An in-depth and authoritative treatment of one of the most pressing topics of our time In Blockchain and Web3: Building the Cryptocurrency, Privacy, and Security Foundations of the Metaverse, two tech and finance experts deliver a comprehensive and accessible guide to the present and future of blockchain technology and how it will form the foundation of a new, better internet. To support a concept as bold as the Metaverse, we need several orders of magnitude more powerful computing capability, accessible at much lower latencies, across a multitude of devices and screens. You'll discover how blockchain can accelerate data flow, exchange, and transactions to create and transfer value around the world and, at the same time, how it can be used to protect user data privacy and security with decentralized web infrastructures. The book also includes: Discussions of how sovereign governments are entering the blockchain fray and how their entry, especially with CBDC digital currency, shapes the conversations around Web3 Explorations of whether we will ever realize the holy grail of blockchain tech: interoperability to compete with Big Tech platforms Discussion of new security and privacy issues rising from the intersection of Blockchain, Web3 and Metaverse.A fascinating and eye-opening treatment of the past, present, and future of blockchain and the role it will play on the internet and metaverse, Blockchain and Web3 is a truly original and engaging discussion of a timely and critical topic.

Looking from the 11th century to the 20th century, Kuroda explores how money was used and how currencies evolved in transactions within local communities and in broader trade networks. The discussion covers Asia, Europe and Africa and highlights an impressive global interconnectedness in the pre-modern era as well as the modern age. Drawing on a remarkable range of primary and secondary sources, Kuroda reveals that cash transactions were not confined to dealings between people occupying different roles in the division of labour (for example shopkeepers and farmers), rather that peasants were in fact great users of cash, even in transactions between themselves. The book presents a new categorization framework for aligning exchange transactions with money usage choices. This fascinating monograph will be of great interest to advanced students and researchers of economic history, financial history, global history and monetary studies.

These proceedings compile selected papers from presenters at the Conference: Managing Digital Industry, Technology and Entrepreneurship 2019 (CoMDITE 2019) which was held on July 10-11, 2019. There are 122 papers from various universities and higher educational institutions in Indonesia and Malaysia. The main research topics in these proceedings are related to: 1) Strategic Management and Ecosystem Business, 2) Digital Technology for Business, 3) Digital Social Innovation, 4) Digital Innovation and Brand Management, 5) Digital Governance, 6) Financial Technology, 7) Digital and Innovative Education, 8) Digital Marketing. 9) Smart City, 10) Digital Talent Management, and 11) Entrepreneurship. All the papers in the proceedings highlight research results or literature reviews that will both contribute to knowledge development in the field of digital industry.

Covers the largest scope of developing, emerging and transition economies (DETE). Investigates a full set of factors including context, financial strategy, innovation and performance of firms in DETE. Looks at both the challenges and opportunities of entrepreneurship, finance, innovation and development in DETE. Provides insightful business and policy implications. Contributions come from researchers and practitioners around the world, who focus on entrepreneurial finance, innovation and developmental issues of DETE in Asia, Europe, Africa, and America.

The book is a research monograph which contains high-level research by leading experts in waqf and charitable endowment. The subject has international appeal in jurisdictions having Islamic financial institutions and this includes all countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in particular, and Africa at large, some leading countries in Southeast Asia such as Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia The book will be useful for all institutions across the world having charitable endowments, social finance, and Islamic finance curriculum Experts involved in charitable endowments and global Non-governmental organizations and humanitarian groups will also find the book very useful The editors were formally affiliated with the Harvard Law School at some time during their careers and some of the contributors are leading experts in Islamic social finance. One of the contributors is a recipient of the prestigious Islamic Development Bank Prize in Islamic Economics.

This volume explores the opportunities and challenges facing the accounting profession in an increasingly globalized business and financial reporting environment. It looks back at past experiences of the profession in attempting to meet its public interest obligation. It examines the role and responsibilities of accounting to society including regulatory requirements, increased emphasis on corporate social responsibility, accounting fraud and whistle-blowing implications, internationalization of public interest obligations, and providing the education needed to be successful. The book incorporates an ethical dimension in making these assessments. Its focus is a conceptual, theoretical one drawing on classical philosophy, the sociology of professions, economic theory, and the public interest dimension of accountants as professionals. The authors of papers are long-time contributors to the annual symposium on Research in Accounting Ethics sponsored by the Public Interest Section of the AAA.

