This Handbook collects a set of academic and accessible chapters to address three questions: What should real estate economists know about macroeconomics? What should macroeconomists know about real estate? What should readers know about the interaction between real estate and macroeconomics? Content is focused on four widely discussed themes: real estate-related wealth and macroeconomics, housing price dynamics and affordability, financial crises and structural change, and non-residential real estate. The chapter authors, active researchers from around the world, present evidence from various countries and datasets that are of interest to audiences across the globe, summarize insights from previous research and shed light on current issues. The Handbook of Real Estate and Macroeconomics assists researchers on the big picture as well as a hot spots in frontier research, and facilitates worldwide policy discussions and analysis for practitioners in financial markets, corporate economists, and policy analysts in governments and NGOs.

Students and instructors are living through a pandemic that has changed how and what they teach, and how and where they learn. The COVID-19 Update of Principles of Economics, Third Edition, provides the information that students need to make sense of the impacts COVID-19 has had on the economy. The Update Edition has been completely revised to include new examples, new data, new policies, and more. All of Norton's digital resources fully integrate with most learning management systems, providing the flexibility instructors need in this changed world.

This thought-provoking book analyses the process of labour commodification, through which the individual's ability to earn a basic living becomes dependent on the conditions of the market relationship. Building on the premise that the separation of a group of individuals from the means of production is an intrinsic element of capitalism, Fausto Corvino theorises that this implies a form of domination in a neo-republican sense. Proposing an original theory of global justice denoted as a minimum de-commodification of labour power, this book explains the ways in which this cosmopolitan principle resists the criticisms that are commonly advanced against classic theories of global justice and charts a theory falling between the neo-republican and labour republican approaches. It stimulates the debate on, and moral critique of, capitalism and the obstacles it poses to individual freedoms, with a focus on exploitation and domination. Global Justice, Markets and Domination will be a key resource for students and scholars researching capitalism and analytical Marxism, political economics and human rights. It will also be of benefit to those interested in theories of global and distributive justice and the economic implications of the neo-republican theory of freedom as non-domination.

Combining theoretical and practical aspects of policy analysis, this book evaluates actual and proposed policy reforms to income tax and transfer systems, using a behavioural tax microsimulation model. It highlights how these models allow for the full details of tax systems and the considerable population heterogeneity that is found in practice. John Creedy and Penny Mok look at how such models can be used to obtain summary measures that are relevant in tax debates. These include elasticities of labour supply and measures of the welfare effects of tax changes, in terms of excess burdens. Chapters further examine how models can be used to search systematically, across a range of policy changes, for revenue-neutral reforms which result in an improvement, in terms of an explicit evaluation function. This will be a timely read for students of public finance, welfare and labour economics. The careful attention paid to metrics used in policy evaluations will also make this a useful book for researchers and policy advisors concerned with income taxation, social transfers, inequality and poverty measurement.

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences and law, expertly written by the world's leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas. Leading researcher John F. Tomer presents an invigorating and concise introduction to behavioral economics that offers essential behavioral theories, perspectives, trends and developments within this ever-evolving discipline. This book covers the key areas of behavioral economics, including Herbert Simon's bounded rationality, Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky's psychological economics, behavioral finance, nudging and public policy, behavioral macroeconomics, law and behavioral economics, neuroeconomics and empirical methods of behavioral economics. John F. Tomer also explores how and why behavioral economics emerged and differs from neoclassical economics. This book will be particularly useful for advanced undergraduate students, graduate students, policy makers, and other professionals who participate in economic-related matters.

This accessible guide to the rapidly growing and interdisciplinary field of modern economic sociology offers critical insights into its fundamental concepts and developments. International in scope, contributions from leading economic sociologists and sociologically-minded economists explore the intersections and implications for theory and empirical research in both disciplines. A Modern Guide to Economic Sociology positions contemporary studies in relation to earlier developments, highlighting the importance of understanding how stages of economic sociology have corresponded and converged with institutional, social, political and behavioural economics over time. Chapters offer a broad range of perspectives of topical and pressing themes including: wealth inequality, unsustainable development, ethical consumption, society and work, institutions and the economy, and society and entrepreneurship. Covering both empirical and theoretical aspects of the field, this book will benefit economic sociologists as well as economic sociology students. It will also be an important read for both economics and sociology students looking to better understand the interactions between the two fields and how they depend upon and advance one another.

