This book demonstrates how rethinking and adapting basic employment services into labor intermediation services can help address the many labor market disconnections of developing country economies. It addresses how scarce resources required to escape poverty - good jobs, schools, and training - more often go to the privileged and well-connected than to those who need them most. With jobs now at the top of development debates, this is a rare book on how to practically adapt one key labor market policy to very different developing and emerging country markets. It shows through examples how developing countries can build in stages from basic employment services to diverse labor intermediation services - opening up job listings, stimulating public-private partnerships, and making job connections for those who don't have a "cousin Vinny who knows a guy". This book is for policy practitioners, development organizations, and academics who are ready to think differently about one of the policies that needs to change so that developing economies can better meet the employment and higher skill challenges of the global age.

In this timely volume, Nicholas Gianaris examines trade and investment relations and related economic policies as they affect development trends in Europe and the United States. Particular emphasis is placed on the potential effects on the historical ties between the United States and Europe of such developments as the integration of Western Europe in 1992, the rapid opening of Eastern Europe, German reunification, and the potential for stronger economic cooperation in North America. Gianaris examines the impact of these issues on a wide range of economic matters including the relationship between the private and public sectors, the openness of markets, the degree of industrialization, fiscal and monetary policy, business regulation and taxation, joint ventures, and mergers and acquisitions.

Following an introductory overview, Gianaris reviews historical trends in the economic relations between the European Community and the United States, especially the intensive postwar efforts at European integration which followed, to some extent, the successful example of the United States. The next two chapters address the similarities in economic organizations and related fiscal and monetary policies as they affect trade and other financial transactions between the European Community and the United States. Gianaris goes on to examine in more detail trade and investment relations, including such issues as capital flows and currency realignment, as well as the growing phenomena of transatlantic joint ventures and acquisitions. The final chapter assesses relations with the dramatically changing Eastern European countries and the expected results of the unification of Germany. Students and scholars in international trade and finance will find this analysis of current and potential future economic relations between the United States and the European Community enlightening reading.

This edited collection investigates the role of Italy in pursuing the EU five targets by 2020: R&D/innovation expenditures; the energetic measures for climate change; migration; the counter actions against poverty and social exclusion. This ambitious book uses a multidisciplinary approach and original field studies to tackle this important topic.

In the contemporary business world, international is the default setting. Most organizations operate globally on some level which adds value but brings complexity and challenges. This textbook provides an introduction to understanding how businesses create value in global settings. In this updated edition, the authors cover the traditional key themes including multinationals, internationalization and international market entry, as well as contemporary issues. New topics analyzed in this edition include risk, business models and hyperglobalization. With dedicated chapters on the role on non-market actors in international business, the book provides a multi-disciplinary world-view for readers. A comprehensive and engaging text, supplemented by online resources, this book is the ideal accompaniment to international and global business learning.

This book examines aspects of the operation of the WTO dispute settlement system during the first ten years of the WTO. It covers a representative cross-section of the issues and situations WTO Members have dealt with under the Dispute Settlement Understanding. The book is unique in that it includes contributions from virtually the entire gamut of actors involved in the day-to-day operation of the WTO dispute settlement system: Member government representatives, private lawyers who litigate on behalf of Member governments in the system, Appellate Body members, Appellate Body Secretariat staff, and WTO Secretariat staff. It also includes contributions from several academics who closely follow and carefully scrutinize all that goes on within the system. It therefore provides fascinating insights into how the system has operated in practice, and how the lessons of the first decade can be applied to make the system even more successful in the years to come.

Trade policy has played a vital role in the decline of European electronics business. The events that resulted in the disappearance of the European television industry, of a European and Japanese video recorder format and of other European consumer electronics are directly related to market structures in exporting countries and business practices. In this book, factual business data shows and economic models explain how restrictive trade practices result in elimination of efficient competitors in export markets. It deals with the memorable case how a videocassette recorder format was established by dumping and how politics enabled it. An innovative tariff increase for CD players was invalidated by heavy dumping, causing closure of production in Europe. European CTV industry succumbed under permanent dumping and a series of biases - as the interest of a state-owned company - and serious errors making trade instruments void and rules irreconcilable with international agreements. Practical and theoretical examples and explanations, some in detail, of trade rules are provided. The book sketches events - carelessness, prejudice or special interests, arbitrary and false application of trade instruments and fraud - resulting in disappearance of various European electronics business segments.

