Utilizing extensive research in economics, psychology, political science, neuroscience and evolutionary theory, Ananish Chaudhuri provides a critical perspective on the role of cognitive biases in decision-making during the Covid-19 pandemic. The extensive use of, and support for, stringent social distancing measures in particular is explored in depth. Nudged into Lockdown? provides clear explanations of complex scientific information regarding Covid-19, vaccines, and policy responses, to highlight issues at the center of policy-making during the pandemic. With a comprehensive overview of the policy debates around Covid-19, the book offers an alternative thought-provoking perspective on the topic, as well as suggestions for policy-making during future pandemics and other crises. It further highlights applications of a range of concepts from heuristics and biases literature, including priming, framing, anchoring, Prospect Theory, and loss aversion. Providing directions for future research in the area, this book will be an invigorating read for established academics, as well as postgraduate students looking to undertake research in Covid-19 related decision-making. It will also be a critical read for economics, political science, and public policy scholars seeking a deeper understanding of the topic.

This incisive book provides key interdisciplinary perspectives on the current challenges faced by EU policymakers in framing and implementing a coherent European industrial policy, employing specific case studies from the digital, automotive, steel and defence industries as well as concrete examples of EU policies. Comprehensive and analytical, the book investigates the long-term structural causes of the absence of a strong industrial policy at Union level. Examining the tensions that exist between member states and EU institutions regarding industrial and competition policies, expert contributions assess the conditions for an integrated EU industrial policy to emerge. A comparative analysis between the industrial policies of the EU, US and China is developed as chapters explore how the EU maintains its position in global value chains while other major partners are forced to pursue strategic trade and industrial policies to retain their dominant position. The book concludes with a presentation of prospective scenarios to assess the future technological evolution of the EU. EU Industrial Policy in the Multipolar Economy will be an essential resource for academics and practitioners concerned with EU current affairs, global governance, industrial economics and international trade. Its use of case studies and original data will allow governments, EU institutions, NGOs and EU public affairs consultants and analysts to assess their policymaking options in the fields of research, industrial policy and sustainable development.

This innovative book explores the foundations of the smart city and, through a critique of its challenges and concerns, showcases how to redefine the concept for increased sustainability, liveability and resilience in urban areas. It undertakes a review of the smart city concept, providing a new perspective on how technology-based urban solutions must be centred around human dimensions to render more liveable urban fabrics. Chapters highlight how existing digital infrastructures can be coupled with emerging ones, so that they can provide increased efficiency and performance, with an ultimate objective of rendering safer, more sustainable, resilient and inclusive cities, aligning with the needs of the SDGs. The book also covers emerging technologies and concepts, such as 6G and the '15-minute city', underlining how these can develop within smart city frameworks. This is an invigorating look into the concept of the smart city and how it can be improved and rethought, making it useful for urban studies and human geography academics and researchers. It also offers helpful insights for policy makers and planners on how to increase the quality of life in modern cities.

In this timely and insightful book, Laura Maxim evaluates the use of socio-economic analysis (SEA) in the regulation of potentially carcinogenic, mutagenic, and toxic chemicals. Retracing the history of the use of cost-benefit analysis in chemical risk policies, this book presents contemporary discourse on the political success of SEA. Informed by empirical research, theoretical analysis, and professional experience in implementing EU Regulation on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), Maxim proposes a new form of risk regulation called 'regulatory co-management', of which SEA has become a convenient tool. Chapters outline the controversy surrounding cost-benefit analysis in the US, the history of chemical regulation in Europe since 1967, and the construction and institutionalization of the European Chemicals Agency's (ECHA) socio-economic guidelines. The book concludes by analyzing legal, political, and ethical criticisms of the role of SEA in the authorization of chemicals such as lead chromate, chromium trioxide, and sodium dichromate. With direct relevance to ongoing debates about the revision of EU chemicals policy, this unique book will be essential reading for practitioners of socio-economic analysis and stakeholders involved in REACH. It will also be beneficial to academics and students of environmental governance and regulation, European politics and policy, and industrial economics.

