This first volume of the "Handbook of Agricultural Economics" presents work on topics central to the economics of agriculture: the quantitative representation of technology; market expectations; household production behaviour; consumer behaviour with uncertain quality and safety of goods; and issues of imperfect competition in food marketing. Volume 1A treats issues in agricultural production, representing the consequences of decades of work deepening and widening the original focus of agricultural economics on farm management. In addition to the theory and estimation of production and supply behaviour in agriculture, chapters are devoted to topics on which major advancements have been made: technological change; returns to agricultural research; the industrial structure of agriculture, land institutions and markets; and human capital and finance. Two chapters are further specialized to rural labour and household issues: migration and the role of women in developing countries.

Brazil, occupying nearly 50 percent of the South American continent, has the largest economy and is a major political power in Latin America. In this updated and expanded fifth edition of his text, Roett provides a thorough introduction to the dynamics shaping Brazilian politics, economics, and society, the difficult transition from military to civilian government in the 1980s, and the social issues facing Brazilian leaders as the country enters the 21st century. As Roett makes clear, despite years of economic growth and industrialization, by the late 1990s, Brazil still faces continued and growing challenges to its social cohesiveness and stability. Without greater attention to the basic needs of the Brazilian poor, the fabric of democracy in the New Republic faces formidable challenges. A thorough and engaging resource for all students and scholars of contemporary Latin America and, more specifically, Brazil.

This provocative appraisal unpacks commonly held beliefs about healthcare management and replaces them with practical strategies and realistic policy goals. Using Henry Mintzberg's "Myths of Healthcare" as a springboard, it reveals management practices that undermine care delivery, explores their cultural and corporate origins, and details how they may be reversed through changes in management strategy, organization, scale, and style. Tackling conventional wisdom about decision-making, cost-effectiveness, service quality, and equity, contributors fine-tune concepts of mission and vision by promoting collaboration, engagement, and common sense. The book's multidisciplinary panel of experts analyzes the most popular healthcare management "myths," among them: * The healthcare system is failing. * The healthcare system can be fixed through social engineering. * Healthcare institutions can be fixed by bringing in the heroic leader. * The healthcare system can be fixed by treating it more as a business. * Healthcare is rightly left to the private sector, for the sake of efficiency. The Myths of Health Care speaks to a large, diverse audience: scholars of all levels interested in the research in health policy and management, graduate and under-graduate students attending courses in leadership and management of public sector organization, and practitioners in the field of health care.

This open access book demonstrates how data quality issues affect all surveys and proposes methods that can be utilised to deal with the observable components of survey error in a statistically sound manner. This book begins by profiling the post-Apartheid period in South Africa's history when the sampling frame and survey methodology for household surveys was undergoing periodic changes due to the changing geopolitical landscape in the country. This book profiles how different components of error had disproportionate magnitudes in different survey years, including coverage error, sampling error, nonresponse error, measurement error, processing error and adjustment error. The parameters of interest concern the earnings distribution, but despite this outcome of interest, the discussion is generalizable to any question in a random sample survey of households or firms. This book then investigates questionnaire design and item nonresponse by building a response propensity model for the employee income question in two South African labour market surveys: the October Household Survey (OHS, 1997-1999) and the Labour Force Survey (LFS, 2000-2003). This time period isolates a period of changing questionnaire design for the income question. Finally, this book is concerned with how to employee income data with a mixture of continuous data, bounded response data and nonresponse. A variable with this mixture of data types is called coarse data. Because the income question consists of two parts -- an initial, exact income question and a bounded income follow-up question -- the resulting statistical distribution of employee income is both continuous and discrete. The book shows researchers how to appropriately deal with coarse income data using multiple imputation. The take-home message from this book is that researchers have a responsibility to treat data quality concerns in a statistically sound manner, rather than making adjustments to public-use data in arbitrary ways, often underpinned by undefensible assumptions about an implicit unobservable loss function in the data. The demonstration of how this can be done provides a replicable concept map with applicable methods that can be utilised in any sample survey.

