These essays are a product of a co-operative research project between American and Taiwanese social scientists. Of particular interest is the chapter discussing a comparative study of industrial policy, productivity growth and structural change in manufacturing.

During much of the twentieth century, informal employment and entrepreneurship was commonly depicted as a residue from a previous era. Its continuing presence was seen to be a sign of "backwardness" whilst the formal economy represented "progress". In recent decades, however, numerous studies have revealed not only that informal employment is extensive and persistent but also that it is growing relative to formal employment in many populations. Whilst in the developing world, the informal economy is often found to be the mainstream economy, nevertheless, in the developed world too, informality is currently still estimated to account for notable per cent of GDP. The Informal Economy: Exploring Drivers and Practices intends to engage with these issues, providing a much-need 'contextualised' approach to explain the persistence and growth of forms of informal economic practices and entrepreneurial activities in the twenty-first century. Using a diverse range of empirical case studies from Europe, Africa, North Africa and Asia, this book unpacks the different varieties of forms of informal work and entrepreneurship and provides a critical analysis of existing theorisations used to explain such phenomena. This book's aim is to examine the nature and persistence of informal work and entrepreneurship, across a variety of empirical settings, from within the developed world, the developing world and within transformation economies within post-socialist spaces. Given its worldwide, interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approach and recent interest in the informal economies by a number of disciplines and organisations, this book will be of vital reading to those operating in the fields of: Economics, political economy and management, Human and economic geography and Economic anthropology and sociology as well as development studies

First published in 1989, The Economics of the Swap Market looks at how the swap has become a commonplace tool for corporations throughout the OECD world to 'lock-in' interest rates on their borrowing. The aim of The Economics of the Swap Market, is to contribute to a redressing of the balance. Subjects covered include both those conventionally falling within the scope of micro-economics and of macroeconomics, beginning with an examination of the forces behind the take-off the swap market and a formal setting out of key arbitrage relationships which hold in equilibrium between the swap markets on international capital flow.

These essays are a product of a co-operative research project between American and Taiwanese social scientists. Of particular interest is the chapter discussing a comparative study of industrial policy, productivity growth and structural change in manufacturing.

Because of the potential ease with which transnational corporations can relocate, many governments have avoided direct attempts to intervene in their activities. Nonetheless, the major economies have adopted a wide range of policies towards transnational corporations. Some (Japan and France in particular) have been very concerned by the impact of such firms. Others (most notably Britain) have had a relatively relaxed attitude. This book offers an account of policy towards transnationals over the last 30 years or so. It features: detailed, up-to-date accounts of policy in Japan, France, Germany, the United States and Britain; the role of organizations other than governments, including trade unions, business and opposition parties; summaries of which issues have most concerned which countries overall characterizations of each country's policy stance. The result should appeal to those interested in industrial economics, international business, global political economy, and international law.

Transnational corporations are now of immense significance for most economies. However, by definition they are involved in international production and this poses problems for national governments. The threat of a major company leaving gives it leverage over its host government. This means that even though there is a broad consensus that in some respects the impact of a transnational on an economy can be negative, there is a marked reluctance on the part of governments to try to do anything about it. Although they remain sensitive to the problems posed by transnationals, the authors of "Making Transnationals Accountable" do not accept that there is nothing that can be done to influence the behaviour of transnationals. The authors advocate a policy of monitoring their activities and use a comparative approach to show that many governments know surprisingly little about the impact of transnationals on their economies. They identify areas which governments might like to know more about. In an attempt to show what their approach might mean in practice, they draw upon the new techniques developed in social accounting to prepare a detailed social and economic account of "Glaxo".

Transnational corporations are now of immense significance for most economies. However, by definition they are involved in international production and this poses problems for national governments. The threat of a major company leaving gives it leverage over its host government. This means that even though there is a broad consensus that in some respects the impact of a transnational on an economy can be negative, there is a marked reluctance on the part of governments to try to do anything about it. Although they remain sensitive to the problems posed by transnationals, the authors of "Making Transnationals Accountable" do not accept that there is nothing that can be done to influence the behaviour of transnationals. The authors advocate a policy of monitoring their activities and use a comparative approach to show that many governments know surprisingly little about the impact of transnationals on their economies. They identify areas which governments might like to know more about. In an attempt to show what their approach might mean in practice, they draw upon the new techniques developed in social accounting to prepare a detailed social and economic account of "Glaxo".

