This is a much-needed work in the financial literature, and it is the first book ever to analyse the use of Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) from a theoretical and practical perspective. By the end of 2020, more than 240 SPACs were listed in the US (on NASDAQ or the NYSE), raising a record $83 billion. The SPAC craze has been shaking the US for months, mainly because of its simplicity: a bunch of investors decides to buy shares at a fixed price in a company that initially has no assets. In this way, a SPAC, also known as a "blank check company", is created as an empty shell with lots of money to spend on a corporate shopping spree. Could the trend be here to stay? Are SPACs the new legitimate path to traditional IPO? This book tackles those questions and more. The author provides a thorough analysis of SPACs including their legal framework and how they are used as a risk mitigation tool to structure transactions. The main objectives of the book are focused on finding a working definition for SPACs and theorising on their origins, definition, and evolution; identifying the objectives of financial regulation within the context of the recent financial crisis (2007-2010) and the one that is currently unfolding (Covid-19); and also describing practical examples of SPACs through a comparative study that, for the first time, outlines every major capital market on which SPACs are listed, in order to identify a possible international standard of regulation. The book is relevant to academics as well as policymakers, international financial regulators, corporate finance lawyers as well as to the financial industry tout court.

It has taken platforms only twenty years to become digital economy hubs. They have changed markets, enterprises, and society. They have expedited communication, collaboration, and trade for consumers, winning their attention and collecting their data. In doing so, they have made processes, products, and industries obsolete, and disrupted the expectations and behaviours of market players. This raises the question, are digital platforms global innovators or disruptive monopolists? Are they a solution to problems of the past or emissaries of a problematic future? This book provides a multi-faceted approach to platforms and their profound impact on markets and ecosystems. Economic, managerial, social, and political aspects are analysed, and the differentiation of platforms and their disruptive potential is reviewed. The book also examines the mechanism of achieving a monopolistic position, including in the international supply chain, and the greater influence of platforms on political activity and contemporary democracy. With examples from Poland, USA, and China, the contributions offer an international evaluation of disruptive platforms across a multitude of industries. The edited collection, prepared by scholars from the SGH Warsaw School of Economics, will be valuable to researchers and academics across the fields of strategic management, marketing, innovations, international business, and the digital economy.

An introductory undergraduate textbook to study basic economic concepts relevant to property and planning Provides explanation of economic concepts for application on property and planning practice and policy Gives specific economic principles and techniques for valuing property and planning (e.g. Impact Fees, Contributions, Planning Gain, User Charges, Levies, Cost-Benefit Analysis, Hedonic Models etc) Providing tacit overview knowledge of economic tools and techniques to current and relevant events Applicable to disciplines attributed to physical spaces that have introductory economics as a requirement Summary and discussion questions are provided for each chapter

An introductory undergraduate textbook to study basic economic concepts relevant to property and planning Provides explanation of economic concepts for application on property and planning practice and policy Gives specific economic principles and techniques for valuing property and planning (e.g. Impact Fees, Contributions, Planning Gain, User Charges, Levies, Cost-Benefit Analysis, Hedonic Models etc) Providing tacit overview knowledge of economic tools and techniques to current and relevant events Applicable to disciplines attributed to physical spaces that have introductory economics as a requirement Summary and discussion questions are provided for each chapter

Money is a legal institution with principal economic and sociological consequences. Money is a debt, because that is how it is conceptualised and comes into existence: as circulating credit - if viewed from the creditor's perspective - or, from the debtor's viewpoint, as debt. This book presents a legal theory of money, based on the concept of dematerialised property. It describes the money creation or money supply process for cash and for bank money, and looks at modern forms of money, such as cryptocurrencies. It also shows why mainstream economics presupposes, but avoids an analysis of, money by effectively eliminating money from the microeconomic market model and declaring it as merely a neutral medium of exchange and unit of account. The book explains that money rather brings about and influences substantially the exchange or transaction it is supposed to facilitate only as a neutral medium. As the most liquid of all assets, money enables financialisation, monetisation and commodification in the economy. The central role of the banks in the money creation process and in the economy, and their strengthened position after the bank rescue measures in the wake of the financial crisis 2008-9 are also discussed. Providing a rigorous analysis of the most salient legal issues regarding money, this book will appeal to legal theorists, economists and anyone working in commercial or banking law.