Statistics for Business and Economics introduces statistics in the context of contemporary business. Emphasising statistical literacy in thinking, the text applies its concepts with real data and uses technology to develop a deeper conceptual understanding. Examples, activities, and case studies foster active learning in the classroom while emphasising intuitive concepts of probability and teaching students to make informed business decisions. The 14th Edition continues to highlight the importance of ethical behaviour in collecting, interpreting, and reporting on data, while also providing a wealth of new and updated exercises and case studies.

Few international organizations embody the idea of historical progress as strongly as the European Union (EU). This book addresses the main shortcoming of treating EU as a vehicle of progress and political unity between European countries: the disregard of such an approach for the underlying diversity of the European continent. Critically examining the meta-ideology underpinning European integration, the author studies the implications of Europe's heterogeneity, disagreements over European policies, and of pluralism of values for the EU's governance. The book revisits legacies of post-communist transitions and the role played by international economic and political integration in Eastern Europe - as well as the implications of the EU's enlargements for the EU's governance. The result is a novel, polycentric perspective on the EU's governance. Policy practitioners, commentators, and other opinion leaders as well as academics and students interested in applied political economy and European studies will value this extensive exploration of Governing the EU in an Age of Division.

Elgar Research Agendas outline the future of research in a given area. Leading scholars are given the space to explore their subject in provocative ways, and map out the potential directions of travel. They are relevant but also visionary. This exciting Research Agenda offers a multi-disciplinary and historically informed programme for the further investigation of the global political economy of the corporate sector. It tackles the question, can and should the corporation be reformed? Christopher May develops a range of intersecting areas for research while also offering an account of the possibilities for the reform of the global corporation. Based on an understanding of the history of corporations, the author provides key insights into their management and political agency as well as the operation of the global corporate supply chain. Drawing links between a range of disciplines and perspectives on business enterprises, May calls for a more nuanced understanding of the global corporate sector in order to better comprehend the contours of the contemporary global capitalist system. This Research Agenda will be a valuable resource for students and academics of politics, economics, sociology and law, who are curious to explore the corporation in relation to their area of study.

Abundant with practical advice and ready-to-use teaching examples, this dynamic guide will help both new and experienced instructors of Principles of Microeconomics to reconsider and refine their courses. Mark Maier and Phil Ruder assemble the wisdom of 25 eminent scholars of economic education on how best to introduce students to the discipline and inspire a long-lasting passion for microeconomics. Beyond offering guidance to educators on how to improve students' learning experience, the book proposes measures for addressing many of the vexing challenges that face the economics discipline today. Chapters provide suggestions on (1) how to capture students' attention and ensure their continued engagement, (2) including course content that focuses on important public policy topics and pressing issues within modern society, (3) adopting evidence-based pedagogical strategies in the classroom and online, and (4) tackling issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion within the discipline. The ideas advanced in this illuminating guide highlight the possibility of continued improvement throughout one's teaching career. The jargon-free advice in this insightful teaching guide will also be of interest to deans, teaching and learning center directors, and other administrators of undergraduate institutions.

The twenty-first century has seen major challenges to freedom and democracy. Authoritarianism is on the rise and democracy is in retreat. Some promote individualism and markets as the solution to almost every problem. On the other side there are those who champion collectivism and full public ownership. Neither side is convincing. Unrestrained capitalism has exacerbated inequality. Socialism in practice has ended democracy. Effective defenders of liberty and human flourishing must find a different course. This book argues for a pragmatic, social democratic liberalism that avoids unrealistic extremes and tackles major problems such as inequality and climate change. This book is a topical and powerful statement of social democratic liberalism. It will be of interest to anyone concerned about modern politics, including those in universities and political parties

