? In his "Prime ricerche sulla rivoluzione dei prezzi in Firenze" (1939), Giuseppe Parenti, by Fernand Braudel regarded as an author who "se classait, d'entree de jeu et sans discussion possible, a la hauteur meme d'Earl Jefferson Hamilton. . . . " begins his opening lines with a description/de?nition of the price revolution which took place in the XVI in Europe as "that extraordinary enhancement of all things that occurred in European countries around the second half of the XVI; revolution in the true meaning of the word, as not only, like any strong price increase, it modi?ed the wealth distribution process and changed the relative position of the various social categories and of the different functions of the economic activity, but affected too, in a way that was not enough studied yet, the relative evolution of the various national economies, and ?nally, . . . . . . . . . ., certainly contributed to the birth, or at least to the dissemination, of the new naturalistic economic ideas, from which the economic science would have sprung." De?nition that can be taken as the founding metaphor of this volume."

First published in 1991, during a significant stagnation in the Israeli economy, this title discusses the causes of the economic downturn, and assesses the country's prospects. Throughout, Aharoni measures the economic problems Israel has endured against the social and economic successes it has been able to achieve. He highlights the incongruities of the aspirations of Israel's founders and supporters and the reality, as well as the interplay of economic and political forces that have shaped this. With a detailed introduction to the ideology and development of the state of Israel, and a history of the Israeli economy and its institutional structure, this title will be of significant value to any student studying the economic history of Israel and the Middle East.

In designing policies to help resolve its energy problems, every country faces a unique set of conditions. Contributors to this volume profile the energy situation in the developing countries, assess the role of energy policy in Third World development, and discuss the global energy situation in relation to these countries' consumption, production, trade, and resource endowment. The rest of the volume provides researchers with different sources of information--statistical and bibliographic--relating to energy policy development in the Third World. Managing the increasing demand for energy is explored in depth.

Communications markets have made much progress towards competition and deregulation in recent years. However, it is increasingly clear, in the age of the Internet and the digital revolution, that much more needs to be done, and that new approaches, both at the Federal Communications Commission and in Congress, will be required to complete the task. In this volume, the Progress and Freedom Foundation presents nine papers by communications policy experts and government policymakers that show how to finish the job of deregulating communications markets and reforming the FCC. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 was a landmark piece of legislation for an industry moving from a monopoly orientation towards competition, but additional steps are needed to complete the process of implementing the pro-competitive, deregulatory vision of the act. Bringing together a group of the caliber represented in this book makes possible the best recommendations about the exact nature of those necessary changes. In this volume, the most difficult and politically-charged hot-button issues involving local and long distance competition, universal service, spectrum allocation, program content regulation, and the public interest doctrine are confronted head-on. As importantly, the authors recommend specific reform proposals to be considered by the Federal Communications Commission and Congress. The ideas contained in the experts' essays were presented and debated at a conference hosted by The Progress & Freedom Foundation, which was held in Washington, DC, on December 8, 2000. The Progress & Freedom Foundation studies the impact of the digital revolution and its implications for public policy. It conducts research in fields such as electronic commerce, telecommunications and the impact of the Internet on government, society and economic growth. It also studies issues such as the need to reform government regulation, especially in technology-intensive fields such as medical innovation, energy and environmental regulation.

This is the tenth volume in a series of studies on entrepreneurship, innovation and economic growth. The work looks at legal, regulatory and policy changes that affect entrepreneurial midsize firms.

In this book an eminent international banking expert grapples with issues that surround the trend toward financial globalization and its potential impact on financial fragility. Does globalization entail the risk of greater financial market instability -- perhaps even genuine systemic fragility -- or will it lead to a smoother working of markets? How should governments, central banks, and international institutions respond to manifestations of financial fragility?

Alexandre Lamfalussy analyzes four major crisis experiences in emerging markets: Latin America in 1982-83, Mexico in 1994-95, East Asia in 1997-98, and Russia since 1998. The author finds that the build-up of short-term indebtedness and asset price bubbles were at the heart of the four crises. And in each case the exuberant behavior of lenders and investors from the developed world played a major role, while financial globalization was an aggravating factor. Lamfalussy offers a series of carefully considered policy recommendations for the future that are both pragmatic and wise.

