This book provides an assessment of the evolution and dynamics of regional innovation systems (RISs) and the economic and social impact of resulting knowledge spillovers, presenting comparative case studies on the regions of several Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries (Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Lithuania and Estonia). It analyses RISs on the basis of several dimensions, such as absorption capacity and intellectual capital, and using several methods such as data envelopment analysis, patent network analysis, and weighted sum approach. Further, by looking at the economic and social impact of knowledge spillovers in RISs and networking, it identifies key distinguishing factors, including foreign direct investments, still prevalent centralized decision-making, EU-driven innovation policies and public financing of innovations. Sectoral case studies, e.g. from the automobile, chemical and other hi-tech manufacturing industries, are presented to help readers understand the different types of knowledge spillovers in CEE countries and the evolution and dynamics of RISs, and provide a multifaceted overview of the CEE regions.

This major book presents an objective and penetrating economic analysis of stabilization and reform in Eastern Europe, combined with a compassionate plea for individual rights and solidarity. Janos Kornai - one of the most famous Hungarian economists of his generation - focuses on two main issues: first, the problems of stabilization and adjustment, which are painful but necessary conditions of sustainable growth and second, the reform of the 'premature welfare state' of Eastern European countries, which is disproportionately large in relation to the resources available and which was hitherto managed in a highly centralized, bureaucratic and paternalistic way. Struggle and Hope goes beyond most other books on the transition process by placing considerable emphasis on the understanding of the ethical implications and the historical roots of each problem, and also the political conditions and consequences of change. Although economic efficiency is extremely important, it is not the exclusive criterion; ethical principles of individual sovereignty and solidarity must also receive particular attention. Professor Kornai's insightful analysis will become required reading for all those concerned with the process of post-socialist transition.

The American economy and society are undergoing vast transformations, including a renaissance of capitalism, a great wave of technological change, and a restructuring of businesses and industries. A superindustrial society is evolving, and there is a new social cycle that initially offers a greater understanding of problems along with practical means to their solutions. This work addresses the changing state of America's economy and society in its global context, painting a serious but positive portrait of the United States in the next decade. In this context, Irving Leveson carefully explores long term trends and prospects, provides an integrated treatment of issues that are usually examined in discrete fragments, offers a context for planning and decision making, and contributes thorough analyses of specific trends and issues.

The book is structured around three major themes. The first is the need for longer term perspectives in both personal and business affairs; the second focuses on key trends, and the way in which some will be significantly weakened, nullified, or reversed in the 1990s; and the third details the serious business, social, and economic challenges that remain to be dealt with. Leveson charts the transformation of America and the economic conservatism and market orientation that resulted in the renaissance of capitalism, as well as the long cycle upswing of economic restructuring. He then turns to the coming superindustrial society and new social cycle, along with the challenges, opportunities, and problems that the 1990s and the next century will bring. Throughout the work, he offers perspectives on such topics as prospects for corporate restructuring, financial globalization and volatility, health futures, and the relation of business strategy to long cycle evolution. An accompanying appendix provides comparisons of long cycles, and the study concludes with a selected bibliography. This work will be a useful tool for corporate managers and executives, government officials, and policy planners, as well as a valuable resource for courses in economic studies and public policy. It will also be an important addition to the collections of both public and academic libraries.

The book comprehensively discusses the various determinants shaping the health sector in India. Based on intensive research, it quantitatively identifies the determinants of health status in India within a macroeconomic framework, taking both the demand and the supply side into consideration. The book also discusses the various economic tools of analysis for understanding the challenges facing the health sector and explains why policy makers should refrain from applying uniform health policies in the urban and the rural sectors: uniform health policies for the urban and the rural sector cannot be expected to yield uniform outcomes, since the two sectors are characterized by two sets of entirely different challenges. The book further examines health challenges and their determinants separately for India's rural and urban sector. The work also draws attention to the fact that, though finance is extremely important for better health outcomes, how the funds allocated to the health sector are utilised is even more critical. Highlighting the role of health management in this regard, the book provides an in-depth analysis of its role in achieving expected health outcomes, which it claims should constitute a pivotal part of India's health policies.

