader than the crude realism of economism. Marx's critical theory of the commodity and his analysis of the capitalist regime of accumulation remain as vital as ever and serve as a guiding light for the continued exploration of the philosophical underpinnings of critical inquiry and praxis.

This book provides an enduring response to modern economic problems and the consequent crises, dealing with the economic modelling of nations and the forecasting of economic growth. The main arguments embodied constitute the creation of jobs and the restoration of economic growth, using the implicit acceptance of analysis on differential models and neutral systems for controlling the wealth of nations.

This book presents an unorthodox identity economics that approaches social identity through a non-classical psychology. Garai applies the modern physics concept of wave-particle duality to economic psychology, finding a corresponding duality in object-oriented activity and historically generated social identity. These two factors interconnect to create a double-storied structure of social identity and its behavioral manifestations. The book then presents a calculation device for mediating between behavioral and identity economics. Garai then applies all these factors to two socioeconomic systems developed during the second modernization: Bolshevik-type "socialism" and post-Bolshevik "capitalism." In this context, he examines the Eastern Bloc nomenklatura as a duality of bureaucratic and patron-client organization ("state and party") and the establishment of both today's material capitalism and its other half: human capital economics.

Exploring the modern approach to the economics of happiness, which came about with the Easterlin Paradox, this book analyses and assesses the idea that as a country gets richer the happiness of its citizens remains the same. The book moves through three distinct pillars of study in the field: first analysing the historical and philosophical foundations of the debate; then the methodological and measurements issues and their political implications; and finally empirical applications and discussion about what determines a happy life. A Modern Guide to the Economics of Happiness extends the concept of happiness to that of wellbeing, offering an inquiry into well-being within the paradigm of complex systems. It draws together both recent developments in studies on the economics of happiness as well as its historical roots, covering the concept of Eudaimonia, Aristotle's theories and the important contribution of Italian economists. Critical case studies look at the relationship between physical activity and wellbeing, the value of family for life satisfaction, and the role of social capital for migrant acceptance. An invigorating read for economics and psychology scholars, this book will also be of interest to those researching welfare and development economics.

The theory of antimarket behavior proposes that economic behavior to escape or control market competition is a normal part of free enterprise. The most common state of economic competition in the modern economy reflects both market and antimarket forces. A better general economic model must include these dynamics, and normative economics must recognize the welfare implications of innovation and variety engendered by the ability to escape market forces. The theory of antimarket economics is supported with evidence from current events, expectations and information theory, public choice, and institutional, environmental and other economic fields.

This book presents powerful techniques for solving global optimization problems on manifolds by means of evolutionary algorithms, and shows in practice how these techniques can be applied to solve real-world problems. It describes recent findings and well-known key facts in general and differential topology, revisiting them all in the context of application to current optimization problems. Special emphasis is put on game theory problems. Here, these problems are reformulated as constrained global optimization tasks and solved with the help of Fuzzy ASA. In addition, more abstract examples, including minimizations of well-known functions, are also included. Although the Fuzzy ASA approach has been chosen as the main optimizing paradigm, the book suggests that other metaheuristic methods could be used as well. Some of them are introduced, together with their advantages and disadvantages. Readers should possess some knowledge of linear algebra, and of basic concepts of numerical analysis and probability theory. Many necessary definitions and fundamental results are provided, with the formal mathematical requirements limited to a minimum, while the focus is kept firmly on continuous problems. The book offers a valuable resource for students, researchers and practitioners. It is suitable for university courses on optimization and for self-study.

Opening a closed economy to trade can lead to greater trade and the emergence of a market economy. Sowing Market Reforms examines the assumptions of liberal economic theory and assesses the impact that increased trade has had on the Russian agrarian sector. Crumley argues that Russian agricultural producers are not simply homo economicus responding to price signals, but rather they are economic actors influenced by institutional, financial, and legal obstacles as well as political culture. By examining a sector of the economy that was exposed to increased imports more than four decades ago, Crumley illuminates the economic pressures, resistance, and reform that help to shape Russia's agrarian sector today.

This book is the seventh volume in this series which explores the life of Nobel Price-winning economist F.A. Hayek (1899-1992). The volume uses archival material, juxtaposed with Hayek's published work to challenge the existing perceptions of his life and thought. It examines the methods by which Hayek interacted with - and schemed against - the knowledge communities that he encountered during his very long life. Chapters explore the 'rules of engagement' that Hayek employed when interacting with fifth leading knowledge communities, including the Nobel Prize selection committee who were led to believe his claim about having predicted the Great Depression. It also explores his interactions with William Beveridge, the founder of the modern British Welfare State, A. C. Pigou, the founder of the market school, J. M. Keynes, Sir Arthur Lewis, and Abba Lerner.