This book synthesizes the existing quantitative evidence on organizational design, bringing together the growing stream of theoretical work on the economics of firms' organization and available empirical findings produced by qualitative work in management, business history and organizational sociology.

The sports industry presents many unusual and interesting opportunities for the application of economic theory and econometrics. In 15 professional papers, this book addresses current economic issues in the industry, including the problem of competitive balance, the location of professional sports teams and their impact on local communities, managerial decision making, and issues related to labor markets. Extending the previous research in sports economics, the papers reflect the most recent applications of economic theory in this area. The book will be a valuable resource for professional economists working on sports economics topics.

In two opening chapters on competitive balance, the contributors develop a model for college football and examine the impact of balance on attendance in major league baseball. In a section on the location of professional sports teams, the chapters then develop a model to predict the location of expansion teams, make econometric estimates of the impact of Super Bowls on the host city, and analyze the ownership of stadiums and arenas. Managerial decision making is discussed in chapters that examine alternative econometric models of production in baseball, use a production function model to analyze technological change in Major League Baseball, examine the management of team streaks, consider the competitive balance between American and National Leagues, analyze the efficiency of player trades in the National Basketball Association, and estimate the impact of participation in inter-collegiate sports on academic performance. In the final section on labor markets, the contributors estimate the impact of owner collusion on baseball players' salaries, consider the impact of the new collective bargaining agreement in Major League Baseball, analyze the impact of being a union representative, and examine the impact of the National Football League's salary cap on player's salaries.

Editorial Objectives This series aims to present the latest research on entrepreneurship, innovation and the impact on economic performance. Topicality Advances in the Study of Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Economic Growth (ASEIEG) provides a timely and relevant discussion and exploration of entrepreneurial topics, their impact, and ties to key values in today's society, such as social, environmental and economic issues and challenges. Topics range from aspects of entrepreneurial behavior to determinants of entrepreneurial research with contributions from top scholars across the US and the globe. Key Benefits Organization and history of series allows a rich, multi faceted foundation for entrepreneurial topics in a rapidly changing information age. Research can be disseminated in a clear and effective manner to promote communication between the business and academic communities and to foster entrepreneurship within the society. Key Audiences Key audiences range from private industry to policy officials to researchers and educators. The role and understanding of entrepreneurship, the implications for current critical conditions and sustained vibrant economies, is rapidly growing. This series provides each with a highly useful blend of topics and scholarly perspectives. Coverage The series includes related articles and papers, frequently driven by organized colloquia and other business/academic exchange, with interdisciplinary perspectives including those of economics, marketing, law, finance, management, history, science, higher education administration and sociology. Coverage includes but is not limited to: Institutional entrepreneurial development Intellectual property concerns, patenting, and other property rights issues Environmental entrepreneurship and innovation Innovation within and across firms Effect of government regulation and tax policies Organizational factors, market structure effects and marketing strategies Entrepreneurship programmes and other educational activities Relative performance of entrepreneurial firms.

This text is concerned with strategy and tactics for directing that small slice of world income into filling the gap. This must be done country by country, on the initiative of each country's government: with the maximum involvement of its own civil society, and with the rich world also making a contribution. To add momentum, the international community needs to adopt targets far more specific than the fifty percent extreme 'poverty reduction' of the first Millennium Development Goal.

Postsecondary educational institutions in the United States are facing increasing financial stress and waning public support. Unless these trends can be changed, higher education can be expected to stagnate. What, if anything, can be done? As a starting point, advocates of higher education need to more fully recognize the issues associated with the economic mission of higher education and how this mission gets translated into individual student gains, regional growth, and social equity. This requires an understanding of the relationship between the outcomes of higher education and measures of economic productivity and well-being. This volume addresses topics related to the role of postsecondary education in microeconomic development within the United States. At tention is given to the importance of colleges and universities 'in the enhancement of individual students and in the advancement of the com munities and states within which they work. Although several of the chapters in this volume are aimed at research/teaching universities, much of what is presented throughout can be generalized to all of postsecondary education. Little attention, however, is given to the role of higher education in the macroeconomic development of the United States; this topic is covered in our related book, American Higher Education and National Growth."

