An oligopoly (from the Greek, few sellers) is a market that is dominated by a few large and powerful players. As Steve Hannaford documents with numerous examples, virtually every industry today—from medical equipment to airlines, toy retailing to oil—is trending in this direction, in the greatest movement toward industry consolidation since the turn of the 20th century. Charting the course of this trend around the world, Hannaford examines the motivations behind consolidation resulting from mergers, acquisitions, buyouts, and alliances; how companies exert political pressure to their advantage; and how the actions of the most dominant players—such as Coca-Cola, Wal-Mart, Viacom, Dell, ExxonMobil, Citigroup, and others—affect the choices we make at the supermarket, the drugs we are prescribed, and the movies we watch. Everyone who reads the newspapers is aware of the dizzying pace of mergers, acquisitions, buyouts, and alliances, between big companies and small companies in every industry. Such deals, along with the growing social and political clout of the biggest companies, are critical issues for the economy and for our future as consumers. Charting the course of this trend around the world, Hannaford examines the motivations behind consolidation into corporate empires, how companies exert political pressure to their advantage, and how the actions of the most dominant players, such as Coca-Cola, Wal-Mart, Viacom, Dell, ExxonMobil, Citigroup, and others, affect the choices we have at the supermarket, the drugs we are prescribed, and the movies we watch. Considering the implications of industry concentration on competition, technological innovation, business management, strategy, consumer behavior, and politics, Hannaford paints a provocative, but ultimately balanced, picture of big business and its impact on society.

The mineral economies comprise approximately one-fifth of developing countries. They face special problems in achieving sustainable development, and have as a group been less successful than resource-deficient neighbours. This book examines the apparent paradox, detailing the current problems facing the mineral economies and the future policies necessary to overcome these problems. Nine countries are studied: Botswana, Chile, Colombia, Indonesia, Jamaica, Namibia, Papua New Guinea, Peru, and Trinidad and Tobago. The authors argue that the key factor is not the sustainability of the mineral production that initially generates growth, but the maintenance of the economic and social conditions for sustaining that growth. They draw upon recent progress in environmental and natural resource accounting to show how this can be achieved, and also assess the socio-political factors that often constrain sustainable development.

This is the first study of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). It provides a concise description of UNIDO's activities as an actor in the field of international industrial cooperation from the 1960's to the present day. The emergence of UNIDO as a specialized agency of the United Nations is analyzed with emphasis on legal and institutional issues, and problems related to UNIDO's efficiency and its dependence upon political consideration, especially with respect to major countries, are examined. Finally, recommendations are made for the improvement of UNIDO's industrial development activities. This work will be of interest to scholars and students in development economics, international economics, international relations, and international organizations.

This study examines the process of capital accumulation at the level of the business firm, linking it to the macro-level of the world-economy as explicated by Hopkins and Wallerstein. Focusing upon the timber industry in the nineteenth century, and using primary archival material, the work analyzes how capital operates in the resource sector in the world-economy. The purpose is to refine further our understanding of capitalism as a mode of social organization and production, and in the process, refine contemporary theories of social change. In terms of coverage, the book addresses the timber industry over the course of the nineteenth century and provides an historical reconstruction of that industry. Its primary focus, however, is on the main features of timber and lumber production as a process of capital accumulation. The study will be of interest to scholars of social change and economic transformation, economic history, and political sociology.

The two-volume book studies the economic and industrial development of Japan and China in modern times and draws distinctions between the different paths of industrialization and economic modernization taken in the two countries, based on statistical materials, quantitative analysis and multivariate statistical analysis. The first volume analyses the relationship between technological innovation and economic development in Japan before World War II and sheds light on technological innovation in the Japanese context with particular emphasis on the importance of the patent system. The second volume studies the basic conditions and overall economic development of industrial development, chiefly during the period of the Republic of China (1912-1949), taking a comparative perspective and bringing the case of modern Japan into the discussion. The book will appeal to academics and general readers interested in economic development and the modern economic history of East Asia, development economics, as well as industrial and technological history.

The first chronology of worldwide business history, this volume complements Robinson's earlier chronology, United States Business History, 1602-1988. It provides a basic chronology of the business world outside the United States from prehistory through the 1980s. It records representative events in the evolution of business, identifying entrepreneurs, managers, and enterprises, and also records general background events relevant to the marketplace. The volume includes indexes of names, places, and subjects.

This book places knowledge, learning and innovation at the heart of cross-sector collaborations. Collaboration for innovation is a topic that has attracted widespread interest from academics, business strategists and government officials. To date the collaborations have focused on the performance management process and more specifically on how to encourage collaboration. However, businesses across the world are realizing that for cross-sector collaboration to be successful, it is necessary for firms to share knowledge and innovation through a process of learning. The book contributes to this by providing fresh insights into ways to stimulate cross-sector collaboration. It presents diverse methods and approaches to unify the dimensions of knowledge, learning and innovation and discusses how collaboration can be created, sustained, and expanded.