Transaction cost economics have come to dominate discussions about the nature of the firm. In this critical analysis of the transaction cost paradigm, the author argues that while it offers certain insights, the transaction cost approach is an inadequate basis for a general theory of the firm. Beginning with an overview of transaction costs, it outlines both the advantages and the disadvantages of the approach. Assuming that the organization of the firm is static, transaction cost economics is least effective in explaining the dynamic aspects of firms' behaviour. However, rather than rejecting the whole approach on these grounds, Michael Dietrich looks at ways in which the theory can be enlarged and its explanatory power increased. Considering such recent innovations as total quality control and just-in-time management, the book presents a vision of the firm in which decision making can be both hierarchical and creative. The implications of this for business policy are assessed.

In this book, Phelps and Parente explore the US health care system and set out the case for its reform. They trace the foundations of today's system, and show how distortions in the incentives facing participants in the health care market could be corrected in order to achieve lower costs, a higher quality of care, a higher level of patient safety, and a more efficient allocation of health care resources. Phelps and Parente propose novel yet economically robust changes to US tax law affecting health insurance coverage and related issues. They also discuss a series of specific improvements to Medicare and Medicaid, and assess potential innovations that affect all of health care, including chronic disease management, fraud and abuse detection, information technology, and other key issues. The Economics of US Health Care Policy will be illuminating reading for anyone with an interest in health policy, and will be a valuable supplementary text for courses in health economics and health policy, including for students without advanced training in economics.

Transaction cost economics have come to dominate discussions about the nature of the firm. In this critical analysis of the transaction cost paradigm, the author argues that while it offers certain insights, the transaction cost approach is an inadequate basis for a general theory of the firm. Beginning with an overview of transaction costs, it outlines both the advantages and the disadvantages of the approach. Assuming that the organization of the firm is static, transaction cost economics is least effective in explaining the dynamic aspects of firms' behaviour. However, rather than rejecting the whole approach on these grounds, Michael Dietrich looks at ways in which the theory can be enlarged and its explanatory power increased. Considering such recent innovations as total quality control and just-in-time management, the book presents a vision of the firm in which decision making can be both hierarchical and creative. The implications of this for business policy are assessed.

Many governments in the developed world can now best be described as 'neuroliberal': having a combination of neoliberal principles with policy initiatives derived from insights in the behavioural sciences. Neuroliberalism presents the results of the first critical global study of the impacts of the behavioural sciences on public policy and government actions, including behavioural economics, behavioural psychology and neuroeconomics. Drawing on interviews with leading behaviour change experts, organizations and policy-makers, and discussed in alignment with a series of international case studies, this volume provides a critical analysis of the ethical, economic, political and constitutional implications of behaviourally oriented government. It explores the impacts of the behavioural sciences on everyday life through a series of themes, including: understandings of the human subject; interpretations of freedom; the changing form and function of the state; the changing role of the corporation in society; and the design of everyday environments and technologies. The research presented in this volume reveals a diverse set of neuroliberal approaches to government that offer policy-makers and behaviour change professionals a real choice in relation to the systems of behavioural government they can implement. This book also argues that the behavioural sciences have the potential to support much more effective systems of government, but also generate new ethical concerns that policy-makers should be aware of.

The purpose of this volume is to reopen the discussion of how to develop the economic theory of investment to better model the facts of experience and to provide policy makers with a better understanding of how capital markets work. In this final decade of the twentieth century, almost everyone agrees that human progress will be closely related to the decisions regarding the investments made to promote economic growth of output. Despite the Nobel prize work done in recent decades, economic performance in this area seems to have worsened. Clearly, a reopening of public discussion on what is required is necessary. Until we get our theory right, it is impossible to get our public policy right. This book does not promise to provide "the" correct theory. Instead, it hopes to stimulate the reader into an understanding of where we may have gone wrong, and how we might rectify our mistakes.

The purpose of this volume is to reopen the discussion of how to develop the economic theory of investment to better model the facts of experience and to provide policy makers with a better understanding of how capital markets work. In this final decade of the twentieth century, almost everyone agrees that human progress will be closely related to the decisions regarding the investments made to promote economic growth of output. Despite the Nobel prize work done in recent decades, economic performance in this area seems to have worsened. Clearly, a reopening of public discussion on what is required is necessary. Until we get our theory right, it is impossible to get our public policy right. This book does not promise to provide "the" correct theory. Instead, it hopes to stimulate the reader into an understanding of where we may have gone wrong, and how we might rectify our mistakes.