Recognizing rapidly ageing population is one key concern faced by cities and the challenge it would present to healthcare system, this book looks at ageing in China's population as well as the delivery and financing of long-term care (LTC) in China. The book compares key features of long-term care insurance (LTCI) schemes in 15 pilot cities and evaluates the sustainability of various financing models adopted by the cities in the LTCI schemes. The book uses an interpretive case study approach to give an in-depth look into the LTC models in three pilot cities - Qingdao, Nantong, and Shanghai. The three cities represent three different models of financing and delivering LTC. To assess how effective the LTC models in these three cities are, the book uses five criteria, including utilization of medical resources, cost, equity, quality of care and sustainability. Also, the authors discuss how the financing and delivery of LTC can be improved in China, the impact of the 2019 coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on older adults in need of LTC in the country and the implications of China's LTCI reform for other countries. The book will be a useful reference to scholars and policy-makers who look at urban ageing and healthcare costs and delivery.

Around the third millennium B.C. in the Fertile Crescent, a world-system with a single world-economy, covering very vast regions, began to form. Mesopotamia became the center of this world-system. This was possible due to the development of common commercial law and logical competence there. The expansion of the world-economy during the Silk Road period from the 4th century B.C. to the early 5th century A.D. across various countries of Eurasia was accompanied by the spread of logical competence, first formed in Mesopotamia, as a mechanism of legal hermeneutics to draw logical conclusions without fallacies. This competence was simultaneously comprehended in different cultures connected by the Great Silk Road - in ancient Greek logic (4th - 2nd centuries B.C.); ancient Chinese proto-logic (5th - 2nd centuries B.C.); Judaic logical hermeneutics (1st - 2nd centuries A.D.); and in Indian-Buddhist logic (2nd - 6th centuries A.D.). The book analyzes the emergence of logic and its spread and early forms of its reflection. Consequently, logical competence is seen not as an innate ability, but as a social practice first established in Mesopotamia. Logic as a science became possible only after the development of logical competence as an accepted social practice. On the other hand, this view is a non-Marxist assessment of the early form of the world-system, centered on international law and logical competence, which made the world-economy and international trade then possible.

This book offers an accurate and updated approach to the main contributions of cosmopolitan biolaw in relation to sustainability, global governance, organizational health care economics and COVID-19. Bringing together different robust and dense biojuridical epistemologies to analyze key bioethical problems as well as the health care, management, economics and sustainability issues of our time, it constitutes a paradigmatic text in its field. In addition to exploring different epistemologies and jurisdictional scopes of biolaw, including the relationships between this new field and the challenges which have arisen in the current globalized and technologized world, the book addresses controversial issues straight from today's headlines: for example, the basics for health care, finance and organizational economics, global biojuridical principles for governance, globalization, bioscientific empowerment, global and existential risk and sustainability challenges for a post-pandemic world. The book encourages readers to think impartially in order to know and understand the bioethical and biojuridical dilemmas that stem from current economics and sustainability issues. Accordingly, it will be a valuable resource for courses in the fields of biolaw, law, bioethics, global sustainability, organizational health care economics and global governance at different professional levels.

Wide coverage of different perspectives of banking, the book presents classical microeconomic thoeries of banking, but also covers central banking, financial frictions and banking-macro linkages, banking regulation in theory and practice etc., giving students a rounded picture of the world of banking, and also allowing instructors to design and create their own courses with different emphases A self-contained textbook making "linear" progress through chapters. Banking is all about imperfect market, market failure and frictions, therefore, market friction is the key to making progress throughout the book. Necessary elements from contract theory, game theory, dynamic macroeconomics and mathematical techniques will be provided through boxes and appendices, making the textbook self-contained An up-to-date textbook that presents both state-of-the-art research and the evolving reality, an evidence-based textbook that connects theory and practice.

