This volume sheds new light on economic developments in several countries of Southeast Europe. The European Union and especially the eurozone continue to experience rhythms of fiscal crisis, as can most clearly be seen in the debt crisis in the South Periphery. Despite the fact that several measures and decisions have been taken to deal with the crisis (banking union, liquidity support from the European Central Bank), proposals to reform Europe's strategic policy in order to find a way out of the crisis have been put forward. This book explores the respective roles that specific sectors, e.g. the agricultural sector, social capital, tax policies and labour immigration, can play in this regard. The importance of international economic relations (exports, imports, FDI, exchange rates) is analysed, in order to illustrate the nature of the economic developments and the major economic difficulties these countries face.

The Great Recession has prompted a reassessment of the specific mode of capitalist accumulation that achieved dominance in the era of globalization. Yet just about all of this literature has focused on one of two issues: why things went wrong, and what we need to do in order to return the system to stability. Outside of a contingent of radical socialists on the fringes of the debate, virtually no one questioned whether capitalism could continue. In Does Capitalism Have a Future?, the prominent theorist Georgi Derleugian has gathered together a quintet of eminent macrosociologists to assess whether the capitalist system can survive. The prevalent common wisdom, for all its current gloom, nevertheless safely assumes that capitalism cannot break down permanently because there is no alternative. The authors shatter this assumption, arguing that this generalization is not supported by theory but is rather an outgrowth of the optimistic nineteenth-century claim that human history ascends through stages to an enlightened equilibrium of liberal capitalism. Yet as they point out, just about all major historical systems have broken down in the end (e.g., the Roman empire). In the modern epoch there have been several cataclysmic events-notably the French revolution, World War I, and the collapse of the Soviet bloc-that came to pass mainly because contemporary political elites had spectacularly failed to calculate the consequences of the processes they presumed to govern. At present, none of our governing elites and very few of our intellectuals can fathom an ending to our current reigning system. Considering whether a collapse is possible is the task that the quintet-Derleugian, Michael Mann, Randall Collins, Craig Calhoun, and Immanuel Wallerstein-sets out to explore. While all of the contributors arrive at different conclusions, they are in constant dialogue with each other and therefore able to construct relatively seamless-if open-ended-whole. For instance, Wallerstein (who accurately predicted the collapse of the Soviet system in 1979) and Collins, identify fatal structural faults in twenty-first century capitalism. Mann, on the other hand, does not think that there is any serious alternative to the market dynamic, but he does identify other serious threats to the system, including environmental degradation. Calhoun and Derluguian are more circumspect and focus on the role of politics in steering the system toward either revival or collapse. This most ambitious of books, written by the highest caliber of sociologists, asks the biggest of questions: are we on the cusp of a radical world historical shift or not?

Serving up fresh insights on Hong Kong's economic growth, this book investigates issues such as housing, immigration, monetary and financial systems, the business environment, and international trade and finance to provide a coherent and comprehensive overview of Hong Kong's position in the global economy. Exploring these interrelated topics chapter-by-chapter, the authors cover contemporary macroeconomic topics such as government policies supporting structural changes of the Hong Kong economy challenges to the pillars of Hong Kong's economic growth, factors determining the success and failure of emerging sectors, the impacts of the linked exchange rate system on the financial and monetary markets, the tightening integration between the Hong Kong and Mainland China economies, Hong Kong's real estate market and its socio-economic impact, regional competition, and the operation and contribution of Mainland Chinese enterprises in Hong Kong. With broad application across several courses, this book is appealing reading to researchers in the fields of economic policy, economic growth, financial modelling, and more.

The Austrian School of Economics is an intellectual tradition in economics and political economy dating back to Carl Menger in the late-19th century. Menger stressed the subjective nature of value in the individual decision calculus. Individual choices are indeed made on the margin, but the evaluations of rank ordering of ends sought in the act of choice are subjective to individual chooser. For Menger, the economic calculus was about scarce means being deployed to pursue an individual's highest valued ends. The act of choice is guided by subjective assessments of the individual, and is open ended as the individual is constantly discovering what ends to pursue, and learning the most effective way to use the means available to satisfy those ends. This school of economic thinking spread outside of Austria to the rest of Europe and the United States in the early-20th century and continued to develop and gain followers, establishing itself as a major stream of heterodox economics. The Oxford Handbook of Austrian Economics provides an overview of this school and its theories. The various contributions discussed in this book all reflect a tension between the Austrian School's orthodox argumentative structure (rational choice and invisible hand) and its addressing of a heterodox problem situations (uncertainty, differential knowledge, ceaseless change). The Austrian economists from the founders to today seek to derive the invisible hand theorem from the rational choice postulate via institutional analysis in a persistent and consistent manner. Scholars and students working in the field of History of Economic Thought, those following heterodox approaches, and those both familiar with the Austrian School or looking to learn more will find much to learn in this comprehensive volume.