This edited book focuses on recent developments in Dynamic Network Modeling, including aspects of route guidance and traffic control as they relate to transportation systems and other complex infrastructure networks. Dynamic Network Modeling is generally understood to be the mathematical modeling of time-varying vehicular flows on networks in a fashion that is consistent with established traffic flow theory and travel demand theory. Dynamic Network Modeling as a field has grown over the last thirty years, with contributions from various scholars all over the field. The basic problem which many scholars in this area have focused on is related to the analysis and prediction of traffic flows satisfying notions of equilibrium when flows are changing over time. In addition, recent research has also focused on integrating dynamic equilibrium with traffic control and other mechanism designs such as congestion pricing and network design. Recently, advances in sensor deployment, availability of GPS-enabled vehicular data and social media data have rapidly contributed to better understanding and estimating the traffic network states and have contributed to new research problems which advance previous models in dynamic modeling. A recent National Science Foundation workshop on "Dynamic Route Guidance and Traffic Control" was organized in June 2010 at Rutgers University by Prof. Kaan Ozbay, Prof. Satish Ukkusuri , Prof. Hani Nassif, and Professor Pushkin Kachroo. This workshop brought together experts in this area from universities, industry and federal/state agencies to present recent findings in this area. Various topics were presented at the workshop including dynamic traffic assignment, traffic flow modeling, network control, complex systems, mobile sensor deployment, intelligent traffic systems and data collection issues. This book is motivated by the research presented at this workshop and the discussions that followed.

Why are we obsessed with calculating our selections? The author argues that competitive trade nurtures calculative reason, which provides the ground for most discourses on economy. But market descriptions of economy are incomplete. Drawing on a range of materials from small ethnographic contexts to global financial markets, the author shows that economy is dialectically made up of two value realms, termed mutuality and impersonal trade. One or the other may be dominant; however, market reason usually cascades into and debases the mutuality on which it depends. Using this cross-cultural model, the author explores mystifications of economic life, and explains how capital and derivatives can control an economy. The book offers a different conception of economic welfare, development, and freedom; it presents an approach for dealing with environmental devastation, and explains the growing inequalities of wealth within and between nations.

This book contains a range of essays on topics in the emerging field of "constitutional political economy". This field of enquiry is strongly associated with the name of James M. Buchanan whose research program has been the point of departure for this field. The essays are a selection of those written by colleagues and researchers in the field to honor Buchanan on the occasion of his 80th birthday. They cover a wide range of topics but fall primarily into two sets: one set dealing with methodological aspects of the c.p.e. approach; the other dealing with specific applications in a variety of policy areas, ranging from "economic transformation" to monetary policy regimes to health care. One particular issue in the methodological area relates to the model of motivation used - and more especially, the role of "morality" in economic and political behavior. The five essays on this topic make up one of the sections of the book, and justify reference to the issue in the volume's title.

The capitalist mode of destruction traces contemporary capitalism's economic, ecological and democratic crises. Combining insights from a range of disciplines, including psychology, sociology and political economy, Panayotakis interprets these crises as manifestations of a previously unrecognized contradiction: over time, the benefits of capitalism's technological dynamism tend to decline even as its threats to humanity and the planet continue to mount. To explain this contradiction, the book analyzes the production and distribution of surplus in capitalist societies and rethinks the concept of surplus itself. Identifying the public sector and households as sites of production no less important than the workplace, this book attributes capitalism's contradictions to working people's lack of control over the surplus they produce. This lack of control is undemocratic and threatens the planet. Only a classless society, in which working people democratically determine the size and use of the surplus they produce, can effectively respond to our current predicament. Recognizing such a democratic classless society as the essence of the communist ideal, the book argues that, far from becoming obsolete, this ideal is ever more indispensable. But since the necessity of this ideal does not guarantee its realization, the book also investigates the conditions necessary for the formation of an anti-capitalist alliance for social justice, democracy and ecological sustainability. -- .

