This groundbreaking book analyzes how the ecology of taxation is fundamental for the success or failure of tax systems. It specifically focuses on the role of the ecological environment on taxation; the factors that determine the ecology of taxation; and how the ecology of taxation has changed and may continue to evolve. Income taxes operate well in highly industrialized countries, characterized by large enterprises, modern accounting, thousands of workers and tangible products. There are great difficulties, however, when they operate in countries with higher levels of informality. Vito Tanzi addresses this effect and the influence of economic structure; the income distribution; globalization; technology; and various other main elements that determine the ecology of taxation. The implicit, important conclusion is that there are no permanent or universal optimal tax theories: all theories are related to this ecology. Students of taxation from various fields and economists interested in taxation and public finance will appreciate this book's new perspective on success and failure of taxes and tax systems. It will also serve as a useful resource for tax historians, policy experts, teachers, and tax theorists.

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. Offering fresh insights into the key emerging issues in the field, including the changing socio-economic contexts brought about by the rise of the millennial generation and the creative class, the Covid-19 pandemic, and a greater emphasis on social responsibility, this forward-looking Research Agenda critically debates and rethinks theories and practices in the property sector. Promoting interdisciplinary approaches to the topic, chapters explore the disruptive changes to the field brought about by technological revolutions, before moving on to reflect upon the meaning of value, risks and investment behaviours, and finally examining the institutional contexts and stakeholders that shape the industry. Leading scholars combine practice with in-depth theoretical discussions, highlighting critical future avenues of research in the field. Real estate, planning and economics scholars will find this to be an important read, particularly with the blend of conceptual and empirical perspectives. Real estate practitioners and businesses will also find the practical guidance and discussion of real-life challenges in the book helpful.

FinTech has revolutionized the way financial services are delivered and consumed in the modern world and the use of central bank digital currencies is gaining traction. With these new advancements, further study is required to ensure they are utilized appropriately and reach their full potential. Exploring the Dark Side of FinTech and Implications of Monetary Policy examines recent advancements in central bank digital currency and many FinTech applications and discusses FinTech trends, possibilities, and challenges as well as different moral, ethical, and social issues. Covering key topics such as digital economy, monetary policy, and sustainability, this reference work is ideal for managers, industry professionals, business owners, entrepreneurs, policymakers, researchers, scholars, practitioners, instructors, and students.

Investment management is an introduction to investment analysis. The title focuses on investment in financial assets such as shares and bonds, and explains fundamental and technical analysis. It also investigates portfolio management and ways in which derivative instruments such as futures, options and swaps may be used for portfolio management. The authors of Investment management succeed in bringing an understanding of the relevant concepts across to the reader, while also stimulating interest in the topic. The title provides a framework and a thorough network of guidelines for the investment management student. It prepares the undergraduate student for postgraduate study, and is written with the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA (R)) Level I learning outcomes for investment analysis and portfolio management in mind.

Public private partnerships (PPPs) have been a controversial approach to procuring public infrastructure services. Against a background of recent trenchant criticism of PPPs, Mervyn K. Lewis, a leading scholar in the area, re-examines their utility. He questions what PPPs can and cannot do, why governments choose this route and whether PPPs can ever be good value for money. The author analyses the extensive use of PPPs for hospitals and transport megaprojects and outlines the key challenges to implementing them, shaping the future direction of the PPP model. Exploring the psychological influences on decision-making, the book also puts a new focus on the people delivering the project; it is not only a matter of selecting the right model. Professor Lewis concludes that, although the PPP model remains problematic, if chosen appropriately every procurement approach has its place in good policy. Providing an in-depth exploration of the features of PPPs and the complexities of megaprojects, Rethinking Public Private Partnerships will be of considerable interest to academics and students of public policy, economic regulation and governance, and public finance. Its re-assessment of the field will also prove invaluable for government procurers, advisory firms and PPP experts.