The essays collected here evolved from a two-day conference on Ethiopia held at the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies. Written by both academics and Ethiopians who have participated personally in the events they discuss, the papers describe and interpret the Ethiopian revolution and explore its successes, failures, and intrinsic qualities. The contributors express a variety of viewpoints and approaches to the current crisis situation in Ethiopia, demonstrating that although the 15-year revolution has failed to measurably improve the lot of Ethiopians, Ethiopia's history, demographics, and climate have also been important contributing factors. A number of articles deal with aspects of the political crisis while others analyze the economic crisis, looking at present problems and their historical roots. Taken together, these essays make a major contribution to our understanding of the persistent problems faced by Ethiopia today. Following the editor's introduction, the volume is divided into three sections. In Part I, four papers explore the Ethiopian state and the problem of power. Individual chapters examine such issues as change and continuity in Ethiopian politics, decisions and elections, and the question of rural transformation. Part II looks at different facets of the national question, now or in the past--the character of the leadership, the concept of government, and the decision-making process. The third section analyzes the current economic crisis in two papers which discuss Ethiopia's agricultural crisis and development strategy. The concluding chapter presents an overall perspective on revolution, nationality, and the Ethiopian state. Students ofpolitical economy, African studies, and economic development will find The Political Economy of Ethiopia illuminating reading.

The transformation provisions have brought about a replacement of the planning system by a capitalist market system. This change engendered many positive results, but at high social costs. Some results, such as a dramatic decline in output and a decline in the standard of living have been transitory, but unemployment, widening of income inequalities, weakening of social programs and expansion of poverty are permanent features of the new system. This book examines the active employment policy and its effect, especially focusing on the social costs of transformation. It analyzes the reasons for the expansion of poverty and the chances of reducing it. Great attention is devoted to the reforms of pension and health care system. This book also discusses the performance of the economies of subject countries and gives a critical evaluation of privatization, primarily of the Czech voucher privatization.

This book proposes new methods of detecting causality among several dynamic variables and of estimating divisions of nominal income changes into changes in output and prices. Amano builds on established traditions of macro-dynamics and the theories of Keynes and Freidman, while providing innovative perspectives and important policy implications.

With the aim of providing a comprehensive analysis of institutions, and of the global economy more generally, this text explores systems of institutions and the effect of corruption, developments in behavioural economics, the impact of immigration, and the links between democratic progress and economic growth. Papers from the Fourteenth World Congress of the International Economic Association held in Marrakech from August 29 to September 2, 2005.

This historically-based textbook on international finance and open-economy macroeconomics provides a complete course on the theory and policies that shaped our international financial system. Utilizing the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference as a unifying theme, the book covers all the standard topics of international finance, such as foreign exchange markets, balance of payments accounting, macroeconomic policy in an open economy, exchange rate crises, multinational enterprises, international banking, and the evolution of our international financial system. The detailed international financial theory is presented in a lively manner that reflects the close relationship between actual world events and the development of economic thought.The book also analyzes the causes of the 2008 international financial crisis and recession, encourages critical thinking about whether the current international financial system promotes human well-being, and concludes with a discussion on whether it is time to summon the world's financial leaders to another Bretton Woods Conference. In additional to providing students with a solid understanding of international finance and open-economy macroeconomics, the book is written in a reader-friendly style that makes it a good reference for anyone interested in the many fascinating issues related to our still-evolving global financial system and, more generally, our global economy.

This book examines history of Russian finances in the period of Russia's transition from communism to capitalism in the 1990s and in the current decade. It focuses on obstacles to market reforms and macroeconomic policy choices that resulted in the state debt expansion and the financial crisis of 1998.