This groundbreaking volume offers a comprehensive look at the current state of Iraq's political economy in the aftermath of the US-led overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003. Frank R. Gunter describes the unique difficulties facing the modern Iraqi economy and provides detailed recommendations for fostering future economic growth and stability. The book begins with an overview of Iraq's current political, economic, and social status, including discussions of real growth, unemployment, inflation, health, poverty, education, and gender issues. This is followed by a comprehensive look at what the author identifies as the three dominant characteristics of the political economy of Iraq: corruption, political instability, and petroleum. Using these foundational ideas as a springboard, the book then provides a detailed breakdown of the Iraqi economy by sector, as well as discussions of Iraq's fiscal, monetary, and exchange rate policies. The final chapter identifies the major trends that will determine the course of future economic development in Iraq and provides insightful recommendations for encouraging positive economic growth. Offering the most comprehensive and timely discussion of Iraq's economy to date, this critical volume will appeal to students and professors of international studies, political economy, and Middle East studies as well as anyone considering doing business in this rapidly changing economy. Contents: Preface 1. Iraq's Lost Decades 2. Population and Key Macroeconomic Variables 3. Health, Poverty, Education, and Gender Issues 4. Corruption 5. Political Stability and Economic Development 6. Oil and Gas 7. Agriculture and the Public Distribution System 8. Financial Intermediation 9. State-Owned Enterprises 10. Entrepreneurship in Post-Conflict Iraq 11. Infrastructure and Essential Services 12. International Trade and Finance 13. Fiscal, Monetary, and Exchange Rate Policy 14. Iraq in 2025 Bibliography Index

The primary purpose of this edited collection is to evaluate critically the relationship between local government and national economic development. It focuses on how the relationship between local government and development is structured, and the specific institutional arrangements at national and subnational levels that might facilitate local government's assumption of the role of development agent. In light of the contradictory outcomes of development and implied experimentation with new modalities, post-development discourse provides a useful explanatory framework for the book. Schoburgh, Martin and Gatchair's central argument is that the pursuit of national developmental goals is given a sustainable foundation when development planning and strategies take into account elements that have the potential to determine the rate of social transformation. Their emphasis on localism establishes a clear link between local government and local economic development in the context of developing countries.

In the years following the financial crash, two issues have become central to the debate in economics: inequality and the uneven nature of sustainable development. These two issues are at the core of this book which aims to explain three key questions: why inequality has increased so much in the last three decades; why most advanced economies are stagnating or are experiencing moderate economic growth; and why, even where economic growth is occurring, the quality of that growth is questioned. Inequality and Uneven Development in the Post-Crisis World is divided into three parts. The first part concerns the theoretical aspects of inequality, and ethical issues regarding economics and equality. The second part explores empirical evidence and policy suggestions drawing on the uneven levels of development and unprecedented levels of inequality experienced among advanced economies in the context of global financial capitalism. The third part focuses on sustainable development issues such as full employment, social costs of global trade liberalization, environmental sustainability and ecological issues. Along with inequality these issues are central for capitalism and for economic development. This volume is of interest to those who study political economy, sustainable development and social inequality.

After more than two decades of widespread hardship for most nations, what are the different paths available for them to resume steady growth and welfare? Will they actually succeed in building new growth models that meet the challenges of the present phase of internationalisation? This book attempts to answer these questions by analysing different perspectives and discussing the conditions for new national growth trajectories to emerge. The book provides conceptual tools for characterising alternative growth regimes by analysing their institutional backgrounds and political context. Unlike standard convergence theories, the authors argue that the diversity of capitalism is likely to persist as national economies adapt to the forces of globalisation. Still these national paths remain strongly conditioned by the kind of governance set up at both regional and fully international levels. The Hardship of Nations will be of great interest to undergraduates and graduates in the social sciences - economics, political sciences, sociology, geography and management - who require an overview of the debates on growth of national economies in the present stage of globalisation.

