This book illustrates essential microeconomic concepts and theories through the examination of related policy formulation in Australia since the 1980s. It provides a fresh approach to the subject of microeconomics from the perspective of both market and government failures. By looking at how Australia has transformed over the course of time, the book traces and tracks these changes and relates them to the broader microeconomic reforms. It also looks at the structure of Australian economic public policy formulation and process. The book uses standard microeconomic techniques to analyse the impact of these Australian policies and examines the role of government in the implementation of these policies, making it a very useful teaching vehicle for learning about microeconomics and microeconomic policies.

This book, first published in 1971, reports on the first detailed study of pricing decisions ever made in the UK. Based on case studies, it shows precisely how thirteen pricing decisions were taken. In doing so, it reveals the objectives pursued by these firms and how conflicts between these objectives were resolved. The assessments of the pricing decisions show the strengths and weaknesses of the procedures used by the firms, and the relative importance of economic and organizational elements in such decisions.

Microcredit has been seen in recent decades as having great potential for aiding development in poor developing countries, with Bangladesh being one of the countries which has pioneered microcredit and implemented it most widely. This book, based on extensive original research, explores how microcredit works in practice, and assesses its effectiveness. It discusses how microcredit, usually channelled through women, is often passed to the men of the family, a practice disapproved of by some, but regarded as acceptable by borrowers who have a communal approach to debt, rather than viewing debt as something held by single individuals. The book demonstrates how the rules around microcredit are often seem as irksome by the borrowers, how lenders often charge high rates of interest and work primarily to preserve their institutions, thereby going against the spirit of the microcredit movement, and how borrowers often end up on a downward spiral, deeper and deeper in debt. Overall, the book argues that although microcredit does much good, it also has many drawbacks.

There is a growing interest in Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), particularly in infrastructure and public services. Under the scope of PPPs, renegotiations are becoming more relevant, as empirical evidence suggests that most PPP projects are inevitably renegotiated, i.e., the original contract needs to be adapted to new and unforeseen circumstances. Renegotiations have a substantial impact on the contract and performance of a PPP and usually represent significant costs for users and taxpayers. However, very little is known about the management and, mainly, the process of renegotiating that will, very likely, occur. This book provides a set of case-studies of PPP renegotiations in the transport sector. The authors illustrate the Portuguese experience, a country that has been using PPP extensively, particularly in transport. The case studies provide an extensive and detailed analysis on each aspect of the project and the renegotiation. What drives renegotiations? Why are some projects more renegotiated than others? What are the results? How can the performance of renegotiation processes be improved? These and other questions provide the basis for the discussions in this book. The novelty and value of the book come mainly from the extent of information available. Each case-study deals with these questions in much more detail than what is common in the case-studies approach.

The countryside has often been marginalised in discussions of economic and societal development, in favour of the urban. This book aims to stimulate a debate and a re-evaluation of how the concepts of the rural, peripheral and marginal are treated in academia and policy. Approaching this theme from geographic, demographic and economic perspectives, Peter de Souza makes a compelling case for giving the periphery a prominent role as an integral part of a holistic and balanced society. The book carefully deconstructs the concept of the urban, and critiques the idea of urban-rural or centre-periphery comparisons, and presents an alternative approach to spark future discussions. Winner of the Regional Studies Association Best Book Award 2020, The Rural and Peripheral in Regional Development will be of interest to those studying and researching in the areas of rural economics, sustainability and development, as well as those involved in rural policymaking.

Pension fund benefits are crucial for pensioners' welfare and pension fund savings have accumulated to huge amounts, covering a major part of world-wide institutional investments. However, the literature on pension fund economics and finance is rather limited, caused, in part, to limited data availability. This book contributes to this literature and focuses on three important areas. The first is pension fund (in)efficiency, which has a huge impact on final benefits, particularly when annual spoilage accumulates over a lifetime. Scale economies, pension plans complexity and alternative pension saving plans are important issues. The second area is investment behavior and risk-taking. A key question refers to the allocation of investments over high risk/high return and relatively safe assets. Bikker investigates whether pension funds follow the life-cycle hypothesis: more risk and return for pension funds with young participants. Many pension funds are rather limited in size, which may raise the question how financially sophisticated the pension fund decision makers are: rather professionals or closer to unskilled private persons? The third field concerns two regulation issues. How do pension fund respond to shocks such as unexpected investment returns or changes in life expectancy? What are the welfare implications to the beneficiary for different methods of securing pension funding: solvency requirements, a pension guarantee fund, or sponsor support? This groundbreaking book will challenge the way pension fund economics is thought about and practiced.

