Since their explosion in the mid-1990s, mergers and acquisitions (M&As) have turned into a global phenomenon with growing prevalence. A large number of theoretical and empirical studies focus on cross-border deals from several perspectives, such as motives, strategic issues, and performance. Most books treat these studies as specific characteristics of M&As, paying little attention to the distinctive elements that differentiate them from domestic operations. In short, there is now a real need for a fresh review and categorization of cross-border deals. Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions is the first book to provide readers with a complete guide to understanding the main concepts, theories, and results driving cross-border M&As. Morresi and Pezzi present an original framework that ties together the growing body of theoretical and empirical studies on the topic. This work describes the relevance of the phenomenon in terms of its economical, geographical, and historical impact, and analyzes the market- and accounting-based performance of cross-border deals.

Examining how leading developing countries are increasingly shaping international economic negotiations, this book uses the case studies of India and South Africa to demonstrate the ability of states to exert diplomatic influence through different bargaining strategies and represent the interests of the developing world in global governance.

This book discusses the economics of transport infrastructure and the economic theorizing around transport infrastructure from 1850 to today. Transport infrastructure systems are continuously evolving over time. Since the mid-1800s these systems have grown in complexity and outreach. They have been important drivers of economic development but have also been important as economic agents in themselves. Over time transport infrastructure systems have taken on different functions as providers of simpler transport services or more developed value chain components. Transport infrastructure has also been a source for different arguments about economic theory and practice. Transport infrastructure systems are analysed from an institutional perspective where the long-term development of the ownership and financing of the systems, as well as the connection to different policy areas are elaborated. A longitudinal study of Sweden's transport infrastructure policy is used to exemplify driving factors causing change and transformation of the systems over time with different scale and scope.

In this timely volume, the ongoing, dramatic economic and geopolitical changes in NAFTA and the European Union are examined. Gianaris pays particular attention to the potential for stronger economic cooperation between North America and Western Europe. This unique book deals with similarities in economic organizations and related fiscal and monetary policies as they affect trade and financial transactions between these regions, and provides a detailed examination of trade and investment relations, capital flows, and currency realignments as well as transatlantic joint ventures. In addition, it deals with problems of privatization, employee participation, closer integration, and the challenge of enlarging NAFTA to include other Latin American countries and the European Union to include Eastern Europe. Gianaris weaves together a historical framework with comparative studies of the nation-states of NAFTA and the European Union. He discusses structural changes and the main problems and developments in the relationships between NAFTA and the European Union as well as problems of mutual trade, investments, and joint ventures. A useful book for students, scholars, and investors with a broad range of interests in the American and European continents.

America and China are the two most powerful players in global affairs, and no relationship is more consequential. How they choose to cooperate and compete affects billions of lives. But U.S.-China relations are complex and often delicate, featuring a multitude of critical issues that America and China must navigate together. Missteps could spell catastrophe. In Debating China, Nina Hachigian pairs American and Chinese experts in collegial "letter exchanges" that illuminate this multi-dimensional and complex relationship. These fascinating conversations-written by highly respected scholars and former government officials from the U.S. and China-provide an invaluable dual perspective on such crucial issues as trade and investment, human rights, climate change, military dynamics, regional security in Asia, and the media, including the Internet. The engaging dialogue between American and Chinese experts gives readers an inside view of how both sides see the key challenges. Readers bear witness to the writers' hopes and frustrations as they explore the politics, values, history, and strategic frameworks that inform their positions. This unique volume is perfect for anyone who wants a deeper understanding of U.S.-China relations today.

This volume will bring together international and national scholars and activists to provide historical overviews of the main efforts to date to pass unconditional basic income guarantee legislation in their respective countries and/or across regions of the globe. Each contributing author will be asked to address a specific set of issues or substantive content. Such issues will include who are or were the main people and groups involved in support or against such legislative efforts, what are or were the main theoretical and pragmatic reasons for the success or failure of BIG-related initiatives to date, what legislative alternatives compete with BIG for political favor, what if any relationship is there between a country's level of economic development and factors affecting the legislative fate of BIG measures, what the prospects are for the future. Ideally, each contribution or chapter would be country or region specific, although several contributors will make international or cross-country comparisons. A concluding chapter will identify commonalities and differences across countries and possibly regions to the extent contributing sufficiently address a common set of question as suggested above and it will draw lessons for advancing social policies in general and BIG policies in particular.

