This substantial book examines key economic, political and social aspects of Malaysia at the turn of the new century. It covers the years of rapid growth and dramatic structural change leading up to the 1997 financial crisis, and the subsequent adjustments which enabled the economy to resume its vigorous advance. The authors critically address affirmative action policies aiming to help Malays enter the modern economy and make income distribution more equitable while reducing poverty. They look at case studies of persisting poverty amidst economic progress, and also scrutinize the development of East Malaysia with its special problems away from the centre of power in Kuala Lumpur. The authors review the direction of politics after Prime Minister Mahathir, as well as exploring Malaysia's foreign, education, and labour policies. They canvass the idea of a 'new Malay' better adapted to modern society, investigate the position of the Chinese, examine the struggle for women's rights within the religious framework of Islam, and discuss the contributions of Malaysian NGOs to ongoing changes. They finally draw together crucial issues facing Malaysia in the 21st century. The contributors, who are leading scholars in their spheres, have produced a wide ranging and comprehensive guide to the economy and society of Malaysia. This book will be of great value and interest to students and scholars of Asian economics, development and social studies.

The impact of globalisation on social development is a critical issue for both developed and developing countries. In Globalisation and Social Development, leading experts investigate this from the perspective of European, and more specifically, Southeast Asian economies including Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam. The contributors provide a well documented, multi-disciplinary analysis of the relationship between globalisation and social development in regions which, in the last two decades, have relied heavily on an outward looking development strategy and on attracting FDI, and which have been severely hit by the Asian crisis. In order to substantiate their analysis, the contributors include case studies of company relocation to Southeast Asia. The effects of globalisation on compliance with core labour standards in the Asia Pacific are also explored. Examining the complex link between globalisation and social development in Europe and Southeast Asia, Globalisation and Social Development will be welcomed by economists and social researchers with a specific interest in globalisation and Southeast Asian economies. Lecturers and scholars of international economics, international business and Asian business will also find the book to be of great interest.

The book contributes to the growing literature pertaining to empirical and policy issues in international trade, foreign capital flows and issues in finance, implications for India and emerging economies related to trade and development interface, and analysis of sector level growth and development in India. Further, the focus is on the policy aspects of these themes and their role in fostering economic development in the context of India and other emerging market economies. The discourse focuses mainly on empirical work and econometric details. The relevant issues are investigated using state of the art techniques such as gravity models, panel co-integration, generalized hyperbolic distributions, SEM, FMOLS and Probit models. In addition, detailed literature survey, discussions on data availability, issues related to statistical estimation techniques and a theoretical background, ensure that each chapter significantly contributes to the ever-growing literature on international trade and capital flows. The readers shall find an engaging dialogue on the crucial role played by policy and the trade-capital flows-growth experience of emerging economies. The book is relevant for those who are interested in contemporary issues in trade, growth and finance as well as for students of advanced econometrics who may benefit from the analytical and econometric exposition. The empirical evidences provided here could serve as ready reference for academicians, researchers and policy makers, particularly in emerging economies facing similar challenges.

The events in Seattle and other cities around the world demonstrate that globalisation and trade liberalisation are currently under severe pressure. There are also reasons to believe that these pressures are being translated into measures to increase the protection of domestic markets. This book addresses what are arguably the four most important origins of these pressures: macroeconomic conditions, labour policy, trade and the environment, and market imperfections.The authors first address the role of macroeconomic conditions and policies, and demonstrate how these can have a crucial role in explaining 'slippages' of trade policy. The second origin of instability is labour policy, in particular the pressures to introduce universal labour standards. The third economic origin the book considers is the relationship between trade and the environment and the attempts to link trade policies to environmental standards. The fourth origin of protectionist pressure comes from the presence of various market imperfections and the extent to which they affect competition. The authors conclude that multilateral agreements can be extremely helpful in creating the right environment for equitable trade policies, but warn that complete success can only be achieved once major hurdles are overcome in the highly controversial and politically sensitive areas of labour, environment and competition. Offering a unique perspective on the threat to globalisation, this book should be widely read by students, practitioners and policymakers in the spheres of international trade, transition and development studies, and competition, labour and environmental economics.