Series Information:
Frontiers of Political Economy

This work provides a unified and simple treatment of dynamic economics using dynamic optimization as the main theme, and the method of Lagrange multipliers to solve dynamic economic problems. The author presents the optimization framework for dynamic economics in order that readers can understand the approach and use it as they see fit. Instead of using dynamic programming, the author chooses instead to use the method of Lagrange multipliers in the analysis of dynamic optimization because it is easier and more efficient than dynamic programming, and allows readers to understand the substance of dynamic economics better. The author treats a number of topics in economics, including economic growth, macroeconomics, microeconomics, finance and dynamic games. The book also teaches by examples, using concepts to solve simple problems; it then moves to general propositions.

Throughout the last several decades, Korean companies have become strong global competitors in a wide range of manufacturing industries. How did they achieve this exceptional performance? The Evolution of Tiger Management uncovers the secret of their success through a comprehensive analysis of Korean-style management. It explains how it has developed, why it works so well, what non-Koreans can learn from it, and what Korean companies need to do to stay competitive in the future. This book is an extended and significantly updated new edition of Tiger Management: Korean companies on world markets (Routledge, 2012). It tells the remarkable stories of how Korean firms, seemingly coming from nowhere, have successfully challenged their Western and Japanese competitors globally. A new chapter highlights the rise of Korean venture firms and start-ups. Next, the essence of Tiger Management is analyzed by showing that it consists of an effective combination of business strategy, leadership, and human resource management practices. Finally, the evolution and future of Tiger Management is discussed by showing how Korean companies have adapted to changes at home and abroad, and how non-Korean companies can adopt Tiger Management. A new final chapter discusses the way forward for Korean companies.

Discussions of the illicit and the illegal have tended to be somewhat restricted in their disciplinary range, to date, and have been largely confined to the literatures of anthropology, criminology, policing and, to an extent, political science. However, these debates have impinged little on cognate literatures, not least those of urban and regional studies which remain almost entirely undisturbed by such issues. This volume aims to open up debates across a range of cognate disciplines. The Illicit and Illegal in Regional and Urban Governance and Development is a multidisciplinary volume that aims to open up these debates, extending them empirically and questioning the dominant discussions of governance and development that have been rooted largely or entirely in the realm of licit and legal actors. The book investigates these issues with reference to a variety of different geographical contexts, including, but not limited to, places traditionally considered to be associated with illegal activities and extensive illicit markets, such as some regions in the so-called Global South. The chapters consider the ways in which these questions deeply affect the daily lives of several cities and regions in some advanced countries. Their comparative perspectives will demonstrate that the illicit and the illegal are an underappreciated structural aspect of current urban and regional governance and development across the globe. The book is an edited collection of research-informed essays, which will primarily be of interest to those taking advanced undergraduate and taught postgraduate courses in human geography, urban and regional planning and a range of social science disciplines that have an interest in urban and regional issues and issues related to crime and corruption.

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

This easy-to-understand and fully illustrated handbook teaches essential economic concepts so you can confidently apply economic reasoning in daily situations and discussions. Economics may seem inaccessible and complicated, but in reality, we live in an economy all the time and use economic principles every day. Economic insight and knowledge can easily and quickly solve a curiosity or problem, avoid a minor catastrophe, or even help provide support for your own economic hunch or theory. With Everyday Economics Made Easy, economics comes down from the ivory tower and into the real world. You'll review the most important basic economic concepts, history, debates, areas, and ways of thinking about economic issues-all while helping you apply these ideas in your everyday life. This book will introduce you to: The tools and theoretical approaches economists use The rich history of economic thought and its continued relevance today The contributions of notable economists The areas of microeconomic and macroeconomic analysis Complete with colorful graphics, intriguing sidebars, and easy-to-follow examples, Everyday Economics Made Easy is a calm and patient tutor to help you appreciate the how and why of economic thinking and analysis, its importance, and its application to common economic dilemmas. Build your skills as an economist with confidence in no time at all! Get a quick review of everything you forgot you knew with the Everyday Learning series from Wellfleet Press. Need a refresher course in topics like grammar and philosophy? Then let these handy reference books be your sidekicks on your journey to higher learning. You'll learn about timeless global topics, as well as the thought leaders responsible for some of the greatest contributions in the worlds of science, art, and more. Packed with useful information, these portable books are perfect for commuters who want to jump-start their day with useful and fun facts. With the Everyday Learning series, you'll be an expert in any field in no time. Other titles in this series include: Everyday Economics Made Easy, Everyday Grammar Made Easy, Everyday Mathematics Made Easy, Everyday Philosophy Made Easy, and Everyday Spanish Made Easy.

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.

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.