This book uses simple economic theories to explain how China's agricultural economic phenomena exists in reality. It also helps the reader to get a clear understanding of economic phenomena, insight into the "hog cycle" and "food safety," as well as other economic and social phenomena. The language of this book is not only easy to understand, but also uses ancient poetry and humor to make the subject interesting, as it speaks to the history and current situation of Chinese agriculture. It also opens a window for the people to read about agriculture. This is a unique book on agricultural science that fills an important gap in works on agricultural science and agricultural economics.

This book covers the proceedings from the 2016 International Symposium on Chaos, Complexity and Leadership, and reflects current research results of chaos and complexity studies and their applications in various fields. Included are research papers in the fields of applied nonlinear methods, modeling of data and simulations, as well as theoretical achievements of chaos and complex systems. Also discussed are leadership and management applications of chaos and complexity theory.

The new economy, under the impetus of the ever-widening outreach of the Internet, is undergoing a transition. In the meantime, there's also been a shift to the information paradigm, with its emphasis on lack of foresight. These processes have almost completely supplanted the concept of market that was once one of the most cardinal features of conventional economic theory.

In "Toward a General Theory of Exchange: Strategic Decisions and Complexity," author Dr. Javaid R. Khwaja traces the slow melting of the market, the most ubiquitous contraption and the summum bonum of economic science, as an organized manifestation of complexity, with its wide-ranging impact on the flow of funds. Using the historical background of economic theories, this study blends the interdisciplinary range and fills the vacuum that has existed among current conventional economic theory, the theory of strategic decision making, actor-network theory, the domain of law and economics, and the science of complexity.

An observer of economic development for several decades, Khwaja shows the relationship between technology and economics and how it affects social exchanges and trends.

This book explores an alternative approach to the conventional, market-based, view of economic theory and economic policy, at theoretical, numerical and applicable levels. The chapters provide a theoretical, empirical, and algorithmic approach to marcodynamics, Sraffian economics, and current policy issues. Post-Keynesian macroeconomics, business cycle theory, the trade cycle, microfoundations, and the Philips Machine are also covered. This book aims to challenge orthodox ideas and provide a lens through which to honour the work of Stefano Zambelli. It will be of relevant to students and academics interested in economics.

This unique troika of Handbooks provides indispensable coverage of the history of economic analysis. Edited by two of the foremost academics in the field, the volumes gather together insightful and original contributions from scholars across the world. The encyclopaedic breadth and scope of the original entries will make these Handbooks an invaluable source of knowledge for all serious students and scholars of the history of economic thought. Each Handbook can be read individually and acts as a self-contained volume in its own right. It can be purchased separately or as part of a three-volume set. Volume I contains original biographical profiles of many of the most important and influential economists. These inform the reader about their lives, works and impact on the further development of the discipline. The emphasis is on their lasting contributions to our understanding of the complex system known as the economy. The entries also shed light on the means and ways in which the functioning of this system can be improved and its dysfunction reduced. Contributors include: T. Asada, T. Aspromourgos, M. Assous, V. Avtonomov, R. Baranzini, A. Baujard, A. Beraud, E. Bertrand, O. Bjerkholt, P. Boettke, D. Boegenhold, A. Brewer, G. Campagnolo, V. Caspari, V. Chick J. Creedy, F. Dal Degan, M. Dal Pont-Legrande, M. Dardi, J. de Boyer des Roches, D. Diatkine, V. Di Giovinazzo, R.W. Dimand, R. Dujmovits, I. Eliseeva, R.B. Emmett, N. Eyguesier, G. Faccarello, O. Favereau, A. Fossati, W. Gaertner, C. Gehrke, A. Giuliani, J. Glaeser, M. Goedl, R. Gomez Betancourt, H. Gram, M.E.L. Guidi, D. Haas, H. Hagemann, G.C. Harcourt, M.J. Holler, H. Janssen, J. Jespersen, J. Joachim Zweynert, P. Kalmbach, Y.-F. Kao, J.E. King, A. Kirman, H. Klausinger, M. Knell, S. Kolev, H.D. Kurz, B.J. Loasby, N. Makasheva, C. Martin, M. McLure, A. Molavi Vassei, A.E. Murphy, L. Nellinger, S. Oliver, A. Opocher, A. Orain, T. Raffaelli, A. Rainer, G. Rubin, M. Rutherford, M. Salles, N. Salvadori,B. Schefold, M. Schneider, C.P. Schroeder, M.H. Schutz, U. Schwalbe, R. Signorino, N. Skaggs, P. Spahn, P. Steiner, R. Sturn, H.-M. Trautwein, K. Tribe, R. Van den Berg, V. Vanberg, K. Velupillai, R. Venkatachalam, C.C. von Weizsacker, L.R. Wray, K. Yahia