Providing a comprehensive overview of the governance of urban infrastructures, this Companion combines illustrative cases with conceptual approaches to offer an innovative perspective on the governance of large urban infrastructure systems. Contributions by leading scholars in the field present a transdisciplinary approach to the topic, with a global scope. Chapters examine the challenges facing urban infrastructure systems, including financial, economic, technological, social, ecological, jurisdictional and demand. Using novel conceptualizations of urban infrastructure, and examining global cases of specific energy, mobility, water, housing, green and telecommunication systems, the Companion further illustrates how these challenges are interrelated with their governance. Finding efficiency, sustainability, and resilience to be key governance performance indicators, it concludes by highlighting the role that digitalization plays in making cities smarter and argues for the potential of digitalization for large urban infrastructure governance. With global significance, this Companion will be an invaluable read for students and scholars of urban studies, governance and infrastructure. The informative case studies will be an excellent resource for city practitioners, officials and policymakers.

Yorick Blumenfeld has been writing his whole life. He has travelled and reported from more than ninety countries as a foreign correspondent. Over the past few decades he has been examining the future, both as the General Editor of the series Prospects for Tomorrow (Thames & Hudson)

This crucial Handbook investigates an urgent area for policy-makers, academia and industries alike: the circular economy. International experts on the subject bring together the latest thinking on this critical global issue. Providing a comprehensive overview of the mechanisms and consequences of the circular economy, as well as its limitations, it raises important questions concerning how the world should proceed when non-renewable resources, such as fossil fuels and minerals, are being depleted and the environment is struggling to cope with the waste and emissions of unsustainable production and consumption systems. Contributors explore a broad range of themes, such as new sustainable production and consumption systems, new design requirements, recycling systems, new business models and the social impacts of the circular economy, while also consolidating the many ways in which the topic has been dealt with in research, business and policy-making. Shedding light on a concept that has become increasingly relevant during the last decade, the Handbook of the Circular Economy is essential reading for students, academics and policy-makers trying to make sense of the plethora of ways in which the term has been applied and interpreted.

This cutting-edge book critically reviews the field of attempted legal control and regulation of delinquent conduct by business actors in the form of exploitative, collusive and corrupt behaviour. It explores key topics including victimhood, accountability, theories of trading and shared responsibility. Christopher Harding and Alison Cronin reflect on the attempts that have been made globally to use criminal law and other methods of formal legal control, as well as more flexible and innovative approaches under the heading of 'regulation', to address the problem of bad business practice. The book argues for a return to first principles and that the possibility of a reconfiguration of economic ordering and market and trading culture should be considered; as business malpractice is largely inherent in the dominant capitalist model, that model is in need of repurposing and reform. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, this book will be a valuable resource for scholars and students of law with a focus on business, commercial law and criminal law, in addition to researchers of corporate governance and public administration and management. Its critical arguments will also benefit NGOs, business professionals and campaign groups.

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences, business, 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. Through detailed discussion of the central principles of behavioral finance, this enlightening Advanced Introduction provides a balanced exploration of the broad issues within the field. Chapters explain the continuous development of the discipline and provide a useful differentiation between behavioral finance and standard finance. Key Features: Illustrates the various challenges and opportunities facing behavioral finance Provides clear definitions of key terms within the subject area of behavioral finance Investigates applications of behavioral finance in financial decision-making, including within corporate finance Explains why blending behavioral and standard approaches would likely improve financial understanding and lead to better decision-making This illuminating Advanced Introduction will be valuable for academics, researchers, and practitioners interested in behavioral finance. Students researching behavioral economics, economic psychology, and financial economics will also find it informative.

The Consumer Welfare Hypothesis in Law and Economics is a compelling account of market relations with firm roots in economic theory and legal practice. This incisive book challenges the mainstream view that allocative efficiency is about total welfare maximisation. Instead, it argues for the consumer welfare hypothesis, in which allocating resources efficiently means maximising consumer welfare, and demonstrates that legal structures such as antitrust and consumer law are in reality designed and practised with this goal in mind. Using this paradigm, Fabrizio Esposito overcomes the opposition between efficiency and distribution and provides a firmer basis for debates about the foundations of contract law, antitrust law and consumer law, particularly in the European Union. The outcome is a bilateral view of the connection between the law and the economy and a rich research agenda to further understanding of the legal-economic nexus. Scholars and students of law and economics, as well as contract, consumer and antitrust and competition law will find this book a thought-provoking study. Its innovative yet straightforward conceptual framework will also be of interest to practitioners, policymakers and stakeholders in these fields.