The spatial dimension of international trade theory has been neglected during most of its history. Trade barriers such as tariffs have been deemed more important. However, in an increasingly integrated world economy seeking to abolish tariffs, spatial considerations have gained in stature. On the way to fostering a spatial trade theory this book supplies a comprehensive analysis of all the different impacts of the inclusion of space and transport costs, covering orthodox trade theory, new trade theories, and economic geography. Karl Steininger also expands spatial analysis to cover spatial preferences and spatial discounting and catalogues the result of spatial production structure and environmental quality in a global economy. Finally, an empirical account is given of the trade and macro-implications of full cost pricing in transport.

This book explores current digitalization issues in finance and accounting with particular focus on emerging and transitioning markets. It features models, empirical studies and cases studies on topics such as Fintech, blockchain technology, financing renewable energy, and XBRL usage from sectors such health care, pharmacology, transportation, and education. Such a complex view of current economic phenomena makes the volume attractive not only for academia, but also for regulators and policy-makers, when deliberating the potential outcome of competing regulatory mechanisms.

Country risk has been a key notion for economists, financiers, and investors. Norbert Gaillard defines this notion as "any macroeconomic, microeconomic, financial, social, political, institutional, judiciary, climatic, technological, or sanitary risk that affects (or could affect) an investor in a foreign country. Damages may materialize in several ways: financial losses; threat to the safety of the investing company's employees, clients, or consumers; reputational damage; or loss of a market or supply source." Chapter 1 introduces the key concepts. Chapter 2 investigates how country risk has evolved and manifested since the advent of the Pax Britannica in 1816. It describes the international political and economic environment and identifies the main obstacles to foreign investment. Chapter 3 documents the numerous forms that country risk may take and provides illustrations of them. Seven broad components of country risk are scrutinized in turn: international political risks; domestic political and institutional risks; jurisdiction risks; macroeconomic risks; microeconomic risks; sanitary, health, industrial, and environmental risks; and natural and climate risks. Chapter 4 focuses on sovereign risk. It presents the rating methodologies used by four raters; next, it measures and compares their performance (i.e., their ability to forecast sovereign defaults). Chapter 5 studies the risks likely to affect exporters, importers, foreign creditors of corporate entities, foreign shareholders, and foreign direct investors. It presents the rating methodologies used by seven raters and measures their track records in terms of anticipating eight types of shocks that reflect the main components of country risk analyzed in Chapter 3. This book will be most relevant to graduate students in economics as well as professional economists and international investors.

This book assesses Iran's role in contemporary geopolitics. In particular, it examines three main intertwining circles: Iran's development and political challenges, its relationships with neighbouring countries, as well as its relations with the major global powers - China, the European Union, Russia, and the United States. With contributions from over 20 authors, the book spans such critical aspects of contemporary geopolitics as modern history, natural resources, the economy, the social-political context, and strategic thinking. Particular focus is placed on Iran's relations with its neighbours - Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel, Pakistan, and the Persian Gulf States. Furthermore, the book offers both a bilateral and multilateral dimension on how nuclear sanctions imposed on Iran have impacted its strategic planning, from the economic and military perspectives.

To deal effectively with transboundary environmental problems such as climate change, it is important to have an idea of the model for an 'efficient' and 'fair' policy. An understanding of the strategic interactions involved in the international decision-making process is also essential. Carsten Helm uses rigorous theoretical reasoning and applications to address these issues. * The first part of the book contains a normative analysis based on fair division theory and welfare theory. The empirical focus is on burden sharing in the climate change regime, for which a concrete proposal is derived. * The book then extends the perspective by taking into account the self-interest of sovereign states. Using cooperative game theory the potential for Pareto efficient cooperation is analysed. * Finally, Carsten Helm applies non-cooperative game theory to analyse issues such as environmental and welfare effects of emissions trading, the misuse of scientific uncertainties as a bargaining tool and the effects of discontinuities in environmental systems on cooperation. This highly topical book will be of great interest to economists and political and environmental scientists, as well as all those involved in the policy and decision making of international environmental agreements.