Consumer Culture Reborn focuses on consumption as the point at which economy and culture combine. The book strives to draw the often polarized discourses of political economy and cultural studies closer together in a historical context, as a means of understanding our social situations as we approach the end of the millennium. Taking as its central theme the ability of the capitalist mode of production to transform the material and social world which sustains it, the book focuses upon some of the ways in which this transformational impulse has altered the means by which ordinary people reproduce their patterns of life. Treating the commodity as the primary touchstone for both the analysis of the economy and culture, Consumer Culture Reborn charts the rise and fall of the first mass consumption society of the post-war years. It also considers the evidence for the emergence of a new consumer society, exploring the ways in which the organization of economic affairs has had profound consequences for the formation of everyday cultures.

`Else and Curwin make an effort to keep the student in touch with recent developments by including such topics as bargaining search, contestable markets and voting behaviour...it will certainly appeal to those who wish to keep economic theory accessible to as wide a range of students as possible.' Times Higher Education Supplement This clear, concise introduction to intermediate microeconomics is essential reading for students with previous knowledge of economic principles. Geared to the standard year's course in universities and polytechnics, the treatment in this text reinforces the student's understanding of familiar topics and facilitates assimilation of new material.

This book is concerned with one of the major contemporary issues of industrial organization: the role of small business enterprise in a mature market economy. Key issues covered are start-up and its financial features; static and dynamic scale economies; enterprise case histories; small business strategy; competitive forces; strategic pricing policy; determinants of growth and survival; and the political economy of fair trade and enterprise. The treatment is analytical and empirical, well grounded in business reality, and set within the context of the political economy of small business. It is based on a unique and extensive database of small business enterprise, containing over 40,000 data points gathered by fieldwork within the firm. The book starts with a section on the database and then applies diverse methods; statistical analysis; enterprise and case histories; econometrics; and political economy. In this way, a picture of the modern small business emerges, it is viewed from different perspectives.

Is the battle against inflation in China now over? Can Zhu Rongji, the economic guru turned Chinese premier who has successfully reduced the skyrocketing inflation of the mid-1990s to a near zero level, while yet maintaining high economic growth through the new millennium, relax? These are the key questions raised by China's current economic transition towards a market-based system, and they both revolve around the institutional economics that is the focus of this volume. Dealing specifically with the giant state-owned enterprises (SOEs), Industrial Reform and Macroeconomic Instability in China unravels the intriguing dynamics between industrial deregulation and inflation, in the context of China's continuous search for sustained, stable economic growth without runaway inflation. This book is unique among western studies: it addresses the very core, but to date least reformed sector of the Chinese economy. SOEs have monopolized key industrial supplies, commanded the bulk of national investment, disctated much of the nation's credit and finance, and have been the single most important source of state budget revenue. Continually faced with enormous internal wage pressures, all attempts at marketization and price liberalization are inherently inflationary. Based upon an independently, specifically designed set of questionnaires administered to 300 large and medium-scale state industrial enterprises in six major industrial cities, this book provides an in-depth analysis of the first decade of the reforms of the 1980s. The findings are formulated as pointers for understanding the macroeconomic vicissitudes that occurred after the launching of the campaign to create a 'socialist market economy' in the early 1990s. This book will be of use to China analysts, students, and businessmen who are interested in learning about the progress made, the remaining obstacles that the state-owned enterprises face, and their inevitable impact on China's economic growth and stability.

All economists are familiar with the division of the subject into microeconomics and macroeconomics. However, few economists are able to give an accurate account of what distinguishes micro and macro and what the relationship between them is. The increasing interest in the "microfoundations of macroeconomics" has typically attracted those who feel that economics is about the rational behaviour of individuals and who regard macro propositions as a consequence of the intentions of individuals. As a result, "microfoundations" have come to be synonymous with theories of individual behaviour. However, in this book, Maarten Janssen argues that it is really microeconomics's concern with the functioning of markets that underlies the theories which attempt to provide macroeconomics with microfoundations. This claim is substantiated by an analysis of the aggregation problem, of the individualistic foundations of equilibrium theories, of the rational expectations hypothesis, and of a model from the new Keynesian microfoundations literature. It strives to combine a thorough treatment of the technical aspects of these subjects with a critical discussion of the philosophical issues.

This book focuses on the importance for China to correct the present imbalance in the relationship between the financial sector and the real economy. The book looks at China's current financial system in terms of "extractive" and "inclusive". It asserts that the financial sector is producing huge "siphonic effects" that distort the overall development of the Chinese economy. Like a giant magnet, the financial sector attracts too many innovation factors, such as talents, capital and entrepreneurship away from the real economy and inhibits the development of the latter. Hence, the book argues that China's financial system must now be thoroughly reformed to become an inclusive financial system, where finance and the rest of the economy can co-exist and develop in support of each other.

