In the 1990s shareholder value was applied to all aspects of corporate strategy and management decisions as a result of intense competition, globalization, advances in technology, deregulation and the financial markets. As we enter the twentyfirst century the business environment is one of increasing creative destruction, where competitive advantage is much harder to sustain. Real Options , a type of advanced financial analysis, applies financial option theory to real assets and offers a strategic framework that recognizes the need for management flexibility and to leverage risk in this corporate environment.

Credit risk analysis is one of the most important topics in the field of financial risk management. Due to recent financial crises and regulatory concern of Basel II, credit risk analysis has been the major focus of financial and banking industry. Especially for some credit-granting institutions such as commercial banks and credit companies, the ability to discriminate good customers from bad ones is crucial. The need for reliable quantitative models that predict defaults accurately is imperative so that the interested parties can take either preventive or corrective action. Hence credit risk analysis becomes very important for sustainability and profit of enterprises. In such backgrounds, this book tries to integrate recent emerging support vector machines and other computational intelligence techniques that replicate the principles of bio-inspired information processing to create some innovative methodologies for credit risk analysis and to provide decision support information for interested parties.

David Ricardo on Public Debt provides a comprehensive view of the topic of public debt from the Ricardian standpoint. It shows how and why Ricardo's analysis of public debt connects to other themes and issues in Ricardian economics. With extensive reference to Ricardo's own words Churchman demonstrates that his writings and speeches on the subject of public debt provide an interesting exploration of issues still very relevant today. In addition, they furnish us with a rich source of evidence regarding topics of interest to all Ricardian scholars, including his theories of resource allocation and economic growth, the quality of his applications of analysis to practical questions, and the motives behind both his abstract reasoning and policy recommendations.

This book discusses the role of public-private partnerships (PPPs) in global transportation infrastructure. Seen as a way to provide vital services in an era of shrinking government budgets, public-private partnerships have become an increasingly important part of travel infrastructure worldwide. This book describes and analyzes the structure of various models of PPPs in various countries, evaluating their effectiveness, and drawing policy implications for future use. Written by leading international researchers and practitioners in the transportation field, each chapter is a case study on the adoption, implementation, and outcome of transportation services in different municipalities. Taken together, these diverse case studies provide an integrated framework for evaluating and using PPPs. Providing rigorous empirical analysis of PPPs in transportation, this volume will be of interest to researchers in public administration, political science, and economics as well as practitioners and policymakers involved in establishing and monitoring PPPs in transportation.

The author develops a model of bank-firm relationships on the basis of the following general idea: Banks want to prevent moral hazard on the side of their customers. In particular they want to prevent their business customers to use bank credit for purposes different from those that have been negotiated thus damaging the bank's interest. The idea of this model is relatively simple. Banks do not extend a loan if the project for which the money is intended will probably be un profitable. They extend the loan if the success of the project is highly probable and if the revenues from that project are greater than the expenses of the bank for monitoring the customer. Assuming as Miarka does that the results from a successful project are certain, this model is an equivalent to minimizing moni toring costs. In fact, this is the outcome of the model. The banks are known to monitor their loans. They thereby signal to the capital market that they have tested the project. Therefore, the buyer of bonds of the company on the capital market may rest assured that the project is financially sound. The buyers of bonds thus avoid monitoring costs and can grant better credit conditions than the banks. Pur chasers of bor. . ds are free riders on the monitoring of the banks. Miarka tests his model econometrically. The results are amazingly supportive of the model."

This book contains new theoretical discussion and new empirical evidence on the way people think about and cope with the risks and uncertainties of modern life. The national surveys cover areas ranging from lone parenthood to medicine, from house purchase to long-term care, from personal finance to the welfare state. People's confidence in their capacity to cope with uncertainty is closely related to social class, gender and access to support networks. Policies that assume that people are self-interested rational actors are likely to produce unsatisfactory results and to damage the essential social capital of trust.

The global financial crisis of 1997-98 and the widening US trade deficit have precipitated fresh inquiry into a set of perennial questions about global integration and the US economy. How has global integration affected US producers and workers, and overall growth and inflation? Is a chronic and widening deficit sustainable, or will the dollar crash, perhaps taking the economy with it? If the problem was one of "twin deficits," as many thought, why has the trade deficit continued to grow even as the budget deficit narrowed to zero? If US companies are so competitive, why does the trade deficit persist? Is the trade deficit a result of protectionism abroad? Will it lead to protectionism at home? What role do international capital markets have? Each chapter presents relevant data and a simple analytical framework as the basis for concise discussions of these major issues. The final section of the book provides an outlook for the deficit and suggests alternative policy courses for dealing with it. This book is designed for policymakers and others who are interested in the US role in the world economy. It is also suitable for courses in international economics, business, and international affairs.