This text develops an original critical analysis of the origins and evolution of the euro and the current debt crisis that envelops the euro-zone. It provides a comprehensive critical historical narrative of the evolution of European Monetary Union (EMU). The history of the euro, culminating in the Maastricht blueprint in 1992, reveals that this deeply flawed monetary edifice was informed by the prevailing neoliberal/monetarist economic doctrines, favoured by Germany. The final blueprint witnessed the birth of an international currency which was devoid of a coherent sovereign power.
The author's critique is informed by post-Keynesian theories of endogenous money. Lucarelli provides an essential contribution to the critique of the existing economic theories that continue to inform the evolution of the euro. In the absence of political union and a corresponding fiscal framework, the survival of the euro remains problematic. The imposition of harsh, neoliberal, austerity measures by the IMF/EU/ECB (Troika) on Europe's peripheral, deficit countries threaten the very existence of the euro-zone in its present form, and have set in motion powerful centrifugal forces, which could ultimately derail the entire post-war European project.

This book provides an in-depth analysis of "Mega-Regionals", the new generation of trans-regional free-trade agreements (FTAs) currently under negotiation, and their effect on the future of international economic law. The main focus centres on the EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), but the findings are also applicable to similar agreements under negotiation, such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).The specific features of Mega-Regional Trade Agreements raise a number of issues with respect to their potential effect on the current system of international trade and investment law. These include the consequences of Mega-Regionals for the most-favoured-nation (MFN) principle, their relation to the multilateral system of the World Trade Organization (WTO), their democratic legitimacy and their interaction with existing bilateral investment treaties (BITs).The book is intended for academics and practitioners working in the field of international economic law.

The process of food production and distribution has grown into a global corporate system in recent years. This has caused significant impacts on sustainability on an international scale, particularly for developing nations. Establishing Food Security and Alternatives to International Trade in Emerging Economies is a pivotal reference source for the latest scholarly research on agricultural trade relations and trade liberalization in the context of developing countries. Highlighting a range of pertinent topics such as crop productivity, rural development, and value-added agriculture, this book is ideally designed for academics, researchers, graduate students, and practitioners interested in the current state of global food markets. Topics Covered: The many academic areas covered in this publication include, but are not limited to: Climate Change Crop Productivity Food Safety Maritime Piracy Rural Development Trade Policies Value-Added Agriculture

Exhaustively researched and updated, South Asia 2022 is an in-depth library of information on the countries and territories of this vast world region. General Survey Essays by specialists examine issues of regional importance. Country Surveys Individual chapters on each country, containing: - essays on the geography, recent history and economy of each nation - up-to-date statistical surveys of economic and social indicators - a comprehensive directory providing contact details and other useful information for the most significant political and commercial institutions. In addition, there are separate sections covering each of the states and territories of India. Regional Information - detailed coverage of international organizations and their recent activities in South Asia - information on research institutes engaged in the study of the region - a survey of the major commodities of South Asia - bibliographies of relevant books and periodicals. Additional features - biographical profiles of almost 300 prominent individuals in the region.

Kessler shows how political considerations distorted the liberalization process in Mexico, leading to inconsistent and unsustainable patterns of financial policy. Although market reform is promoted in developing countries to improve economic efficiency and stimulate growth, in Mexico financial liberalization provided rent-seeking opportunities for privileged groups and increased the states' ability to finance politically inspired obligations. The research examines four periods: the populist administrations of Echeverria and Lopez Portillo, during which the foundations of modern financial markets were paradoxically laid; the debt-crisis years of de la Madrid, who reversed his party's political strategy by favoring the business class with financial opportunities; the economic transformation undertaken by Carlos Salinas, who mixed genuine reform with destabilizing anti-market measures; and the political watershed of the Zedillo administration, whose unpopular bank rescue gave opposition parties unprecedented power within Mexico's policy making process. Kessler also provides a comparison of financial collapse in two other emerging markets, South Korea and Russia, and examines the political roots of crisis in both countries. He concludes by suggesting how greater attention to questions of power, social organization, and challenges to state authority can help the policy-making community avoid giving well-meaning advice that is unlikely to be implemented in a sustainable way.

The economic relationship between the U.S. and China during the 1940s has long been neglected, with few scholarly works focusing on the period. This era was overshadowed by the political and diplomatic changes during and after the failure of the Nationalists in 1949. Without a close and insightful look into the reconstruction of China with American involvement during the late 1940s, one cannot identify the problems which led to the Nationalists' failure, nor can one answer the questions dealing with the impact of American economic policy toward China during that time.

"Dogfight "examines the intense rivalry of the past two decades between the European Airbus consortium and the major U.S. aircraft manufacturers, Boeing and McDonnell Douglas. From the Americans' point of view, Airbus has been heavily subsidized by its supporting governments--indeed nearly nationalized--and not exposed to the risks and disciplines of the market place. From the European perspective, Airbus has been a standard-bearer for European technological, manufacturing, and marketing prowess in the face of historical American industrial domination. This dispute has spilled over the bounds of the purely commercial and become a serious transatlantic trade issue.