This collection of articles examines cartels and looks at issues such as formation, stability and detection in the study of industrial organisation and the design and enforcement of regulatory policy.

This volume contains a collection of the most important articles on independent central banks and economic performance. The collection is comprehensive and divided into four parts: theoretical foundation of central banks independence, central bank independence, empirical evidence on central bank independence and determinants of central bank independence. The editor has prepared a new introduction discussing the main developments in this field. The volume will be a basic reference source for professors, lecturers, researchers, central bankers and other policymakers interested in studying the fundamental articles on central bank autonomy.

This volume brings together the most significant articles which have appeared over the past three decades analyzing the application and effects of price discrimination. Discrimination is a pervasive marketing practice that survives despite the attempts of regulators to limit or eliminate its use; it is widespread also in oligopolistic and imperfectly competitive markets. It is a practice used by firms in pricing their products over product dimensions such as space, time and quality, and it affects the ability of firms to compete in other firms' markets or to protect their own. This collection of articles by leading authors in the field highlights what we know of the motivations for and the welfare implications of price discrimination. It also presents a blueprint for further work in this important area.

Takes a fresh approach in that it considers the underlying reasons, and the consequences of urban change for real estate investors and policy makers, not another traditional urban economics textbook Includes chapter objectives, self-assessment questions, chapter summaries, learning outcomes, case studies, global data and statistics Most up to date UK Urban Economics textbook, it is not overly mathematical and strikes the ideal balance between theory and practical policy analysis for the real estate and planning market

This book is an authoritative collection of the most important published articles on key issues in securities markets including market design, the sources of the bid ask spread, and the short term movement of prices. The articles trace the development of this relatively new field of market microstructure while at the same time reflecting the latest ideas. At a time when securities markets are undergoing dramatic change, this two volume set provides important guidance to students, users and regulators of securities markets.

Managerial economics, meaning the application of economic methods in the managerial decision-making process, is a fundamental part of any business or management course. The current business environment presents managers with increasingly difficult decisions, amidst the Covid-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns, as well as the digital revolution and improved technology. Now in its second edition, this textbook features a new focus on how managerial economics has been transformed by the increasing importance of digitization within both the workplace and wider economy. It also features a new chapter on consumer theory, which emphasizes psychological factors and behavioural economics. Wilkinson adapts a user-friendly problem-solving approach to take the reader in gradual steps from simple problems through increasingly difficult material to complex case studies, demonstrating how to apply the principles of managerial economics to real-life situations. This book will be invaluable to business and economics students at both undergraduate and graduate levels.

Even after achieving the status of a developed economy, many economies face other challenges which may include economic stagnation and income inequality. The book looks at how a mature economy can continue to weather challenges and how the growth of living standards will depend on productivity growth through Singapore's experience. After Singapore's rapid economic transformation, the nation is at a crossroads. The book explains how productivity growth in turn depends on technological diffusion from abroad as well as indigenous innovation. It also examines how the design of policy to develop indigenous innovation to promote economic dynamism may come with creative destruction and disruptive effects on jobs and wages. The Singapore Economy provides insight into how we can maintain social cohesion and establish a political equilibrium that embraces the new sources of growth through policy formulation for economic inclusion.

Even after achieving the status of a developed economy, many economies face other challenges which may include economic stagnation and income inequality. The book looks at how a mature economy can continue to weather challenges and how the growth of living standards will depend on productivity growth through Singapore's experience. After Singapore's rapid economic transformation, the nation is at a crossroads. The book explains how productivity growth in turn depends on technological diffusion from abroad as well as indigenous innovation. It also examines how the design of policy to develop indigenous innovation to promote economic dynamism may come with creative destruction and disruptive effects on jobs and wages. The Singapore Economy provides insight into how we can maintain social cohesion and establish a political equilibrium that embraces the new sources of growth through policy formulation for economic inclusion.

