Intellectual property rights have become increasingly important for our modern economies in recent years. Although the entire patent system has a profound effect on the decision of firms of whether to conduct research and at which volume, patent law is the heart of the entire patent system. Therefore, this book focuses on the economic effects of certain provisions in patent law by using economic models dedicated to patent policy.

The first part of the book presents a brief overview over the history of patent systems and introduces the main components of modern patent systems. A short introduction of the principal provisions of US patent law constitutes the centre of the subsequent analysis as it serves as a link between law and economics. The second part presents core economic models for central provisions, collecting the most fundamental results in a national framework in the field of literature. Part three is concerned with selected provisions of patent law in an international framework. It provides valuable insights into the situation of developing countries which are the chief recipients of technology transfers.

Patent Policy will be of interest to researchers interested in the field of modelling patent policy. It can be also used as supplementary text in courses in Industrial Organization, Innovation Economics and Law and Economics.

"Modern" integrated value chains need not necessarily exclude the smallest producers as this book aims to explain in detail by case studies. The issue is particularly topical in India, where modern retailing has come to the scene only recently and the majority of whose population are still small farmers and artisans. Following a brief introduction to the problem, 14 case studies from India are presented to illustrate how it is being solved in practice. The book also discusses the impact of organized retailing on small-scale traders, and finally analyses the case studies for an overview, with conclusions and learnings drawn from them. Inclusive Value Chains shows by practical examples that it is possible to link the smallest producers of fresh produce, commodities and handicrafts profitably, to modern integrated markets, within the country of origin as well as abroad.

"How to Start a Home-Based Jewelry Making Business" is for creative, talented women who want to turn their passion for beautiful jewelry into a profitable sideline or full-time business. Selling and making jewelry is one of the more high-margin craft businesses and with the right approach to sales and a stylish look, one can develop a devoted following. In addition to the essentials common to the series, this book also includes information on pricing jewelry, setting up a Web site, and how to get celebrity attention.

This book disputes the traditional argument that the equal inheritance system hinders the growth of Chinese family business, approaching this not only in terms of economic capital, but also in terms of human capital such as education and leadership, and social networks.

Zheng argues that most of the family business patriarchs only focus on the passing on economic capital, but give little attention to human capital and social capital when the come to the stage to transfer control to the next level. It further elaborates that the equal inheritance system itself isn't the destructive force that weakens family business competitiveness, but can assist economic development by generating dynamism and capital.

Based on extensive primary research, the work discusses how equal division encourages sibling comparison, analysing how such comparisons initially generate stress and anxiety but will ultimately galvanize competition, benefiting the business. The author also assesses how family division can offer initial economic human and social capitals that can motivate siblings to start their own businesses and be free from the subjugation sometimes associated with a family firm. Through the evaluation of these issues the book argues that the equal inheritance system can be regarded as the origin of the self-employment mentality, which not only fosters the growth of Chinese family business by plays crucial role in promoting economic development.

Providing a valuable contribution to the field, this work will be of great interest to all scholars of Chinese and Asian business.

From a managerial perspective, the biopharmaceutical industry represents a competitive, fast-changing, intellectually-powered, innovation-driven sector. Many management scholars have studied this discontinuous era to make sense of strategic behavior and the cognition of firms and top managers. A past look at the biopharmaceutical industry provides answers to questions that most managers have. For example, what options do you have and what actions do you take when new firms enter your industry? In the 1970s, new biotechnology firms, funded by venture capitalists, appeared in the pharmaceutical industry with new knowledge. Successful pharmaceutical firms decided to collaborate with the new entrants and forge relationships to develop and create new, biotechnology engineered drugs. Thus, the addition of new biotechnology firms ushered in a new business model based on strategic alliances. Strategic alliances have now become an industrial norm called open innovation. The author looks at the historical path of the biopharmaceutical industry, particularly in the United States. While the pharmaceutical industry's main contributions to society are substantial, there are pressing challenges the industry must face, such as an increase in infectious disease outbreaks or the global aging population, which require new types of care, additionally, mental health care and prescription painkiller addiction are persistent issues with economic repercussions to both federal and local governments. This book presents a holistic view of the biopharmaceutical industry, putting it in a historical context. It will best serve those who are eager to learn about this dynamic, fast-evolving industry and who would like to tackle current biopharmaceutical industry issues in the United States and be prepared for future industry challenges.