Since the 2007 financial crisis, discussion on issues related to the size, spread and frequency of financial crises has captivated a wide variety of audiences. Why has the world economy experienced such a marked increase in financial transactions and private and public indebtedness since the 1980s? How have middle-income developing countries suddenly become a part of this dynamic? And, most importantly, how has the topic of financial crises been featured in households' daily discussions in both developed and developing parts of the world? Domna Michailidou addresses the questions above through exploring the inexorable evolution of financialisation into financial crisis through the examination of three middle-income countries: Mexico, Brazil and South Korea. Concentrating on emerging economies, and especially choosing three very different economies that all experienced financial crises in the 1990s, this book explores what lessons can be learnt regarding financial fragility, volatility and failure in the wake of capital market liberalisation.

The arguments over the economic policies of the Reagan Administration will continue until sufficient time has elapsed for a consensus to be possible. In the meantime, it is necessary for contemporary scholars to record their opinions as a base for the consensus. Campagna has recorded his conclusions based on considerable research on Reagan Administration policies. He begins by describing what was planned by the government. From there, he discusses what actually happened, and devotes the remainder of the work to his opinion of what has been left with which the future must deal. Campagna concludes that the Reagan economic policies failed. He establishes a position for others to attack or defend in their own publications in the continuing argument.

"The Political Economy of Kenya" is a collection of timely and up-to-date essays focusing on the interaction of politics and economics in Kenya's domestic political arena. The essays, written by scholars from Kenya, the United States, and Great Britain, contain in-depth presentation based on contemporary research. For example, the contributors stress the interdependence of politics and economics in determining political outcomes and examine the Kenyan political system in that light. Chapters discuss such topics as Kenyan agriculture, urbanization and spatial planning, public enterprises, public policy and reform, and specific case studies on labor and social issues.

In 1989 the post-Communist countries of Eastern Europe opened their economies by establishing more open exchange rate policies and exchange controls and eliminating prohibitive tariffs and quotas. Now trying to join the integrated world economy, they are facing the challenge of finding strategic alliances and attracting foreign capital. This book analyzes economic policy in Eastern Europe with a focus on the financial arrangement of currency boards. It examines the main challenges facing East European countries, their economic policy strategies, the main challenges to the economies that adopted currency boards, and whether currency boards were a solution.

The book is organized into two parts. Part I addresses the challenges to economic policy in Eastern Europe, and Part II turns to the discussion of currency board arrangements.

This ground-breaking book examines marketing's impact on economic development. Focused on the less developed and newly industrialized countries, Campbell and Reddy outline how marketing can and should be used as a primary tool by government, business, and private planners. Analysis of Japan's post-war economic development is used as a starting point for the book's development of a macro-behavioral model. The model, centered on marketing, includes the constructs of attitude, adaptation, and achievement orientation as the macro-behavioral keys of development. The model explains how those keys function best in an environment where government, business, and labor interact to facilitate development in a market economy.

After reviewing some definitional aspects of marketing and economic development, the book examines marketing's role in less developed countries. It examines the conditions in the former USSR and its satellites and shows how marketing could facilitate their vitally needed economic development. The model, based on Japan's development, is proposed. It is then shown how the model can explain the successful economic development of Setubal, Portugal. India is examined as an example of the countries which should apply the model to hasten economic development.

As import-substitution industrialization yields to increasing market liberalization in Latin America in the 1990s, privatization assigns new roles to both the public and private sectors. After the decade of the debt crisis, a much weakened State will reorient its policy efforts to the difficult issues of limited fiscal and monetary choices, regulation of newly privatized firms, and long-postponed social programs. However, privatization represents a mhallenge for the private sector as much as it is an issue for the public sector. Foreign and domestic capital will be asked to play a critical role in revitalizing battered economies. New players, from penny-capitalists to pension funds, and new institutions, including dramatically altered banking systems and suddenly thriving stock markets, have recently appeared. The changing roles of public and private sectors and the implications of these developments are the focus of this book.

The forefathers of neoclassical or conventional economics, beginning with Walras, wanted to build a psycho-mathematical science similar to celestial mechanics. However, during the first half of the last century, they succumbed to the charm of axiomatization: Hence, economics remains a stillborn science. Its theory is plagued with incongruities, generating misleading notions and policies that are detrimental to human welfare and environmental equilibrium. Its truths have significantly low half-lives, and its confused pronouncements have become an open ground in which false consciousness rumble unchallenged. This state of affairs calls for a fundamental revision.

After reviewing the evolution of economics from Antiquity to the present and pointing to its inadequacies, Dominique proposes an alternative formulation which not only sheds light on the enduring features of market economics but also makes economics consistent with physics, the mother of all sciences. This is a challenging revision for scholars, students, and others involved with economic theory.