Inclusive Financial Development provides theoretical and empirical analyses of the nature of financial inclusion. The contributing authors explore the impediments to inclusion that exist around the world, the macro and stability implications, and the regulation dimension. With contributions from distinguished researchers, this book covers the main analytical and empirical issues in financial inclusion and its role in economic development. Chapters present a wide range of case studies illustrating topics such as mobile money, financial liberalization and bank efficiency, as well as highlighting the costs associated with financial exclusion and the various policy and regulatory measures that have been applied to lower the barriers to inclusion. Offering a comprehensive exploration of financial inclusion and its impediments, this important book will be welcomed by students, researchers and policy makers interested in economic development and financial regulation.

Governments have always endured economic woes, but the increasing severity of such challenges, from the Great Recession starting in 2008 to the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, highlights the need for better-developed fiscal analysis capacity in governments of all sizes using the most practical-yet robust-techniques available. This volume presents an array of real-world analytical approaches in a variety of service areas at the core of state and local government. The concrete insights provided by this book serve as important tools for policy analysts, government officials charged with policy implementation, and public finance scholars across developing and developed countries looking for the essential, high-level analytical skills needed to expand internal capacity to weather uncertain economic environments. The book bridges the research-practice gap and provides practical tools for state and local fiscal analysis, including a detailed how-to guide for producing local tax expenditure reports, an age-based homestead exemption estimate calculator with guide, and simple methods for fuzzy matching administrative data. It is backed up with a depth and breadth of case studies on governments of a variety of sizes. Public officials and analysts in local state/regional institutions and international institutions with a public policy focus as well as public finance scholars across developing and developed countries will find invaluable the analyses and tools provided by this book. It also serves as a key resource for students, researchers, and instructors across public policy.

A revised and updated edition of the landmark work the New York Times hailed as "a call to action for every developer, building owner, shareholder, chief executive, manager, teacher, worker and parent to start demanding healthy buildings with cleaner indoor air." For too long we've designed buildings that haven't focused on the people inside-their health, their ability to work effectively, and what that means for the bottom line. An authoritative introduction to a movement whose vital importance is now all too clear, Healthy Buildings breaks down the science and makes a compelling business case for creating healthier offices, schools, and homes. As the COVID-19 crisis brought into sharp focus, indoor spaces can make you sick-or keep you healthy. Fortunately, we now have the know-how and technology to keep people safe indoors. But there is more to securing your office, school, or home than wiping down surfaces. Levels of carbon dioxide, particulates, humidity, pollution, and a toxic soup of volatile organic compounds from everyday products can influence our health in ways people aren't always aware of. This landmark book, revised and updated with the latest research since the COVID-19 pandemic, lays out a compelling case for more environmentally friendly and less toxic offices, schools, and homes. It features a concise explanation of disease transmission indoors, and provides tips for making buildings the first line of defense. Joe Allen and John Macomber dispel the myth that we can't have both energy-efficient buildings and good indoor air quality. We can-and must-have both. At the center of the great convergence of green, smart, and safe buildings, healthy buildings are vital to the push for more sustainable urbanization that will shape our future.

Everything on Treasuries, munis, bond funds, and more

"The bond buyer's answer book--updated for the new economy"

"As in the first two editions, this third edition of "The Bond Book" continues to be the ideal reference for the individual investor. It has all the necessary details, well explained and illustrated without excessive mathematics. In addition to providing this essential content, it is extremely well written."
--James B. Cloonan, Chairman, American Association of Individual Investors

"Annette Thau makes the bond market interesting, approachable, and clear. As much as investors will continue to depend on fixed-income securities during their retirement years, they'll need an insightful guide that ensures they're appropriately educated and served. "The Bond Book" does just that."
--Jeff Tjornejoh, Research Director, U.S. and Canada, Lipper, Thomson Reuters

"Not only a practical and easy-to-understand guide for the novice, but also a comprehensive reference for professionals. Annette Thau provides the steps to climb to the top of the bond investment ladder. "The Bond Book" should be a permanent fixture in any investment library "
--Thomas J. Herzfeld, President, Thomas Herzfeld Advisors, Inc.