Vogel views health care within the context of total Sub-Saharan economic systems, emphasizing the output of health-care programs (i.e., healthier people) and the most cost-effective ways to maximize that output. He recommends shifting public financing resources from the hospital sector to primary and preventive care, in order to reposition financial resources away from the colonial and post-colonial period of concentration upon cost-ineffective hospitals and toward the direction emphasized by the World Health Organization.

The eight years of the Reagan administration have left an indelible imprint on U.S. economic policy. Although the term Reaganomics is employed by both the general public and academic economists, there is still no consensus as to what the overall impact of Reaganomics has been for the country. This work, a wide-ranging collection of essays and commentaries, analyzes the empirical evidence that comprises the Reagan economic legacy. By detailing that legacy's successes, such as low unemployment and economic growth, and its negative effects, including unprecedented deficits and regulatory chaos, the editors provide some tentative conclusions as to whether the Reagan years produced an economic miracle or paved the way for economic disaster.

The volume concentrates on the first level of economic impacts, covering the issues of supply-side economics, the regulatory environment, monetary policy, and foreign trade. Under each topic, groups of essays and commentaries present alternative interpretations of the Reagan legacy. Tax policy and business fixed investment, the effects of supply-side policies on labor supply, tax reform and deregulation are addressed in the supply-side section; interest rates and monetary policy objectives and realizations comprise the monetary policy section; and trade policy, trade deficit, and exchange rates are discussed in the international trade section. A final essay offers an alternate view of the Reagan legacy that attempts to synthesize the divergent theories. This work will be an important new resource for courses in economics and political science, as well as a worthy addition to college, university, and public libraries.

The global food system is the largest segment of the world's economy. As agribusiness-studies pioneer Ray Goldberg suggests, it is also the largest health system on the planet. And it is changing fast. Its size and importance to human, environmental, and economic health means that no system is viewed with as much suspicion by so many people around the globe. Changing societal expectations and scientific and medical advances have made the drivers of the food system-the world's food citizens-realize they must take more responsibility for society's nutritional needs, economic development, and the health of the environment. Goldberg argues that the traditionally commodity-oriented, bargaining relationship between segments of the food system has become win-win, collaborative, and characterized by public and private partnerships. Those who are responding to society's needs are succeeding; those who are not are losing out. The food system's greatest growth area is the developing world, where millions of small-scale producers, workers, and impoverished consumers need help to become part of the commercial food system. In this book, Ray Goldberg interviews the change makers of today's food system: leaders and constructive critics in government, private industry, nonprofits, and academia who provide a panoramic and in-depth look at a revolution in progress.

This volume comprises papers presented at the 8th international conference "The Economies of the Balkan and Eastern European Countries in the Changing World" (EBEEC) held in Split, Croatia in 2016. The papers cover a wide range of current issues relevant for the whole of Eastern Europe, such as European integration, economic growth, labour markets, education and tourism. Written by experienced researchers in the field of economic challenges for Eastern Europe, the papers not only analyse recent problems, but also offer policies to resolve them. Furthermore, they offer insights into the theoretical and empirical foundations of the economic processes described. The proceedings of the conference appeals to all those interested in the further economic development of the Balkan and Eastern European countries.

The contribution of tourism to create an inclusive society requires the adoption of new approaches and strategies that promote the accessibility of tourism destinations, allowing all people, regardless of their health condition, to enjoy tourism experiences. To accomplish this objective, it is of utmost relevance to promote the active involvement of all stakeholders of the tourism system (demand, supply, government entities, and educational institutions) in the creation of accessible and adapted tourism products. However, the scarce literature in this area suggests that the people working in the tourism industry are not usually aware of several needs and travel constraints of persons with disabilities and that the information delivered by traditional information sources to this market is frequently inadequate, inaccurate, or incomplete. Therefore, the information and communication technologies (ICTs) may have a crucial role to overcome the several travel constraints that these people face to plan and carry out a tourism trip as well as to enable supply agents to develop accessible tourism products. Despite this, although in recent years research regarding accessible tourism has increased, the number of studies on the contributions of ICTs for the development of accessible research is scarce. ICT Tools and Applications for Accessible Tourism provides theoretical and practical contributions for accessible tourism in the growing tourism market for social responsibility issues and as an excellent business opportunity. Chapters within this critical reference source cover the academic discussion of global accessible tourism, increased knowledge of disabilities, ICTs that can be used, and emerging technologies. This book is intended for all practitioners in the tourism industry along with IT specialists, government officials, policymakers, marketers, researchers, academicians, and students who are interested in the latest tools, technologies, and research on accessible tourism.

