Yang Jiang opens the black box of China's policymaking for free trade agreements and key regional financial initiatives. Using first-hand interview data, she sheds light on the key trends of China's trade and financial politics after its WTO entry in 2001. In particular, she highlights the influence of competing domestic interests, protectionist and conservative forces vis-a-vis liberal and reformist forces; government agencies, ministries and national commissions, local governments; and different ideas on China's foreign economic policy. In doing so, she also provides interesting comparisons between China and other countries in international negotiations. Her invesitgation offers a fresh look into China, its changing decision-making under different generations of leadership, and the basis for its current and potential contribution to international economic cooperation.

New Institutional Economics open a new methodological perspective in political economy by posing the question of why economic institutions are created. This state-of-the-art collection examines this question of Arrow's looking at how these man-made constraints condition political, economic and social integration both informally and formally. New developments in game theory are applied to many case topical studies including corruption, central bank independence, globalization and other issues in contemporary economic governance.

This book investigates the consecutive shifts between three types of intermediary institutions in the European context: Corporatist, Neo-corporatist and Governance institutions. It does so by combining insights from European Political Economy; European Integration and governance studies; and, socio-legal studies in the European context.

The scholarship of historian and political economist, Robert W Cox, spans some thirty to fifty years. As an outsider to the fields of IR/IPE the inspiration wellspring of his work is often misunderstood and incorrectly represented. This comprehensive overview focuses on the development of his thinking and attempts to set the record straight. The book compares Cox with the critical theory of the Frankfurt school and with scholars who have attempted to incorporate it into IR/IPE theory and finds that they are not the same. A selection of work by those who have been inspired by Coxian Critical Theory has been included to highlight some challenges and opportunities for critical political economists. It is suggested that Cox's tolerance for diversity and his eclecticism can potentially bridge the gap between rationalist and interpretative approaches to political economy by pointing us towards a critical empiricist theory of political economy. It is hoped that the volume will provide a point of entry for younger scholars and that it will refocus the attention of established scholars some 20 years after the publication of Power, Production and World Order: Social Forces in the Making of History.

This is a groundbreaking volume of theory and strategy on political economy and polity of the twenty-first century, which unites domains of economics, politics, international relations, and the environment in an organic whole. Distilled in concrete terms, it elucidates the enigma of oil in view of the centrality of global social relations and with respect to two major exigencies of our time, namely, world peace, and defense of our ecosystem. A Prelude to the Foundation of Political Economy also highlights the need for detachment of US foreign policy from dependence on oil, to reveal rather vividly the illusion of America's power and leadership. This book is a wakeup call to the altered reality in which we live.

This volume explores all aspects of contemporary public procurement theory, examining managing risk in procurement, collusion in procurement, efficiency in procurement, transparency in procurement, and auction design.

In this ambitious and bold book, Ralph Schroeder develops a new social theory centred on the notion of limits. The current era, from the 1970s onwards, has seen a departure from the three defining trends of the modern age: the struggle for social citizenship rights, the disembedding of markets, and the transformation of nature. Based on a comparative-historical analysis, the book argues that there are now similar constraints on social development throughout the global North and beyond. These constraints include the waning of conflicts driving the extension and deepening of rights, the instability of increasing financialization, and the progressive lack of control over the exploitation of natural resources. The key challenge for social theory therefore lies in identifying the cleavages between the dominant political, economic and cultural powers, and countervailing forces that can potentially overcome them.
The book explores several advanced Western democracies in depth, as well as China and India. It will fundamentally challenge our theoretical understanding of contemporary societies and their dynamics.

This important book provides a comprehensive analysis of the impact of privatization on the economic performance of companies in Central and Eastern Europe. It sheds new light on the achievements and shortcomings of the privatization process and draws out lessons for the future. After considering the theoretical issues surrounding privatization, the authors provide an in-depth examination of corporate governance and company performance in advanced market economies as well as transition economies. They begin with a description of the main principles, techniques and results of privatization in Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary and Poland. A statistical and econometric analysis of extensive company-level data and interviews from a large number of firms between 1990 and 1997 is then conducted to discover the main factors in changing economic performance. Using this information the authors compare the transformation of the company sectors in the four countries, and in addition assess company restructuring from the perspective of West European privatizations. Privatization and Economic Performance in Central Eastern Europe will be of interest to policymakers in governments and international organizations and those working in the fields of microeconomics, industrial organization and transition studies.

The book examines the problems that Nixon faced during his presidential term, focusing on economics but the role of politics is also highlighted. The convergence of the gold-dollar crises, oil crises and Watergate imbroglio posed a unique political and economic threat to global stability.

