The medieval Republic of Ragusa (now Dubrovnik) was a prosperous small open economy, rivalling bigger competitors. This study collects together evidence on how Ragusa compared to other economies of the region, and addresses the difficult question of why it outperformed its Dalmatian rivals (Kotor, Split and Zadar).

Classical Political Economy addresses the question of what determines the social division of labour, the division of society into independent firms and industries and develops the theoretical implications of primitive accumulation. It also offers a significantly different interpretation of classical political economy, demonstrating that this school of thought supported the process of primitive accumulation. Classical political economy presents an imposing facade. For more than two centuries, the accepted doctrine dictates that a market generates forces that provide the most efficient method for organising production. This laissez faire approach is an ideology that gives capital absolute freedom of action, and yet called for intervention to coerce people to do things that they would not otherwise do. Classical political economy therefore encouraged policies that would hinder people's ability to produce for their own needs. Michael Perelman, however, in this innovative take on the subject, seeks to challenge the ideologies that would allow things to continue in this line unchecked.

This book presents original research articles addressing various aspects of artificial intelligence as applied to economics, law, management and optimization. The topics discussed include economics, policies, finance, law, resource allocation strategies and information technology. Combining the input of contributing professors and researchers from Italian and international universities, the book will be of interest to students, researchers and practitioners, as well as members of the general public interested in the economic and policy implications of artificial intelligence.

This book discusses the economics of transport infrastructure and the economic theorizing around transport infrastructure from 1850 to today. Transport infrastructure systems are continuously evolving over time. Since the mid-1800s these systems have grown in complexity and outreach. They have been important drivers of economic development but have also been important as economic agents in themselves. Over time transport infrastructure systems have taken on different functions as providers of simpler transport services or more developed value chain components. Transport infrastructure has also been a source for different arguments about economic theory and practice. Transport infrastructure systems are analysed from an institutional perspective where the long-term development of the ownership and financing of the systems, as well as the connection to different policy areas are elaborated. A longitudinal study of Sweden's transport infrastructure policy is used to exemplify driving factors causing change and transformation of the systems over time with different scale and scope.

An examination of the relationship between philosophical and economic thought in the nineteenth century, Economy and Self explores how the free enterprise theory of Classical Economy influenced and was in turn influenced by the philosophical notion of alienation common in the writings of the age.

""Economics and social conflict"" eventually brings to life the classic thought experiment of a natural state. Examining the behavior of almost 400.000 people living in the virtual anarchy of the online computer game "EVE Online," it highlights the economic aspects of these people's 'evil" behavior. The social conflict the players are engaging in is characterized by non-instrumental violence, a phenomenon that has not been in the focus of economic research yet.
The book shows that evil actions seemingly motivated by a "taste for harming" are of high relevance for the performance of the online economy and that the commonly held belief that social rules that foster conflict will be overcome eventually might be too optimistic.
By drawing on the server data, the book conducts highly controllable field work. In an environment that feels natural for the players, one can directly observe all of their actions and does not have to rely on the biased stories perpetrators and victims tell.

In this book the theory of social production is systematically formulated in terms and concepts of classical political economy and neo-classical economics. In this way the subject becomes accessible not only to professional researchers in areas of the theory of production and economic growth, but also to the educated reader who is curious about the principles behind the functioning of a national economy. The book can be considered as an introduction for students with a background in physics, chemistry and engineering, who wish to specialize in economics. It is explained how the growth of production is connected with achievements in technological consumption of labour and energy. The theory allows one to analyse the past and the present of the social production system and to build scripts of the future progress. The book could be interesting for energy specialists who are engaged in planning and analysing production and consumption of energy carriers and determining energy policy, and for economists who want to know how energy and technology are affecting economic growth.

Czarniawska-Joerges here presents the first systematic study of how organizational control processes and economic decline are related. As the author notes in her introduction, the typical organizational response to economic stress is a tightening of control--efforts to cut expenses, lay off employees, prescribe budgetary constraints, and more. But, she argues, such a reaction may not be the most beneficial in returning the organization to economic health. In developing a model for the behavior of organizations in economic decline, the author presents several detailed explanatory case studies representing different types of organizations and different reactions to their respective problems. Students of organizational behavior will find here important new insights into the dynamics of organizational control in the face of economic decline.