The service sector accounts for a huge proportion of global employment, and is the biggest driver of gross domestic product in developing nations. Yet there has been little research uncovering its scope, potential and implications on sustained and inclusive economic growth. This is especially true for Africa, which has seen a strong growth trajectory in recent years. This book presents a new frontier of research, offering insightful perspectives on the 21st-century realities of the service sector and its effect on economic development in Africa. The analysis presented here will be of relevance to academics and policymakers with an interest in Africa's role in the global economy.

Not until 1997 did a female become chief executive officer of a Fortune 500 corporation (Jill Barad, at Mattel Toy Co. Women's progress since that time has been in fits and starts, exceedingly slow. The number of women CEOs reached 4 in 1999 only to slide back to 2 in 2001. Meanwhile, while not reaching anything approaching parity, women made significant strides in politics (as senators, cabinet secretaries and governors), in not-for-profit spheres (as CEOs of health care and hospital organizations or of United Way chapters, with budgets of billions of dollars), and at colleges and universities (23 % have female presidents or chancellors). Currently, 3%, or 15, of Fortune 500 CEOs are women.

After examining in detail the educations, career progressions, pronouncements and observations, as well as family lives, of the 19 women who have risen to the top (sitting and former CEOs), this book asks, and attempts to answer, two questions:

Why haven?t more women reached the CEO suite?How might women in business better position themselves to ascend to the pinnacle?

In the last 30 years, most developed nations have corporatized their air navigation service providers, providing significant benefits to the travelling public and national economies. At a time when one of the last holdouts - the United States - is once again discussing the corporatization of its air traffic control system, Dr. Neiva's book presents a thorough analysis of the issues that other countries have had to deal with when they corporatized their systems. This book should not be missed by anyone who wants a detailed study of a very important policy, transportation, and economic topic.' - Jim Burnley, Former US Secretary of Transportation, US'Not every book has the potential to change the world, but this one does. Dr. Neiva's research and analysis of the US experience with respect to air traffic control, and his extensive look at how other countries provide these services, could help make history. The US is now seriously considering major reforms to its air traffic services, and access to objective, thoughtful, and rigorous research like this is essential reading for policy makers and academics alike.' - Joshua Schank, CEO and President, Eno Center for Transportation, DC, US 'The changing structure and growth of global aviation has resulted in major challenges for the capacity, organization, and financing of air navigation. Rui Neiva's book presents a thorough review of the governance and performance of air navigation providers worldwide. The use of a variety of economic analyses provides new insights about the drivers of air traffic control performance, including important findings about the effects of commercialization/privatization and the benefits of airspace reform. The book's analysis of productivity across European air navigation service providers is especially well done. The book is an important - and timely - contribution to the future development of aviation infrastructure.' - John Strong, College of William and Mary, US Institutional Reform of Air Navigation Service Providers deals with the changes that have taken place in this major, technologically progressive industry as many countries moved away from direct provision by the government to forms of corporate or private provision. The author provides an up-to-date institutional and economic analysis of air navigation service providers efforts to reform their governance and funding structures under these changes. The book discusses air navigation service providers in great detail, with a focus on the historical evolution of the industry's institutional and regulatory frameworks as well as the ongoing developments in the industry (e.g. the Single European Sky in Europe and NextGen in the US). The author departs from the more conventional quasi-descriptive analysis by performing economic and econometric analyses of the industry that explicitly include institutional variables, e.g. to explore whether the nature of ownership can be associated with different economic efficiency outcomes. The result is a rigorous assessment of the structures of various air navigation service providers, strengthened by the use of case studies and policy analysis of potential reform. The theme and scope of this book will appeal to anyone interested in the institutional and regulatory history of air navigation service providers, and its accessible approach will appeal to policy-makers and professionals as well as people who are interested, more broadly, in economic regulation.

Focuses on the different methods that economic science has employed in order to detect and measure barriers to entry. This book presents a chronological analysis of competing Harvard and Chicago Schools' interpretations of this phenomenon.

This book examines the political origins of financial institutions across fifteen developed democracies, with focused case studies on the US, France, Japan, Austria, and Germany.

The institutional arrangements of financial systems are widely seen as a central distinguishing feature of 'varieties of capitalism'. Through a wide-range of case studies, this book contends that political battles between landed interests, labor, and owners of capital have fundamentally shaped modern financial arrangements. Demonstrating how these conflicts have shaped contemporary financial architecture in a number of different contexts, author Richard W. Carney offers an innovative approach to explaining the distinctive capitalist arrangements of nation-states. By demonstrating the importance of landed interests to nations' institutional configurations, the book has clear implications for developing countries such as India and China.