"If the financial crisis of recent years has taught us anything, it's buyer beware. Fact is, bonds can be just as risky as stocks. That's why Annette Thau's new edition of "The Bond Book" is essential reading for investors who want to know exactly what's in their portfolios. It also serves as an excellent guide for those of us who are getting older and need to diversify into fixed income."
--Jean Gruss, Southwest Florida Editor, "Gulf Coast Business Review," and former Managing Editor, "Kiplinger's Retirement Report"

About the Book

The financial crisis of 2008 caused major disruptions to every sector of the bond market and left even the savviest investors confused about the safety of their investments. To serve these investors and anyone looking to explore opportunities in fixed-income investing, former bond analyst Annette Thau builds on the features and authority that made the first two editions bestsellers in the thoroughly revised, updated, and expanded third edition of "The Bond Book."

This is a one-stop resource for both seasoned bond investors looking for the latest information on the fixed-income market and equities investors planning to diversify their holdings. Writing in plain English, Thau presents cutting-edge strategies for making the best bond-investing decisions, while explaining how to assess risks and opportunities. She also includes up-to-date listings of online resources with bond prices and other information. Look to this all-in-one guide for information on such critical topics as: Buying individual bonds or bond funds The ins and outs of open-end funds, closed-end funds, and exchangetraded funds (ETFs) The new landscape for municipal bonds: the changed rating scales, the near demise of bond insurance, and Build America Bonds (BABs) The safest bond funds Junk bonds (and emerging market bonds) Buying Treasuries without paying a commission

From how bonds work to how to buy and sell them to what to expect from them, "The Bond Book," third edition, is a must-read for individual investors and financial advisers who want to enhance the fixed-income allocation of their portfolios.

In this fascinating book, Imad A. Moosa challenges existing preconceptions surrounding normative economics, arguing that what some economists see as undisputed facts of life may be myths caused by dogmatic thinking. With this in mind, Moosa argues that the alleged puzzles found in the economics and finance literature are not puzzles at all, because they can be explained intuitively, without the need for complex models or the extravaganza of econometrics. Plausible explanations are suggested for puzzles in various areas of economics and finance, such as the home bias puzzle, the PPP puzzle and the presidential puzzle. The author explains why some common beliefs are, in fact, myths, including those of the power of the market, inefficiency of the public sector and the use of low-interest policy to combat the depression caused by the Covid-19 outbreak. Controversies in Economics and Finance is a thought-provoking and stimulating read that exposes common flaws in economic analysis. It will be of great benefit to academics, graduate students and policy-makers looking to understand the limits of economic analysis.

VAT: An Introduction initiates students and practitioners into the South African value-added tax (VAT) system by guiding them through the basic principles of the Value-Added Tax Act 89 of 1991 (VAT Act). It covers the processes to be followed when dealing with VAT and sheds light on the most important case law and VAT legislation.

Complex concepts and the key objectives and principles of the VAT system are explained simply and clearly, without using unnecessary jargon. This makes VAT: An Introduction suitable for anyone who has to apply basic VAT principles in a business environment or provide general VAT advice and assistance.

The book is also an excellent study guide for students. It will help students understand the mechanics of the South African VAT system and the practical implications of VAT. Students and practitioners will find the revision questions at the end of each chapter useful to test their understanding and knowledge of the fundamentals of VAT.

Advocating a style of law and a role for legal agency which returns to its essential humanist ideology and represents public spiritedness, this unique book confronts the myths surrounding globalisation, advancing the role for law as a change agent unburdened from its current market functionality. Mark Findlay argues that law has a new and urgent relevance to confront the absence of resilience in self-determined market places, and to make coherent the anarchic forces which are running, and ruining the world. The inevitability of law's re-invention during global crises is considered, offering a critical evaluation of the future of legal agency, service delivery and access to justice. Chapters also engage with citizen-centric surveillance society to examine the dangers to personal data, individual integrity, and work-life quality from unregulated mass data sharing. Exciting and thought-provoking, this book will be critical reading for scholars and students in law, economics and governance interested in globalisation and crises, such as pandemics, as well as populist politics and anxiety governance.