It is generally agreed that food, clothing and shelter are the three basic material needs of all people. A simple test for the successfulness of any economic system may therefore be the extent to which it succeeds in providing the population with these commodities. One would conjecture that in the countries that are generally considered as highly developed there would be no problems at all with their availability. And although this conjecture is to a large extent, confirmed by the evidence, it is nevertheless surprising that in western economies with the high per capita incomes housing is still an important object for public concern. Food and clothing are abundantly available in these countries, but the provision of housing is often an object of serious policy concern. To mention one striking example : in the Netherlands there still exist official figures that mention housing shortages of ten thousends of dwellings. This state of affairs is not mentioned here to motivate an exaggerated view on housing problems in Western countries. The situation in the Netherlands and comparable countries is indeed much better than that in underdeveloped countries and a comparison with developing countries would presumably show figures which are comparable to those for food or clothing. The point I want to make is that even in highly developed market economies where the availability of food and clothing is quite satisfactory, the availability of dwellings often is not.

The sense one gets from this most interesting book is that the change Nasser wrought in the Egyptian economy was more out of expediency than out of ideological commitment. According to Hosseinzadeh, those who argue that Nasser's development path was noncapitalist or socialist are wrong; he presents their arguments and refutes them. Indeed Egypt's path, he argues, was closer to state capitalism than to any other path. . . . Highly recommended for faculty, advanced undergraduates, and graduate students. "Choice"

This clear, comprehensive book examines the theoretical, ideological, and political aspects of the official Soviet approach to Third World economic development. Of particular interest is the analysis of the so-called theory of non-capitalist (NCD) path to socialism, which is studied both theoretically and empirically. The author traces the history of thought leading to successive versions of this theory and provides a persuasive critique of it. This history begins with Marx and Lenin, continues with Trotsky and the resolutions of the Comintern Congresses of the 1920s, and leads through the Stalin era to the influence of Soviet experiences with national and social movements in the Third World. The book ends with recent reassessments of the Soviet approach to Third World developments under Gorbachev and his co-thinkers. This definitive work is of value to all those interested in Soviet studies, Third World--especially Middle East--studies, and the study of Soviet-Third World relations in general.

The author challenges Soviet Third World experts by examining the substance of their theories and the relevance of their policies from a Marxist point of view. The claims of these experts are tested against the actual developments of Nasser's Egypt, the most frequently cited case of non-capitalist development. The study of the case of Egypt focuses on the extensive nationalizations that were implemented under the Free Officers' rule, the philosophy of those nationalizations, the character of state capitalist regimes and their tendency toward expanding the public sector, the differences between socialism and state capitalism, and the like.

First published in 1991, during a significant stagnation in the Israeli economy, this title discusses the causes of the economic downturn, and assesses the country's prospects. Throughout, Aharoni measures the economic problems Israel has endured against the social and economic successes it has been able to achieve. He highlights the incongruities of the aspirations of Israel's founders and supporters and the reality, as well as the interplay of economic and political forces that have shaped this. With a detailed introduction to the ideology and development of the state of Israel, and a history of the Israeli economy and its institutional structure, this title will be of significant value to any student studying the economic history of Israel and the Middle East.