The author begins by proposing a model for control cycle responses to decline. The bulk of the volume is devoted to a sustained evaluation of the model through the use of the four case studies. The first examines the Polish economy between 1971-81 as a centrally planned and rigidly structured economic organization reacting in an authoritative way to economic threats. Subsequent chapters analyze a multinational chemical corporation attempting an extreme degree of corporate control, the Swedish National Board of Education's attempt to restructure dramatically, and an American electronics firm which effectively loosened control at a critical juncture. The final chapter offers a synthesis of the preceding material and draws conclusions regarding the most effective ways in which organizations can respond to externally induced or internally generated economic stress.

Toward the late 1990s, several research groups independently began developing new, related theories in mathematical finance. These theories did away with the standard stochastic geometric diffusion "Samuelson" market model (also known as the Black-Scholes model because it is used in that most famous theory), instead opting for models that allowed minimax approaches to complement or replace stochastic methods. Among the most fruitful models were those utilizing game-theoretic tools and the so-called interval market model. Over time, these models have slowly but steadily gained influence in the financial community, providing a useful alternative to classical methods. A self-contained monograph, The Interval Market Model in Mathematical Finance: Game-Theoretic Methods assembles some of the most important results, old and new, in this area of research. Written by seven of the most prominent pioneers of the interval market model and game-theoretic finance, the work provides a detailed account of several closely related modeling techniques for an array of problems in mathematical economics. The book is divided into five parts, which successively address topics including: * probability-free Black-Scholes theory; * fair-price interval of an option; * representation formulas and fast algorithms for option pricing; * rainbow options; * tychastic approach of mathematical finance based upon viability theory. This book provides a welcome addition to the literature, complementing myriad titles on the market that take a classical approach to mathematical finance. It is a worthwhile resource for researchers in applied mathematics and quantitative finance, and has also been written in a manner accessible to financially-inclined readers with a limited technical background.

The current economic theory of innovation mainly analyses the technology factor and its impact on economic growth. In today's world, growth in information technology and knowledge of new ideas has altered the business paradigm dramatically. Modern economies have undergone a dynamic shift from material manufacturing to a new information technology model with research and development (R&D) and human capital. Through information and communications technology efficient information usage has achieved substantial productivity gains through learning by doing and incremental innovations. The present volume discusses this new paradigm in terms of both theory and industry applications, including Schumpeter in his innovation model and the emphasis on new innovations replacing the old. Growth of business networking and R&D consortium have dramatically helped the modern business to reduce their unit costs and improve efficiency. This volume presents some new models emphasizing knowledge sharing and R&D cooperation. Rapid growth in recent times in some south Asian countries have been cited as growth miracles are largely caused by knowledge spillover and learning by doing, and this volume also investigates the role of incremental innovations. With a strong focus and extension of the current theory of innovation and industry growth experiences of both the US and Asian countries, this book will be of interest to MBA and graduate students in economics, innovation management, and applied industrial economics.

Bridging a gap between economic theory and observed reality, this book examines the most visible central banks, the move to monetary union in Europe, the IMF's new role, the rise of managed market economies, and the elevated importance of central banks. In central banking, attention has often turned to the management of liquidity crises and the attainment of economic stability. In the global economy, the respective market economies are more interconnected, and information regarding crises in one part of the industrialized world is rapidly communicated to other nations, giving the crises themselves a more immediate impact. The Asian debt and liquidity crises of 1997-98 were seen as having an impact on the United States, the European Union countries, and even China. In the effort to attain international stability, the information emanating from central banks at a policy level is crucial. This book aims to depict an ideal central bank for a globally connected country.

Two developments heighten the need for such an operations/policy-based ideal: the lessons learned from the European moves to monetary union and the establishment of the European Central Bank, and the increased awareness of banking problems in Asia during the 1997-98 debt and liquidity crises. This timely work will be of interest to economists, bank officials, government policy makers and political scientists.

This book acts as a welcome foil to current thinking on the concept of globalisation, which tends to be divided into two distinct camps: one which suggests that the neo-liberal model has triumphed and has no realistic alternative, and another which argues that globalisation, in its most extreme form, does not really exist, rather having evolved gradually from the very beginnings of industrialisation. Bob Milward presents an alternative view of globalisation and argues that indeed there has been a continuum in capitalist development, but that this has been forged by historical processes and the dynamism of the competitive forces of capitalism. He identifies the emergence of monopoly capitalism as an important shaping factor, and in so doing sheds light on issues of underdevelopment, multinational imperialism and crises in advanced capitalist economies. This radical, multidisciplinary account of the condition of the global economy, encompassing a critique of the neo-liberal foundations of orthodox global analysis, will appeal to an extensive audience. Students, researchers and academics in the fields of economics, heterodox economics, economic geography, politics, sociology, development studies, international relations and public policy will find Globalisation? Internationalisation and Monopoly Capitalism to be an engaging read.