This incisive Handbook offers a timely and critical analysis of the gendered nature of public sector employment. Bringing together key theoretical, conceptual, and empirical research from around the world, Hazel Conley and Paula Koskinen Sandberg examine the ways in which female public sector workers experience intersectional discrimination in the workplace. Covering key sites of employment for women across the globe, the Handbook considers a comprehensive range of gendered public sector occupations. Chapters investigate how women's employment in public services is influenced by complex political and economic tensions, exploring core issues such as the relationship between gender, ethnicity, occupational segregation and work-life balance, flexible working, and workplace bullying; gendered pay and pension inequality; the sources of feminist activism in public sector employment; and the impact of the pandemic on feminised public sector occupations. Ultimately, the Handbook highlights that while change is possible, it will require a radical rethinking of how public services are valued and funded in society. Providing cutting-edge analysis and empirical data on gender and public sector employment, this Handbook will be an essential resource for academics and researchers interested in the role of the State as Employer. Its thought-provoking yet accessible insights into gendered employment will further benefit students of social policy, gender politics, employment relations, and the sociology of work.

Offering a new and comprehensive overview of important topics and orientations in the anthropological study of economic life, this invigorating third edition of A Handbook of Economic Anthropology addresses key changes in the decade since the previous edition in people's economic lives and environments, as well as in intellectual interest among scholars. The Handbook contains diverse reflections on the economic turmoil of 2008 and the austerity that followed. Containing 35 newly commissioned chapters from important scholars in the field, it covers the nature of work and the changing ways people think about it, as stable jobs give way to short term work and the platform economy, as well as the expansion of the financial sector and efforts to control it. Chapters further explore social reproduction, the maintenance and regeneration of households and social relations over time, as well as the increasing concern with value, morality and ethics, both as things that motivate people and as policy orientations. This will be a critical read for academic anthropologists looking for a state-of-the-art and thorough reference work for this key area of the discipline. Economic sociologists and geographers, as well as heterodox economists will also benefit from the broad range of empirical work and theoretical standpoints explored.

Properly conceived and executed mergers and acquisitions (M&As) have the potential to unlock value for a wide range of corporate stakeholders. However, many of these transactions fail to deliver the expected outcomes.

In this fourth edition of Mergers and Acquisitions: A South African overview, the most important factors that contribute to M&A failure are identified. Suggestions are also provided on how to avoid the identified pitfalls in future endeavours.

The book fills an important gap in the academic literature on M&As in South Africa post-2020. Not only is considerable attention given to the strategic objectives prompting business combina- tions and restructurings, but several valuation techniques are also presented to determine the fair value of a target. Numerous case studies are included to highlight the implications. Focus is furthermore placed on the importance of due diligence investigations and post-intergration analyses.

Real-life examples, practical exercises, quick quizzes, multiple choice questions and long questions are included to enhance the reader's understanding of key concepts and calculations.

All four authors are Professors in the Department of Business Management at Stellenbosch University.

Identifying customer loyalty as a crucial success factor in contemporary marketing thinking and practice, this innovative Handbook incorporates a rich collection of perspectives on the current topics and research-driven practices in the field. Leading scholars offer an insightful reimagining of the research methods, metrics, and designs for the future of measuring and predicting customer loyalty. The Handbook recognises loyalty as a strategic asset, and analyses incentive structures such as loyalty-based learning, gamification, and automaticity to track the evolution of customer loyalty programmes. Examining the impacts of globalization and cutting-edge technologies on the customer loyalty journey, it identifies an increase in customer defection and a rapid erosion of single-brand loyalty. Forward-thinking, it concludes by reflecting on how trends like voice technology, augmented reality, and influencer marketing will shape the domain of customer loyalty in the future. Gathering together contemporary concepts, practice, measures and challenges to inform future research, this Handbook will prove an enlightening read for students and scholars of marketing, business and management, and psychology. Its illustrative case studies will also prove invaluable for practitioners in a diverse range of fields looking to future-proof and reimagine their loyalty strategies.