This volume brings together leading scholars from the US, Europe and Asia in search of new perspectives on and answers to questions about how a country's defence burden might affect welfare provision and economic growth, and vice versa. The essays examine and compare the historical experiences of a variety of developed and developing countries and include analyses of: - the link between defence spending and economic performance in the United States - the causes of Britain's relative decline - the institutional setting for Japan's pursuit of comprehensive national security - the influence of military spending on the developmental progress of Asia's newly industrializing countries - the patterns of business cycles and military hostility in the Middle East. The contributors offer new insights and often surprising findings regarding the relationship between defence burden and political economy. The essays are therefore highly pertinent to the ongoing scholarly and policy debates about the process of a peace dividend in the wake of the Cold War s demise. This book should be of interest to postgraduates of politics, international relations, international political economy.

First published in 1943, this work contains five interconnected essays presenting the author's renowned additions to the business cycle theory. Written by one of the most distinguished economists of the 20th century, this work will be essential reading for students and scholars of the history of economic thought, monetary theory and macroeconomics.

Before the handover to China in 1997, Hong Kong's economic growth was very strong and the unemployment rate dropped to a record low of 2.2 per cent. In recent years, the widening income dispersion in Hong Kong has caught public attention. This book investigates the economic development and changes in income distribution of Hong Kong from different perspectives. Based on latest empirical evidence of Hong Kong, the book examines the relationship between economic restructuring and rising income disparity. Public housing programmes in Hong Kong affect half of the population directly and the other half indirectly. This book assesses the redistributive effect of public rental housing on income distribution. Moreover, Hong Kong embarked an ambitious expansion programme of tertiary education in 1989. The expansion represents an exogenous increase in the supply of university graduates and the book evaluates the impact on income distribution. It also investigates the income dispersion among and between natives and immigrants. Researchers, politicians and policy makers should be interested to learn about the causes of rising income dispersion in post-handover Hong Kong uncovered in this book. Although economic restructuring is named as the prime suspect that caused rising income inequality, the empirical evidence proves otherwise. The book will be of interest to policy makers with implications on social security system and income disparity.

The growth of information economics has lead to a substantial re-consideration of the role of prices. Instead of the conventional neo-classical view of prices as straightforward indicators of scarcity, information economics emphasises that prices can be sources from which agents infer information and means by which they communicate. "Prices and Knowledge" analyzes different theoretical approaches to the role of prices in situations of imperfect information. It shows that whilst the "informational efficiency" approach of Grossman and Stiglitz and the "bounded rationality theory" of Nelson and Simon are useful, neither goes far enough in considering situations of disequilibrium. This book should be of interest to undergraduates and academics in the field of economics.

The field of behavioural economics can tell us a great deal about cognitive bias and unconscious decision-making, challenging the orthodox economic model whereby consumers make rational and informed choices. But it is in the arena of health that it perhaps offers individuals and governments the most value. In this important new book, the most pernicious health issues we face today are examined through a behavioral economic lens. It provides an essential and timely overview of how this growing field of study can reframe and offer solutions to some of the biggest health issues of our age. The book opens with an overview of the core theoretical concepts, after which each chapter assesses how behavioral economic research and practice can inform public policy across a range of health issues. Including chapters on tobacco, alcohol and drug use, physical activity, dietary intake, cancer screening and sexual health, the book integrates the key insights from the field to both developed and developing nations. Also asking important ethical questions around paternalism and informed choice, this book will be essential reading for students and researchers across psychology, economics and business and management, as well as public health professionals wishing for a concise overview of the role behavioral economics can potentially play in allowing people to live healthier lives.

How do we create employment, grow businesses, and build greater economic resilience in our low-income communities? How do we create economic development for everyone, everywhere - including rural towns, inner-city neighborhoods, aging suburbs, and regions such as Appalachia, American Indian reservations, the Mexican border, and the Mississippi Delta - and not just in elite communities? Economic Development for Everyone collects, organizes, and reviews much of the current research available on creating economic development in low-income communities. Part I offers an overview of the harsh realities facing low-income communities in the US today; their many economic and social challenges; debates on whether to try reviving local economies vs. relocating residents; and current trends in economic development that emphasize high-tech industry and high levels of human capital. Part II organizes the sprawling literature of applied economic development research into a practical framework of five dynamic dimensions: empower your residents: begin with basic education; enhance your community: build on existing assets; encourage your entrepreneurs; diversify your economy; and sustain your development. This book, assembled and presented in a unified framework, will be invaluable for students and new researchers of economic development in low-income communities, and will offer new perspectives for established researchers, professional economic developers and planners, and public officials. Development practitioners and community leaders will also find new ideas and opportunities, along with a broad view on how the many complex parts of economic development interconnect.