The introduction of the thesis consists of four parts: first, we motivate our chosen macroeconomic setting by looking at some real world phenomena. For a better understanding of these phenomena, we argue that the mutual dynamic interactions between flScal policy and financial markets need to be closely examined in a macroeconomic framework. Second, we review different strands of the economic literature in order to show that most of the literature has so far exclusively concentrated either on fmancial market dynamics or on flScal policy issues. We conclude that a more integrated model setting is called for in order to explain the dynamic interactions observed in reality. Third, we discuss at length the economic assumptions underlying our model. This avoids multiple repetition later on. Finally, we outline the structure of the thesis and the objectives we pursue in the different chapters. 1. 1 Motivation Fiscal policy and financial market reactions are increasingly receiving world wide attention. The most recent examples are the Maastricht criteria about flScal control, the South-East Asia financial crisis and the resulting IMF policy stance, the high level of public debt in developed and developing countries and the effect on interest rates and economic growth. In contrast to the still underdeveloped theoretical literature on these dynamic links, finding empirical evidence that supports the existence of these links is not a very hard task."

Dieses Lehrbuch befasst sich mit den grundlegenden Staatsaufgaben des Fiskus in der Marktwirtschaft. Es greift auf die politischen Philosophien der Finanzwissenschaft zuruck und beschaftigt sich vor diesem Hintergrund mit den Grundfragen der effizienten und gerechten Allokation der Ressourcen zum grossten Wohl der Bevolkerung. In den empirischen Teilen wird Bezug auf die Bundesrepublik genommen. Die Kapitel sind als einzelne Vorlesungen konzipiert. Die Wiederholungsfragen, Aufgaben und Kurzlosungen bieten dem Leser die Moglichkeit, seinen Wissensstand zu uberprufen."

This book addresses the macroeconomic implications of a country's transition to a monetary union. By using a dynamic multi-country simulation model, it is possible to pinpoint a monetary union, "and" repercussions produced by fiscal retrenchment policies. Interest and exchange rate effects could only be captured once a new approach including innovations in the solution methodology had been developed. Not only can we draw lessons for newly joining members to the EMU or to any other monetary union, but the analysis also implicitly offers a new explanation for the weak Euro in the first half of 1999.

"Performance Based Budgeting"is the next volume in the ASPA Classics series. It covers the most influential, paramount research articles published on public budgeting and finance. The book will surely be of great interest and use to anyone concerned with public budgeting, and anyone enrolled in, or teaching, a course on this topic in an MPA program or a doctoral program in public administration, public affairs, political science, or economics/public finance.

The essays in this volume discuss such timely topics as demographic change and the outlook for Social Security and Medicare in the United States; long term decision making under uncertainty; the effect of changing family structure on government spending; how the structure of public retirement policies has encouraged early retirement in some countries and not others; the response of local community spending to demographic change; and related topics. Contributors include many of the world's leading public finance economists and economic demographers.

This study recommends employing "human capital contracts" wherein students agree to pay a percentage of their income over time in exchange for funds to finance their education. The main difference between "human capital contracts" and loans is the variable value of the payments students make during the repayment period. Their financial consequences, of risk transfer from students to investors and increased information regarding future graduates' earnings, make the contracts an attractive alternative in funding higher education.

These essays explore the utility of thinking about public-private partnerships for local economic development. A theoretical examination of theories of governance, institutions and policy instruments is supplemented by empirical analysis and comparisons of their operation in the United Kingdom, Sweden and the United States in the context of debates about the 'limits of politics' and dependence on the institutions of civil society.

Governments need to know how much revenue their tax systems will raise, who will pay tax and what the effects on the incentives to save, work and invest will be. This book draws on the experience of tax modelling in western European economies and economies in transition to show the range of techniques involved from 'back of the envelope' calculations to sophisticated econometrics. Personal and corporate income taxes are considered, as well as the essential task of developing an appropriate database.

The Nordic tax systems have recently undergone dramatic changes. Tax bases have been broadened, marginal tax rates have been cut, and the Nordic countries have abandoned the traditional income tax in favour of a 'dual' income tax combining progressive taxation of labour income with a low flat tax rate on capital income. Nordic governments have also experimented with new innovative methods of taxing business income. This book evaluates the Nordic tax reforms in the light of recent advances in the theory of taxation.

A ruling party decides each of two periods on the level of public goods which it finances by means of taxation and internal debt. The debt has to be honoured by the government of the second period. Between the two periods elections take place, which may change the ruling party.
The book analyzes the fiscal decision of the first government which aims to maximize the long run utility of its representative voter. Conditions under which the government uses debt strategically in order to stay in power are identified. It is also shown how the fiscal decisions hinge on the populations' political structure and its beliefs about the future government.