Our Elgar Concise Introductions are inspiring and considered introductions to the key principles in business, expertly written by some of the world’s leading scholars. The aims of the series are two-fold: to pinpoint essential principles of business and management, and to offer insights that stimulate critical thinking. Examining the psychological and social drivers of unsustainable and sustainable consumption, this Concise Introduction provides an insightful overview of the causes of unsustainable consumer behaviour and the instruments and interventions needed to create a sustainable consumption pattern. Key Features: Outlines how policy interventions can contribute to a transformation in the consumption pattern Based on a comprehensive model of the causes and consequences of (un)sustainable consumer choices Provides a precise account of how the structure and distribution of consumption are responsible for environmental problems Maps the roots of unsustainable consumption in human nature as well as in economic, institutional, social, and structural contexts Highlighting a variety of ways to promote sustainable consumption, from sustainability labelling to carbon taxes and infrastructure investments, this Concise Introduction will be essential reading for students and researchers in behavioural sciences, business and management, economic psychology, environmental sociology, and sustainable development.

This timely book studies the economic theories of credit cycles and disturbances in the 20th century, presenting a nuanced view of the role of finance in the economy after the financial crash of 2008. Focusing on the work of economists from Marx onwards, Jan Toporowski moves beyond conventional monetary theory to offer an insightful critical alternative to current financial macroeconomics. The book features an extended discussion of Marx's approach to credit and finance, new insights to Minsky's ideas and a reconsideration of the financial theories of Kalecki and Steindl. Economic researchers and postgraduate students seeking to extend their knowledge of critical approaches to finance will find this an invaluable read, as well as practitioners and policy makers who seek to understand financial instability and unstable markets. This will also be an insightful read for economic historians looking to understand the nuances of different key economic theories and their practical applications. This timely book studies the economic theories of credit cycles and disturbances in the 20th century, presenting a nuanced view of the role of finance in the economy after the financial crash of 2008.

This insightful Handbook provides a comprehensive overview of the most recent developments in the academic debate on the numerous and complex linkages between international trade and climate change. Adopting a broad interdisciplinary approach, it brings together perspectives from scholars in economics, political science and legal studies to confront the critical environmental challenges posed by globalization. Initial chapters provide an overview of the key debates related to international trade and climate policy, engaging with empirical data from the US and China to assess the impact of new trade initiatives and policy on greenhouse gas emissions, carbon leakage and the increase of trade in carbon-intensive products. Contributors propose policy options that align international trade with climate change mitigation and address crucial legal and practical implications, including the implementation of Border Carbon Adjustments and international trade disputes. Offering critical and empirically-based perspectives on the future of international trade policy, this timely Handbook is crucial reading for scholars, researchers and graduate students in political science, public policy and climate research. Policymakers will also benefit from its unique and insightful policy recommendations.

Timely and invigorating, this book explores how blockchain technology is disrupting economies and transforming societies. It offers detailed insights into the synergistic and complementary effects of blockchain and other new and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, satellite imagery and digital twins. The Rise of Blockchains highlights how the developments of ecosystems around blockchain are helping to realize the potential of this technology to act as a 'trust machine' across more contexts and settings. Multidisciplinary in both scope and perspectives, the book looks at blockchain's potential for impacting challenges in supply chain management, security, privacy and compliancy issues, and transforming payment and settlement systems. It further provides insights into the opportunities, barriers, and enablers of blockchain adoption by organizations. With a focus on both theoretical and practical knowledge related to blockchain, this will be an important read for business and management scholars, particularly those focusing on organization studies, information systems, and supply chain management. It will also be a useful book for economics students and economists working with cryptocurrencies.

This authoritative book examines the power of multinational corporations (MNCs) to exert influence in global politics. Focusing on the actions and motivations of MNCs, it explores how they attempt to shape the political issues that affect them. Combining theoretical perspectives with analyses of enlightening case studies, the contributors consider key areas in which MNCs seek to exert political influence such as environmental sustainability, social conflicts and corporate tax avoidance, as well as in specific industries including mining, shipping and consulting. They also illustrate the mechanisms used by MNCs to exert influence in a wide range of policy fields at multiple territorial levels, discussing how they interact with states, intergovernmental organizations and civil society, as well as how they coordinate their activities with other parts of the business community. The book concludes that MNCs enjoy certain basic privileges in society and politics due to their preponderant economic position and their key role in the processes of globalization, but action is necessary to sustain this role. MNCs in Global Politics will be critical reading for academics and students of politics, international relations and political economy, particularly those with an interest in globalization and governance. Its exploration of specific case studies will also be beneficial for policy-makers.