* The real strength of the book lies in setting out an alternative vision to the current practice in economics, especially in light of the re-evaluation being forced by COVID-19 in addition to the climate crisis. * Offers an important challenge to the current corporate sustainability gospel expressed in recent books. * Written by a well-recognised commentator on the environment and economics. * The book specifically connects global environmental imperatives with their microeconomic implications for businesses and households, which makes it utterly unique.

Behavioral Public Economics shows how standard public economics can be improved using insights from behavioral economics. Public economics typically lists four market failures that may justify government intervention in markets-imperfect competition (or natural monopoly), externalities, public goods, and asymmetric information. Under the rational choice paradigm ('agents choose what is best for them'), public economics has examined the welfare effects of policy. Recent research in behavioral economics highlights a fifth market failure-individuals may make mistakes in pursuing their own well-being. This book calls for a rethinking of assumptions of individual behavior and provides a good foundation for public economic theory. Key features: Introduces behavioral perspectives into public economics. Explains why economic incentives often undermine social preferences. Reveals that social incentives matter for public policy. This book will be an invaluable resource for researchers and postgraduate students in public economics, behavioral economics, and public policy.

Behavioral Public Economics shows how standard public economics can be improved using insights from behavioral economics. Public economics typically lists four market failures that may justify government intervention in markets-imperfect competition (or natural monopoly), externalities, public goods, and asymmetric information. Under the rational choice paradigm ('agents choose what is best for them'), public economics has examined the welfare effects of policy. Recent research in behavioral economics highlights a fifth market failure-individuals may make mistakes in pursuing their own well-being. This book calls for a rethinking of assumptions of individual behavior and provides a good foundation for public economic theory. Key features: Introduces behavioral perspectives into public economics. Explains why economic incentives often undermine social preferences. Reveals that social incentives matter for public policy. This book will be an invaluable resource for researchers and postgraduate students in public economics, behavioral economics, and public policy.

What do Goggle, Facebook, mobile phones and creative commons have in common? The answer is: economics! Stefano Comino and Fabio Manenti have written a crisp and thorough treatment of the economics of information and communications technologies. This valuable book fills a real gap in the market.' - Professor Tommaso Valletti, Imperial College Business School'I enjoyed reading this book immensely. So will students, as they will be able to see lucidly the economics behind their inseparable electronic companions. Researchers keeping a copy at hand will have a rich reference source of the ways in which good economic theory has captured the behaviour of sophisticated firms and their customer.' - Gianni De Fraja, The University of Nottingham, UK This text rigorously blends theory with real-world applications to study the industrial organization of the ICT sector. Each of the self-contained chapters, which can be studied in isolation, contains theoretical models that are presented in a clear and accessible way. Throughout, a series of useful boxes complements and elucidates the theories with additional empirical/anecdotal evidence. This text will be of great interest to advanced undergraduate students with a background in microeconomics and game theory, particularly those taking courses in industrial organization, innovation economics and the economics of networks. The authors address the most important issues and are able to explore and explain complex theories and concepts in a clear, logical and coherent manner. Some of the topics covered include: - the economics of innovation - digital markets - network externalities - two-sided networks - imitation, open source and file sharing - antitrust in high-tech sectors. Contents: 1. Industrial Organisation of High-Tech Markets 2. Digital Markets 3. Network Externalities 4. Two-Sided Networks 5. Access and Interconnection in Telecommunications 6. Cumulative Innovation in Dynamic Industries 7. Imitation, Open Source and File Sharing 8. Antitrust in High-Tech Sectors References Index

The spectacular economic growth experienced by China since 1978 has often been hailed as the "China Miracle". Many economists have tried to understand the forces behind China's phenomenal growth and the explanations can be divided into two broad schools of economic thought - one school of thought which includes Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman explains that market mechanism and deregulation led to China's success, while the other school of thought which include Justin Yifu Lin, the former Chief Economist and Senior Vice-President of the World Bank, explains that China's growth miracle is a unique model to itself defined by the Chinese government's prominent role. The Chinese government has been responsible in identifying and investing in industries that have contributed to economic growth. Some economists in the latter school even claim that the China Miracle cannot be explained by mainstream economics. This book examines both schools of thought and attempts to provide a synthesis of the two schools to explain the China Miracle. It looks at the Solow-Swan growth model, the Harrod-Domar model and transaction cost theory. It provides insights into whether and how China can sustain its growth and how developing countries may replicate China's success.

