The book considers the impact of COVID-19 on the GCC member states through the prism of challenges faced by their hydrocarbon sector. Yet, the publication’s discourse is not solely focused on the problems experienced by the oil and gas industries of the GCC member states after the beginning of the COVID pandemic. Instead, the contributors will analyze how these challenges and subsequent response to them affected other aspects of the GCC socio-economic and political development, from direct impact of the COVID on the energy sector of the GCC to socio-economic consequences of the oil market crisis for the region and its potential fallouts for the international relations of the Gulf. 

The ideas behind economic democracy and financial participation are not new; the International Congress on Profit-sharing first met in Paris in 1889. The practical objective of many profit-sharing schemes was increased labour management co-operation. Some also had an ideal objective - the resolution of a perceived contradiction between concentrated wealth and power and the democratic ideal. In "Economic Democracy and Financial Participation", Daryl D'Art has two objectives. Firstly, to examine if, and under what conditions, profit-sharing schemes and employee shareholding can motivate workers and generate cooperative striving. Secondly, he identifies the schemes of financial participation which have the potential to realise economic democracy within the individual firm and society at large. To fulfill these objectives the author draws on the results of research carried out in the USA, Sweden, Denmark and Ireland. By making a comparative international study he contrasts an individualist approach to economic democracy with a collective approach. This book should be of interest to undergraduates and academics of economics, management, organizational behaviour, industrial relations, bu

Under the rule of the current economic order, social injustice is ever-increasing. Issues such as poverty, inhumane working conditions, inadequate wages, social insecurity and an unhealthy labor market continue to persist. Many states are also unable to produce policies capable of resolving these problems. The characteristics of the capitalist system currently render it unable to provide social justice. In fact, on the contrary, the system reinforces these injustices and prevents economic and social welfare from reaching the masses. Many Muslim scholars have analyzed and, indeed, criticized this system for years. This book argues that an alternative and more equitable theoretical and practical economical order can been developed within the framework of Islamic principles. On the other hand, the experiences of societies under the rule of Muslim governments do not always seem to hold great promise for an alternative understanding of social justice. In addition, the behaviors of Muslim individuals within their economic lives are mostly shaped by the necessities of daily economic conditions rather than by the tenets of Islam that stand with social justice. Until 1990s, studies of Islamic economics made connections between finance and the notion of social justice, but work conducted more recently has neglected this issue. It is therefore evident that the topic of social justice needs to be revisited in a more in-depth manner. Filling an important gap in existing literature, the book uniquely connects social justice and Islamic finance and economics on this topic. Theory, practice and key issues are presented simultaneously throughout this book, which is based on the writings of a number of eminent scholars.

The global economy is still experiencing the effects of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Over the last three years economies worldwide have slowed and international trade has declined. Most importantly, the crisis has negatively affected the lives of ordinary people, creating a sense of uncertainty about the future and thus posing a direct threat to social cohesion, thus posing new challenges to political leadership. Climate change is also forcing the developed world to formulate a common strategy that will balance growth and environmental protection. The aim of the book is to examine these international trends and comprehend the transformations that take place internationally. The multi-authored work presents several accounts on the course of vital aspects of politics and economy. As a result, the contents of the book focusses on four main subjects: 1) global economic crisis and its consequences, 2) economic governance, 3) political leadership, and 4) climate change.

Government policies to reduce environmental pollution and global warming are often criticized as damaging to the economy, particularly by reducing international competitiveness. This book addresses the issue by examining many of the policies concerned, and their effects on competitiveness. It demonstrates that well-designed, market-oriented environmental policies may be expected to improve both domestic and international competitiveness. The authors dismiss the fear that environmental policies will damage competitiveness by approaching the issue from four different perspectives: the economic analysis of competitiveness; a geo-economic approach to trade and foreign investment between Europe, NAFTA and Southeast Asia; studies of the effects of environmental policies on competitiveness; and the formal modelling of carbon taxation, international competitiveness and carbon leakage. The book also includes results from a global econometric model on the potential for carbon leakage, a detailed case study of German national policies, an examination of life cycle analysis and competitiveness, and an empirical study of green product development. This book will be of great interest to academics working in the field of environmental economics and researchers involved in environmental policy.