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This book provides a comprehensive overview of corporate social responsibility and its development in Africa. It provides in-depth studies on 11 sub-Saharan countries, demonstrating that corporate social responsibility is forming and going through different stages of metamorphosis in the continent. Though corporate and individual attitudes towards sustainability in Africa still leave a lot to be desired, this book showcases how things are rapidly changing for the better in this regard. It demonstrates and provides evidence for the fact that corporate social responsibility contributes significantly to the way sub-Saharan African economies are being transformed, with service sectors expanding, commercial activities diversifying and industrial bases growing through the initiatives of small, medium and large organizations and innovators supported by widespread higher-education program rollouts. The book highlights how progressive and wide-ranging CSR approaches have emerged, and how much they differ from the obsolete approaches of the past, which promulgated negative stereotypes, marginalized communities and positioned them as victims or beneficiaries of development.

The different approach taken by China and the West towards finance and the real economy rests upon philosophical foundations that have diverged fundamentally since the Ancient World. Since the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997-98 a tremendous transformation has taken place in the financial systems in both China and the West. China has persisted steadily with reform of its financial system but it remains heavily protected from international competition. In the West regulatory structures have been progressively dismantled, permitting an unprecedented secular expansion of asset prices and debt relative to GDP. The structure crashed to the ground with the collapse of asset prices in 2008-09. In the decade since the GFC asset prices and debt in the West have rebounded. The West's financial system stands on a knife- edge. In 2018 China announced the intention to accelerate the opening up of the country's capital markets. The way in which the Chinese and the West's financial system interact constitutes a central issue in global political economy in the years ahead.

1. Material on single asset problems, market timing, unconditional and conditional portfolio problems, hedged portfolios. 2. Inference via both Frequentist and Bayesian paradigms. 3. A comprehensive treatment of overoptimism and overfitting of trading strategies. 4. Advice on backtesting strategies. 5. Dozens of examples and hundreds of exercises for self study.

This book presents the ways in which three key issues of the modern world - transformation, digitalisation and sustainability - may be combined for the greater good and highlights which activities may be designed to integrate these three directly linked paths. It is an experience-derived and evidence-based analysis of how sustainable development impacts the transformation of the economy and how the business environment influences economic transformation in the light of the sustainable development principles. The book addresses the current challenges and shows how the economy can be transformed further in an organic way that meets the needs of society and the environment, through the use of digital technologies. The multidisciplinary approach to sustainability transformation is one of the core strengths of the book, as it emphasises the need for a holistic approach to the functioning of sustainable development ideas at the micro- and macro-levels. The authors present a fresh perspective, particularly around the regulations stimulating the sustainable development of enterprises, tax systems, and the allocation of capital. Moreover, the book brings together and makes available the results of the latest research on the subject, using a vast amount of primary evidence and both quantitative and qualitative methodology. The authors' insights go beyond the obvious effects of economic transformation and call attention to ways in which smart technology and digitalisation may help to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The book is directed first and foremost towards academics, researchers and students, but also professionals, who would like to expand their knowledge of sustainable development from a scientific perspective. Chapter 1 of this book is available for free in PDF format as Open Access from the individual product page at www.routledge.com. It has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

A history of the Jewish National Fund and the ways it encouraged Jews around the world to buy land in Palestine in the years 1924-1947. The Jewish National Fund [JNF] is the executive body established by the Zionist movement in 1902 to buy land in Palestine for the Jewish people. Very quickly, however, it became an international organization and soon had branchesin many countries throughout the world. One of the tasks of these branches was to mediate between the central office in Jerusalem and the millions of Jews who donated money to buy land. The organization, which is still active throughout the Jewish world, concerned itself with "the marketing of ideology": the dissemination of symbols, knowledge and ideas to the masses of the Jewish people, and converted them into money and real estate property. In thememories of much of World Jewry the JNF is linked with memories of their childhoods and the forming of their identities. The memory was, in fact, fashioned by the Propaganda Department of the JNF which worked through the mass communications media in the Jewish world and made its presence massively felt in the Jewish education networks in many countries. Among the most remembered items are "the Blue Box", the flagship of the organization, and the stamps distributed to schools, which were miniature posters making political declarations. Up until today there has been virtually no research carried out on these aspects of Zionist propaganda which helped to fashion this collective memoryand left its mark upon Jewish culture in Israel and the Jewish Diaspora. Yoram Bar-Gal is Professor of Geography at Haifa University in Israel.