In the post-industrial network economy, international gateway regions are becoming increasingly important. These gateway regions are the nodes (defined as a city or a city region) that act as saddle points between a region and the global economy. While gateway regions have existed ever since inter-regional trade was first practised, new non-trade networks, and the wider global economy, have made these regions more complex. The book includes discussions of infrastructure networks such as the internet and air transport, as well as networking activities such as long-distance scientific cooperation, financial networks and direct investments. The contributors have expertise in fields such as regional economics, economic geography, institutional economics and business administration. The book offers in-depth analysis of both existing and developing gateway regions in three sections: * North America * Asia-Pacific * Europe Economists and researchers with an interest in regions, the knowledge economy and institutions will find this book of great value. It will also be of interest to economic geographers, regional planners and development agencies.

This highly accessible book explains the theoretical, historical and political background of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), its impact and the debates surrounding its existence. In addition the authors provide a brief introduction to the theory of economic integration as well as a succinct overview of the evolution of the global economy, and the institutions that manage it, in the post World War II period. Key issues examined include: * how and why NAFTA emerged in the early 1990s and its performance since implementation * the economic development and commercial policy of each member country in the context of the rapidly changing global economy * NAFTA's technical strengths and limitations * the debates which still rage between its proponents and critics The team of US, Canadian and Mexican authors argue that while NAFTA has introduced novel social and environmental innovations in trade agreements, given Mexico's macroeconomic volatility, it provides a less than perfect approach for managing North America's rapidly expanding economic integration. North American Economic Integration can be used by a wide audience from students to professionals and academics from any discipline with an understanding of the basic principles of economics. Specifically, the book will be welcomed by students of international economics, political economy and international relations.

This book analyses and quantifies the environmental impact of two closely related phenomena: economic growth and trade liberalisation. Previous work in this area tends to address only the impact of trade or economic growth on the environment, yet, as Matthew Cole shows, the two are inextricably linked. A theoretical and historical background to the relationship between economic growth and the environment, coupled with the environmental impact of international trade, particularly as it has been applied through the GATT/WTO, provides the contextual framework for a detailed empirical analysis. In examining the environmental effects of economic growth and international trade, use is made of Environmental Kuznets Curves (EKCs) and improvements to traditional EKC methodology are suggested. Global policy implications are discussed and conclusions drawn. An essential supplementary text for any undergraduate or postgraduate studying environmental economics, this book should appeal to researchers and policymakers in the field of international economic development as well as anyone with an interest in the global environment.

Concerns about European prospects for competitiveness, jobs and growth are high on the European Union agenda and regulatory reform, both at national and EU levels, is widely recognised as a crucial tool for improving the performance of European companies. Despite the single market, selective sectoral regulatory reform and certain reforms at the national level, regulation in Europe still tends to discourage new entrants, impede new production methods and inhibit the exit of existing competitors. It often increases costs without providing compensatory benefits, reduces operational flexibility and distorts capital expenditure, creating obstacles to innovation. The authors in this book argue that regulatory reform can, more often than not, help improve the competitiveness of companies while generating net growth effects for the European Union as a whole.In this book, the authors discuss the horizontal issues involved in regulatory reform. Following an extended introduction by the editors, two general chapters address regulation and growth, and the regulatory burdens and failures in Europe. Other chapters deal with national competition policy, state aid, EU environmental policy, reforms in product markets, labour market reforms, the regulatory environment of small and new firms, and the current, insufficient EU reforms to improve regulatory quality. Throughout the book the authors aim to demonstrate how the market can function more efficiently and offer policy recommendations to show how regulatory reform can improve competitiveness at the firm level as well as performance at the industry, national and EU levels.

This book explores whether foreign direct investment (FDI) can contribute to the competitiveness of industries in Central Europe and to narrowing the gap between these transition economies and countries within the European Union. The Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia have attracted substantial FDI since the beginning of their transition to a market economy. Using exhaustive empirical data, the authors demonstrate that foreign investment enterprises in Central Europe have higher allocative efficiency, promote macro- and microeconomic restructuring and foster the restructuring of the manufacturing sector in accordance with the host countries' comparative advantages. The case of Austria is used to demonstrate the possible benefits of FDI. On the other hand, high foreign penetration leads to the concentration of production and exports and makes the economy more vulnerable to external shocks. In addition, there may be unwelcome pressures on economic policy in order to maintain the country's position as a frequented investment target. However, the analysis in this book suggests that, on the whole, economies in transition can become more competitive more rapidly and more profoundly with the help of foreign direct investment. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of international economics, European studies, economies of transition and international business.