For several decades now, advanced economies across the globe have been undergoing a process of rapid transformation towards becoming knowledge economies. It is now widely recognized that intangible capital has been a crucial element in the growth performance of these economies and their firms. The term serves as a useful device for capturing those dimensions of capital that are not tangible in nature but are nevertheless fundamentally important for growth. It encompasses investments in education (human capital) and in informal (social capital) and formal (rule of law) institutions by the public sector and households, as well as investments by businesses aimed at enhancing their knowledge base, such as software, innovative property, and economic competencies. Intangible Capital and Growth is the first of two open-access volumes presenting a selection of the author's essays on Labor Productivity, Monetary Economics, and Political Economy. This first volume brings together eight of the author's essays, selected with the aim of providing an overview of his research to date on intangible capital and growth.

In contemporary global capitalism, the most powerful corporations are innovation or intellectual monopolies. The book's unique perspective focuses on how private ownership and control of knowledge and data have become a major source of rent and power. The author explains how at the one pole, these corporations concentrate income, property and power in the United States, China, and in a handful of intellectual monopolies, particularly from digital and pharmaceutical industries, while at the other pole developing countries are left further behind. The book includes detailed empirical mappings of how intellectual monopolies develop and transform knowledge from universities and open-source collaborations into intangible assets. The result is a strategy that combines undermining the commons through privatization with harvesting from the same commons. The book ends with provoking reflections to tilt the scale against intellectual monopoly capitalism and arguing that desired changes require democratic mobilization of workers and citizens at large. This book represents one of the first attempts to capture the contours of an emerging new era where old perspectives lead us astray, and the old policy toolbox is hopelessly inadequate. This is true for the idea that the best, or only, way to promote innovation is to transform knowledge into private property. It is also true for anti-trust policies focusing exclusively on consumer prices. The formation of global infrastructures that lead to natural monopolies calls for public rather than private ownership. Scholars and professionals from the social sciences and humanities (in particular economics, sociology, political science, geography, educational science and science and technology studies) will enjoy a clear and all-embracing depiction of innovation dynamics in contemporary capitalism, with a particular focus on asymmetries between actors, regions and topics. In fact, its topical issue broadens the book's scope to those curious about how innovation networks shape our world.

Growth patterns have changed radically over the last two decades, to which capital and the labour markets appear to have failed to adapt. Unemployment in Europe has been growing, almost without remission, to levels unseen since the Great Depression. These facts are somewhat at odds with the development of growth theory which has mainly been orientated towards an equilibrium full employment framework. The main message of equilibrium theory of fluctuations was precisely that the policy maker is impotent. Now, with the universal acceptance of endogenous growth theory, the common concensus proposition would be `we are all neo-classical for the short run and Keynesian for the long run' (investment being too important for growth to be left entirely in private hands).

This seminal book results from a NATO Advanced Research Workshop at the University of Cambridge with Russian co-directorship, enabling the first formal dialogue between NATO and Russia about security issues in the Arctic Ocean. Involvinginterdisciplinary participation withexperts from 17 nations, including all of the Arctic states, this workshop itself reflects progress in Arctic cooperation and collaboration. Interests now are awakening globally to take advantage ofextensive energy, shipping, fishing and tourism opportunities in theArctic Oceanas it is being transformed from a permanent sea-ice capto a seasonally ice-free sea. This environmental state-changeis introducing inherent risks of political, economic and cultural instabilities that are centralized among the Arctic states and indigenous peoples with repercussions globally. Responding with urgency, environmental security is presented asan" "integrated approach for assessing and responding to the risks as well as the opportunities generated by an environmental state-change."" In this book diverse perspectives on environmental security in the Arctic Ocean are shared in chapters from high-level diplomats, parliamentarians and government officials of Arctic and non-Arctic states; leaders of Arctic indigenous peoples organizations; international law advisors from Arctic states as well as the United Nations; directors of inter-governmental organizations and non-governmental organizations; managers of multi-national corporations; political scientists, historians and economists; along with Earth system scientists and oceanographers. Building on the" common arctic issues " of " sustainable development and environmental protection " established by the Arctic Council environmental securityoffers an holistic approachto assess opportunities and risks as well as developinfrastructure responses with law of the sea as the key" international legal framework " to " promote the peaceful uses " of the Arctic Ocean. With vision for future generations, environmental security is a path to balance national interests and common interests in the Arctic Ocean for the lasting benefit of all."