This volume is a major historical contribution to the enduring debate about whether trade makes peace more likely. In nine detailed historical case studies - spread over 500 years and spanning the globe - the contributors explore the dynamic between trade and conflict and examine the consequences of their intersection, direct and indirect, immediate and long term, anticipated and unexpected, transformative and destructive. The contributors break new ground by collectively showing that trade and conflict have been reciprocally constitutive: trade sparks conflict and conflict in turn provokes the adaptation of trade. Scholars who affirm a close association between trade and peace will have to take into account the close and persistent connection between trade and conflict, as will the makers of current trade policy.

Securities exchanges play a significant role in macroeconomics. They engage in the allocation process, which assures that savings are allocated to the most profitable investment opportunities. But what are the forces driving the supply side, namely, the services offered by exchanges? It is not just a matter of market microstructure and the rules governing the price discovery. Rather, it embraces a much wider perspective involving the balance of interests of multiple stakeholders, the competitive strategies of exchanges and other platform operators and the impact of regulation.
This book provides an economic analysis of the stock exchange industry. It draws on theories from micro- and industrial economics to provide a detailed analysis of the industry structure, the strategic behaviour of key participants and a methodological framework for assessing the performance of stock exchanges. It provides an overview of the factors driving the consolidation of the industry, and examines the implications of ongoing changes in the regulatory environment. It investigates the functioning of securities exchanges and other trading platforms as firms, assuming an industrial organization perspective and focusing on the competitive behaviour of exchanges, regulation and governance arrangements and their impact on the structure of the industry.

The study deals with challenging questions of long-term future of global economy and the mankind. Focusing not only on what happens in the economic sphere but also on cultural, social, political, demographic, technological, and ecological processes. It employs a holistic approach to answer fundamental questions about the course of the future.

Bridging a gap between economic theory and observed reality, this book examines the most visible central banks, the move to monetary union in Europe, the IMF's new role, the rise of managed market economies, and the elevated importance of central banks. In central banking, attention has often turned to the management of liquidity crises and the attainment of economic stability. In the global economy, the respective market economies are more interconnected, and information regarding crises in one part of the industrialized world is rapidly communicated to other nations, giving the crises themselves a more immediate impact. The Asian debt and liquidity crises of 1997-98 were seen as having an impact on the United States, the European Union countries, and even China. In the effort to attain international stability, the information emanating from central banks at a policy level is crucial. This book aims to depict an ideal central bank for a globally connected country.

Two developments heighten the need for such an operations/policy-based ideal: the lessons learned from the European moves to monetary union and the establishment of the European Central Bank, and the increased awareness of banking problems in Asia during the 1997-98 debt and liquidity crises. This timely work will be of interest to economists, bank officials, government policy makers and political scientists.

"I really admire the authors, who - in a time of political impasse - provide a strong and well argued analysis of the WTO Doha Round. It becomes crystal clear that there are solid economic benefits from concluding the Doha Round, but even clearer that there are strong political benefits in terms of openness, security and positive effects on multilateral negotiations. This is exactly what the world needs in a time of crisis!" Christian Friis Bach, Minister for Development Cooperation, Denmark; Affiliated Professor at the University of Copenhagen. "The World Bank, led by the troika of outstanding trade economists Aaditya Mattoo, Will Martin and Bernard Hoekman, has established itself as an important player in trade negotiations through excellent research. This splendid volume on the Doha Round shows why. Read it to see why failure to close the Round would be a tragedy." Jagdish Bhagwati, University Professor, Economics and Law, Columbia University; Senior Fellow in International Economics at the Council on Foreign Relations "This is an excellent book which reflects one of the most comprehensive analyses done on the draft agreements by an excellent team of renowned trade experts. The Doha Development Agenda is still as relevant as ever to achieve trade and development, and thus this body of work comes at a timely juncture as we search for a way forward in these very important negotiations. I recommend this book for all those who are serious about achieving the end game, especially the middle D in DDA - development." Mari Pangestu, Minister of Trade, Indonesia "This book reviews the Doha Round negotiations and offers lessons relevant to the current stalemate. No important topic is omitted, the information provided is extremely rich, the calculations are presented in a simple way, and the analysis is rigorous. The book is a must for a very wide audience - from negotiators and economists to anyone interested in the fate of the trade regime which is so critical for the economic recovery of rich countries and for the continued growth of developing countries." Patrick Messerlin, Professor of Economics at Sciences Po, Paris

This book tries to integrate the different arrangements devised in the MTS for small and large NMEs into one analytical framework and explores two sets of rules (GATT/WTO-minus and GATT/WTO-plus) along three historical stages (shaping, weakening and strengthening). The focal point of this book is to uncover the composition and structure of the NME treatment in the MTS, its evolving logic and process, and the nature and trend of the political-economic relations between NMEs and the MTS.