Central and Eastern European countries are entering the development race at a crucial juncture in EU enlargement and the wider phenomenon of globalization. In the face of hesitant and controversial EU policy, these countries need to engage sound development strategies. International production networks are expected to be decisive in helping them strengthen their competitiveness and establish knowledge based economies. Julie Pellegrin looks at whether and how production networks develop in Central and Eastern European countries and assesses their chances of catching up with the rest of Europe.

This book explores the encounters with market socialism through reforms in China and Vietnam and looks at the distinctions between market socialism and capitalism. The book discusses whether market socialism is compatible with economic integration and whether state ownership can be reconciled with a market economy.

Comparing the UK, US, Germany and Japan, this book draws on innovative concepts of varieties of gender regime as well as varieties of capitalism. The volume re-thinks the processes of de-gendering and re-gendering of working practices in the context of both de-regulation and re-regulation of employment.

This book is about changes in the competitiveness and the restructuring of manufacturing industries in the three leading transition economies of Central Europe (Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic), their integration into the European Union, and their catching up with the old member states in the pre-accession period.

By 1968, 200 corporations held over 60 percent of the nation's manufacturing assets and total annual profits. This book is a comprehensive study of the enormous concentration of economic power resulting from the Third Great Merger Movement, during which over 9,400 firms disappeared through merger, increasing from 954 in 1961 to 2,442 in the peak year of 1968. This great merger wave took place during a period of prosperity marked by a rapidly expanding economy, easy money, and a bouyant stock market. The conglomerate firm was the most prominent feature of the Third Great Merger Movement.

High technology research laboratories are under constant pressure from the governments that support them to generate secondary utilities such as technology transfer and spin-offs. As buyers, such organisations are often used by governments to stimulate innovation by their suppliers, under tight budgetary constraints and within the rigid institutional frameworks applied to public research organisations. This book addresses the design of efficient buyer-supplier contracts within the institutional boundaries faced by the buyer and focuses in particular on vertical buyer-supplier linkages as a source of supplier core competencies in a cost- and technology-driven environment.
Based on a study of manufacturing contracts commissioned by the European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN), the book aims to answer two questions. First, what is the most efficient governance structure for organising buyer-supplier relationships, given the presence of specific institutional boundaries, high technological complexity and environmental uncertainty? Secondly, irrespective of the presence of such an efficient governance structure, what type of impact could technology-oriented government contracts have on supplier core competencies?

Given the end of the cold war, economic development of the Asia-Pacific region, the emergence of Neo-Liberal democratisation and the further marginalisation of Africa in the global political economy, this book provides a timely theoretical analysis of current trends in the third world/global politics.

Since the end of the Cold War, Japan's security environment has changed significantly. While, on the global level, the United States is still Japan's most important security partner, the nature of the partnership has changed as a result of shifting demands from the United States, new international challenges such as the North Korean nuclear programme and the rapid rise of China. At the same time, Japan has been confronted with new, 'non-traditional' security threats such as international terrorism, the spread of infectious diseases, and global environmental problems. On the domestic level, demographic change, labour migration, economic decline, workplace insecurity, and a weakening impact of policy initiatives challenge the sustainability of the lifestyle of many Japanese and have led to a heightened sense of insecurity among the Japanese public. This book focuses on the domestic discourse on insecurity in Japan and goes beyond military security. The chapters cover issues such as Japan's growing perception of regional and global insecurity; the changing role of military forces; the perceived risk of Chinese foreign investment; societal, cultural and labour insecurity and how it is affected by demographic changes and migration; as well as food insecurity and its challenges to health and public policy. Each chapter asks how the Japanese public perceives these insecurities; how these perceptions influence the public discourse, the main stakeholders of this discourse, and how this affects state-society relations and government policies. Governing Insecurity in Japan provides new insights into Japanese and international discourses on security and insecurity, and the ways in which security is conceptualized in Japan. As such, it will be of interest to students and scholars working on Japanese politics, security studies and international relations.