Providing a detailed account of the development of financial institutions, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of political science, sociology, business, finance, and law. It will also offer insights valuable to government policymakers, analysts at international organizations, and the business community.

Despite the influence corporations wield over all aspects of everyday life, there has been a remarkable absence of critical inquiry into the social constitution of this power. In analysing the complex relationship between corporate power and the widespread phenomenon of share ownership, this book seeks to map and define the nature of resistance and domination in contemporary capitalism.

Drawing on a Marxist-informed framework, this book reconnects the social constitution of corporate power and changing forms of shareholder activism. In contrast to other texts that deal with corporate governance, this study examines a diverse and comprehensive set of themes, from socially responsible investing to labour-led shareholder activism and its limitations. Through this ambitious and critical study, author Susanne Soederberg demonstrates how the corporate governance doctrine represents an inherent feature of neoliberal rule, effectively disembedding and depoliticising relations of domination and resistance from the wider power and paradoxes of capitalism.

Examining corporate governance and shareholder activism in a number of different contexts that include the United States and the global South, this important book will be of interest to students and scholars of international political economy, international relations and development studies. It will also be of relevance to a wider range of disciplines including finance, economics, and business and management studies.

Winner of the Davidson/Studies in Political Economy Award.

Part of the highly successful Studies in Global Competition series and written by an author based at the Max Planck Institute in Germany -- one of the world's leading centres of evolutionary economics, this book looks at the medium to long term development of firm founding activity. Developing a framework with which to focus on development and change in regional firm founding activities and split into two sections, it: explores changes in regional firm founding activities; looking at empirical evidence based on the analysis of fifty German regions examines positive examples or 'role models' that can lead to change in regional start-up activities, analyzing its impact both theoretically and empirically in the German town of Jena. Incisive and based on empirical research, this book is a key resource for students engaged with change and development in entrepreneurial and regional start-up activities and the environmental impact of start up decisions as well as to policy makers in this area.

In this book David Wittner situates Japan s Meiji Era experience of technology transfer and industrial modernization within the realm of culture, politics, and symbolism, examining how nineteenth century beliefs in civilization and enlightenment influenced the process of technological choice.

Through case studies of the iron and silk industries, Wittner argues that the Meiji government s guiding principle was not simply economic development or providing a technical model for private industry as is commonly claimed. Choice of technique was based on the ability of a technological artifact to import Western "civilization" to Japan: Meiji officials technological choices were firmly situated within perceptions of authority, modernity, and their varying political agendas. Technological artifacts could also be used as instruments of political legitimization. By late the Meiji Era, the former icons of Western civilization had been transformed into the symbols of Japanese industrial and military might.

A fresh and engaging re-examination of Japanese industrialization within the larger framework of the Meiji Era, this book will appeal to scholars and students of science, technology, and society as well as Japanese history and culture.

Precarious employment presents a monumental challenge to the social, economic, and political stability of labour markets in industrialized societies and there is widespread consensus that its growth is contributing to a series of common social inequalities, especially along the lines of gender and citizenship.

The editors argue that these inequalities are evident at the national level across industrialized countries, as well as at the regional level within federal societies, such as Canada, Germany, the United States, and Australia and in the European Union. This book brings together contributions addressing this issue which include case studies exploring the size, nature, and dynamics of precarious employment in different industrialized countries and chapters examining conceptual and methodological challenges in the study of precarious employment in comparative perspective.

The collection aims to yield new ways of understanding, conceptualizing, measuring, and responding, via public policy and other means such as new forms of union organization and community organizing at multiple scales to the forces driving labour market insecurity.

This innovative book portrays the state-of-the-art of coopetition strategy regarded as a compelling mindset to exploit entirely the potential of actors' interdependencies (firms, governments, suppliers, customers, scientists and partners) in today's global scenarios. It provides the rudiments for navigating an exploration journey into a virtually new and emergent management subfield. This volume presents three key distinctive features: it is the first attempt that delves systematically and rigorously into coopetition strategy and coopetitive behaviour; it clearly elucidates the contribution of coopetition to the advancement of strategic management and managerial practice; it is the outcome of the collective brains of several scholars, with diverse geographical roots and backgrounds, who cultivate original research on co-opetition strategy from a variety of perspectives (economic, managerial, political) and multiple methods (theory building, game-theoretical, experimental and inductive case-based inquiries). Looking into this volume, the reader will realize that, while the topic is at the beginning of its lifecycle, coopetition strategy has touched an important crossroads which solicits a more comprehensive and systematic assessment. If mindfully formulated and implemented, this hybrid strategic option is able to increase returns and generate value for shareholders, entrepreneurs, managers and coopetitors.