Despite increasing reports across the globe on renewable development and maintenance, little is known regarding what strategies are required for improved economic growth and prosperity in Africa. Improving an understanding of the methods for promoting growth through reusable resource development and administration is a vital topic of research to consider in assisting the continent's development. The Handbook of Research on Sustainable Development and Governance Strategies for Economic Growth in Africa provides emerging research on the strategies required to promote growth in Africa as well as the implications and issues of the expansion of prosperity. While highlighting sustainable education, pastoral development pathways, and the public-sector role, readers will learn about the history of sustainable development and governmental approaches to improving Africa's economy. This publication is a vital resource for policy makers, research institutions, academics, researchers, and advanced-level students seeking current research on the theories and applications of development in societal and legal institutions.

Victor Zarnowitz is a world-famous economist. Victor Zarnowitz is also a man who grew up in the Polish town of Oswiecim, known in German as Auschwitz. Zarnowitz and his brother fled the area as the Nazis advanced in September 1939. Moving eastward, he landed right in the arms of the Soviets and was sent to a Siberian Gulag. How did this brilliant young man, who nearly died at the hands of the Soviets, end up a renowned University of Chicago economist? That's exactly what this inspiring, lyrical memoir--told in simple, captivating prose--is all about.

The recipient of many prizes and honors, Zarnowitz is still, at age eighty-seven, one of the six economists who decide officially that the U.S. is in a recession. He is also a captivating writer and his memoir a thrilling page turner:

-In September 1939 Victor and his brother walked the entire width of Poland with the blitzkrieg just behind them. They ran right into oncoming Soviet troops. Zarnowitz was trapped at the junction of the two most fearsome armies the world had ever seen. He was literally standing in the center point of history.

-The Soviets considered Polish refugees prisoners of war. In 1940, they transported Zarnowitz and his brother thousands of miles north and put them to work in Stalin's oldest Gulag. They earned their daily gruel and bread crusts by trying to meet impossible work quotas.

The last third of the book brings the story up to date, telling, in a non-technical manner, of Zarnowitz's life in America and his professional career. It includes his observations of other economists and their ideas, his own contributions to business-cycle theory and economic indicators, and his thoughts on more than a half-century of American history.

While memoirs of the Holocaust are plentiful, the Jewish experience in Stalin's Gulags has been virtually forgotten. Weaving politics and economics into the harrowing tale of his personal journey, Zarnowitz's inspiring life story provides a priceless perspective on some of the most traumatic upheavals of the 20th century--and on the resilience and power of the human spirit.

The twenty-first century brought unique developments in science and technology. Research surged as individuals sought to uncover hidden knowledge, leading to the introduction of research evaluation to ensure precise and fair research output and dissemination. Scholarly Content and Its Evolution by Scientometric Indicators: Emerging Research and Opportunities is a pivotal reference source that provides vital research on the application of research evaluation, specifically through the lens of scientometrics. While highlighting topics such as bibliometrics and the h-index, this publication explores a full range of research indicators available for the evaluation and assessment of scientific literature. This book is ideally designed for scholars, professors, academicians, researchers, and graduate-level students seeking current research on metric science.

This dictionary contains terms covering the following fields and subfields: Business economics, economic development and growth, economic history, economic systems, economic thought, financial economics, general economics, industrial organization, international economics, labor and demographic economics, law and economics, macroeconomics and monetary economics, mathematical an quantitative methods, microeconomics, natural resource economics, public economics, social economics, urban, rural and regional economics, welfare.

The dictionary is supplemented by an exhaustive list of abbreviations in several languages. It will be an essential reference tool for business people operating within a new economic world order, who wish to understand global trade relations. The wide variety of economic terms presented makes this dictionary unique in the field.

A popular account of the early evolution of markets. The book features a large number of cases - including the development of the Internet, the early evolution of the car market, semi-conductors, television, mobile phones and personal computers, and the failure of genetically modified food and quadrophonic sounds. These cases are woven into a general narrative which highlights the unusual features of how very young markets evolve, and provides a straightforward and non-technical explanation of why things typically happen this way.

