This book provides a novel approach to the understanding and realization of the values of art. It argues that art has often been instrumentalized for state-building, to promote social inclusion of diversity, or for economic purposes such as growth or innovation. To counteract that, the authors study the values that artists and audiences seek to realize in the social practices around the arts. They develop the concept of cultural civil society to analyze how art is practiced and values are realized in creative circles and co-creative communities of spectators, illustrated with case-studies about hip-hop, Venetian art collectives, dance festivals, science-fiction fandom, and a queer museum. The authors provide a four-stage scheme that illustrates how values are realized in a process of value orientation, imagination, realization, and evaluation. The book relies on an interdisciplinary approach rooted in economics and sociology of the arts, with an appreciation for broader social theories. It integrates these disciplines in a pragmatic approach based on the work of John Dewey and more recent neo-pragmatist work to recover the critical and constructive role that cultural civil society plays in a plural and democratic society. The authors conclude with a new perspective on cultural policy, centered around state neutrality towards the arts and aimed at creating a legal and social framework in which social practices around the arts can flourish and co-exist peacefully.

The crises emanating from the Global Financial Crisis and the COVID-19 Pandemic have underscored, the emergency role of the State and its smooth, seamless reactivation, for situations when private activity and markets are disrupted. In many countries, SOEs have been a crucial part in delivering on that effort as agents of the State. While SOEs are increasingly sought to play a role during emergency situations, evidence suggests that they misallocate capital and mismanage resources. This is indicative of the conflicts of interests in owning and regulating enterprises as well as between the commercial and non-commercial objectives of SOEs, crony capitalism, the private agenda of public officials, internal management of SOEs, the significant role played by state owned banks and financial institutions and the conflicts that arise in the State's primary role vs. its ownership of enterprises. The studies of eight countries from different regions undertaken for this book, provide answers to these key policy questions related to state capitalism. Generalizing from the results of multi-country studies to arrive at universally applicable predictions, prescriptions, and policy recommendations, is inherently difficult. Individual countries are quite different in their socio-economic, historical, political, and institutional circumstances. So are their experiences, as the eight country studies highlight, even as the book attempts to extrude, from available research, the principal common characteristics of, and practices followed by, successful SOEs independently of country context. Among other conditions, the two most important conclusions that can be drawn from the country studies are that competition and regulation rather than ownership per se is key to efficiency.

Worldwide supplies of sugar and cotton were impacted dramatically as the U.S. Civil War dragged on. New areas of production entered these lucrative markets, particularly in the South Pacific, and plantation agriculture grew substantially in disparate areas such as Australia, Fiji, and Hawaii. The increase in production required an increase in labor; in the rush to fill the vacuum, freebooters and other unsavory characters began a slave trade in Melanesians and Polynesians that continued into the twentieth century. ""The White Pacific"" ranges over the broad expanse of Oceania to reconstruct the history of ""blackbirding"" (slave trading) in the region. It examines the role of U.S. citizens (many of them ex-slaveholders and ex-confederates) in the trade and its roots in Civil War dislocations. What unfolds is a dramatic tale of unfree labor, conflicts between formal and informal empire, white supremacy, threats to sovereignty in Hawaii, the origins of a White Australian policy, and the rise of Japan as a Pacific power and putative protector. It also pieces together a wonderfully suggestive history of the African American presence in the Pacific. Based on deft archival research in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Hawaii, the United States, and Great Britain, ""The White Pacific"" uncovers a heretofore hidden story of race, labor, war, and intrigue that contributes significantly to the emerging intersectional histories of race and ethnicity.

A robust manufacturing sector is a necessity and a sufficient condition for any country's human and economic development as it creates employment and alleviates poverty. During this Fourth Industrial Revolution era, there is an urgent need in Africa to optimally utilize the existing resources to support manufacturing or else risk allowing the continent to fall behind in the industrial economy. Innovative strategies are needed that can unlock Africa's manufacturing potential by exploring key areas that may help Africa mature and launch modernized economies that will benefit the developed world's industrial economy. The Handbook of Research on Nurturing Industrial Economy for Africa's Development examines various innovations necessary for Africa's economic development including drivers of the manufacturing economy such as education, agriculture, human capital, science and technological innovations, language, politics, and business environments. The book explores strategies to increase Africa's economic diversity, complexity, productivity, and ultimately competitiveness, and for the continent to realize its manufacturing/industrial potential. Further, chapters focus on African countries' industrial economies in the African context and facilitating the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the African Union's Agenda 2063. This book is a valuable reference tool for government officials, economists, industrialists, practitioners, stakeholders, researchers, academicians, and students interested in the industrial economic development of Africa.