This interesting book discusses the emergence and development of five extremely popular team sports ??? baseball, basketball, football-soccer, ice hockey and cricket ??? since the 1800s in 15 different countries. It addresses some of the most provocative, recent and unique economic and business issues associated with team sports in the various nations. For example, to what extent has each of these spectator sports prospered as industries, and will they expand into other regions of the world during the early to mid-2000s? This book answers these questions, and compares the performances of each country's amateur, semiprofessional and/or professional sports leagues and their respective teams by providing detailed statistics and other relevant historical information.

Almost 117 million passengers flew on Europe's low cost airlines in 2006. This statistic would have seemed beyond belief in the mid-1980s when air transport was a heavily regulated sphere.

This book examines the deregulation which has taken place since then and in particular looks at the single most important reprurcussion of the deregulation of Europe's skies - the rise of the low cost airline. Sean Barret has been involved in the debates surrounding this right from the start and is well placed to provide a scholarly study of the issue. The book spends much time looking at the success of Ryanair in this period - this provides the perfect case study given the dominant role that the company has taken up over recent years.

In this comprehensive original reference work, the editors have brought together an unrivalled group of distinguished scholars and practitioners to comment on the historical and contemporary role of industrial districts (IDs). This Handbook is uniquely positioned to shed light on the role of global and local forces and how they increasingly interact to shape the welfare of societies and the economic performance of firms and places. It illustrates that IDs are a clear expression of local societies finding their 'place' in the national and international division of labour, and through the constitution and elaboration of productive specialisations congenial to the attitudes and the preferences of their people. Ultimately, the Handbook represents the main strands of a wide-ranging, decades-long debate on the nature of IDs: what they represented in the past, the changes they are currently undergoing, and the future challenges and opportunities they will face in an increasingly global economy. Including conceptual, critical and forward-looking contributions, as well as case studies from Asia, Latin America, Europe and the US, this Handbook will prove an invaluable resource for academics, students and policymakers focusing on industrial districts, local production systems and innovation. It will also appeal to those interested in the local drivers of competitiveness and related public policies.

First Published in 2004. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Winner of the 2009 Regional Studies Association Best Book Award

Since the early 1980s, the region has been central to thinking about the emerging character of the global economy. In fields as diverse as business management, industrial relations, economic geography, sociology, and planning, the regional scale has emerged as an organizing concept for interpretations of economic change.

This book is both a critique of the "new regionalism" and a return to the "regional question," including all of its concerns with equity and uneven development. It will challenge researchers and students to consider the region as a central scale of action in the global economy, and at the core of the book are case studies of two industries that rely on skilled, innovative, and flexible workers - the optics and imaging industry and the film and television industry. Combined with this is a discussion of the regions that constitute their production centers. The authors' intensive research on photonics and entertainment media firms, both large and small, leads them to question some basic assumptions behind the new regionalism and to develop an alternative framework for understanding regional economic development policy. Finally, there is a re-examination of what the regional question means for the concept of the learning region.

This book draws on the rich contemporary literature on the region but also addresses theoretical questions that preceded "the new regionalism." It will contribute to teaching and research in a range of social science disciplines and this new paperback edition will also make the book more accessible to students and researchers in those disciplines, those individuals who will influence the re-structuring economies of the 21st century.

Forming part of the Understanding Organizational Change series, Managing Organizational Change in Public Services focuses on the organizational dimension of change management in public services. Combining aspects of change management theory with ?real life? practice in the form of organizational cases from different regions and sectors, this edited collection identifies and analyzes significant issues regarding the development, implementation and evaluation of public service change initiatives. Featuring contributions from leading authors in the field, this text provides an overview of organizational change management with a focus on leadership, management, and strategies for change.

Looking at cases from Europe and North America, Managing Organizational Change in Public Services offers both a global, as well as a cross-sector analysis of this complex and challenging process. Different sectors that are examined include:

• Transport
• Health
• Education

This book offers an excellent introduction to change management and how it works within the public service organizations internationally. It will be vital reading for all those engaged with the study or practice of this dynamic subject.

