As a result of the regional debt crisis, most governments of Latin America in the 1980s entered into a process of profound policy change, from an import substitution oriented strategy to a focus upon export-promotion, with an emphasis upon market liberalization. According to mainstream economic theory, the effect of this shift would be to favour agriculture. This book, with contributors from Latin America and Europe, surveys the results on agriculture of a decade of policy change.

This book examines the theory and practice of performance budgeting, which aims to make the government more effective by linking the funding of government agencies to the results they deliver. In a combination of thematic studies and case studies, it clearly presents the diverse range of contemporary performance budgeting models and examines their effectiveness. Its coverage is truly international, spanning developed, developing and middle-income countries. Implementation strategy and the supporting accounting, performance measurement and other systems are systematically treated.

Macroeconomic Policy in the Canadian Economy investigates developments in Canada over the last forty years, using recent advances in the field of applied econometrics. In particular, the book analyzes the theoretical foundations of public sector activities and evaluates the several theories of government growth. Issues of convergence are also investigated as they manifest themselves in per capita income across Canadian provinces, and as to how successful government income equalization policies have been in furthering such convergence. Moreover, the openness of the Canadian economy is investigated in terms of the importance of exports on GDP growth and of its participation in the world of an internationally integrated capital market.

The book also analyzes monetary policy issues and investigates the role of monetary aggregates and the effectiveness of monetary policy. Finally, it addresses the issue of the existence or not of electoral and partisan cycles in Canada, by incorporating both fiscal and monetary principles and applying them to the lively world of Canadian politics.

This book presents the latest findings on network theory and agent-based modeling of economic and financial phenomena. In this context, the economy is depicted as a complex system consisting of heterogeneous agents that interact through evolving networks; the aggregate behavior of the economy arises out of billions of small-scale interactions that take place via countless economic agents. The book focuses on analytical modeling, and on the econometric and statistical analysis of the properties emerging from microscopic interactions. In particular, it highlights the latest empirical and theoretical advances, helping readers understand economic and financial networks, as well as new work on modeling behavior using rich, agent-based frameworks. Innovatively, the book combines observational and theoretical insights in the form of networks and agent-based models, both of which have proved to be extremely valuable in understanding non-linear and evolving complex systems. Given its scope, the book will capture the interest of graduate students and researchers from various disciplines (e.g. economics, computer science, physics, and applied mathematics) whose work involves the domain of complexity theory.

In recent years nonlinearities have gained increasing importance in economic and econometric research, particularly after the financial crisis and the economic downturn after 2007. This book contains theoretical, computational and empirical papers that incorporate nonlinearities in econometric models and apply them to real economic problems. It intends to serve as an inspiration for researchers to take potential nonlinearities in account. Researchers should be aware of applying linear model-types spuriously to problems which include non-linear features. It is indispensable to use the correct model type in order to avoid biased recommendations for economic policy.

In this important book, industrial and enterprise reform over the last decade in Eastern Europe is critically reviewed in light of increasing Eastern integration into the global economy. The authors argue for the further globalization of Eastern European enterprise networks as a condition for recovery and growth in the region. Empirical evidence is provided from five industrial sectors (car industry, telecommunication, shipbuilding, computers, software), including case studies and international comparisons.

This book is the first comprehensive account of the numerous attempts made since the Second World War to provide food security for all. It provides a reference source for all those involved and interested in food security issues.

This succinct survey includes the most important economic policy issues facing European governments and business as they strive to restore growth to the region's flagging economy. Although written mostly in a non technical style, the book contains some of the sharpest analysis available of the economic problems currently facing Europe's policy makers and is essential reading for academic or professional readers interested in European economic development.

The privatization revolution, profit or revenue sharing, and employee participation in enterprise decision making are some of the major characteristics of modern capitalism. Such features can be observed in almost all countries, including Western developed, Third World, and primarily ex-socialist countries. The diffusion of stock ownership, the promotion of economic and industrial democracy, and the globalization of production and finance present new challenges and opportunities and reflect important structural economic and political changes. This book examines all these issues and provides valuable information and suggestions for labor-management relations and international business cooperation.