Econometric Business Cycle Research deals with econometric business cycle research (EBCR), a term introduced by the Nobel-laureate Jan Tinbergen for his econometric method of testing (economic) business cycle theories. EBCR combines economic theory and measurement in the study of business cycles, i.e., ups and downs in overall economic activity. We assess four methods of EBCR: business cycle indicators, simultaneous equations models, vector autoregressive systems and real business indicators. After a sketch of the history of the methods, we investigate whether the methods meet the goals of EBCR: the three traditional ones, description, forecasting and policy evaluation, and the one Tinbergen introduced, the implementation-testing of business cycles. The first three EBCR methods are illustrated for the Netherlands, a typical example of a small, open economy. The main conclusion of the book is that simultaneous equation models are the best vehicle for EBCR, if all its goals are to be attained simultaneously. This conclusion is based on a fairly detailed assessment of the methods and is not over-turned in the empirical illustrations. The main conclusion does not imply the end of other EBCR methods. Not all goals have to be met with a single vehicle, other methods might serve the purpose equally well - or even better. For example, if one is interested in business cycle forecasts, one might prefer a business cycle indicator or vector autoregressive system. A second conclusion is that many ideas/concepts that play an important role in current discussions about econometric methodology in general and EBCR in particular, were put forward in the 1930s and 1940s. A third conclusion is that it is difficult, if not impossible, to compare the outcomes of RBC models to outcomes of the other three methods, because RBC modellers are not interested in modelling business cycles on an observation-per-observation basis. A more general conclusion in this respect is that methods should adopt the same concept of business cycles to make them comparable.

Many social scientists have explored the economic success of Korea, Taiwan, and Japan, each of which has experienced dramatic economic growth over a relatively short period of time. M. Shahid Alam presents a controversial thesis by emphasizing the interventionist character of the export-oriented approach to the success of these three countries. Concern with the rapid development of comparative advantage in the industries they have promoted has, he believes, distinguished these three economies. This concern has led to both market and non-market interventions with the trade regime, capital markets, market structures, etc. The book explores how Taiwan and Korea changed from import substitution to the export-oriented approach with significant success. The point is made that export-oriented economies make more demands on the government, so that success in different countries cannot be assured.

The book begins with an examination of export-oriented economies and the reasons for their success. Three separate chapters follow detailing the structure, choice and implementation of economic policies in South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan. Finally, the book assesses export-oriented strategies and their application to other countries. Students and scholars of economics, business, and political science, will find this thought provoking book a source of stimulating ideas. In addition, the book has the potential for being used as a text for graduate and advanced undergraduate courses on East Asian economics and comparative economic development.

This text provides an integrated treatment of financial and operating strategies to exchange rate variability. The book analyzes theory and evidence on strategies for firms in handling exchange rate variability. The choice of price setting currency, when and how to adjust prices, the limitations of hedging and segmentation of national markets are some of the issues analyzed. The book investigates the impact of EMU. The non-technical presentation also makes it well suited to MBA students, practitioners or researchers who want an accessible synthesis of research in this area of economic theory and practice.

It is often said that everyone understands precisely what is meant by the notion of probability-except those who have spent their lives studying the matter. Upon close scrutiny, the intuitively obvious idea of probability becomes quite elusive. Is it a subjective or objective concept? Are random variables simply improperly measured deterministic variables, or inherently random? What is meant by the phrase "other things held constant" that often appears in descriptions of probability? These questions involve fundamental philosophical and scientific issues, and promise to elude definitive answers for some time. The same type of difficulty arises when attempting to produce a volume on microeconomic theory. The obvious first question-what is microeconomic theory?--

When Harold Fried, et al. published The Measurement of Productive Efficiency: Techniques and Applications with OUP in 1993, the book received a great deal of professional interest for its accessible treatment of the rapidly growing field of efficiency and productivity analysis. The first several chapters, providing the background, motivation, and theoretical foundations for this topic, were the most widely recognized. In this tight, direct update, these same editors have compiled over ten years of the most recent research in this changing field, and expanded on those seminal chapters. The book will guide readers from the basic models to the latest, cutting-edge extensions, and will be reinforced by references to classic and current theoretical and applied research. It is intended for professors and graduate students in a variety of fields, ranging from economics to agricultural economics, business administration, management science, and public administration. It should also appeal to public servants and policy makers engaged in business performance analysis or regulation.