Although there has been a certain amount of admiring writing about Airbus in Europe, there has been no previous attempt to weigh the issues even-handedly by exploring them on both sides of the Atlantic. Dogfight examines the roots of the conflict in the middle sixties and carries the story forward to the tentative agreement on some of the outstanding issues reached by the U.S. administration and the European Commission in the spring of 1992. In placing the controversy in its political and international context, the author has had access to many of the key players in the industry in both Europe and the United States and has interviewed a large number of politicians, officials, and senior airline and aircraft executives.

"The Next Cold War?" sounds a warning: the United States may be contributing to another cold war through its competitive unilateral and regional economic policies. Whereas wars of the past usually resulted from political conflict, Hanson warns that a new cold war may result from economic conflict. This raises important questions for American policymakers. Will the United States be a world leader that promotes cooperation and unity, or will it seek to create competition and division? Will the United States address the basic problems of population, environmental deterioration, and economic stagnation in concert with other nations, or will it pursue narrow geopolitical and geoeconomic power strategies? This fascinating work explores both sides of these questions and poses alternatives that will promote world cooperation and unity.

The Rebirth of the Greek Labor Market provides evidence of the macroeconomic evolution of the Greek economy, as well as current conditions in the labor market, to suggest potential areas of growth following the crisis. The contributors of this collection focus on three main issues that make the overall volume distinctive. Firstly, the authors develop a macro-econometric model for the Greek economy, which is flexible in terms of policy analysis and provides reasonable forecasts for the period between 2014-2020, under three scenarios. Secondly, the authors analyze the dynamism in the Greek economy, as well as the problematic Greek labor market. Lastly, using the estimations provided by the macro-econometric model developed, an input-output analysis is conducted - for every one of the three scenarios - in order to investigate and quantify the impact of the economic crisis, not only to the total employment but also in the number of employees by occupation, for all productive sectors of the economy. Using this structure, this indispensable new volume identifies the occupations, professions, and sectors with the greatest losses, as well as those showing a positive momentum, up to 2020.

This timely Handbook collates a range of evidence from top scholars in the field to help readers understand who microfinance reaches, how it helps, and why clients come back. It offers updated views on important concepts that enable a broader framework for understanding poverty and the corresponding financial needs of poor households. Chapters cover recent findings on social impacts, the role of gender, fairness of interest rates, financial resilience in emergencies, and financial education, to provide a thorough coverage of key areas of the field. The Handbook focuses on delivery mechanisms for financial services including group liability lending, agent banking, and digital finance, as well as the special role of value chain finance and insurance for smallholder agriculture. The case studies from both developed and developing countries and regions, illustrating the novel aspects of the link between microfinance, financial inclusion and development will make this a critical read for economics and development studies scholars. The practitioner views on the role of microfinance included in the Handbook will also make this a relevant and useful read for policy makers and practitioners in the area

Social franchising represents a third generation form of franchising development, after trade-name and business-format franchising. At the intersection of social enterprise and micro finance literatures, this book reviews a variety of social franchising formats across a number of developing countries.

Business firms are currently being forced to make a variety of changes to respond to both threats and opportunities in the international economy. This volume examines in detail the many ways successful companies establish a presence in overseas markets. The authors classify operations in the international environment into four categories. First, companies that do not want to actually establish local production facilities can export directly to targeted markets or engage in turnkey operations. Historically, this has been one of the most important means of acquiring international markets and continues to be a viable strategy today. Second, establishing contractual relationships with foreign companies is effective when a firm does not want to operate a wholly earned subsidy. Third, operating wholly owned facilities in other nations is one of the most preferred methods of gaining and maintaining a presence overseas. Firms typically employ this strategy either by building new facilities or by merging with or acquiring existing companies. The authors demonstrate how the approach used by business depends on the nature of the obstacles a host government places before foreign commerce.

This book analyses the methods used to assess financial sustainability as defined by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). Recently, there have been calls to consider sustainability as a fundamental guiding principle in public management. The financial and economic crisis has spurred a demand for greater financial sustainability in public administrations. Although the concept of sustainability has been traditionally associated with three dimensions (environmental, social and economic), this book is focuses on the metrics used to evaluate financial sustainability and explores the concept of financial health. It will be of interest to researchers and academics in the field of financial sustainability.

To call Japan an economic superpower is perhaps an exercise in stating the obvious, but the importance of its continuing dominance in worldwide industries cannot be overlooked. The very industries that were supposed to be immune to Japan--in particular, those in high-technology--are coming under the increasing control of that country's firms. This book deals with the issue of global competitiveness, analyzing the transition that Japan has made from being a technological follower to a technological leader, and it provides a fuller understanding of the strategic use of technology by Japanese companies. David Methe focuses his study on the integrated circuit, a crucial development that affects numerous high technology products. How the Japanese were able to dominate a vital industry that had been invented and pioneered by the United States is a profoundly important question for American companies that wish to become internationally competitive.

