Kristi A. Olson asks: What is a fair income distribution? She rejects equal income shares: equal pay undercompensates workers in dangerous and onerous jobs. The envy test, which takes both income and work into account, fares better. Yet, a distribution in which no one prefers someone else's circumstances to her own-as the envy test requires-is unlikely to exist, and even when it does exist, the normative connection between envy and fairness has not been established. After critiquing existing answers, Olson invokes the idea of mutual justifiability: when someone claims that her situation should be improved at someone else's expense, she must be able to give a reason that cannot be reasonably rejected by a free and equal individual who regards everyone else as the same. To give the answer bite, Olson distinguishes two types of envy. Reasons based on personal envy can be reasonably rejected; reasons based on impersonal envy cannot. Olson then tests the solidarity solution against the theories of Ronald Dworkin, Philippe Van Parijs, and Marc Fleurbaey and applies it directly to the concrete issues of the gender wage gap and taxation. By providing a new approach to problems of fair resource allocation, The Solidarity Solution establishes philosophical discussion as critical to today's fight to end economic injustice.

This expanded and enlarged third edition of Theodore Pelagidis and Michael Mitsopoulos' popular Who's to Blame for Greece? covers almost a decade of Greece's economic crisis from 2009 to 2019, as well as recent developments in the first months of 2020. It provides an overview of recent developments in the Greek economy and outlines the most important obstacles to a return to robust and sustainable growth rates. It considers the new optimism being developed in Greece after the crisis, but also the policy challenges facing Greece emanating from a deeply hurt economy in the aftermath of the crisis and the structural problems that persist. The book covers the most recent issues that affect the Greek economy including, the migration crisis at the borders with Turkey as well as a faltering global economy hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. This book will appeal to researchers, practitioners and policy makers interested in the EU and the political economy of Greece and offers valuable updates on the second edition.

The widespread capital market liberalisation has resulted in a massive surge in international capital flows and the development of a more integrated world financial system. At the same time, however, the volatility of capital flows has increased and the stability of this modern financial system has been called into question by a number of financial and currency crises. In this volume the editors assess the behaviour of international capital markets during this period, focusing on both the causes and the consequences of financial instability. They examine the origins of the Latin American and East Asian crises and the lessons that can be drawn from these, and they consider the proposals for reform of the international financial system which have followed. This collection of papers, written by both academics and practitioners, is addressed both to specialists and to a wider audience, and will provide insight into an extremely important global development.

This edited volume analyses how EU membership influenced the convergence process of member countries in the Baltics, Central-Eastern and South-Eastern Europe. It also explores countries that are candidates for future EU membership. The speed of convergence of significant groups of low- and medium-income countries has never been as fast globally as it is today. Contributions by lead researchers of the area explore whether these countries are converging faster than their fundamentals and global trends would suggest because of EU membership, with its much tighter institutional and political anchorage

'Time and the Macroeconomic Analysis of Income' will undoubtedly puzzle, stimulate, infuriate, or annoy many readers. Alvaro Cencini challenges so many of the commonly held notions which are perpetuated in elementary textbooks and taken for granted in learned journals that a first reaction is bound to be that the author must be naive or ignorant - this is far from the case; the questions that Cencini raises are original and searching. His answers are even more intriguing for economists and interested readers.

The timeliness of this book is beyond question. Since the crisis erupted in Thailand in mid-1997 and spread, with varying degrees of severity, to the rest of Asia, the export-led industrialization strategy that has driven economic growth in East and Southeast Asia over the last 50 years has come into question. Is this model still applicable to latecomers such as Vietnam? The Asian financial crisis has highlighted the dangers of implementing export-oriented industrialization through government subsidies and protection. This book finds that the strategy followed by the Asian economies in the last half-decade remains a valid model for Vietnam. In order to avoid grave damage to its financial institutions, the strategy needs to be implemented in conjunction with the development of a sound financial system and a robust private sector. Based on a detailed analysis of the causes and nature of the Asian financial crisis as well as the Vietnamese economy, this book concludes that it is unlikely that Vietnam will face a banking and currency crisis in the short term, but Vietnam could be plagued by balance of payments difficulties for some time to come unless major structural reforms are undertaken soon. This timely book will be of great use to Asian studies scholars and those interested in the role of the financial sector in economic management and development.

Privatization investment funds are the key feature of mass privatization programmes in transitional economies. This book offers a thorough survey of mass privatization programmes in the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovenia, supported with extensive empirical analysis. The study of 'top-down' privatization funds in Poland and 'bottom-up' funds in the Czech Republic and Slovenia offers different solutions to the problem of how to improve the governance of privatization funds. The authors argue that the institutional structure of closed-end investment companies and open-end mutual funds has not provided the right incentives to maximize the value for the shareholders. In addition too many regulations are in place in underdeveloped markets to protect new shareholders unaccustomed to exercising their ownership rights. Instead, the authors argue that they need to promote adjustment in fund portfolios and ownership structures in order to spur the development of capital markets and effective mechanisms of corporate governance.