Due to the fundamental two-way interaction between the theoretical and the empirical aspects of monetary economics, together with the relationship of both to matters of public policy, any organization of material comprehensively spanning the subject is bound to be arbitrary. The 23 surveys commissioned for this Handbook have been arranged in a way that the editors feel reflects some of the most important logical divisions within the field and together they present a comprehensive account of the current state of the art. The Handbook is an indispensable reference work which should be part of every professional collection, and which makes ideal supplementary reading for graduate economics students on advanced courses.

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Amartya Sen "Equality," I spoke the word As if a wedding vow Ah, but I was so much older then, I am younger than that now. Thus sang Bob Dylan in 1964. Approbation of equality varies not only with our age (though it is not absolutely clear in which direction the values may shift over one's life time), but also with the spirit of the times. The 1960s were good years for singing in praise of equality. The spirit of the present times would probably be better reflected by melodies in admiration of the Federal Reserve System. And yet the technical literature on the evaluation and measurement of economic inequality has grown remarkably over the last three decades. Even as actual economic policies (especially in North America and Europe) have tended to move towards focusing on virtues other than the avoidance of economic inequality, the professional literature on assessing and gauging economic inequality has taken quite a jump forward. A great many different problems have been addressed and effectively sorted out, and new problems continue to be posed and analyzed. The Contents: A Review Jacques Silber has done a great service to the subject by producing this collection of admirablyhelpful and illuminating papers on different aspects of the measurement of income inequality. The reach of this collection is quite remarkable. Along with a thorough overview from the editor himself, the major areas in this complex field have been carefully examined and accessibly discussed.

This edited volume focuses on economic integration, currency union, and sustainable and inclusive growth in East Africa. It consists of twelve interrelated studies that provide a comprehensive picture of the state and determinants of economic development and cooperation among countries in East Africa, such as Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania. The contributions are grouped into five parts: economic integration and its effects on trade; common currency and exchange rate; research, innovation, and knowledge, and shadow economics and corruption; inclusive and sustainable growth; and the conflict-growth nexus and reconstruction. This book will appeal to scholars and decision makers looking for the necessary tools and determinants of economic development and cooperation in East Africa.

This book examines the uneven economy in Asia, showing how the pace of economic transformation affects prosperity and the emerging middle class. Using the Lewis turning point and the long run cycle of the rise and fall of nations as a framework, it demonstrates how demographic trends, digitization rates and consumer preferences creates business opportunities in a disruptive and uncertain world. This includes moves toward promoting Eurasian integration, restructuring of state-owned enterprises, green economy, and the digital economies - ecommerce, fintech and sharing economy. Vanity capital, longevity and leisure economies are also discussed. The author explains what drives creative disruption, technical innovation and their effect on manufacturing, consumers, businesses, and sustainability. It is essential reading for students, academics, executives, and business persons wanting in-depth coverage of the economic landscape in Asia.

Tax practitioners are unfamiliar with tax theory. Tax economists remain unfamiliar with tax law and tax administration. Most textbooks relate mainly to the US, UK or European experiences. Students in emerging economies remain unfamiliar with their own taxation history. This textbook fills those gaps. It covers the concept of taxes in regards to their rationale, principles, design, and common errors. It addresses distortions in consumer choices and production decisions caused by tax and redressals. The main principles of taxation-efficiency, equity, stabilization, revenue productivity, administrative feasibility, international neutrality-are presented and discussed. The efficiency principle requires the minimisation of distortions in the market caused by tax. Equity in taxation is another principle that is maintained through progressivity in the tax structure. Similarly, other principles have their own ramifications that are also addressed. A country's constitutional specification of tax assignment to different levels of government-central, state, municipal-are elaborated. The UK is more centralised than the US and India. India has amended its constitution to introduce a goods and services tax (GST) covering both central and state governments. Drafting of tax law is crucial for clarity and this aspect is addressed. Furthermore, the author illustrates different types of taxes such as individual income tax, corporate income tax, wealth tax, retail sales/value added/goods and services tax, selective excises, property tax, minimum taxes such as the minimum alternate tax (MAT), cash-flow tax, financial transactions tax, fringe benefits tax, customs duties and export taxes, environment tax and global carbon tax, and user charges. An emerging concern regarding the inadequacy of international taxation of multinational corporations is covered in some detail. Structural aspects of tax administration are given particular attention.