Based on two years' of primary research conducted in Japan, Methe stresses the importance of technological strategy, and how it can be used by companies to compete effectively. From his interviews with CEOs of leading Japanese high technology firms and officials of various government agencies, Methe illustrates the subtle balance of competitive and cooperative forces, not just the cooperative aspects of industrial relations, that played a critical role in Japan's emergence as a major innovator in semiconductor technology. Noting the same competitive balance in government-sponsored research, he develops his central thesis that there are reciprocal relationships between the characteristics of technological innovations, a firM's strategic approach to technology, and public policy. Finally, Methe turns his findings toward U.S. firms engaged in the next stage of global competition, fully assembling the implications and suggesting planning strategies that will be effective in the international marketing of high technology products. Companies involved in the manufacture, marketing, and sales of high technology products will find this work to be an invaluable resource tool, as will students in business and marketing programs and public and academic libraries.

This book is the one of the first to address aid effectiveness as a political and comparative economics question. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the transition of its republics to market structures and more representative forms of government, the European Commission has recognized the necessity of a closer economic cooperation with Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan, the three largest economies of the former Soviet Union. This book suggests that the foreign aid of the European Union provided a set of reform incentives to post-Soviet planners. It created the grounds for the institutional and social transformation of the bureaucracy at both central and regional levels by integrating it into the aid allocation process. In Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan, the observed subordination of NGOs to the developmental priorities of the bureaucracy occurred at the expense of diversity and political openness. Nevertheless, this reality led to the emergence of transnational sovereignty partnerships that reduced poverty for the general population and motivated both bureaucrats and entrepreneurs to cooperate. Empirical models alone are not sufficient to delineate all the aspects of principal-agent relationships in post-Soviet bureaucracies. This is why formal modeling and analysis of qualitative data are extremely useful. Evaluation reports indicate the problems and challenges faced by aid bureaucrats and suggest that the weakly institutionalized environments of Ukraine and Central Asia/Kazakhstan are less conducive to aid effectiveness than the heavily bureaucratized environment of Russia. The proposed incentives system for the allocation of foreign aid links EU foreign policy with bureaucratic decision-making and reflects the choice sets of the donor and the recipient. Multilevel definitions of aid effectiveness are provided in the course of the book chapters.

Port Management brings together a collection of seminal papers from Palgrave's journal Maritime Economics and Logistics. It is a dynamic volume, containing contributions from leading authors with different disciplinary backgrounds, representing a vast regional diversity. The volume provides authoritative and timely investigations into key topics in port economics, including research on: global supply chains, port networks, choice modelling, port infrastructure, competition, port pricing, efficiency in European seaports, and an analysis of Chinese container ports. It is essential reading for professionals, scholars, and researchers interested in port economics.

A comprehensive survey of the countries and territories of this region, incorporating the latest economic and political developments. General Survey Essays by acknowledged experts in the region cover a variety of topical issues. In addition, appendices discuss the religions of the region and the Russian Baltic territory of Kaliningrad. Country Surveys Individual chapters for each country, containing: - information on physical and social geography - a detailed chronology of political events, both recent and historical - essays on each country's political history and economy - a statistical survey - an extensive directory of contact details for political, state and commercial institutions and organizations in the region (covering national and local government, political organizations, diplomatic representation, the judicial system, religion, the media, finance, telecommunications and broadcasting, major companies, transport, tourism, culture, social welfare, the environment, defence, education and more) - and a select bibliography. Who's Who in Central and South-Eastern Europe Biographical details for more than 200 of the region's leading political figures. Regional Information Contact information and extensive details of the activities of regional and international organizations active in the region; a list of research institutes that focus on the region, together with contact details; and select bibliographies of both books and periodicals.

This study addresses the two major challenges facing the global economy: globalization and the European structural crisis. In addition, it takes a closer look at the impact of this on the Italian economy. The findings reflect on the issue of long term growth and suggest ways in which to create sustainable financial conditions for the future.

A group of internationally recognised experts examine the recent trends of cross-border movements of people, goods and economic activity at fifteen major borders in the Greater Mekong Sub-region with the aim of predicting the long terms future for this region. In the after math of the IndoChina war this region has been in the process of liberalising cross-border movements, the book illustrates that cross-border movements of goods and people have shown upward trend. The activities categorized into manufacturing industries located at border areas, border trade activities like warehouses and transhipment, and casino and tourism also prosper. However, the authors forecast that border trade activities and manufacturing industries at border areas can decline in the long run when tariff is liberalized and when labor forces move to metropolises in searching for better wages, respectively. However, they suggest that such development can continue in the mid-run with some political intentions of the governments to develop border areas.