This book investigates the economic, political and cultural factors that influence regional economic integration processes as well as international political cooperation in the area of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The authors analyze market integration manifested in interregional trade, investment and service connections. Taking a constructivist approach, they shed new light on how national, ethnic, religious and linguistic factors as well as systems of government, political regimes and models of leadership shape foreign-policy decision-making in various post-Soviet countries.

This book acts as a welcome foil to current thinking on the concept of globalisation, which tends to be divided into two distinct camps: one which suggests that the neo-liberal model has triumphed and has no realistic alternative, and another which argues that globalisation, in its most extreme form, does not really exist, rather having evolved gradually from the very beginnings of industrialisation. Bob Milward presents an alternative view of globalisation and argues that indeed there has been a continuum in capitalist development, but that this has been forged by historical processes and the dynamism of the competitive forces of capitalism. He identifies the emergence of monopoly capitalism as an important shaping factor, and in so doing sheds light on issues of underdevelopment, multinational imperialism and crises in advanced capitalist economies. This radical, multidisciplinary account of the condition of the global economy, encompassing a critique of the neo-liberal foundations of orthodox global analysis, will appeal to an extensive audience. Students, researchers and academics in the fields of economics, heterodox economics, economic geography, politics, sociology, development studies, international relations and public policy will find Globalisation? Internationalisation and Monopoly Capitalism to be an engaging read.

This book provides one of the first interdisciplinary reviews of the relationship between services, globalisation and trade liberalisation as we enter the twenty-first century. Written by academics and policymakers, it contains a detailed analysis of the characteristics of service trade and of recent and current service trade negotiations. The authors focus on exploring the complex relationship between the process of globalisation and the globalisation of services taking into consideration service trade negotiations. Many service functions reduce the relative distance between places and more importantly enable the process of globalisation. The globalisation of service functions is complex. Services are different from goods as they depend on human capital (embodied knowledge and reputations) and have to be localized to meet specific cultural and political requirements. The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) needs to be informed by an understanding of the differences that exist between goods and services as well as by the processes by which services globalise. The GATS has to be more than just about quantitative-based policies but also has to explore national regulations that inhibit trade in services. This book will be of special interest to economists, geographers and policymakers with a specific involvement in service trade and trade liberalization.

Though globalisation of the world economy is currently a powerful force, people s international mobility appears to still be very limited. The goal of this book is to improve our knowledge of the true effects of migration flows. It includes contributions by prominent academic researchers analysing the socio-economic impact of migration in a variety of contexts: interconnection of people and trade flows, causes and consequences of capital remittances, understanding the macroeconomic impact of migration and the labour market effects of people s flows. The latest analytical methodologies are employed in all chapters, while interesting policy guidelines emerge from the investigations. The style of the volume makes it accessible for both non-experts and advanced readers interested in this hot topic of today s world."

The Arab Spring constitutes perhaps the most far-reaching political and economic transition since the end of communism in Europe. For too long, the economic aspirations of the people in the region, especially young people, have been ignored by leaders in Arab countries and abroad. Competing views as to how best to meet these aspirations are now being debated in the region. The outcome will shape Arab societies for generations to come.
The authors of this book argue that significant economic reforms must accompany the major political transitions that are underway. Although each country has a different economic structure and history and must make its own way forward, there are spill-overs from trade and investment linkages, the contagion of news cycles, interaction of people and sharing of expectations that are too great to ignore. Some common foundation of the new Arab economies is needed. Towards that end, this volume addresses four central challenges of economic reform in the Arab world. First, with two-thirds of the population under the age of 30, the disproportionate burdens of unemployment and poor education can no longer be heaped on youth. Second, while some government policies may have improved the living standards of Arab citizens in the past, they have also entrenched cronies, enriched a small elite, and become unaffordable. Third, if Arab economies are to compete in the 21st century they cannot depend solely on oil and gas money, remittances, and tourism, but will require active, independent private sectors. And finally, the relative isolation of Arab economies--both from each other and from the world--must end.
Rather than providing specific lists of recommendations, this book sets forth a set of guidelines and priorities for reformers who will begin creating new opportunities for youth, rebuilding the institutions of the state, diversifying the private sector, and cooperating with each other and integrating with the world economy.