This cutting-edge book unpacks the relationship between culture and consumer behavior to present the state-of-the-art in cross-cultural consumer research. Examining how culture shapes what consumers seek, evaluate and choose to purchase, Cross-Cultural Consumer Behavior explains why and how cultural values such as individualism, indulgence, or uncertainty avoidance influence consumers’ buying behavior. With a balanced approach, the book explores not only how cultural differences between countries shape our decisions but also outlines the basic concepts of cross-cultural consumer research, the measurement of cultural values proposed in the Hofstede, Schwartz and GLOBE models, and the psychological foundations of culture-specific consumer behavior. Based on these conceptual foundations, the authors explain how cultural values shape consumers’ buying processes, from information searches through post-purchase behavior. This book will be valuable to researchers and students of international business, global marketing, and consumer behavior. Cross-Cultural Consumer Behavior will also be relevant for marketing practitioners and international marketing agencies.

Developed for the new International A Level specification, these new resources are specifically designed for international students, with a strong focus on progression, recognition and transferable skills, allowing learning in a local context to a global standard. Recognised by universities worldwide and fully comparable to UK reformed GCE A levels. Supports a modular approach, in line with the specification. Appropriate international content puts learning in a real-world context, to a global standard, making it engaging and relevant for all learners. Reviewed by a language specialist to ensure materials are written in a clear and accessible style. The embedded transferable skills, needed for progression to higher education and employment, are signposted so students understand what skills they are developing and therefore go on to use these skills more effectively in the future. Exam practice provides opportunities to assess understanding and progress, so students can make the best progress they can.

Healing the economic and social wounds inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic will take time, but the long road to recovery presents a unique opportunity to build back better. To catalyze change and succeed in the post-pandemic era, economic development policy and practice must see the crisis as an opportunity to rethink and redesign regional economic systems. This will involve creating a shared understanding of – and policies to address – the differential impacts of the pandemic across occupations, industries, and socioeconomic groups. Rethinking how existing economic development tools, frameworks, and practices can be optimized has never been more compelling. Special attention must be given to interventions capable of accelerating desirable trends that will shape the next normal in our contemporary discussions on the COVID-19 pandemic. This book explores the challenges and opportunities heralded by the virus in the broadest sense and presents case studies on equitable and inclusive economic recoveries. Regional Economic Systems after COVID-19 offers actionable insights for regional policymakers, business leaders, investment and trade promotion agencies, site selectors, students, scholars, researchers, and organizations involved in tourism, foreign direct investment, and economic development.

Situating a comprehensive microbehavioral analysis of the economics of climate change within a discussion of the most pressing global climate change issues and policy negotiations, the Handbook of Behavioral Economics and Climate Change is a timely collection of new research on the behaviors of economic agents that are essential to an exposition of climate change economics and policymaking. Chapters identify both microbehavioral causes of and responses to climate change by numerous economic agents, in doing so elucidating the relationship between climate policies and behavioral changes. This includes examination of individuals' behaviors to cope with and adapt to climate change; the policy decisions aimed at altering behaviurs at individual, business, and international levels to achieve climate policy goals; and the motivations behind behaviours driven by culture, history, or religion with regards to climate change. These behaviors are contextualised within a global analysis of pressing climate change issues in land-based and ocean-based systems, including Sub-Saharan agriculture, hurricanes and sea-level rises in North America, Latin American Pampas, the small island alliance, South Asian rice agriculture, and hydroelectricity in the Himalayas. With a global scope, this Handbook will prove invaluable to students and scholars of climate change, environmental studies, and behavioral economics. With practical examples and case studies, it will also prove useful for policymakers working in climate legislation.