This book presents a systematic approach to the management of physical assets from concept to disposal, building upon the previous editions and brought up-to-date with the new international standards ISO55002 and ISO/TS50010. It introduces the general principles of physical asset management and covers all stages of the asset management process, including initial business appraisal, identification of physical asset needs, capability gap analysis, financial evaluation, logistic support analysis, life cycle costing, strategic asset management planning, maintenance strategy, outsourcing, cost-benefit analysis, disposal and renewal. Features include: providing a textbook for asset management courses to university level; relating closely to the ISO55000 international asset management standard series; providing a basis for the establishment of physical asset management as a professional discipline; and presenting case studies, analytical techniques and numerical examples with solutions. Written for practitioners and students in asset management, this book provides an essential foundation to the topic. It is suitable for an advanced undergraduate or postgraduate course in asset management and also offers an ideal reference text for engineers and managers specializing in asset management, reliability, maintenance, logistics or systems engineering.

This book offers an assessment of the different monetary and fiscal policy responses that have been implemented by national governments in major European and Asian countries faced with the Covid-19 crisis since 2020; it also deals with the case of the US experience as a benchmarking example. The book provides a comprehensive cross-country comparative study on health crisis management at the macroeconomic level. Its focus on monetary and fiscal policies across different countries in Asia, Europe and the USA makes it unique. Divided into three parts following a general introduction that sets the context of the study, the book deals with the case of the USA, EU and European countries as well as with that of key Asian countries. Of specific relevance is the European Union and euro-area contexts that serve as a framework to the different EU national monetary and fiscal policy responses. Each chapter deals with a specific country, including Italy and the UK in Europe and Singapore and South Korea in Asia, and covers the following topics: the extent of the outbreak of the public health crisis and its macroeconomic impact; the comparative examination of fiscal and monetary policy responses to both crises; and an overall assessment of the effectiveness of these policies along with the public health policy to mitigate the economic impact. Given the unprecedented nature of the Covid-19 crisis, anyone eager to know more about its macroeconomic impact and ensuing policies in a comparative framework will be keen to read this book. It will be essential reading to any researcher, policy maker and/or analyst working in the area of public policy and is also a unique contribution to the field of European studies, Asian studies and Comparative Economic Studies.

This book offers a unique, in-depth, and up-to-date overview of Islamic banking and finance, capital markets, and sukuks at the grassroots level. It deals with one of the most potent and increasingly popular financial instruments. It defines and explores the differences between conventional and Sukuk bonds and also examines the integration of Sukuk in various country contexts and both Muslim and non-Muslim economies. The book consists of five core topics. First, it describes the evolution of the Islamic finance industry and capital markets; second, it discusses the basic features and instruments of Islamic banking; and third, it illustrates the current state of capital markets and Islamic finance. The book then examines the development of Sukuk in Islamic capital markets and Shariah perspectives and, finally, briefly discusses the structure of Sukuks and its development in the context of Pakistan. In a nutshell, this book provides a basic understanding of Islamic financial instruments, their implementation in different regions, and their points of differentiation from conventional modes of finance; therefore, it will be a useful addition to the literature for scholars, researchers, and students of Islamic banking and finance.

Moral Hazard is a core concept in economics. In a nutshell, moral hazard reflects the reduced incentive to protect against risk where an entity is (or believes it will be) protected from its consequences, whether through an insurance arrangement or an implicit or explicit guarantee system. It is fundamentally driven by information asymmetry, arises in all sectors of the economy, including banking, medical insurance, financial insurance, and governmental support, undermines the stability of our economic systems and has burdened taxpayers in all developed countries, resulting in significant costs to the community. Despite the seriousness and pervasiveness of moral hazard, policymakers and scholars have failed to address this issue. This book fills this gap. It covers 200 years of moral hazard: from its origins in the 19th century to the bailouts announced in the aftermath of the COVID-19 outbreak. The book is divided into three parts. Part I deals with the ethics and other fundamental issues connected to moral hazard. Part II provides historical and empirical evidence on moral hazard in international finance. It examines in turn the role of the export credit industry, the international lender of last resort, and the IMF. Finally, Part III examines specific sectors such as automobile, banking, and the US industry at large. This is the first book to provide an interdisciplinary analysis of moral hazard and explain why addressing this issue has become crucial today. As such, it will attract interest from scholars across different fields, including economists, political scientists and lawyers.