Indonesia over the past two decades has embarked on a process of decentralization as part of a broader process of democratization, which followed earlier periods of centralized governance and authoritarian rule across the archipelago. The purpose of this book is to begin to explore the connections between governance and sustainable society in a wide variety of policy fields in Indonesia, and how reforming governance structures may contribute to societal benefits and the creation of a long-term sustainable society. This book bridges important theoretical debates related to governance and sustainable society and provides empirical research from Indonesia in important policy areas related to this debate. By placing research in different policy areas in a single volume, the link to the broader concepts of governance, decentralization, and societal outcomes is strengthened. The book builds on the recent interest that has focused on Indonesia and the continued development of democracy in the country. The chapters in the book show a rich variety of decentralized governance arrangements and capacity building at the local level in particular. Central standards (for example for social sustainability, anti-corruption arrangements, or for dealing with direct foreign investment), combined with local innovation (for example for municipal coordination of primary health care or metropolitan transport), are key to Indonesia as a country in a continuing process of transformation. We identify three key trends in the on-going process of decentralization and governance in Indonesia. First, we find that formal governance, the relation between the national and local government, is characterized by a system of 'variable geometry multi-level governance' depending on the policy area. The challenge ahead is strengthening accountability mechanisms to assure national standards while preserving and encouraging local innovation. Secondly, informal governance mechanisms are evolving to move from 'hierarchical to network' forms of governance. Here the challenge is to insure democratic input by citizens and civil society organizations. Finally, we identify a trend toward 'shared value creation and sustainable cooperation.' Indonesia is beginning to move from a rather singular policy focus on economic growth to a more complex and developing notion of policymaking for inclusive growth and the creation of a sustainable society for present and future generations. Here the challenge is sound implementation and to increase the effectiveness of governance mechanisms. There is also a noted diffusion of goals, to focus beyond the Jakarta metropolitan area to smaller regional cities, as urbanization continues and rural areas are changing. This book will be of interest for use in advanced undergraduate and graduate courses related to Southeast Asia in the fields of international relations, political science, public administration, economics, law, sociology, educa tion, public health, and the spatial sciences. It will also be of interest to policymakers and government officials at the national and local level in Southeast Asia and middle-income developing countries, officials and policymakers in institutions of regional governance such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and of global governance such as the United Nations and World Bank. It will also be of interest to civil society organizations and other actors focused on policy development and economic development, health, education, the environment, sustainable transport, etc. The book will also be of interest to business people interested in economic and governance issues, such as the management and governance of in-bound foreign investment, inclusive growth, and corporate governance. Finally, the book should be of interest to citizens in advanced, middle-income, and developing countries motivated to learn more about the links between governance and the creation of a sustainable society for current and future generations.

The internationalization of the German political economy in the postwar era, particularly in the "restructuring" period since the mid-1970s, has produced a special socio-economic and political formation which this anthology views as a "hegemonic project". Based upon a virtually total West German integration into the "West", this project has evolved within a new international division of labour and a global political system in which the German state, with its extreme level of export dependency and need for stability, has become a guardian and champion of the global status quo. The contributors to this book have taken account of the developments which have arisen from the events of 1989 in the former GDR.

After the introduction of a new economic policy of 1991, India is increasingly portrayed as a big emerging market for consumer goods and for broadcasting and communications services. Policies for telecommunications, computer software and television broadcasting in India have also shifted fundamentally. The book considers communications policies in light of the role of communications in social and economic development and global patterns of trade and investment in communications and services.

This book is the outcome of three major influences. First, the ongoing integration of the European regional economies and the need to understand what this means for European economic and social cohesion. Second, the development of geo-economic theories ranging from neoclassical growth theory and endogenous growth theory to new theories of economic geography. Third, the development of techniques of spatial data analysis, simulation, data visualization and spatial econometrics. The outcome is a collection of chapters which apply these methods, motivated by a variety of theoretical stances, in order to advance our understanding of European regional growth. The book provides powerful and detailed analyses of the causes of income, productivity and employment variations across Europe's regions, and insights into their future prospects.