Axel Leijonhufvud has made a unique contribution to the development of macroeconomic theory. This volume draws together his insightful essays dealing with the extremes of economic instability: great depressions, high inflation and the transition from socialism to a market economy. In several of the papers, Leijonhufvud brings a neo-institutionalist perspective to the problems of coordination in economic systems.The papers within Macroeconomic Instability and Coordination some of them already considered classics, deal with the questions that dominated Leijonhufvud's interest throughout his career as an economist: what are the limits to an economy's capacity to coordinate the activities of its members? How does the behavior of the system change under extreme conditions? In what ways does its performance depend upon the institutions that govern the market process? This book presents in one volume several of Axel Leijonhufvud's most important contributions to macroeconomic theory and monetary economics. It will be invaluable to monetary and financial economists as well as to historians of economic thought.

Freedom, Opportunity, and Security is a book on government economic policy which will have some appeal to both sides of the political divide. The book starts from basic principles to develop the case for a free economy, and then presents the case for policies to provide opportunity and security. However, all policies are subject to the reality constraint that the average real wage equals the average level of productivity. Downing's incisive analysis considers many questions in regard to economic policy. For instance, why Keynesians are right that aggregate demand stabilization is crucial, but wrong to think that discretionary policy is the best way to achieve it. He also answers why government debt could be good or could be bad, depending on what it is used for and how it will be paid back. He analyzes how greedy lenders caused the mortgage crisis, but that greed alone cannot explain why lenders would carelessly lend heedless of the prospects for repayment. Additionally, he explores how concentrated economic power is a problem, but there is risk that government policy ostensibly exercised to benefit the powerless can in fact be twisted to further enrich the rich. Downing offers a comprehensive analysis of every level of economic policy and government structure. Even when we know the best economic policy, there is a problem if the political system rewards candidates who support narrow-interest policies more than general-interest policies. This book offers strategies to improve our dysfunctional presidential nomination system and uncompetitive congressional elections.

A new international standard of national accounts is being implemented worldwide under the auspices of the United Nations. The New National Accounts is an authoritative introduction to this new system and provides a comprehensive explanation, with illustrative data, of the accounts and accounting concepts that all countries will use in the future. The book assumes no previous knowledge of either economics or national accounting. Beginning with an overview of the entire structure of the new system of accounts, both for flow transactions and their derived balancing items and also for stocks of economic assets and liabilities, Dudley Jackson explains the system's main balancing item - gross value added - and its relation to gross domestic product, to final expenditures, to primary incomes and to transfer payments. The book concludes by explaining the accumulation accounts and the resulting 'wealth of the nation' as recorded in the new system's balance sheets. The New National Accounts will be essential reading for both students and practitioners concerned with macroeconomics, economic policy, national accounting and comparative studies of the economic performance of advanced and developing countries.

Since the demise of communism, Russia has become increasingly disparate. Some regions have grown in strength while others have been less successful. This book examines regional patterns of economic change in Russia by addressing questions such as: * Is Russia a single economic area? * Why are regional economic inequalities increasing? * Are there significant regional differences in the economic regime? * What influence do leaders have in their own regions, and on federal economic policies? * To what extent do central policymakers affect regional outcomes? * How are Russian regions affected by their new openness to foreign trade and investment? Based on research carried out by an international and interdisciplinary group of experts, this book analyses case studies from eight regions as well as testing hypotheses on data for the 77 main administrative regions. It will be of immense value to academics, those working for government and non-government agencies, and business people.

This comprehensive and far-reaching book describes the growth and economic integration of the European economy from 1500 to 1913. The authors apply macroeconomic techniques to identify growth rates, inflation, product markets, trade networks and business cycles across a set of countries over the period. The book demonstrates that growth was the natural state for European economies throughout the period although, under the impetus of the industrial revolution, growth rates generally accelerated by the end of the nineteenth century. Similarly, business cycles in the modern sense seem to have been in evidence at the beginning of the period but by the eighteenth century there is no doubt that modern cycles affected these countries, sometimes simultaneously. Inflationary episodes are both distinct and shared in this long period, with the long inflation of the sixteenth century attesting to the integration of European markets. Finally, the authors find abundant quantitative evidence to support the argument that economies linked by international trade in 1500 came close to achieving global integration by 1913. The European Macroeconomy will be of interest to scholars of economic history, international economics and macroeconomics.

This study explores the international aspects of pension reform, private savings and volatile capital markets and clarifies how they relate to one another. It builds the case for the pension-improving benefits of global asset diversification, and analyses the implications of financial reform.

This important textbook offers a comprehensive look into the two main traditions in contemporary macroeconomics ? New Classical and Keynesian ? and examines the work of economists who have drawn on principles from both traditions to form a new, integrated approach known as New Neoclassical Synthesis. Importantly, this provides the theoretical foundation for much of current mainstream economics and the work done by central banks around the world. With a dual focus on research methods and policy applications, this book bridges the gap between intermediate macroeconomic and advanced graduate-level texts, making it an ideal resource for senior undergraduate and Masters students in applied economics programs. Key topics include:? a concise summary of intermediate macroeconomics, including the foundational ideas of both the New Classical and Keynesian traditions? the Lucas critique of standard methods for evaluating policy design? debt sustainability and austerity vs. stimulation debate? optimal inflation rates? tax reform and growth analysis? alternative monetary policies for pursuing price stability? theories of unemployment.Students and instructors will find additional useful resources on the book?s companion website, including practice questions for each chapter.