China has a leading edge over the advanced countries in process of digitalisation and has created the world's first central bank digital currency, or CBDC. The business community is well aware of China's role in leading the way in global business disruption and innovation by being fast and first, global and local, and by investing in e-commerce platforms, big data, 5G network and artificial intelligence applications. Applying economic theories and data analysis, Chi Lo discusses the impact of China's digital disruption to the world's financial systems, trade and investment trends, economic policy, regulations and geopolitics. The Digital Renminbi's Disruption analyses the uncharted territories in which world is moving into, such as China's expansion of its digital infrastructure to the developing world and even advanced economies. Unique to this study is the linking of the geopolitical and China's own domestic political developments with China's digitalisation process to articulate the hidden, and often misunderstood, themes and trends both within China and the global system. Exposing hidden trends and systemic flaws and debunking myths, The Digital Renminbi's Disruption contributes to revealing China's digital disruption and leads to a better understanding of upcoming potential volatility in the wake of the unfolding digital revolution.

Public policies increasingly emphasize active consumerism, entrepreneurship on the part of service providers and professionals, privatization, and an expanded role for markets. This text draws on research by economists, psychologists, sociologists and public policy experts. The research demonstrates that the traditional rational choice model of economic behaviour is unsatisfactory in providing accounts of the way people choose in relation to work, saving, spending, investment and social welfare. It also shows that the public policies of active consumerism, public sector entrepreneurship, and privatization based on this approach may be flawed.

Challenging Neighbours provides wide coverage of the German and Dutch economies, from an institutional point of view. Pensions, competition policy, labour relations, corporate governance, and health care are among the topics for which the institutional setting and performance of Germany and the Netherlands are compared. The difficulties and successes the countries have in facing pressures from aging population, developments in technology, and global competition are traced back to their institutional roots, and lead to mutual lessons for institutional reform for German and Dutch policy makers.

Population aging raises a number of issues regarding the optimality of public debt policy and the systems of public pension provisions that are in use in developed countries. The studies in this book address these questions using computable general equilibrium models. They give illuminating insights and new empirical estimates of future prospects of pay-as-you-go pension schemes in the "big seven" OECD countries, the possible distortions introduced by the pension systems in four large European economies, the effects of lifetime uncertainty in analyzing a potential reform of the Dutch pension system, effects of increasing international mobility of financial capital to pension policies, and public debt reduction policies in relation to possible adverse effects of taxation on wage formation and unemployment.

The book examines the effect of various public policies on economic performance in Japan. Various public policies include tax policy, regulation, macroeconomic policy, labour policy and some others. Many fields regarding economic performance are covered in this book: savings, portfolio choice, housings, investments, cost of capital, taxes, unemployment, wages, inequality, etc. Emphasis is placed on the examination of the two factor markets, namely, the capital and labour markets in Japan.

The widespread debate on industrial mobility and on the consequences of industrial mobility for the income of local resources has motivated me to look closer at some immanent questions concerning optimal public policy. I think that regarding locations as endowed with some stock of local resources (especially local labour) and regarding local policy makers as interested in a high income of local resources is a quite realistic approach to the issue of rent-shifting public policy in view of industrial mobility. My attention has been especially drawn to the role of inter-industry mobility differentials for public policy. As soon as the discussion focuses on local resources, it becomes clear that the expansion of a mobile industry at some location will absorb local resources which may come from local immobile industries and that the contraction of a mobile industry will release local resources which may go to local illliIlobile industries. The present study is my dissertation for a doctorate in economics at the Universitat Mannheim. It evolved at the Universitat Mannheim, where I have been member of the Graduiertenkolleg Finanz- und Gutermarkte since October 1993, and at the University College London, where I stayed as a participant in the European Network for Training in Economic Research (ENTER) from November 1994 to April 1995. The implicit support by the Deutsche F orschungsgemeinschaft and the ERASMUS programme is gratefully acknowledged.

This interdisciplinary collection of essays takes a hard look at the gap between increasingly costs expectations of welfare including other social needs and available revenues. It shows that the issue is not a purely economic and certainly not a party-political one, but that it has significant ethical, some call it spiritual, components. From providing initially a broad account of welfare economics it presents contributions from political philosophers and theologians as well as accounts of successful initiatives to indicate the direction for solutions which will correspond to the complex realities of post-modern society.

Angesichts der tiefgreifenden A"nderungen der Transformationsprozesse im Finanzdienstleistungsbereich und in der betrieblichen Finanzwirtschaft sind innovative Financial-Management-LAsungen heute mehr denn je gefragt. Dieses Buch, welches sich gleichermaAen an EntscheidungstrAger und Fachexperten aus Praxis und Wissenschaft richtet, greift diesen Bedarf auf und prAsentiert richtungsweisende Forschungs- und Praxisarbeiten insbesondere in den Themenbereichen: Elektronische Finanzdienstleistungswirtschaft, Intermediation im elektronischen Wertpapierhandel/Online Brokerage, Risikomanagement und Kapitalallokation in Kreditinstituten und e-Insurance. Das Buch zeigt somit auf, welche vielversprechenden LAsungspotentiale durch den integrierten Einsatz informationstechnischer und finanzwirtschaftlicher Methoden und Konzepte erAffnet werden.