Business is the religion of the contemporary world. We now live in a business culture, in which business plays the major role in determining how we encounter and interpret the world around us. So argues John Deeks in a provocative book that highlights the influence of business on culture and traces the increasingly dominant role that business has played in shaping social and cultural experience. The book's general thesis is that the focus of business activity has broadened to encompass not only the traditional exploitation of resources and the manufacture of artifacts, but also the exploitation and manufacture of language, images, symbols and consciousness--- the very substance of the idea of culture. It argues that in the contemporary world, the dividing line between commerce and culture is becoming increasingly blurred and that business practices and values now dominate the material, intellectual and spiritual life of the community.

The book is structured around the idea of an extended business culture. This provides the focal points for an analysis of cultural developments related to the activities and values of the world of business. These focal points are: the development of the market economy; the control of technology; the manipulation of language, images and symbols; the shaping of consciousness; and the transmission of ideology. The book's general thesis is illustrated by an eclectic and entertaining range of material drawn from economics, sociology, psychology, anthropology, history, art, biography, literature, film, theater, television, technology, and computer science--- material drawn together by the common thread of business. By utilizing literary, dramatic and visual texts together with material on entrepreneurship and business management, the author looks at the world of business imaginatively as well as analytically--- an approach that reinforces his ideas about the relationship among business, society and culture. The book will be of particular value to those with an interest in business and social and cultural issues, and to business teachers and students. It will provide ideal supplemental reading for courses on Business and Society.

This volume examines the role that the service economy can play in those third world countries lacking in traditional manufacturing industries. Analyzing service industries in third world economies, the author has put together the first work on this important world-wide economic trend. Professionals and academics in the fields of economics--political, developmental, labor, industrial and third world--will gain an understanding of how services provide developmental opportunities in third world host nations, and at the same time link those nations more closely to the international economy.

In this book, the focus in on how developing economies in Southeast Asia ride on the wave of globalization that brings about benefits and economic growth with expanding trade and investment linkages. The central concept used in this study is production networks and industrial clusters. With examples from Indonesia and Malaysia (electronics industry), Singapore (biomedical science industry), and Thailand (automotive industry), the book explains how the production networks and industrial clusters have played crucial roles in their industrial development.

As the rural township, village and private enterprises are becoming more significant in the Chinese economy, this text focuses on the comparison of the rural (non-state) and state firms in terms of performance. The analysis is based on the empirical results from estimating various production functions applied to cross-section and panel data. Both aggregate and firm-specific efficiencies are examined in the case studies, exploring potential sources of efficiency differentials such as ownership, scale, factor intensity, location and economic reforms. Special attention is also paid to the regional comparison of industrial development and performance. The implications of the findings in the book for economic and reform policy are thus highlighted.

With increased economic competition among industrial countries, the need for rapid economic development in less developed countries, and the collapse of centrally planned regimes in Eastern Europe, concern for economic policies has moved to the forefront of most nations' agendas. This reference handbook offers and overview of economic policies in the world's most important countries and regions, examining the different mix of methods and tools these governments use to achieve their economic goals. The aim of the volume is to identify and compare the various policies and instruments used by the different countries, as well as the results that have been obtained. The work begins with a brief introduction to national economic policies, written by editor Dominick Salvatore. Separate chapters then focus on each of the major countries--the United States, Japan, India, the Soviet Union, and China--and on several homogeneous groupings of countries, such as the European Economic Community, Latin America, Africa, and Eastern Europe. Economic policies of the past decade and the important changes that have taken place in that period are explained--as well as prospects for the future. Among the major issues discussed are fiscal policies, monetary policies, industrial policies, trade and exchange rate policies, and environmental policies. By considering these various approaches from country to country and by examining the instruments utilized and the outcomes adopted, the book presents a unique comparative study of economic systems. This work will be especially useful to professional economists and policy makers, as well as to students in international economics.

One result of the Asian economic crisis has been to shatter the belief that Asian ways of management are superior to Western ways. Now, just to survive, Asian firms have come to rethink their entire way of managing, and in his latest book, Richter, assisted by his contributing authors, gives a sharply focused analysis of how they are doing it. Emerging questions are how do Asian firms adjust to the new economic realities? and How do they develop their management style?

There are plenty of new opportunities in Asia to play the new game, but they must be grasped and productively channeled. Richter and his contributors conclude that in the end, the Asian economic crisis, or catharsis, may well be a blessing in disguise. It provides an opportunity to completely review the way things stand in Asia. Like entrepreneurs who built the Asian economies, today's firms have the opportunity to lead a revival if they can redirect their businesses. This is an important resource for professionals in all multinational organizations and for academics and their upper-level students of international business.