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.

The cooperation and contamination between mathematicians, statisticians and econometricians working in actuarial sciences and finance is improving the research on these topics and producing numerous meaningful scientific results. This volume presents new ideas, in the form of four- to six-page papers, presented at the International Conference eMAF2020 - Mathematical and Statistical Methods for Actuarial Sciences and Finance. Due to the now sadly famous COVID-19 pandemic, the conference was held remotely through the Zoom platform offered by the Department of Economics of the Ca' Foscari University of Venice on September 18, 22 and 25, 2020. eMAF2020 is the ninth edition of an international biennial series of scientific meetings, started in 2004 at the initiative of the Department of Economics and Statistics of the University of Salerno. The effectiveness of this idea has been proven by wide participation in all editions, which have been held in Salerno (2004, 2006, 2010 and 2014), Venice (2008, 2012 and 2020), Paris (2016) and Madrid (2018). This book covers a wide variety of subjects: artificial intelligence and machine learning in finance and insurance, behavioral finance, credit risk methods and models, dynamic optimization in finance, financial data analytics, forecasting dynamics of actuarial and financial phenomena, foreign exchange markets, insurance models, interest rate models, longevity risk, models and methods for financial time series analysis, multivariate techniques for financial markets analysis, pension systems, portfolio selection and management, real-world finance, risk analysis and management, trading systems, and others. This volume is a valuable resource for academics, PhD students, practitioners, professionals and researchers. Moreover, it is also of interest to other readers with quantitative background knowledge.

This book is an edited collection by leading insurance historians, examining the historical role of reinsurance (the insurance of insurers) in the insurance markets of eight countries: USA, Netherlands, Sweden, France, Spain, Italy, Mexico and Japan. All the contributors are experts in their field and have widely published in insurance history, providing the reader with new insights into the insurance and economic history of these countries. In particular, this is the first book to explore the reinsurance markets in the USA, Netherlands, France, Italy and Mexico. This book will be of interest to economic and business historians, as well as insurance practitioners with an interest in the history of their industry.

This book gathers several important texts to offer an overview of the institutionalist approach to money developed in France since the 1980s. This material highlights the specificities of the French monetary approaches and their main contributions to the understanding of monetary phenomena - not just in developed market economies but in other societies as well. By bringing these works to an English-speaking audience for the first time, this book will provide a much needed and valuable direct insight into this subject area and contribute to related post-Keynesian, neo-chartalist and sociological approaches to money. This book highlights the need for a global vision of money and for a clearer grasp of the link between money and the political sphere. It will appeal to students and researchers across various disciplines including but not limited to economics, anthropology, sociology, history and philosophy.

Income distribution is one of the most important issues related to social change and is a central question in public policy. Despite this, income distribution is often neglected by mainstream economics. This important book seeks to rectify this by presenting a number of heterodox approaches to income distribution. The book approaches the subject from a variety of different schools of thought and focuses on some of the broader topics within income distribution as well as its significance for national policy. It addresses the social order of society as dictated by income, as well as institutional arrangements and their impact on income distribution theory and policy. The authors discuss current thinking as well as considering empirical findings on income distribution and how these are affected by different stages of economic development. The Economics of Income Distribution will be welcomed by economists, sociologists and political scientists interested in public policy issues relating to income distribution.

One of the basic issues of accounting is to augment, or extend the conventional net national product measure so as to obtain a better indicator of welfare. This book extends the usual analysis of social accounting by including technological change, externalities and uncertainty. This important new book analyses welfare measurement, sustainability and 'green accounting' within general equilibrium models. A large part of the book is devoted to welfare measurement in the presence of technological change and external effects which complicate 'green accounting' to a considerable extent. In addition to environmental externalities, the authors also discuss external effects arising from investments in human capital and their implications for welfare measurement. Other areas examined are welfare measurement under uncertainty and examples of cost-benefit analyses of environmental and other policies. The book will be required reading for graduate students and professional economists interested in macroeconomics, environmental and resource economics.

This important and accessible book focuses on the problems confronting public authorities in transitional economies. It is based on a large, diversified and first-hand body of empirical research, which is analysed in terms of mainstream industrial economic theory.A distinguished group of authors explores the long-term prospects for industrial growth, the accumulation of technology and the overall framework of economic restructuring and industrial reform. They cover the role of government in emerging market economies and agencies such as the Treuhandanstalt in Germany. They also trace other major issues such as restructuring and privatization, industrial strategy and trade policy, tax reform and incomes policy and productivity growth. Industrial Economics for Countries in Transition will be essential reading for policymakers in developing countries and will also appeal to students and economists concerned with economic and industrial development.