The near-ubiquitous spread of ICT offers unprecedented opportunities for social and economic agents, reshapes social and economic structures and drives the emergence of socioeconomic networks. This book contributes to the growing body of literature and present state of knowledge, offering the reader broad evidence on how new information and communication technologies impact women's economic and social empowerment and hence have an impact on overall welfare creation. More specifically, it concentrates on demonstrating how ICT may become "empowering technologies" through their implementation. The book is designed to provide deep insight into the theoretical and empirical evidence on ICT as a significant driver of women`s social and economic development. Special focus is given to examining the following broad topics: channels of ICT impact on women's development; the role of ICT in enhancing women's active participation in formal labor markets; examples of how ICT encourages education, skills development, institutions development et alia, and thus contributes to women's social and economic empowerment, as well as case-based evidence on ICT's role in fostering women's equality. The primary audience for the book will be scholars and academic professionals from a wide variety of disciplines but mainly those who are concerned with addressing the issues of economic development and growth, social development, the role of technology progress in the context of broadly defined socioeconomic progress. Chapters 1 and 3 of this book are available for free in PDF format as Open Access from the individual product page at www.routledge.com. They have been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

Applying experimental methods has become one of the most powerful and versatile ways to obtain economic insights, and experimental economics has especially supported the development of behavioral economics. The Art of Experimental Economics identifies and reviews 20 of the most important papers to have been published in experimental economics in order to highlight the power and methods of this area, and provides many examples of findings in behavioral economics that have extended knowledge in the economics discipline as a whole. Chosen through a combination of citations, recommendations by scholars in the field, and voting by members of leading societies, the 20 papers under review - some by Nobel prize-winning economists - run the full gamut of experimental economics from theoretical expositions to applications demonstrating experimental economics in action. Also written by a leading experimental economist, each chapter provides a brief summary of the paper, makes the case for why that paper is one of the top 20 in the field, discusses the use made of the experimental method, and considers related work to provide context for each paper. These reviews quickly expose readers to the breadth of application possibilities and the methodological issues, leaving them with a firm understanding of the legacy of the papers' contributions. This text provides a survey of some of the very best research in experimental and behavioral economics and is a valuable resource for scholars and economics instructors, students seeking to develop capability in applying experimental methods, and economics researchers who wish to further explore the experimental approach.

Technological progress and globalization have generated indisputable benefits, but also relevant costs, such as growing economic inequality, economic fluctuations, and financial instability. Mainstream economics has usually considered these costs as temporary, evenly distributed, and more than compensated by the gains of the phases of economic expansion. In this book, which focuses mainly (though not only) on the labor market, the authors contend that the major costs of the intensified process of creative destruction, through which economic change proceeded, have been ignored and the benefits overrated, thus incorrectly estimating the net impact of economic growth on subjective wellbeing. The book argues that the positive consequences of economic change and globalization may not compensate for the negatives, because psychological losses are felt more strongly than gains (due to loss aversion) and the costs are unequally distributed (those on low incomes disproportionately suffer more). The result is an overall reduction in wellbeing and therefore appropriate policies are necessary to allow more people to enjoy the benefits of technological progress without suffering the costs. The authors develop a comprehensive framework in which the socio-psychological context and educational level of a community determine the most suitable policies both for the short and for the long run. The book makes an invaluable contribution to the literature on economic growth and development, labor economics, the economics of wellbeing, and applications of behavioral economics. The readers that may be interested in this book are economists and other social scientists, but also general readers, since the analysis is maintained simple and accessible. University teachers can use the book for courses on economic growth and development, on labor economics, on the economics of human capital, on the economics of wellbeing, and on applications of behavioral economics.