This book provides a fresh perspective on the ever-growing relevance of input-output analysis in problem solving. It is based on the "19th National Conference of the Input-Output Research Association of India (IORA)", held in 2017 in Mumbai, India. The conference promoted the exchange of ideas on input-output analysis and related methods among economists, government officials, policymakers, academicians and industrialists. The book captures the unique ideas of prominent scholars, extends the basic "input-output framework," analytical tool, outlines the possible impacts of some major policy decisions adopted by the Government of India, and puts forward concrete policy suggestions. In addition, it highlights the versatility of the Leontief model, which is currently being extended to cover a diverse spectrum of policy issues, ranging from agricultural productivity to science and technology and from carbon hotspots to energy and environmental consequences. A perfect blend of theory and application, the book provides a realistic outlook on sensitive economies and interdependencies between sectors.

This timely research review analyses a broad selection of important readings from the existing literature addressing several fundamental questions about recessions. These include what a recession is, the causes and effects of recessions, how to identify and predict recessions, and how to manage the associated risks. The review offers a general overview of the subject, detailed analysis of the readings, discussion of policy implications and acknowledgment of the areas where further research is required, proving itself to be an invaluable source of reference for academics, scholars and practitioners alike.

This book is the outgrowth of the editors' conviction that there is a need for a current and comprehensive examination of international economic issues within the framework of institutional economics. The volume covers the most important international topics that institutional economists historically have addressed. We hope that our initiative and necessarily limited choice of subjects will encourage additional applications of institutional economic theory to the international economy. For other economists, the analyses contained in the volume's dozen chapters afford an opportunity to become more aware of the theoretical work and policy recommendations of institutional economists. It may be surprising that, to an extent, evolutionary and neoclassical thinking converge and even sometimes overlap on the matter of trends and problems of the international economy. A case in point is the increased attention both schools devote to the role of technology in shaping patterns of world trade and specialization. In the past few decades, global shifts in comparative advantages, the widespread adoption of more flexible exchange rate systems, and the remarkable shifts in institutional arrangements and policy regimes in the former Soviet Union and East Asia have compelled a reassessment of conventional static trade theories based on neoclassical assumptions. Links among trade, international investment, and the diffusion of economic growth are being more closely scrutinized and better understood. This volume is an effort to expand and stimulate this discourse on the economics of international relations, including global economic development."

Recent cataclysmic changes in the international economic order are shaping the global policy changes of the 1990s. In his final collection of essays, Belta Balassaa examines the implications of these recent changes for developed, developing and reforming socialist economies. Essays on the developing countries cover development strategies, adjustment policies, the public sector and financial liberelization. Essays on the reforming socialist economies cover econmic integration in Eastern Europe, foreign economic ties of the Soviet Union, and the use of indicative planning. Trade policy negotiations are covered in several essays on GATT negotiations and on hte consequences of the EEC enlargement. The volume closes with selected essays on trends in economic policies.

Nowhere is the historic global transformation creating a new international context more striking than in East and South Asia. Leading specialists here discuss key economic and political changes within the region, and the impact of the Asian economic miracle on global politics and international relations. Prospects for growth, democracy and security are investigated in depth as well as their implications for other powers in the post cold-war world.

The last four years have seen significant damage in US-China relations that will take years to rebuild. Early signs within the Biden Administration indicate that an expeditious return to strong Sino-US ties is premature at best. To fully address these challenges and regain credibility both at home and abroad, the Biden team will need to recalibrate a new set of values, objectives, and thinking in redefining the most important bilateral relationship in the world. This edited book volume seeks to reimagine US-China relations, provide innovative policy analysis, and utilizes a truly multidisciplinary approach coupled with both first and second-hand quantitative data, infographics, geopolitical analysis, and perspectives from leading experts. More importantly, this book project provides a nuanced perspective highlighting the central issues that will define America and China both now and well into the future. Whether you are a policy-maker, business professional, academic, established practitioner, or a casual observer, this impressive volume provides exceptional insight on issues like technology, trade, cross-Strait relations, security & alliances in East Asia, geopolitics, climate change, and much more.

The book discusses contemporary issues such as global financial architecture and regulatory practices, trade, investment and the multilateral process, the future of work, the role of technology for adaptation and mitigation of climate change, and financing infrastructure for sustainable development. With increasing global connectivity, events in one part of the world immediately affect or spread to the other parts. In this context, G20 has proved to be an effective forum, particularly after the Asian financial crises. Furthermore, over recent decades, G20 has been instrumental in managing financial crises and international conflicts by deploying global cooperation as a functional tool. As a body responding to crises, the G20 has played a central role in providing the political momentum for the strong international cooperation that ensured greater policy coherence and helped ease situations that could otherwise have been decidedly worse. The G20's agendas have encompassed short-term but critical issues of economic recovery, the sovereign crisis of Europe, high unemployment and financial sector regulation. But since moderate stabilization in the global economic environment, the focus of the group has also embraced long-term areas of governance and development. For emerging economies, such as India, the G20 has been an important platform framework to promote an inclusive global economic architecture that seeks to achieve equitable outcomes. This book reviews the past 20 years of the G20, since it was conceptualized as a replacement for the G-7. While issues such as global financial order have been a constant area of discussion, one of the failures has been not recognizing and acknowledging the importance of issues like trade, climate change and future of work. Featuring academic papers by experts in the area, this book provides a platform for the necessary discourse on these issues.