Asset allocation has long been viewed as a safe bet for reducing risk in a portfolio. Asset allocators strive to buy when prices are low and sell when prices rise. Tactical asset allocation (TAA) practitioners tend to emphasize shorter-term adjustments, reducing exposure when recent market performance has been good, and increasing exposure in a slipping market (in contrast to dynamic asset allocation, or portfolio insurance). As interest in this technique continues to grow, J.P. Morgan's Wai Lee provides comprehensive coverage of the analytical tools needed to successfully implement and monitor tactical asset allocation.

A lot of economic problems can formulated as constrained optimizations and equilibration of their solutions. Various mathematical theories have been supplying economists with indispensable machineries for these problems arising in economic theory. Conversely, mathematicians have been stimulated by various mathematical difficulties raised by economic theories. The series is designed to bring together those mathematicians who were seriously interested in getting new challenging stimuli from economic theories with those economists who are seeking for effective mathematical tools for their researchers.

Financialization has become the go-to term for scholars grappling with the growth of finance. This Handbook offers the first comprehensive survey of the scholarship on financialization, connecting finance with changes in politics, technology, culture, society and the economy. It takes stock of the diverse avenues of research that comprise financialization studies and the contributions they have made to understanding the changes in contemporary societies driven by the rise of finance. The chapters chart the field's evolution from research describing and critiquing the manifestations of financialization towards scholarship that pinpoints the driving forces, mechanisms and boundaries of financialization. Written for researchers and students not only in economics but from across the social sciences and the humanities, this book offers a decidedly global and pluri-disciplinary view on financialization for those who are looking to understand the changing face of finance and its consequences.

Information technology (IT) is an essential core of the economy today. Corporations and governments worldwide rely on it to drive their core strategy and develop and execute business models. Amounting to over 3.7 trillion US dollars of worldwide spending, the growing significance of the IT industry in the global economy is now well established. Hence, it is crucial to understand the marketplace within which it exists, and this book presents a systematic analysis of the processes, techniques, and methods involved in IT sales and marketing. In Selling IT, the book: Integrates a large IT provider's selling process with the enterprise user's IT buying process to highlight the nuances of selling, marketing, and developing IT solutions that create value for customers Discusses various key concepts such as value-based IT selling, business case for IT acquisition, vendor evaluation and management, account and customer relationship management, customer segmentation, and techniques for customer acquisition and retention Analyses the challenges and opportunities involved in selling digital IT and examines the evolution of jobs and careers based on the changed IT landscape Includes lesson plans, case studies, and chapter-wise practice questions to support teaching and learning The book boasts a robust theoretical foundation supported by a clear exposition of concepts and management theories. It will be of benefit to professionals using organisation-mandated selling processes. Young executives with a technology background looking for a sales and marketing career in the IT industry can also effectively use this book. It will also be an essential read for scholars and researchers in B2B marketing, IT consulting, technology sales, and digital transformation.

Understanding the New Global Economy: A European Perspective argues that globalisation is facing economic and political headwinds. A new global economic geography is emerging, cross-border relationships are changing, and global governance structures must come to terms with a new multipolar world. This book clarifies the fundamental questions and trade-offs in this new global economy, and gives readers the tools to understand contemporary debates. It presents a range of possible policy options, without being prescriptive. Following a modular structure, each chapter takes a similar approach but can also be read as a stand-alone piece. State-of-the-art academic research and historical experiences are weaved throughout the book, and readers are pointed towards relevant sources of information . This text is an accessible guide to the contemporary world economy, suited to students of international economics, political economy, globalisation, and European studies. It will also be valuable reading for researchers, professionals, and general readers interested in economics, politics, and civil society.