This book makes a case for rights and responsibilities to be expressed through a cosmopolitan praxis based on developing strong cosmopolitan approaches. This developed approach respects a form of cultural or national identity that is not at the expense of others, the environment or future generations. This new stoicism is based on a sense of responsibility for others. The book also explores systemic ethical praxis in response to the vexed challenge of how to bridge the false dualism of pitting the environment versus profit. Systemic Ethics and Non-Anthropocentric Stewardship: Implications for Transdisciplinarity and Cosmopolitan Politics is organized into seven chapters. The book begins by providing readers with an understanding of the way in which cosmopolitanism (like all social concepts) is shaped by diverse definitions and applied differently by theorists and those that engage in transformative praxis. It also develops an argument based on considering the empirical consequences of social, economic and environmental decisions on the quality of life of current and future generations. The next chapter critiques anthropocentricism and explores how policy makers develop agreements on what constitutes and supports the wellbeing of the planet rather than the GDP. The book then explores the options for social democracy and ways to enhance an ethical approach to post national governance and argues for participatory democracy and governance to respond to diversity within and across national boundaries. The following chapters reflect upon the author's own participatory action research process and examines the transformations that can arise through critical systemic thinking and practice. Next the book makes the case for systemic ethical governance that is able to manage consumption, before concluding with a final look at the book's approach, based on critical heuristics.

This book addresses some of the major issues facing postal and delivery services throughout the world. Postal operators worldwide have been slow to address the threats from and opportunities created by electronic competition. The European Commission and member states are wrestling with these issues, while at the same time continuing to deal with the interrelated issues of implementing entry into postal markets and maintaining the universal service obligation. The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 in the U.S. exacerbated financial and managerial problems faced by USPS that result in part from electronic substitution for letter delivery. Comprised of original essays by prominent researchers in the field, this book addresses the new reality of the postal industry and proposes ways in which postal operators might reinvent themselves. Issues discussed include cross-border parcel delivery, e-commerce, the transformation of postal networks, and the effects of postal liberalization. This book will be of interest to postal operators, regulatory commissions, consulting firms, competitors and customers, experts in the postal economics, law, and business, and those charged with the responsibility for designing and implementing postal sector policies. Researchers in regulatory economics, transportation technology, and industrial organization will also find useful information in this volume.

This collection re-examines and re-assesses the role of the semi-periphery in world politics and argues that the processes of globalization have led us to widen our understanding of the semi-periphery, through a range of case studies as well as theoretical chapters.

Malaysia is one of the fastest growing economies in the world today, and this book reflects current debates about the future directions of the national economy, polity and society in light of the late 1990s watershed period of financial crisis, the arrest of Anwar Ibrahim and the subsequent 1999 general election. Malaysian Economics and Politics in the New Century aims to answer questions about how the economy and society are organized, about how the benefits from economic development are distributed, about government's relations to major national institutions, and about the nature of the political process. With its focus firmly on Malaysia's future, this will be a volume of particular interest to scholars, academics, researchers, business leaders and policymakers involved in the Asian region, and Malaysia in particular.

Sarah Owen-Vandersluis critically examines approaches to cultural policy within the global economy. This study taps into the growing debate on ethical theory and International Political Economy. It challenges the normative positions of nationalists and welfare economists, before developing an alternative communitarian ethics for cultural policy in a global economy. The study concludes with an examination of the practical implications of this ethics in several case studies.

This book clarifies the misconceptions and misinterpretations of the Chinese Path through historical and market logic. The author begins with a historical review of Chinese institutions from their cultural origins to their modern connotations: Chinese regard unity over individualism; Chinese are more cooperative, intrapersonal and defensive than competitive, invasive and expansive. The market economy is another factor that emphasizes the importance of a peaceful environment and stable system of international institutions so as to achieve sustainable development in China. In closing, the author provides an outlook on the role and responsibility of China as a great power towards developed countries, neighbors, new economic groups and developing countries. China's development means much to the world.

This volume takes the debates on the political economy of regionalization beyond their current stage, utilizing the insight that regionalization entails profound socio-cultural, economic and political restructuring. The contributions challenge the traditional formal interstate and institutional bias in analyzes of regionalization, in which the EU is often presented as the model for understanding contemporary practices. Instead, they underscore the need to understand regionalization in terms of its myriad local articulations. There is not just one process of regionalization, but many.

This volume is a very interesting research project that includes the most careful work on constitutional power and limits to authority of which I am aware. In general, the contributors find that constitutional negotiations normally took place in settings where uncertainty was considerable. They also find that the more detailed the characterization of power relationships, the more liberal and durable the democracy tends to be. Roger D. Congleton This book addresses the issue of the impact of uncertainty in constitutional design. To what extent do constitution drafters and adopters make their decisions behind a veil of ignorance? More fundamentally, can we infer from constitutional texts the degree of uncertainty faced by constitution drafters and adopters? After an introduction (chapter 1), the book proceeds in two parts. The first part (chapters 2 to 4) introduces to the intellectual filiation of the project and to its theoretical and methodological foundations. The second part (chapters 5 to 13) presents nine case studies built on the same structure: historical account of the making of the Constitution, results of the content analysis of the constitutional text, and discussion of specific issues raised in the analysis. Chapter 14 concludes.