The British economist Arthur Cecil Pigou (1877-59) reconceptualized economics as a theory of economic welfare and a logic of policy analysis. Misconceptions of his work abound. This book, an essay in demystification and the first reading of the entire Pigouvian oeuvre, stresses his pragmatic and historicist premises.

Scarcity is the basic economic problem confronting all humanity, and humanity has struggled for centuries to overcome it. Yet, despite new ideas and new technology, little has been achieved in dealing with scarcity. Moreover, despite successes in conquering space and in developing technological innovations, humanity has failed to deal successfully with social, economic, environmental, political, and educational problems. This book analyzes these successes and failures and argues that the root of developmental problems lies in continuing human factor decay and underdevelopment. For successful economic development, every country must focus on human factor development.

Traditional books on economic development focus on items like investment, human capital acquisition, population control, foreign aid and technical assistance, international trade, and technology transfer. This book argues that the integrating core of every development program is human factor development. In the presence of human factor decay, no nation can develop, even when the necessary resources are made available.

Apple isn’t just a brand; it’s the world’s most valuable company and creator of the 21st century’s defining product. The iPhone has revolutionized the way we live, work and connect. But Apple is now a victim of its own success, caught in the middle of a new Cold War between two superpowers.

On the brink of bankruptcy in 1996, Apple shifted its operations offshore. By 2003 it was lured to China by the promise of affordable, ubiquitous labour. As the iPod and iPhone transformed Apple’s fortunes, their sophisticated production played a seminal role in financing, training, supervising, and supplying Chinese manufacturers – skills Beijing is now weaponizing against the West.

Investigative journalist Patrick McGee draws on 200 interviews with former Apple executives and engineers to reveal how Cupertino’s choice to anchor its supply chain in China has increasingly made it vulnerable to the regime’s whims. Both an insider’s historical account and a cautionary tale, Apple in China is the first history of Apple to go beyond the biographies of its top executives and set the iPhone’s global domination within an increasingly fraught geopolitical context.

Jean Gabszewicz's new book is devoted to the study of strategic multilateral exchange. Contrary to the classical competitive paradigm in which agents are assumed to behave as price takers, here traders are allowed to consciously behave as strategic agents who aim to influence trade to their own advantage. This is usually done in oligopoly theory using a partial equilibrium approach while in this case a system of interrelated markets is considered. Primarily, the book discusses the game-theoretic concept of core and the relationship between core and the set of price allocations in economies embodying significant traders is explored. The author goes on to adopt a non-cooperative approach building on the concept of Nash equilibrium. Strategic Multilateral Exchange will be welcomed by academics, advanced research scholars and doctoral students with an interest in economic theory, microeconomic theory and general equilibrium. It will also appeal to mathematical economists with an orientation in mathematical economics and game theory.

Recent economic development and the financial and economic crisis require a change in our approach to business and finance. This book combines theology, economy and philosophy in order to examine in detail the idea that the functioning of a free market economy depends upon sound cultural and ethical foundations.

The free market is a cultural achievement, not only an economic phenomenon subject to technical rules of trade and exchange. It is an achievement which lives by and depends upon the values and virtues shared by the majority of those who engage in economic activity. It is these values and virtues that we refer to as culture. Trust, credibility, loyalty, diligence, and entrepreneurship are the values inherent in commercial rules and law. But beyond law, there is also the need for ethical convictions and for global solidarity with developing countries. This book offers new ideas for future sustainable development and responds to an increasing need for a new sense of responsibility for the common good in societal institutions and good leadership.

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 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.

If values conflict and rival human interests clash we often have to weigh them against each other. However, under particular conditions incommensurability prevents the assignment of determinable and impartial weights. In those cases an objective balance does not exist. The original thesis of this book sheds new light on aspects of incommensurability and its implications for public decision-making, ethics and justice. Martijn Boot analyzes a number of previously ignored or unrecognized concepts, such as 'incomplete comparability', 'incompletely justified choice', 'indeterminateness' and 'ethical deficit' - concepts that are essential for comprehending problems of incommensurability. Apart from problematic implications, incommensurability has also favourable consequences. It creates room for autonomous rational choices that are not dictated by reason. Besides, insight into incommensurability promotes recognition of different possible rankings of universally valid but sometimes conflicting human values. This book avoids unnecessary technical language and is accessible not only for specialists but for a large audience of philosophers, ethicists, political theorists, economists, lawyers and interested persons without specialized knowledge.

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 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.