With a down-to-earth and practical approach that is both refreshing and inspiring, this revised edition of The South African labour market contains an abundance of information about labour markets in general, as well as the South African labour market in particular. It successfully fills a serious void in comprehensive, objective literature on this topic. The labour market and labour policies are in constant flux, with the result that fairly substantial changes have been made to ensure that this revised edition is positioned squarely in the middle of labour debates currently raging in South Africa. A chapter is specially dedicated to collective bargaining and the impact of unions on the labour market. It also covers strike action in South Africa and looks at the controversy surrounding bargaining councils. Labour market flexibility has become an important public focal point with the ANC publishing some important position papers on the matter and notable international organisations also referring to it in the context of South Africa's labour markets. This is part of the broader debate on ways to increase productivity. Formal employment is said to have increased substantially since the advent of democracy. The book considers the evidence of this and comes to some disturbing conclusions about the sensitivity of employment to economic growth. The book deals extensively with the impact of globalisation on the labour market and how other countries have managed the challenges of globalisation. Other topics include affirmative action in South Africa compared to Malaysia, and whether consensus-seeking institutions such as Nedlac still have a role to play. The book is generally accessible, but without sacrificing the firm academic foundation required to understand the operation of labour markets. All in all, this book is a mine of information, set out in a user-friendly manner, so that even the uninitiated will be able to understand the issues at hand. The content provides the reader with more than sufficient material for intelligent participation in debates and decisions regarding the labour market. Contents include the following: Unique characteristics of the labour market; The impact of HIV and Aids; Employment in the formal and informal sectors; Wages and the cost of labour; Addressing the challenges of globalisation; Unemployment in South Africa; Human capital and the demand for skilled workers; Inequalities and discrimination.

The Pulitzer Prize-wimming author of The Prize joins a leading expert on the global economy to present an incisive narrative of the risks and opportunities that are emerging as the balance of power shifts around the world between governments and markets -- and the battle over globalization comes front and center. The Commanding Heights is essential for understanding the struggle over the "new rules of the game" for the twenty-first century.

This innovative book examines the maritime component of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), focusing on three key trade routes and addressing the question of how China protects its overseas assets. Gerald Chan explores China's rising maritime power, using geo-developmentalism as a theoretical framework to analyse the country's development of port facilities and infrastructure along important trade routes. Through developing these sea routes, he argues that a new global order is in the making. The book also offers an in-depth and balanced review of two major criticisms of China's BRI: the first being so-called 'debt trap diplomacy', and the second being security concerns surrounding China's IT industry, the resolution of which Chan suggests will pave the way towards developing a 'digital Silk Road'. Following on from Chan's previous work on high-speed rail and other land networks, this book offers a comprehensive and up-to-date account on infrastructure building in this context. It will prove a stimulating read for scholars and students of Chinese foreign policy and international relations, as well as policy makers, government officials and businesses seeking to better understand China's foreign trade and development policies.

Witty economists are about as easy to find as anorexic mezzo-sopranos, natty mujahedeen, and cheerful Philadelphians. But Steven E. Landsburg...is one economist who fits the bill. In a wide-ranging, easily digested, unbelievably contrarian survey of everything from why popcorn at movie houses costs so much to why recycling may actually reduce the number of trees on the planet, the University of Rochester professor valiantly turns the discussion of vexing economic questions into an activity that ordinary people might enjoy.

-- Joe Queenan, "The Wall Street Journal"

"The Armchair Economist" is a wonderful little book, written by someone for whom English is a first (and beloved) language, and it contains not a single graph or equation...Landsburg presents fascinating concepts in a form easily accessible to noneconomists.

-- Erik M. Jensen, "The Cleveland Plain Dealer"

...enormous fun from its opening page...Landsburg has done something extraordinary: He has expounded basic economic principles with wit and verve.

-- Dan Seligman, "Fortune"