This book investigates the role of the National Petroleum Council (CNP) and especially of Petrobras in the construction and shaping of courses in Geosciences, as part of the historical process of the search for and exploration of oil, which began in Brazil in 1864 and ended in 1968 with the discovery of the first offshore well. The book explores the history of the discovery of oil in Brazil together with the historical development of oil research and geosciences in Brazil. It also elucidates significant events and developments which occurred between 1864 and 1968 such as the foundation of the Ouro Preto Mining School, the foundation of the CNP and Petrobras and other scientific societies and universities and their contributions to the formation and constitution of geosciences in Brazil. This book also discusses the massive investments by CNP and Petrobras in technical and scientific research for oil exploration in the Brazilian territory.This unique book appeals to scientists, students and professionals in geosciences, history and related fields.

Antonio M. Bravata was among some of the top insurance advisors in the country. He now owns multiple companies in which his day to day business is helping business owners, executives and sales agents with strategic planning, business coaching and leadership development. His programs allow business owners and sales agents focus and attract the client base they need, execute their future plans to perfection and brand themselves to attract higher fees. Mr. Bravata is serious in his motto of "You must first help others get what they need, before you can get what you need." Antonio participates in many charity organizations and sponsorships. In 2009 Mr. Bravata was recognized as a select group of people in the Honor Roll of Donors. Mr. Bravata will help you execute your dreams and ideas into reality, while guiding you on the right and wrong avenues to avoid. For more information on any of Antonio's Charity foundation events or other of his companies information visit; www.AntonioMBravata.com

What kind of role can the middle class play in potential democratization in such an undemocratic, late developing country as China? To answer this profound political as well as theoretical question, Jie Chen explores attitudinal and behavioral orientation of China's new middle class to democracy and democratization. Chen's work is based on a unique set of data collected from a probability-sample survey and in-depth interviews of residents in three major Chinese cities, Beijing, Chengdu and Xi'an-each of which represents a distinct level of economic development in urban China-in 2007 and 2008. The empirical findings derived from this data set confirm that (1) compared to other social classes, particularly lower classes, the new Chinese middle class-especially those employed in the state apparatus-tends to be more supportive of the current Party-state but less supportive of democratic values and institutions; (2) the new middle class's attitudes toward democracy may be accounted for by this class's close ideational and institutional ties with the state, and its perceived socioeconomic wellbeing, among other factors; (3) the lack of support for democracy among the middle class tends to cause this social class to act in favor of the current state but in opposition to democratic changes. The most important political implication is that while China's middle class is not likely to serve as the harbinger of democracy now, its current attitudes toward democracy may change in the future. Such a crucial shift in the middle class's orientation toward democracy can take place, especially when its dependence on the Party-state decreases and perception of its own social and economic statuses turns pessimistic. The key theoretical implication from the findings suggests that the attitudinal and behavioral orientations of the middle class-as a whole and as a part-toward democratic change in late developing countries are contingent upon its relationship with the incumbent state and its perceived social/economic wellbeing, and the middle class's support for democracy in these countries is far from inevitable.

This volume presents the most recent studies of work and labor in the digital age as it unfolds in both Europe and the United States. One of the critical questions facing modernity concerns the reconfiguration of paid employment, which has been subject to wholesale changes that have widespread consequences for workers, their families, and the institutional structure that characterizes capitalist societies. A key driver of these changes has been the digital revolution and the rapid proliferation of the gig economy. Together with social network sites for hiring, the spread of robotics, and the rise of artificial intelligence and machine learning, they leave virtually no occupation untouched.