First published in 1988, Stock Markets of the Arab World provides a sound description and analysis of the stock market situation in Arab countries and an evaluation of previous attempts at the integration of capital markets. Foreign interest in the oil producing Arab countries has grown due to the accumulation of international reserves. Oil producers are looking for an alternative to their near-term investments in United States Securities through a diversification of their economies. This book argues that these countries could profitably invest these reserves through an integration of their securities markets. It also says that prospects of increased linkages among Arab domestic markets do exist. This is an interesting read for scholars and researchers of Middle East studies, Arab economy and economics in general.

Lack of credit access is severe in low income and poor families that are normally considered to have fewer opportunities to borrow from banks due to insufficient valuable assets for collateral. These low-income households face limited opportunity to acquire new technology and working capital for agricultural production and thus tend to fall behind. As a result, providing access to finance to low-income rural households has been considered an important component of any rural development strategy. Microfinance programmes, in particular, have been gradually embedded in national strategies of many developing countries as they are poverty-focused. They aim to facilitate the access to financial services such as credit for the poor who are usually disadvantaged in terms of access to conventional financial services from formal financial institutions. The objective of this book is to provide an overview of microfinance programmes in Asia focusing in particular on the determinants of the accessibility of rural households to microcredit. The book studies seven Asian countries such as China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Bangladesh with two specific case studies.

This book brings together a collection of seven papers on Transaction Cost Economics by Nobel Laureate Professor Oliver E Williamson. The applications of Transaction Cost Economics are extensive, ranging from the field of industrial organization and applied fields of economics such as labor, public finance, comparative economic systems and economic development, to the business fields of strategy, organizational behavior, marketing, finance, operations management, and accounting. In short, as Williamson states, 'any problem that originates as or can be reformulated as a contracting problem can be examined to advantage in transaction cost economizing terms.'What is referred to as New Institutional Economics is developed in the West in two mainly complementary ways: Property Rights Theory, and Transaction Cost Economics. Of the two, Property Rights Theory developed more rapidly. Transaction Cost Economics has nonetheless taken shape of late.In China, research on New Institutional Economics began in the 1990s and has grown rapidly since. China has similarly given much more attention to Property Rights Theory. Gengxuan Chen, the editor of this volume, recommends that China will benefit by bringing Transaction Cost Economics to bear. Simultaneously, for scholars who study the market economy, Transaction Cost Economics provides a very attractive way to explain the practice of the Chinese market economy.

This book explores new topics in modern research on empirical corporate finance and applied accounting, especially the econometric analysis of microdata. Dubbed "financial microeconometrics" by the author, this concept unites both methodological and applied approaches. The book examines how quantitative methods can be applied in corporate finance and accounting research in order to predict companies getting into financial distress. Presented in a clear and straightforward manner, it also suggests methods for linking corporate governance to financial performance, and discusses what the determinants of accounting disclosures are. Exploring these questions by way of numerous practical examples, this book is intended for researchers, practitioners and students who are not yet familiar with the variety of approaches available for data analysis and microeconometrics. "This book on financial microeconometrics is an excellent starting point for research in corporate finance and accounting. In my view, the text is positioned between a narrative and a scientific treatise. It is based on a vast amount of literature but is not overloaded with formulae. My appreciation of financial microeconometrics has very much increased. The book is well organized and properly written. I enjoyed reading it." Wolfgang Marty, Senior Investment Strategist, AgaNola AG

A lucid and up-to-date introduction to understanding electrical power utilities in an era of change

Electric utilities worldwide are undergoing profound transformations: nationally owned systems are becoming privatized, privately owned systems that were previously regulated are becoming deregulated, and national systems are becoming international.

Professionals in the power sector must now work in a new world in which an understanding of the principles of markets and how to evaluate investment projects under competition are essential.

This text was written as a manual for the Russian Federal Energy Commission to train regional electricity rate regulators in the principles of economics and finance involved in regulating electricity markets and deregulating electricity generation. Requiring no familiarity with economics and using a minimum of mathematics, this book provides professionals in the power sector with the tools to face the new realities of electric utility operation.