This volume treats various aspects of the Yugoslav economic model and focuses on the long-term program of stabilization undertaken by that country in the last few years. The contributors discuss such diverse topics as the country's socioeconomic relations, and problems and prospects for carrying out a long-term stabilization program. "Essays on the Yugoslav Economic Model" puts forth a number of assertions relating to the country's economic performance: that Yugoslavia must resort to greater reliance on markets; it must become more export oriented with a fully convertible currency; the country must rid itself of debilitating inflation; it must preserve a social policy consistent with its socialist principles.

This volume treats various aspects of the Yugoslav economic model and focuses on the long-term program of stabilization undertaken by that country in the last few years. "Essays on the Yugoslav Economic Model" puts forth a number of assertions relating to the country's economic performance: that Yugoslavia must resort to greater reliance on markets; it must become more export oriented with a fully convertible currency; the country must rid itself of debilitating inflation; it must preserve a social policy consistent with its socialist principles. Furthermore, Yugoslavia must take all of these measures and more within the constraints of the existing socio-political framework of socialist self-management and heterogeneous population. The contributors each agree that given the country's diversity, a resort to markets is the only meaningful option available.

This book provides key insights into how to control local government debts and optimize the makeup of debts in China. The rapid growth of investment in infrastructure on the part of local governments has offset the slowdown of investment growth in manufacturing and real estate and maintained the growth rate of 7.7% in 2013. However, local governments' debts have accumulated, which increases the risk of debt default and threatens the stability of China's financial system. The research suggests that increasing the proportion of issuing bonds in total debts would be the first step toward eliminating the debt risk. Second, the Chinese government should play its part; and lastly, the government should relinquish its administrative control and monopoly in order to allow the service industry to further develop.

With six essays exploring different aspects of economic growth, poverty, inequality and social security, this book offers a critical perspective on India's development experience since independence. Incisive and empirically rich, the book opens up new vistas in development discourse and informs current policy debates.

The book analyzes the relationship between globalization and sustainable development. It presents analysis of the relationship between social and environmental conditions of sustainability. It explores the interaction between history of facts (globalization since the industrial revolution) and history of ideas (liberalism since Adam Smith). It focuses on generally neglected aspects such as health and social corporate responsibility.This book examines how consistent the post-war process of globalization has been with the basic requisites of sustainable development. It argues that the polarization of public opinion into support of either globalization or sustainable development has not helped an understanding of the issues, and that the confrontation should be abandoned.

As a result of the financial crisis, the weaknesses of the Eurozone, including the public debt crisis, materialized in severe depressions in certain of its country members. In this monograph, the author analyzes structural weaknesses of the Eurozone and argues that they can be traced to (i) institutional differences, (ii) differences in the economic structures, (iii) the fundamental inability of European Bureaucracy to deal with crises, and (iv) the extreme rigidity of markets which prevents a general equilibrium in product and credit markets. He concludes that whether the Eurozone is sustainable, depends on future monetary and credit policies, and discusses the implications of reforming it in the best interest of the international banking and financial system. The recent policies of the ECB of "cheap" credit expansion are examined in detail. The approach of the work is along the lines of von Mises' and Hayek's Austrian tradition; additionally, substantive international empirical evidence supporting this Austrian approach is presented.

Kristi A. Olson asks: What is a fair income distribution? She rejects equal income shares: equal pay undercompensates workers in dangerous and onerous jobs. The envy test, which takes both income and work into account, fares better. Yet, a distribution in which no one prefers someone else's circumstances to her own-as the envy test requires-is unlikely to exist, and even when it does exist, the normative connection between envy and fairness has not been established. After critiquing existing answers, Olson invokes the idea of mutual justifiability: when someone claims that her situation should be improved at someone else's expense, she must be able to give a reason that cannot be reasonably rejected by a free and equal individual who regards everyone else as the same. To give the answer bite, Olson distinguishes two types of envy. Reasons based on personal envy can be reasonably rejected; reasons based on impersonal envy cannot. Olson then tests the solidarity solution against the theories of Ronald Dworkin, Philippe Van Parijs, and Marc Fleurbaey and applies it directly to the concrete issues of the gender wage gap and taxation. By providing a new approach to problems of fair resource allocation, The Solidarity Solution establishes philosophical discussion as critical to today's fight to end economic injustice.