Large infrastructure projects often face significant cost overruns and stakeholder fragmentation. Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) allow governments to procure long-term infrastructure services from private providers, rather than developing, financing and managing infrastructure assets themselves. Aligning public and private interests and institutional logics to create robust, decades-long service contracts subject to shifting economic and political contexts is a significant cross-sectoral governance challenge. This work summarizes over a decade of research conducted by scholars at Stanford s Global Projects Center and multiple US and International collaborators to enhance the governance of both infrastructure projects and institutional investors, whose long term, cash flow obligations align especially well with the kinds of long term inflation-adjusted returns that PPP infrastructure projects can generate. In these pages, multiple theoretical perspectives are integrated and combined with empirical evidence to examine how experiences from more mature PPP jurisdictions can help improve PPP governance approaches worldwide. The information contained here will appeal to engineering, economics, political science, public policy and finance scholars interested in the delivery of high-quality, sustainable infrastructure services to the citizens in countries with established and emerging market economies. Officials in national, state/provincial and local government agencies seeking alternative financing and service provision strategies for their civil and social infrastructure, and legislators and their staff members interested in promoting PPP legislation will find this book invaluable. It will also be of high interest to long-term investment professionals from pension funds, sovereign funds, family offices and university endowments seeking to deploy money into the infrastructure asset class, and practitioners seeking insights into methods for enhancing stakeholder incentive alignment, reducing transaction costs and improving project outcomes in PPPs. Contributors: B.G. Cameron, G. Carollo, C.B. Casady, E.F. Crawley, K. Eriksson, W. Feng, M.J. Garvin, K.E. Gasparro, R.R. Geddes, W.J. Henisz, D.R. Lessard, R.E. Levitt, T. Liu, A.H.B. Monk, D.A. Nguyen, C. Nowacki, W.R. Scott, R. Sharma, A.J. South

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 insightful Research Agenda explores social finance and impact investing, surveying the latest research in this area. It considers a range of actors from across the social finance ecosystem, from investors and social banks, to the entrepreneurs who propose sustainable solutions and seek finance. Chapters discuss a variety of key topics, including impact investing practices by philanthropic and renewable energy sectors, the financing of social enterprises, social ventures and the effect of banking on the Sustainable Development Goals. The Research Agenda also examines market-figures to provide a holistic overview of the social finance and impact investing markets. Considering the perspectives of both investors and investees, this Research Agenda will be a useful guide for scholars and researchers in the areas of social finance, social entrepreneurship, impact investing and sustainability. Its evaluation of the challenges and successes of multiple social finance sectors will also be beneficial for practitioners in these fields.

'Monetary policy is not just a matter of optimal stabilization policy; it is also fundamentally a matter of politics. But while this observation is commonplace, it is not adequately incorporated into economists' reasoning and analysis. Gerald Epstein's work represents perhaps the most prominent exception to this last rule. Reading him provides a salutary reminder that we need to pay closer attention to this political aspect when thinking about central banks and what they do.' - Barry Eichengreen, University of California, Berkeley, US Central banks are among the most powerful government economic institutions in the world. This volume explores the economic and political contours of the struggle for influence over the policies of central banks such as the Federal Reserve, and the implications of this struggle for economic performance and the distribution of wealth and power in society. Written over several decades by Gerald Epstein and co-authors, these works explore why central banks do what they do, and how they could better operate. Epstein shows that central banks are a contested terrain over which major economic and political groups fight for control; and demonstrates that though in the US and most other countries, private bankers have the upper-hand in this political struggle, they don t always win. Graduate students, faculty and advanced undergraduates in economics, political science and sociology who are interested in central banking and finance as well as specialists who focus on central banking will find greater understanding of central banks through The Political Economy of Central Banking.

Seize control of your financial future with rock-solid advice from two of the world's leading investment experts Investors today are bombarded with conflicting advice about how to handle the increasingly volatile stock market. From pronouncements of the "death of diversification" to the supposed virtues of crypto, investors can be forgiven for being thoroughly confused. It's time to return to the basics. In the 10th Anniversary Edition of The Elements of Investing: Easy Lessons for Every Investor, investment legends Burton G. Malkiel and Charles D. Ellis deliver straightforward, digestible lessons in the investment rules and principles you need to follow to mitigate risk and realize long-term success in the markets. Divided into six essential elements of investing, this concise book will teach you how to: Focus on the long-term and ignore short-term market fluctuations and movements Use employer-sponsored plans to supercharge your savings and returns and minimize your taxes Understand crucial investment subjects, like diversification, rebalancing, dollar-cost averaging, and indexing So, forget the flavor of the week. Stick with the timeless and invaluable advice followed by the world's most successful retail investors.