This book examines cost-of-capital models and their application in the context of managerial finance. This includes the use of hurdle rates in capital allocation decisions, as well as target returns in performance management. Besides a review of classical finance models such as the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), other contemporary models and techniques to determine the cost-of-capital of business units and private companies are discussed. Based on a mixed methods approach, current cost-of-capital practices and their determinants are empirically analyzed among German companies.

The internationalization of the German political economy in the postwar era, particularly in the "restructuring" period since the mid-1970s, has produced a special socio-economic and political formation which this anthology views as a "hegemonic project". Based upon a virtually total West German integration into the "West", this project has evolved within a new international division of labour and a global political system in which the German state, with its extreme level of export dependency and need for stability, has become a guardian and champion of the global status quo. The contributors to this book have taken account of the developments which have arisen from the events of 1989 in the former GDR.

Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) will have far-reaching consequences for participating nations. This book contains a unique and editorially neutral collection of key arguments favouring and opposing membership. The economic and policy implications are evaluated by distinguished economists, whilst the impact upon national sovereignty and the world of work is debated by prominent MPs and representatives of business and trade union organisations. The text provides an unbiased, comprehensive and 'readable' resource for specialist students and a general readership.

Political and economic independence has been a novel experience for the 51 million people of Ukraine since the collapse of the former Soviet Union. This most tightly controlled and regulated republic of the former USSR has had difficulty in making the transition to another form of government. The hurdles and uncommon difficulties which must be neutralized or mitigated before market forces can materialize and become viable are described and analyzed in each of the core chapters. The work concludes with practical lessons and recommendations for Ukraine, and, by extrapolation, for the other economies of Eastern Europe.

The Changing Industrial Map of Europe is a major study of the recent evolution of six key industries - information technology, pharmaceuticals, automobiles, retailing, transportation and insurance - and their response to the 'new Europe'. Taken together, the analyses of these industries shed much light on how technological, economic and political factors are working together to create a more integrated and more competitive industrial base in Europe.

New Institutional Economics open a new methodological perspective in political economy by posing the question of why economic institutions are created. This state-of-the-art collection examines this question of Arrow's looking at how these man-made constraints condition political, economic and social integration both informally and formally. New developments in game theory are applied to many case topical studies including corruption, central bank independence, globalization and other issues in contemporary economic governance.

This book brings together for the first time studies on all aspects of the Malaysian economy. These range from the geological origins and mineral resources, flora, fauna, peoples and cultures, political development, economy and society, environment and ecotourism in Malaysia and encapsulates the integration of the country into the wider international economy. The book also attempts to make Malaysia's current economic and political development more explicable by considering it in the light of these natural and human resource endowments and by exploring how they have changed over time.

The rational expectations revolution and other developments in economics (notably game theory) have fundamentally altered the application of optimal control theory to economic forecasting and planning. In particular, they have shown that economic systems cannot be modelled simplistically on physical systems. However, as the authors of this volume show, these developments have greatly enhanced our understanding of how an economy functions, and now make it possible for optimal control theory to be applied much more effectively to economic modelling and planning. This book is divided into two parts. The first presents the orthodox framework but extends it to allow for multiplicative uncertainty, risk and non-linearities in the econometric model. The second part looks explicitly at the question of expectations. It provides methods by which forward-looking expectations can be treated jointly with the determination of economic policy. It also examines game-theoretic considerations - where, for instance, policy makers may have incentive to renege on their commitments.

One aspect that overwhelmingly defines the second half of the 20th century is the remarkable economic growth of Asia. This book offers a comprehensive view of the various factors--scientific, technological, and economic--that enabled the region to make a brilliant comeback after centuries of oppression. The past is often a mirror into the future. By exploring these factors from a historical perspective, the book attempts to look into the future and predict what the twenty-first century and the new millennium will bring.

This book discusses ways to improve macroeconomic policy in the context of the various macroeconomic problems of the past two decades, with the chapters having been written at various times over that period. It emphasises the need to find the best combinations of monetary policy and different forms of taxation and government outlays to achieve high employment and low inflation. There is a concluding chapter discussing the special problems that arise when inflation has become low, zero or even negative.