Huang examines a recurring pattern of rapid economic growth in East Asia from 1951 to the present and explores how far a single East Asian Growth model can be said to exist. Assessing the various theories put forward to explain the phenomenon and supported by the most comprehensive data, the book finds that methods of institutional enhancement were at the core of the growth. This institutional enhancement affected state structure and functions, economic policy, corporate arrangements, social structure and relations, individual behaviour, and domestic and international interaction. Each of these elements was a critical aspect of the growth system that defined and propelled the rapid growth.

Uncertainty could be associated with wisdom, enterprise, and discovery. In ordinary speech, however, it has mostly negative connotations. There is "fear of the unknown" and "ignorance is bliss;" there are maxims to the effect that "what you don't know doesn't hurt you" (or: "bother you") in several languages. This volume suggests that we need be bothered by the excessive confidence with which scientists, particularly social scientists, present some of their conclusions and overstate their range of application. Otherwise many of the questions that should be raised about all the major uncertainties attending a particular issue routinely may continue to be thwarted or suppressed. Down playing uncertainty does not lead to more responsible or surer action, it sidetracks research agendas, and leaves the decision makers exposed to nasty surprise. This volume demonstrates that recognizing the many forms of uncertainty that enter into the development of any particular subject matter is a precondition for more responsible choice and deeper knowledge. Our purpose is to contribute to a broader appreciation of uncertainty than regularly accorded in any of the numerous disciplines represented here. The seventeenth-century French philosopher Descartes, quoted in this volume, wrote that "whoever is searching after truth must, once in his life, doubt all things; insofar as this is possible. " White areas left on maps of the world in past centuries were a much more productive challenge than marking the end of the known world with the pillars of Hercules.

Aggregation of individual opinions into a social decision is a problem widely observed in everyday life. For centuries people tried to invent the best' aggregation rule. In 1951 young American scientist and future Nobel Prize winner Kenneth Arrow formulated the problem in an axiomatic way, i.e., he specified a set of axioms which every reasonable aggregation rule has to satisfy, and obtained that these axioms are inconsistent. This result, often called Arrow's Paradox or General Impossibility Theorem, had become a cornerstone of social choice theory. The main condition used by Arrow was his famous Independence of Irrelevant Alternatives. This very condition pre-defines the local' treatment of the alternatives (or pairs of alternatives, or sets of alternatives, etc.) in aggregation procedures. Remaining within the framework of the axiomatic approach and based on the consideration of local rules, Arrovian Aggregation Models investigates three formulations of the aggregation problem according to the form in which the individual opinions about the alternatives are defined, as well as to the form of desired social decision. In other words, we study three aggregation models. What is common between them is that in all models some analogue of the Independence of Irrelevant Alternatives condition is used, which is why we call these models Arrovian aggregation models. Chapter 1 presents a general description of the problem of axiomatic synthesis of local rules, and introduces problem formulations for various versions of formalization of individual opinions and collective decision. Chapter 2 formalizes precisely the notion of rationality' of individual opinions and social decision. Chapter 3 dealswith the aggregation model for the case of individual opinions and social decisions formalized as binary relations. Chapter 4 deals with Functional Aggregation Rules which transform into a social choice function individual opinions defined as choice functions. Chapter 5 considers another model &endash; Social Choice Correspondences when the individual opinions are formalized as binary relations, and the collective decision is looked for as a choice function. Several new classes of rules are introduced and analyzed.

This book explores Public Procurement novelties and challenges in an interdisciplinary way. The process whereby the public sector awards contracts to companies for the supply of works, goods or services is a powerful instrument to ensure the achievement of new public goals as well as an efficient use of public funds. This book brings together the papers that have been presented during the "First Symposium on Public Procurement", a conference held in Rome last summer and to be repeated again yearly. As Public Procurement touches on many fields (law, economics, political science, engineering) the editors have used an interdisciplinary approach to discuss four main topics of interest which represent the four different parts in which this book is divided: Competitive dialogue and contractual design fostering innovation and need analysis, Separation of selection and award criteria, including exclusion of reputation indicators like references to experience, performance and CV's from award criteria, Retendering a contract for breach of procurement rules or changes to contract (contract execution), Set-asides for small and medium firms, as in the USA system with the Small Business Act that reserves shares of tenders to SMEs only.