Fills an important gap in the study of Africa's international relations and its engagement with rising economies in the Global South. When Lula da Silva became President of Brazil in 2003 he declared Africa a priority of his country's ambitious global foreign policy. During his presidency, Brazil became one of the key emergent powers in Africa through strengthening political ties, development cooperation and trade with the continent. While, the Dilma and Temer presidencies had other political priorities, strong links with the continent continued to exist. The authors trace the longhistory of Brazil-Africa relations from the early 16th century and the slave trade, through their decline during European colonialism, their resurgence following many African countries' independence, fluctuations during Brazil's military rule in the 1960s and '70s, to the expansion of its interests under Lula and the first years under Dilma. Taking a broad range of perspectives, they examine: the way in which the rights of those of African descent have become increasingly recognized without having brought racial equality; the strengthening of bilateral and multilateral links with the continent and the growth of South-South cooperation; and Brazil-Africa relations in the South Atlantic context. The final chapter looks at the wider implications of the present political and economic crises for Brazil's future foreign policy in Africa, and the likely impact of new president Jair Bolsonaro elected in late 2018. Gerhard Seibert is Lecturer at the Universidade da Integracao Internacional da Lusofonia Afro-Brasileira (UNILAB), Brazil; Paulo Fagundes Visentini is Historian and Full Professor of International Relations at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS).

This book examines the current main sustainable development issues in Asia from a socio-economic, macroeconomic, and financial perspective, beyond a plain environmental context. The book further analyzes both financial or health crises, which jeopardize the economic sustainability of countries, particularly in Asia where a sustained economic growth path is an occurrence of the recent past. By doing so, the volume presents case studies on countries such as China, Japan, South Korea, and ASEAN countries, like Thailand. In some instances, the book provides a comparative analysis of the experience of European Union countries. The book is divided into two parts. The first part presents contributions with socio-economic perspectives under the broad heading of sustainable development. Each contribution examines a specific Asian country. Additionally, it looks into China's rise in adjacent regions like the Middle East, discussing China's positioning in the world in the current post Covid19 context. The second part presents the experiences of a number of Asian countries in terms of financial and economic perspectives, including an analysis of the issue of sovereign debt. The book further examines broader topics, like the sustainability of the top financial centers, and micro-finance. The volume is a must-read for scholars, students, and practitioners, interested in a better understanding of sustainable development issues in Asia in particular, and economics in general.

The Move to the Market? brings together recent contributions that critically review and examine the role that trade and industry policy reforms have played in the transitional economies. It relates trade and industry policy to the wider set of reforms being implemented as part of the process of moving from a predominantly centrally planned to a more market-oriented economy. The book highlights the different and complex patterns of development that are emerging between the transitional economies of Europe, Africa and Asia.

A combination of economic knowledge and accounting expertise provides a better understanding of problems of change within certain Pacific Basin nations. The role of accounting services firms in producing international linkage needed as a foundation for economic growth is described. An understanding of the impact of these firms on business operations among the nations of the Pacific Basin is provided. The focus is on the growth prospects for the accounting services firms in various area nations.

This volume studies the effects of alternative exchange rate regimes on accession countries in Central and Eastern Europe. The study uses different types of macro models and studies the sustainability and robustness of monetary policy practices.

This book describes and analyzes the formation, operation, and impacts of modern global cartels. It provides a broad picture of the economics, competition law and history of international price fixing. Intensive case studies of collusion in the markets for lysine, citric acid, and vitamins offer a deep, detailed understanding of the phenomenon. The author assesses whether antitrust enforcement by the European Union, the United States, and other countries can deter cartels.

In the book the author discusses the reasons for the collapse of the socialist system in Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary. He analyses the roles of economic and political factors and of the USSR. He concludes that the lack of legitimacy of the communist regime, the disintegration of the Communist Party and its ideology were at least as important reasons as increasing lag behind the West in technology and the declining standard of living.