The globalisation of the world economy is one of the major concepts of our time and is likely to influence thinking and policy making well into the 21st century. Although officially welcomed as a major contribution to world welfare it is held by many to be responsible for low wages and mass unemployment. This book questions the seemingly inevitable progress of globalisation and the role of the state as a powerless institution in a globalised economy. Issues discussed include: * trade liberalisation and the role of the World Trade Organisation in providing global responses to global issues * the globalisation of finance; in particular the integration of capital markets * the role of EMU in limiting the social protection level in member states * the effect of globalisation on the structure of the modern nation-state * a challenge to the conventional image of globalisation, which is viewed as being far less widespread than we are led to believe This book will be of interest to scholars of the international economics, international political economy and international finance.

Author Bo Kong reveals how China's international petroleum policy is shaped by the cogovernance of the country's petroleum sector by its government and national oil companies, whose interests are at cross purposes with each other. This exhaustive treatment of China's international petroleum policy examines the cogovernance of China's petroleum sector by its government and national oil companies, as they work at loggerheads with each other to shape such key policies as overseas investment, domestic price caps, and import controls in the face their country's exploding demand for foreign oil. Imported oil already accounts half of China's total consumption and is forecast to increase to 80 percent by 2030. China's International Petroleum Policy focuses on six major issues: the evolution of China's petroleum governance regime, the making of China's international petroleum policy, the international expansion of China's national oil companies, the challenges confronting Chinese oil companies on the international petroleum chessboard, Beijing's petroleum diplomacy, and the implications of China's international petroleum policy. Each chapter describes the historical and institutional context of a particular issue, the key players, and the structures and processes through which policy is developed and implemented. Draws on original documents published by the Chinese government and Chinese national oil companies, together with interviews with government officials, industry analysts, and experts in China, the United States, and Africa Includes data-rich appendices, a chronology, and a bilingual bibliography

This book adopts a comprehensive approach, combining the views of economists and political scientists, to assess the threats of maintaining the non-collaborative stance that prevailed in the response to past crises, and to explore new solutions to the present emergency. The coronavirus pandemic represents a serious test for the continued existence of the European Monetary Union. It has worsened pre-existing divisions among its members and highlighted the urgent need to address institutional and governance problems that were already apparent in the aftermath of the financial crisis and sovereign debt crisis, but have now gained in relevance following the more widespread impact of the disease across the European Union. This book discusses concrete strategies to overcome the current challenges, focusing on the need to build an effective economic and monetary union. It also reflects on ways of pursuing conformity with discipline and coordination rules while also adopting a more collaborative stance that has so far been absent in the Eurozone and has consistently undermined the political and social dimensions of the common currency project.

This book focuses on the recent rise of new regional economic institutions such as the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, which were established, in part, as a result of dissatisfaction of dynamic emerging markets with global economic institutions such as the IMF, the World Bank, and the GATT/WTO. The latter were formed by advanced economies in the West, after the historic Bretton Wood Conference of 1944. In doing so, the book addresses how this recent round of decentralisation, defined as the co-existence of "senior" global institutions and a plethora of newly-established regional institutions, has affected global economic governance, and the delivery of global public goods. It also poses the question if this has led to the fragmentation of global economic governance. The book adds value to existing literature by using a benefit-risk analytical framework to study the decentralisation process. Unlike the "contested multilateralism" argument used by some authors which focuses on the costs of decentralisation, the authors argue that benefits must also be considered. It also describes and analyses the establishment of global and regional international economic institutions and the evolving relationships between the two. Third, the authors argue that this decentralisation process will continue in the postpandemic period and recommend policies to reset the relationship between global and regional institutions. And lastly, the book discusses proposals to reform the international monetary system including the global reserve system with a view to reducing the hegemony of the US dollar. Throughout the book, the role for Asia is also identified, and elaborated on.