This volume is an energy-tailored sequel to the research on the Arctic carried out at MGIMO University. Specifically, the proposed book is grounded in the profound academic and practical expertise of the specialized body of MGIMO University - International Institute of Energy Policy and Diplomacy chaired by Prof. Valery Salygin. Thus, the research exclusively focuses on energy-related aspects of exploration of the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation (AZRF). This particular region with its ample oil and gas resources has been comparatively and critically studied by a team of authors representing Russia, USA, France, Switzerland, Slovakia, and Lithuania from legislative, political, economic, technical, transport, environmental, sustainability, and security perspectives.

With global markets in turmoil, financial crisis management is the vital topic of this decade. Examining the role that the International Monetary Fund has played since 1976, this volume explores: Britain's stand-by from the late 1970s, the Fund's apparent marginalization in the global economy following the Asian financial crisis, and early responses to the Greek sovereign debt crisis. By focusing on the ideas and interests of domestic policy-makers, Rogers is able to demonstrate how the Fund has been used by domestic economic policy-making elites to reconcile contradictions between accumulation and legitimation that appear inherent to the social relations of capitalism.

The economic landscape of Asia has transformed in the past two decades. Regional economies are linked, and have achieved prosperity. The region must now look to the future. This book explores issues in Asia's long-term development, identifying conditions for sustained growth and income convergence.

In Life Advice from Below, Eric C. Hendriks offers the first systematic, comparative study of the globalization of American-style self-help culture and the cultural conflicts this creates in different national contexts. The self-help guru is an archetypical American figure associated with individualism, materialism and the American Dream. Nonetheless, the self-help industry is spreading globally, thriving in China and other seemingly unlikely places. Controversy follows in its wake, as the self-help industry, operating outside of formal education and state institutions, outflanks philosophical, religious and political elites who have their own visions of the Good Life. Through a comparison of Germany and China, Hendriks analyzes how the competition between self-help gurus and institutional authorities unfolds under radically different politico-cultural regimes. "This witty book charms its way through a very serious sociology of the seriously quirky field of self-help books. Read it for its fascinating pop-culture insights and you'll come away with a deep understanding of contemporary sociological theory. Highly recommended." - Salvatore Babones, University of Sydney "Hendriks' finding that Germany rather than China is more resistant to self-help gurus offers a powerful corrective to the assumption in much of the globalization literature that the greatest cultural divide is between the Anglo-Western European sphere and the rest of the globe." - Rodney Benson, New York University

This book provides a comprehensive, theory-based analysis of current issues in population economics. It addresses the most important problems caused by demographic changes using the popular overlapping generations growth model by Samuelson and Diamond. Taking into account families' fertility decisions, it examines not only the demographic changes due to longer life expectancy but also the effects of social security policy on demography and labor supply/individual retirement behaviors. Conducting all analyses in a dynamic general equilibrium setting, the book offers a valuable theoretical reference guide in the field of population economics.

In the aftermath of the financial crisis, Cooper locates the WTO-focused struggle between the United States and the very small island state of Antigua on Internet gambling in the wider International Political Economy. He draws connections between gambling and offshore and/or enclave cultures and points out the stigmatization of "Casino Capitalism."

This book discusses pedagogical solutions that enable students to see how capitalist processes and economic inequalities intersect and shape our assumptions and behaviours. The contributors provide thoughtful reflections on the struggles and opportunities instructors face in teaching about these topics while competing against the invisibility of capitalist forces and prevalent social myths, such as "anyone who works hard can achieve". This book will not only help instructors empower students to recognize economic injustice and its interaction with capitalist organization, but also develops and acts on transformative solutions. Through analysis of the classed dimensions of the current political, economics, and cultural climate, as well as presenting novel lesson plans and classroom activities, this book is of great value for college and university professors.

This book discusses the history and socioeconomic impact of Rerum novarum, the first Catholic social encyclical. Drawn from research presented at the 2016 Heilbronn Symposia on Economics and the Social Sciences, this book resumes the discussion on the origin, dissemination and impact of the Catholic social doctrine which originated in this epoch-making encyclical, arguing that the fundamental concepts of this doctrine have had long-standing influence on the development of the modern social state and social market economy. Beginning with an introductory background on the Rerum novarum, the book moves through chapters focused on the implementation and application of the doctrine throughout its history and the impact it has had on global economics. The book starts with the contributions of precursors and pioneers of the doctrine such as Bishop Wilhelm von Ketteler , proceeds to the reception of Rerum novarum after its implementation, and presents examples of its application. It then moves to the central question of Rerum novarum on the role of land, the taxation of immovable property, and more generally, justice. The book concludes with comments on the wider significance of Rerum novarum and Catholic social doctrine from a sociological and theological perspective. This book will be useful for academic researchers interested in theoretical economic history, political science and history, economic thought, as well as contemporary global and social issues from the perspective of the Christian faith.