Medical information sciences are emerging as a vital field of study and practice. The subsequent explosion of data-- in administration, research, diagnosis, and treatment--along with the associated costs of maintenance, have become overwhelming. The volume brings together scholars and practitioners from disciplines concerned with the acquisition, analysis, accessibility, and application of information in medical practice and health care. The book is divided into five sections: the first part provides an overview of the field in general; the second deals with the problem of retrieval; the third part examines the control of health costs; the fourth focuses on medical decision support; and the final part considers the future of medical information sciences.

Increasingly, consumers in North America and Europe see their purchasing as a way to express to the commercial world their concerns about trade justice, the environment and similar issues. This ethical consumption has attracted growing attention in the press and among academics. Extending beyond the growing body of scholarly work on the topic in several ways, this volume focuses primarily on consumers rather than producers and commodity chains. It presents cases from a variety of European countries and is concerned with a wide range of objects and types of ethical consumption, not simply the usual tropical foodstuffs, trade justice and the system of fair trade. Contributors situate ethical consumption within different contexts, from common Western assumptions about economy and society, to the operation of ethical-consumption commerce, to the ways that people's ethical consumption can affect and be affected by their social situation. By locating consumers and their practices in the social and economic contexts in which they exist and that their ethical consumption affects, this volume presents a compelling interrogation of the rhetoric and assumptions of ethical consumption.

Simplicity in taxation has considerable potential advantages. However, attempts to simplify tax systems are only likely to be successful and enduring if they take account of the reasons why taxation is complex. There are strong pressures on tax systems to accommodate a range of important factors, as well as complex and changing national and international environments within which modern tax systems have to operate. This book explores the experiences of simplification in a range of countries and jurisdictions. The authors analyse a range of manifestations of simplification, including tax systems, tax law, taxpayer communications and tax administration. They also review the longer term or more fundamental approaches to simplification, suggesting that in order to strike the optimum balance between simplicity and the aims of a tax system in terms of efficiency and equity, a range of complex environmental factors must all be taken into account. With chapters reflecting on experiences from Australia, China, Canada, Malaysia, New Zealand, Russia, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, the UK and the US, the authors illustrate differences between jurisdictions and the changing environment in which they operate. This book addresses the crucial balance between simplicity and the other objectives of tax design and reform, and suggests that reformers of the tax system should include simplicity as one of the key evaluators of any design or reform proposal.

William Mott examines the relationships between economic growth and international conflict in history and theory, developing and analyzing a set of observed empirical modern growth-conflict relationships over long periods, and presenting an explanation of the observations. After introducing the growth-conflict relationship as the unit of analysis, he identifies historical perceptions of the growth-conflict relationship from ancient times through the modern era. Mott offers an alternative theoretical construct for further investigation, and speculates about the impact of these results on orthodox political-economic theory. The results of this work carry powerful implications for national management of foreign direct investment and trade in both home countries and host nations.

The world of trade is changing rapidly, from the 'rise of the South' to the growth of unconventional projects like fair trade and carbon trading. Beyond Free Trade advances alternative ways for understanding these new dynamics, based on historical, political, or sociological methods that go beyond the limitations of conventional trade economics.

This book charts the contributions made to the development of the late medieval English economy by enterprise, money, and credit in a period which saw its major export trade in wool, which earned most of its money-supply, suffer from prolonged periods of warfare, high taxation, adverse weather, and mortality of sheep. Consequently, the economy suffered from severe shortages of coin, as well as from internal political conflicts, before the plague of 1348-9 halved the population. The book examines from the Statute Merchant certificates of debt, the extent to which credit, which normally reflects economic activity, was affected by these events, and the extent to which London, and the leading counties were affected differently by them. The analysis covers the entire kingdom, decade by decade, and thereby contributes to the controversy whether over-population or shortage of coin most inhibited its development.

The aim of the book is to make the author's scholarly research in the areas of international finance and monetary economics easily accessible to other researchers and students. The articles included in the book span a wide range. The topics include the behavior of the three key relations in international finance, purchasing power parity, interest rate parity and real interest rate equality, the relation between money and other key economic variables, financial globalization and the transmission of economic disturbances internationally.