The Austrian School of Economics is an intellectual tradition in economics and political economy dating back to Carl Menger in the late-19th century. Menger stressed the subjective nature of value in the individual decision calculus. Individual choices are indeed made on the margin, but the evaluations of rank ordering of ends sought in the act of choice are subjective to individual chooser. For Menger, the economic calculus was about scarce means being deployed to pursue an individual's highest valued ends. The act of choice is guided by subjective assessments of the individual, and is open ended as the individual is constantly discovering what ends to pursue, and learning the most effective way to use the means available to satisfy those ends. This school of economic thinking spread outside of Austria to the rest of Europe and the United States in the early-20th century and continued to develop and gain followers, establishing itself as a major stream of heterodox economics. The Oxford Handbook of Austrian Economics provides an overview of this school and its theories. The various contributions discussed in this book all reflect a tension between the Austrian School's orthodox argumentative structure (rational choice and invisible hand) and its addressing of a heterodox problem situations (uncertainty, differential knowledge, ceaseless change). The Austrian economists from the founders to today seek to derive the invisible hand theorem from the rational choice postulate via institutional analysis in a persistent and consistent manner. Scholars and students working in the field of History of Economic Thought, those following heterodox approaches, and those both familiar with the Austrian School or looking to learn more will find much to learn in this comprehensive volume.

This innovative book offers retrospective assessments of historical ideas and probes controversial issues in economic methodology. The essays are presented under five broad headings. Part I, Economic Discourse and Method consists of three essays that address timely topics in the methodology of economics. Part II, Philosophical/Analytical Issues in Classical Economics, contains two studies of Adam Smith and one of Thomas Malthus. Part III, Money and Banking Issues in the Nineteenth Century contains two essays that evaluate monetary controversies occurring more or less simultaneously on both sides of the Atlantic. Part IV, Equilibrium Models/Debates: Walras, Keynes, Pigou is loosely threaded around the theme of equilibrium models - their nature and significance in the works of Walras, Keynes and Pigou. Part V, the final section, The Discovery and Dissemination of Ideas, deals with the discovery and dissemination of ideas in economics.The volume presents some of the most important recent work in economic methodology and the history of economic thought and will be essential for both economists and libraries specializing in these areas.

This three volume series of intellectual biography considers the life, work and impact on economic, social and political theory of the Italian economist, sociologist and political scientist Vilfredo Pareto (1848-1923). This volume covers the period starting from his childhood up to his early political activism, amateur journalism and initial scholarly contributions. His pre-Lausanne years are often neglected by students of Pareto, but form the intellectual and biographical background to his later contributions to economic, social and political theory.

A firm's productivity has mainly been based on human capital resources, with organizational value and performance dependent on the knowledge and skills of their managers and employees. Because human capital research captures the transformation and complexity of productive organizations in today's globalized economy, it is crucial to grasp the scope and breadth of human capital-intensive firms (HCIF) and their impact in relation to value creation. Global Perspectives on Human Capital-Intensive Firms is an essential reference source that provides an advanced analysis of modern firms at an analytical and empirical level, as well as a transdisciplinary approach to how human capital will impact the economics and management of a firm. Featuring research on topics such as firm performance, knowledge creation, and organizational management, this book is ideally designed for accountants, researchers, professionals, business managers, human resource managers, graduate-level students, academicians, consultants, and practitioners seeking coverage on the evolution of HCIF in different sectors, their internal and external organizations, and their performance.

The title of this book raises a provocative question that should make all economists think. What is our raison d'etre ? Only a few economists have specifically addressed the issue. Several of the more challenging efforts are included here. Do economists have much influence on government policy, particularly over, say, five or ten years? Is that because they don't try hard enough or is it because politicians care more about the next election than about the opinion of economists? In this splendid collection, some published as long ago as the 1930s, nine great economists consider these questions. The editor's illuminating introduction sorts out the area of agreement and disagreement between them.