This book examines the past, present and prospects of regional economic integration in Africa. The empirical analysis ranges from unions formed during the years following independence, to the proposed African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which aims to remove trade barriers between all 55 African states. In addition, the book explores to what extent Africa's Regional Economic Communities (RECs) have advanced in accordance with a linear integration model of goods, labor and capital markets. The book subsequently evaluates the suitability of the European model of deep integration with costly institutions for the conditions specific to Africa, considering, for example, the role of informal and non-recorded trade. Stylized cases of regional division of labour with increasing returns and imperfect competition are introduced to support the economic integration logic. Past and current economic policies in Africa are scrutinized to answer the question: how can African regions best foster new manufacturing industries and value chains across the continent? In conclusion, the book outlines content and processes of Common Industrial Policy in the African regions. The book also addresses the controversial issue of international trade agreements between developing countries and the European Union or the USA and investigates whether these agreements impede or promote economic development in Africa. The book includes a detailed roadmap describing how to improve key clauses of agreements for economic partnership in the interest of African countries. In closing, it outlines a new vision of joint sustainable development for Africa and Europe.

This Research Handbook explores the latest frontiers in services trade by drawing on insights from empirical economics, law and global political economy. The world's foremost experts take stock of the learning done to date in services trade, explore policy questions bedeviling analysts and direct attention to a host of issues, old and new, confronting those interested in the service economy and its rising salience in cross-border exchange. The Research Handbook's 22 chapters shed analytical light on a subject matter whose substantive remit continues to be shaped by rapid evolutions in technology, data gathering, market structures, consumer preferences, approaches to regulation and ongoing shifts in the frontier between the market and the state. Expert contributors explore the subject through a multidisciplinary lens, offering a comprehensive overview of lessons learned over two decades of GATS jurisprudence. The book further chronicles the rising stakes and involvement of developing countries in global services trade, notably their growing insertion in global value chains, as well as the latest advances and remaining challenges in the statistical measurement of trade in services. Academics and experts in the policy research community will find value in this book, as will officials in governmental and international organization circles as well as representatives of service sector industry associations. Contributors include: A. Berry, T. Bohn, T. Broude, M. Burri, R. Chanda, P. Delimatsis, G. Gari, B. Hoekman, G.C. Hufbauer, M. Krajewski, R. Lanz, E. Leroux, J. Magdeleine, A. Maurer, P. Mavroidis, M. Mayakeshi, S. Miroudot, M. Molinuevo, S. Moses, N. Mulder, M. Roy, S. Saez, P. Sauve, B. Shepherd, A. Shingal, S. Stephenson, D. Taglioni, L. Tuthill, E. van de Marel, C. Van Grasstek, N. Ward, J. Wilson

This book observes that an in-depth study exclusively focusing on health service trade not only strengthens the overall services trade capacity of the South Asian region, but also promotes global as well as regional trade. There is a dearth of analytical research on estimating barriers to trade in health services, particularly in the context of South Asia, and as such, this book assesses the potential benefits and economic costs of barriers to trade in health services in select South Asian economies. It also analyzes the impact of liberalization and regulatory reforms on economic welfare. It broadly addresses issues relating to trade in health services, the GATS (General Agreement on Trade in Services), such as: Why are the current levels of trade in health services low? How will the GATS legally affect a country's health policy? What effect might liberalization have on national health systems? And what are the likely benefits of greater trade in health services? It also provides specific answers to the following questions: Does the substantial role of the government in health - as health service provider, financial supporter, regulator and promoter - have implications for the treatment of the sector under the GATS? What is the impact of liberalization of international trade in health services on the quality and availability of health services in developing SAARC countries? Given the importance of consumption abroad for trade in health services, and the gradual opening of health markets through Modes 1 and 3 (cross-border supply and commercial presence), how can problems associated with trade in these Modes be prevented? And are these problems sufficiently addressed by GATS disciplines? Answers to these questions will be of great use to researchers, policy makers as well as practitioners and NGOs of South Asia.

This volume presents new methods and applications in longitudinal data estimation methodology in applied economic. Featuring selected papers from the 2020 the International Conference on Applied Economics (ICOAE 2020) held virtually due to the corona virus pandemic, this book examines interdisciplinary topics such as financial economics, international economics, agricultural economics, marketing and management. Country specific case studies are also featured.