Long-term economic growth and increasing vehicle congestion is creating a greater demand for efficient and safe transportation. The high cost of maintaining and fixing pre-existing infrastructure is leading the industry to realize that sustainable long-term transportation planning is needed to keep pace with the growing economy. Building a Sustainable Transportation Infrastructure for Long-Term Economic Growth examines contemporary transportation issues through the lens of various modes of transportation while also focusing on the importance of sustainability, urban planning, and funding. The book covers the topics of sustainability and climate change, public management and planning, financing of transportation infrastructure, and revenue and spending issues facing modern transportation infrastructure. It is ideally designed for engineers, planners, government officials, transportation specialists, legislators, researchers, academicians, students, and industry professionals seeking current research on sustainable transport systems.

Estimating the Human Cost of Transportation Accidents: Methodologies and Policy Implications discusses the estimation methods needed to determine the monetary value of loss of life and quality of life when evaluating transportation safety programs, policies and projects. In addition, it highlights how to overcome the many challenges researchers face in choosing the right values, including estimating loss of life and life quality, examining strengths and weaknesses, and critically analyzing social costs and implications. This book will allow researchers to better formulate accurate social costs, select safety improvement values, and understand limitations.

Ray Dalio, the legendary investor and international bestselling author of Principles - whose books have sold more than five million copies worldwide - shares his unique template for how debt crises work and principles for dealing with them well. This template allowed his firm, Bridgewater Associates, to antic ipate 2008's events and navigate them well while others struggled badly. As he explained in his international best seller Principles, Ray Dalio believes that almost everything happens over and over again through time, so that by studying patterns one can understand the cause-effect relationships behind events and develop principles for dealing with them well. In this three-part research series, he does just that for big debt crises and shares his template in the hopes of reducing the chances of big debt crises hap pening and helping them be better managed in the future. The template comes in three parts: 1. The Archetypal Big Debt Cycle (which explains the template) 2. Three Detailed Cases (which examines in depth the 2008 financial crisis, the 1930s Great Depression and the 1920s infla tionary depression of Germany's Weimar Republic) 3. Compendium of 48 Cases (which is a compendium of charts and brief descriptions of the worst debt crises of the last 100 years) Whether you're an investor, a policy maker, or are simply interested in debt, this unconventional perspective from one of the few people who navigated the crisis successfully, Principles for Navigating Big Debt Crises will help you understand the economy and markets in revealing new ways.

Modern economies never come to rest. From institutions to activities of production, trade, and consumption, everything is locked in processes of perpetual transformation - and so are our daily lives. Why and how do such transformations occur? What can economic theory tell us about these changes and where they might lead? Ulrich Witt's book discusses why evolutionary concepts are necessary to answer such questions. While economic evolution is in many respects unique, it nonetheless needs to be seen within the broader context of natural evolution. By exploring this complex relationship Rethinking Economic Evolution demonstrated the significance of an evolutionary economic theory.

From veteran Amazon reporter for The Wall Street Journal, The Everything War is the first untold, devastating exposé of Amazon's endless strategic greed, its pursuit of total domination, by any means necessary, and the growing efforts to stop it.

For over twenty years, Amazon was the quintessential American success story, whilst its “customer obsession” approach made it indelibly attractive to consumers across the globe. But the company was not benevolent; it operated\ in ways that ensured it stayed on top, coming to dominate over a dozen industries beyond retail, growing voraciously by abusing data, exploiting partners, copying competitors, and avoiding taxes—leveraging its power to extract whatever it could, at any cost and without much scrutiny. Until now.

With unparalleled access, and having interviewed hundreds of people – from Amazon executives to competitors to small businesses who rely on its marketplace to survive – Dana Mattioli exposes how Amazon was driven by a competitive edge to dominate every industry it entered, bulldozed all who stood in its way, reshaped the retail landscape, transformed how Wall Street evaluates companies, and altered the very nature of the global economy.

In 2023, the Federal Trade Commission filed a monopoly lawsuit against Amazon in what may become one of the largest antitrust cases in the 21st century.

As Amazon’s supremacy is finally challenged, The Everything War is the definitive, inside story of how it grew into one of the most powerful and feared companies in the world – and why this is the most consequential business story of our times.

With the rise of information and communication technologies in today's world, many regions have begun to adapt into more resource-efficient communities. Integrating technology into a region's use of resources, also known as smart territories, is becoming a trending topic of research. Understanding the relationship between these innovative techniques and how they impact social innovation is vital when analyzing the sustainable growth of highly populated regions. The Handbook of Research on Smart Territories and Entrepreneurial Ecosystems for Social Innovation and Sustainable Growth is a pivotal reference source that provides vital research on the global practices and initiatives of smart territories as well as their impact on sustainable development in different communities. While highlighting topics such as waste management, social innovation, and digital optimization, this publication is ideally designed for civil engineers, urban planners, policymakers, economists, administrators, social scientists, business executives, researchers, educators, and students seeking current research on the development of smart territories and entrepreneurship in various environments.