This book was produced in an environment of uncertainty and constantly changing narratives about COVID-19 and its effects. From a narrative of survival in 2020 to contain the spread of the virus with a central role of government leadership, evidence-informed decisions, solidarity and a scientific race to develop a vaccine taking the central stage; to a later narrative in 2021 focused on socio-economic recovery, building back better, managing vaccine inequalities and visions and proposals for post-COVID societies.

In 2022, we have seen a move to a narrative of post-pandemic (rather than post-COVID-19) and “learning to live with the virus” with societies in the global South learning to navigate the harsh economic realities by looking at opportunities emerging in the digital and regional spaces. The production of this book embeds some of these dominant narratives in different chapters, as they were developed over such unstable ground.

This experience has put a spotlight on the importance of innovative solutions, and the role of public sector, raising a new interest in governance systems and structures, and ways to strengthen governance overall. The pandemic has propelled countries across the world to innovate and develop more resilient systems and strategies that will enable us to gain the capacity to tackle complex challenges we face today and those that will come.

We hope this book helps us extract some valuable lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic. After all, learning from a crisis may well be our best way to prepare for the future.

A globe-trotting, behind-the-scenes look at the dazzling world of flowers and the fascinating industry it's created.
It might be unromantic to call a flower a commodity or a manufactured product, but flowers are both. They've become big business--created in laboratories, bred in test tubes, grown in factories, harvested by machines, packed into boxes, sold at auctions, and then flown across oceans and continents to your supermarket or local florist. Amy Stewart tracks down the hybridizers, geneticists, growers, and vendors working to invent, manufacture, and sell flowers that are bigger, brighter, and sturdier than anything nature can provide. From big agribusiness to local farming, from Europe to Latin America, "Flower Confidential" explores the intersection of nature and technology, of sentiment and commerce.

By harnessing technological progress, good innovation policies can help enhance economic growth. New research offers additional insights into the design and application of such innovative policies.Industrial Dynamics, Innovation Policy, and Economic Growth through Technological Advancements examines the nature of the process of technological change in different sectors of an array of countries, analyzing the impact of innovation as well as research and development activities on different outcomes in different fields and assessing the design and impact of policies aimed at enhancing innovativeness of firms. The analyses and findings of the studies in this book contribute to the advancement of knowledge in the field of industrial dynamics, innovation policies, and economic growth.

Green technology is focused on devising environmentally-friendly (eco-friendly) agricultural practices. It plays a crucial role in dealing with food security issues and reducing the carbon footprint. Green technologies and environmental sustainability are focused on the goals of green technologies, which are becoming increasingly important for ensuring sustainability. The Handbook of Research on Green Technologies for Sustainable Management of Agricultural Resources covers the applications of green technology as well as different eco-friendly technologies for the sustainable management of natural resources. It also explores the timely topic of enhancing crop productivity. It is ideal for agriculturists, farmers, botanists, technologists, policymakers, scientists, academicians, researchers, and students as it covers a variety of concepts such as organic farming and the role of green technologies.

Reforms are a necessary part of social and economic regulation. Each year, political pressure for economic reform becomes more prevalent, especially from various international organizations and business associations. Economic Reforms for Global Competitiveness is an essential reference source for the latest scholarly research on important factors of modern countries' social and economic dynamics. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics such as human capital, project management, and fiscal reforms, this book is ideally designed for academicians, researchers, and students seeking the latest material on the role and impact of economic reforms.