Agent-based modeling/simulation is an emergent approach to the analysis of social and economic systems. It provides a bottom-up experimental method to be applied to social sciences such as economics, management, sociology, and politics as well as some engineering fields dealing with social activities. This book includes selected papers presented at theSeventh International Workshop on Agent-Based Approaches in Economic and Social Complex Systems held in Osaka, Japan, in 2012.

At the workshop, 24 reviewed full papers were presented, and of those, 17 were selected to be included in this volume. The papers are divided into two groups as "Fundamentals of Agent-Based Modeling" and "Applications of Agent-Based Modeling.""

This book provides a tool for generic readers and graduates who are interested or majoring in systems engineering, decision science, management science, and project management to sharpen their system thinking skills, equipping them with a multiangle perspective, and offering them broader view to understand the complex socioeconomic system in which we are embedded. It systematically investigates the root causes and mechanisms that generate errors through the use of fuzzy set theory, systems science, logic and set theory, and decision science - an area that has rarely been explored in literature. The topics covered include classic error set, fuzzy error set, multivariate error set, error function, identification of errors, error systems, error logic, error matrix, and practical application of error theory in a sewage project.

One of the most striking phenomena in all of economics is the absence of a deep tradition of criticism focused on Keynesian economic theory. There have been critics but they are few and far between, even though Keynesian demand management has been at the centre of some of the worst economic outcomes in history, from the great stagflation of the 1970s to the twenty-year 'lost decade' in Japan that has been ongoing since the 1990s, and now, once again, the dismal recoveries that have followed the Global Financial Crisis. This book brings together some of the most vocal critics of Keynesian economics of the present time. Each author attempts to explain what is wrong with Keynesian theory for those seeking guidance on where to turn for a more accurate explanation of the business cycle and what to do when recessions occur. The contributions are by scholars from a wide number of schools of economics, include but are not restricted to Austrian, monetarist and classical perspectives. Written not just for economists, this accessible book is one of the few anti-Keynesian texts available and explains the inability of public spending and lower interest rates to have restored robust economic growth and full employment after the GFC. The collection offers an antidote to contemporary macroeconomic theory. It is an essential text for anyone wishing to understand why no stimulus has been able to bring recovery to any economy in which it has been tried. Contributors include: P.Boettke, P.L. Bylund, T. Congdon, R.M. Ebeling, R.W. Garrison, S. Horwitz, S. Kates, A. Kling, A.B. Laffer, P. Newman, G. Reisman, D. Simpson, M. Skousen, P. Smith

This book presents a new economic theory developed from physical and biological principles. It explains how technology, social systems and economic values are intimately related to resources. Many people have recognized that mainstream (neoclassical) economic theories are not consistent with physical laws and often not consistent with empirical patterns, but most feel that economic activities are too complex to be described by a simple and coherent mathematical theory. While social systems are indeed complex, all life systems, including social systems, satisfy two principles. First, all systems need to extract resources from the external environment to compensate for their consumption. Second, for a system to be viable, the amount of resource extraction has to be no less than the level of consumption. From these two principles, we derive a quantitative theory of major factors in economic activities, such as fixed cost, variable cost, discount rate, uncertainty and duration. The mathematical theory enables us to systematically measure the effectiveness of different policies and institutional structures at varying levels of resource abundance and cost.The theory presented in this book shows that there do not exist universally optimal policies or institutional structures. Instead, the impacts of different policies or social structures have to be measured within the context of existing levels of resource abundance. As the physical costs of extracting resources rise steadily, many policy assumptions adopted in mainstream economic theories, and workable in times of cheap and abundant energy supplies and other resources, need to be reconsidered. In this rapidly changing world, the theory presented here provides a solid foundation for examining the long-term impacts of today's policy decisions.

This book is devoted to biased sampling problems (also called choice-based sampling in Econometrics parlance) and over-identified parameter estimation problems. Biased sampling problems appear in many areas of research, including Medicine, Epidemiology and Public Health, the Social Sciences and Economics. The book addresses a range of important topics, including case and control studies, causal inference, missing data problems, meta-analysis, renewal process and length biased sampling problems, capture and recapture problems, case cohort studies, exponential tilting genetic mixture models etc. The goal of this book is to make it easier for Ph. D students and new researchers to get started in this research area. It will be of interest to all those who work in the health, biological, social and physical sciences, as well as those who are interested in survey methodology and other areas of statistical science, among others.