The Oxford Handbook of Managerial Economics, the first of its kind, aims to provide researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and teachers with summaries of the state of the art in the field of managerial economics. Edited by the coauthors of two managerial economics textbooks, comprising 25 chapters contributed by leading scholars and business consultants from around the globe, and drawing on the literature of, among others, economics, finance, industrial organization, marketing, behavioral psychology, game theory and auction theory, the Handbook summarizes cutting-edge approaches to the analysis of the decision-making challenges faced by the managers of for-profit and nonprofit enterprises. The problems addressed run the gamut from cost estimation, product development and promotion, optimal pricing strategies for network industries and make-or-buy decisions, to organizational design, performance pay, corporate governance, strategies for multinational corporations and the social responsibilities of business. Each of the managerial economics experts commissioned for the volume also identify the problems that are yet to be solved and thus point the way toward topics for future research. Managerial economics has moved far beyond simply applying neoclassical microeconomic theory to the actual world of practical business decision-making. By illustrating how disciplines other than economics can fruitfully be brought to bear in helping to analyze and to understand the incentives and constraints under which business managers operate, the Handbook fills in the gaps between theory and practice. Sometimes technical, but always reader-friendly, no one with an interest in the modern world of business or public policies toward it can afford to ignore the analyses and the important lessons taught by the contributors to it.

There is a growing acknowledgement of the role played by finance theory and experts in the 2008 global banking crash, and their ongoing contributions to risks in the financial system. Some argue that finance theory is deeply ideological and the academy has been captured and corrupted by financial institutions and conservative journal editors and their unrealistic influence. Its language and terminology have been self-referential, enabling disciplinary closure but generating widening gaps with reality and lived experience. In particular, in spite of its deeply cultural and ethical nature, finance education has been stripped of any wider discussion of ethics and culture, and replaced by a particular neo-liberal greed and materialistic ethic. In an era of financialisation, some have called finance a 'curse on modernity'. The devastation this has caused and continues to cause is making the world highly unequal, risky and unsustainable. Serious and radical reforms are required in the teaching and research of finance. This book charts out the possible solutions for such reform.

Islam encourages business and financial transactions as a way of securing the basic needs for all human beings, but these need to be conducted in accordance with the principles contained in the Qur'an and Sunnah. However, these legal concepts are not classified subject-wise, and the verses on commercial law, like all other topics, are scattered throughout the Qur'an, making it difficult for readers to gain a full understanding of the topic. This, therefore, is the first comprehensive book to demystify Islamic contract law and specifically Islamic financial contracts, and to examine its roots and history. The book is written in a clear style to allow for a greater understanding of the more challenging and misunderstood areas pertaining to Islamic business and financial contracts. It also contributes a series of chapters which address the market niche and need, concerning Shariah compliance for Islamic financial products and services. The book is divided into 16 chapters in order to provide a holistic and thorough overview of Islamic law of contract. It covers the objections and misconceptions surrounding Islamic business and financial contracts. It also includes the key features and guiding principles of Islamic law of contract and offers technical know-how, illustrating the concept of formation of a contract, as well as the essential elements of a valid contract. The authors also offer a discussion on the system of options under Islamic business and financial contracts and potential solutions to breach of contracts. The book will serve as a handy reference for scholars and students of Islamic business and finance and Islamic commercial law and will also be beneficial for practitioners as well as legal and judicial officers. It will open new doors for further research in the field of Islamic financial contracts.

The past few decades have witnessed the emergence of economic imbalances at the world level and within the euro zone. The failure of mainstream economics to accurately predict financial crises, or model the effects of finance-led growth, highlights the need for alternative frameworks. A key text, Global Imbalances and Financial Capitalism: Stock-Flow-Consistent Modelling demonstrates that Stock-Flow-Consistent models are well adapted to study this growth regime due to their ability to analyse the real and financial sides of the economy in an integrated way. This approach is combined with an analysis of exchange rate misalignments using the Fundamental Equilibrium Exchange Rate (FEER) methodology, which serves to give a synthetic view of international imbalances. Together, these models describe how global and regional imbalances are created, as well as suggest appropriate tools through which they may be reduced. The book also considers alternative economic policies in the euro zone (international risk sharing, fiscal federalism, eurobonds, European investments, a multispeed euro zone) alongside alternative monetary policies. In particular, it examines the possibilities of using SDR (Special Drawing Rights) as a reserve asset to be issued to fight a global recession, to support the development of low-income countries, or as an anchor to improve global monetary stability. This text will be of interest to students, scholars, and researchers of economic theory and international monetary economics. It will also appeal to professional organisations who supervise international relations.