Designed both as a reference for practicing professionals and as a textbook for university and continuing education programs, Electricity Economics: Regulation and Deregulation discusses:

• The lessons learned from international experiences
• Competitive versus noncompetitive markets
• Cost and supply, profit, and economic efficiency
• The cost of capital, including net present value, discounting, and risk and return
• Wholesale power markets, generation expansion, and customer choice
• Specific international examples including the Californian, Norwegian, Spanish, and Argentine power sectors
• Plus numerous exercises to help clarify and support absorption of the concepts

The Law and Economics approach to law dominates the intellectual discussion of nearly every doctrinal area of law in the United States and its influence is growing steadily throughout Europe, Asia, and South America. Numerous academics and practitioners are working in the field with a flow of uninterrupted scholarship that is unprecedented, as is its influence on the law. Academically every major law school in the United States has a Law and Economics program and the emergence of similar programs on other continents continues to accelerate. Despite its phenomenal growth, the area is also the target of an ongoing critique by lawyers, philosophers, psychologists, social scientists, even economists since the late 1970s. While the critique did not seem to impede the development of the field, it certainly has helped it to become more sophisticated, inclusive, and mature. In this volume some of the leading scholars working in the field, as well as a number of those critical of Law and Economics, discuss the foundational issues from various perspectives: philosophical, moral, epistemological, methodological, psychological, political, legal, and social. The philosophical and methodological assumptions of the economic analysis of law are criticized and defended, alternatives are proposed, old and new applications are discussed. The book is ideal for a main or supplementary textbook in courses and seminars on legal theory, philosophy of law, jurisprudence, and (of course) Law and Economics.

Microeconomics studies the choices made by individuals under conditions of scarcity of resources and time and the interaction between different decision makers. Scarcity forces economic actors to choose one opportunity among many. Microeconomics with Spreadsheets starts with the mathematical preliminaries and covers consumer theory, producer theory, general equilibrium, game theory, market structure and economics of information.The reader will use numerical tools to analyse problems that cannot be analysed analytically. There is a natural synergy between rigorous proofs and numerical methods, since before using a numerical method one should also prove that a solution exists and analyse whether it is unique, and therefore be able to interpret properly the output of a program.

This book offers extensive and quality research on and original insights into China's internal regional dynamics. It provides a focused analysis of the internal dynamics and regional economic diversity of China covering the eastern, central and western regions through case study, data analysis and review of state-initiated policy measures. The book also identifies and analyses existing and potential challenges facing China's regions in their pursuit of sustainable development. Different regions in China have attempted to achieve fast economic growth and move up the industrial value chain through industrial restructuring and upgrading, inter-regional industrial transfer, urbanization or seeking central government's endorsement of new regional policies. The book examines the difference and similarities among local government policies to boost regional industrial and economic growth and assesses their implications and effectiveness. The author had conducted detailed studies in this field in order to bridge the existing research gap and the book will help to give rise to useful and illuminating discussion.

This book analyses reforms to retirement policies in Japan and South Korea, especially in the context of rapid population ageing. A defining feature of the labour markets and workplaces in these two nations, and the lives of workers and families, is involuntary retirement at relatively young ages. The book explains past developments and recent reforms of retirement policies both in the two countries, as well as in a cross-national comparative manner. At the core of the book is an examination of the social, economic and political conflicts around retirement, such as between younger and older workers, between employers and governments, and between employers and workers. The policy recommendations offered apply not only to Japan and South Korea, but also to other nations such as China. The volume is of value particularly for those interested in labour markets and workplaces, population ageing and contemporary East Asia, in addition to those studying retirement and pensions. Policymakers, business leaders, worker organizations, researchers and students will benefit from the insights about the past, present and future of retirement.

A typical consumer underestimates the benefits of future energy savings and underinvests in energy efficiency, relative to a description of the socially optimal level of energy efficiency. To alleviate this energy-efficiency gap problem, various programs have been implemented. In recent years, many governments have started providing consumers with subsidies on the purchases of eco-friendly products such as hybrid cars and energy efficient appliances. This book conducts a comprehensive analysis of the environmental subsidy programs conducted in Japan and examines their impacts on consumer product selection, consumer product use, and environmental outcome. The book also proposes recommendations for future environmental and industrial policies. The book's empirical findings will be of interest to those who are researching on and policymakers of environmental and industrial policies.

The World Bank, 1993 conferred on Singapore the status of 'tiger economy' because of its two miraculous characteristics: high growth and reduced income inequality. Expansion of educational provision is one of the major policies the Government of Singapore followed since 1975 particularly to enrich the human capital endowment of the country which has been crucial to the success of Singapore. This book made a coherent study of these extremely important issues to examine the trend and pattern of income inequality in Singapore The book delves further into the trend and pattern of income inequality in Singapore and their implications for the future. It attempts to analyse the links between social welfare and inequality in the light of rapid economic growth phase and adduced important policy implications. The concepts and methodologies used in this book as well as the novelty of analyses and policy implications make this a coherent and in-depth study of extremely important issues with most up-to-date observations. In the last three decades no such book on Singapore has been written and this book fills the gap in existing literature. It is a must-read for anyone who is interested to learn more about the tiger economy of Singapore.