This collection brings together international experts from different continents to examine creativity and innovation in the cultural economy. In doing so, the collection provides a unique contemporary resource for researchers and advanced students. As a whole, the collection addresses creativity and innovation in a broad organizational field of knowledge relationships and transactions. In considering key issues and debates from across this developing arena of the global knowledge economy, the collection pursues an interdisciplinary approach that encompasses Management, Geography, Economics, Sociology and Cultural Studies.

This book takes stock of what is known about the process of innovation and its effects, and the policy interventions that influence both. It provides insights into future research required to support evidence-based policy-making and makes clear the need to take a systems approach to the analysis of innovation, its outcomes and its impacts. The contributors explore the fact that economic theory, statistical measurement and the need to achieve targets are combining to shift policy focus towards the economic and social impacts of innovation. This is forcing economists and statisticians to look for new measures, indicators, and analytical frameworks to support the public policy debate and the implementations of change necessary for success. The book emphasizes the importance of linkages and communities of practice in measuring and analyzing innovation, and focuses on: the importance of social sciences as well as natural sciences to the activity of innovation. policy-relevant discussions on the measurement gaps in the activity of innovation quantitative results of analysis relating to the output of innovation activities theoretical frameworks and concepts for measurement of the activity of innovation suggestions for new measurement directions for the activity of innovation which will lead into an international forum to discuss indicator development at the OECD over the next decade. Illustrating that the expectations of innovation policies are being raised, this book will prove fascinating reading for policy analysts, economists, academics and students with an interest in innovation, industrial dynamics and science and technology.

There a few events in life more important than a wedding. It is a day when everything must go according to plan. In the United States alone, more than four million people tie the knot annually, with over $85 billion spent on services and products. Not surprisingly, many couples are hiring wedding planners to help coordinate their special day, and business opportunities for such consultants abound. Even if you know how to make a wedding happen with elegance and style, and with stellar organization, making the leap to offering your services professionally requires a specialized skill set, one that can be learned in this book. With" How to Start a Home-Based Wedding Planning Business" in hand, you can gain the know-how and perspective to become the wedding planner everyone wants to hire. Uniquely, this book covers not only general weddings but religious ceremonies, destination weddings, multicultural weddings, vendor services specific to weddings, wedding-planning timetables, wedding styles, outdoor/tented weddings, and the emotional nuances of the wedding client. It will channel your creativity and show you how to get your business off the ground. You'll be the one couples turn to--and make money doing so!

In this timely volume on newly emerging financial markets and investment strategies, Arvin Ghosh explores the intriguing topic of initial public offerings (IPOs) of securities. Before the 2000-2001 market turndown, hardly a week went by when more than a few companies did not become public, either in the organized stock exchange or in the Over the Counter (OTC) market. In the technology-heavy Nasdaq market, IPOs were crucial for that market's new growth, as Internet stocks supplied key momentum to the market. In the so-called "New Economy" of the 1990s, it was the ubiquitous IPO that ushered in the world's information technology revolution.

Ghosh sets out to examine the pricing and financial performance of IPOs in the United States during the period of 1990-2001. He discusses the rise and fall of IPOs in the preceding decade and explores the IPO process from the start of the prospectus to the end of the "quiet period" and aftermarket stabilization. Ghosh analyzes the deceptive underpricing, or "flipping," of Internet IPOs, the long-run performance of IPOs both in the New York Stock Exchange and in the Nasdaq markets, and the role of underwriters as market makers. Finally, Ghosh discusses the accuracy of analysts' earnings forecasts.

This project summarizes the recent revival of the IPO market and its place in capital formation, as well as the latest developments in the realm of United States IPOs. This work brings forth the true nature and consequences of the recent IPO phenomenon. It is a fascinating financial read and must-have for anyone involved in finance.

""Pricing and Performance of Initial Public Offerings" in the United States is a timely discussion of newly emerging financial markets and investment strategies ...] it is primarily a scholarly text and financial historiography, not a how-to investment guide, yet the lessons and conclusions it draws from past IPOs surely point the way to insight concerning their future." --"The Wisconsin Bookwatch"

"Arvin Ghosh" is a professor in the Department of Economics, Finance, and Global Business at William Paterson University in Wayne, New Jersey. He is author of "Capital Structure and Firm Performance" (Transaction).