Eleanor Hadley was a woman ahead of her time. While working on a Ph.D. in economics at Harvard, she was recruited by the U.S. government for her knowledge of Japanese zaibatsu (business combines) and subsequently became one of MacArthur's key advisors during the Occupation. After completing her doctorate, she prepared for a career in Washington until she learned she was being blacklisted. Seventeen years passed before Hadley's name was cleared; she returned to government service in 1967 and began a distinguished career as a senior policy analyst with the U.S. Tariff Commission and the General Accounting Office. Widely known (and feared) by Japanese businessmen and government leaders as "the trust-busting beauty," Hadley published Antitrust in Japan, a seminal work on the impact of postwar deconcentration measures, in 1970. She received the Order of the Sacred Treasure from the Japanese government in 1986. Hadley's personal story provides a colorful backdrop to her substantive discussions of early postwar policies, which were created to provide Japan with a more efficient and competitive economy. As someone closely involved in formulating U.S. economic policy toward Japan for nearly half a century, Eleanor Hadley brings a unique perspective--as well as a down-to-earth sense of humor--to the continuing challenge of communicating across the Pacific.

Waves of military technological changes have swept through the Eurasian land mass since the dawn of civilization. Military technological changes decisively shaped geopolitics and the fortunes of states, empires and civilizations. In his book Jimmy Teng claims that to understand the impacts of these military technological changes is in fact to understand the causes behind the following major historical puzzles or important facts: the leading position of the Near East during the dawn of civilization; the splendid achievements of Greece, India and China during the axial era; the classical golden age of India under the Gupta Empire; the Abbasid Golden Age of the Islamic world and the Sung Puzzle of China during the medieval era; and the rise of the West during the early modern and modern era.

First volume on fundamentals of an Economy-Physics-Ecology principles of modelling. Primary arithmetic logic with numbers, units, logic, nature's complexities, humans' complications, Economy of Information For the conceptions and design of crossed information models Next volume to complete with networks, statistics epistemology, etc. Fundamental for any adults, citizens, high school or further studies under the revolution of information.

Equitable Access to High-Cost Pharmaceuticals seeks to aid the development and implementation of equitable public health policies by pharmaco-economics professionals, health economists, and policymakers. With detailed country-by country analysis of policy and regulation, the Work compares and contrasts national healthcare systems to support researchers and practitioners identify optimal healthcare policy solutions. The Work incorporates chapters on global regulatory changes, health technology assessment guidelines, and competitive effectiveness research recommendations from international bodies such as the OECD or the EU. Novel policies such as horizon scanning, managed-entry agreement and post-launch monitoring are considered in detail. The Work also thoroughly reviews novel pharmaceuticals with particular research interest, including cancer drugs, orphan medicines, Hep C, and personalized medicines.

This book examines the causes and consequences of suicide from the perspective of economics. The approach here differs from those in medical, psychiatric, epidemiological, and sociological studies of suicide and is thus novel in a way that highlights the importance of economic and institutional settings in the problem of suicide. The authors argue that suicide imposes a tremendous economic cost on contemporary society in a variety of ways, requiring the government to develop an effective prevention strategy. An empirical analysis using data from Japan and other developed countries shows that natural disasters and economic crises increase suicide rates, while liberal government policies favorable to the poor can decrease them. Further, the types of effective prevention strategies in the context of railway/subway suicides, celebrity suicides, public awareness campaigns, and education using data primarily from Japan are revealed. This book ultimately contributes to an understanding of suicides and the development of evidence-based policy proposals. The Japanese version of this book won the 56th Nikkei Prize for Economics Books (Nikkei Keizai Tosho Bunka Award) in 2013. Yasuyuki Sawada is Chief Economist of the Asian Development Bank and Professor of Economics at The University of Tokyo. Michiko Ueda is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Political Science and Economics at Waseda University. Tetsuya Matsubayashi is Associate Professor of Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP) at Osaka University.

As China's markets evolve, marketing strategy must adapt to meet changing circumstances. Alon and his contributors provide a comprehensive look at how economic transition affects marketings strategies across a wide range of industries, including telecommunications, the auto industry, the hospitality industry, the airline industry, textiles, cosmetics, and wine. In addition, they discuss the changing situation of joint ventures, collective enterprises, and state-owned businesses.

Bringing divergent perspectives to bear from Hong Kong, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and China itself, the marketers and scholars who contributed to this volume have integrated research relating to economic transition with strategic considerations for more effective and competitive marketing plans. In addition to the industry-specific information, this volume includes chapters on entry barriers, e-commerce, market research, branding, and promotion.