Plato was the first of the great thinkers to integrate the economy into a wide-ranging synthesis of ethical absolutes and human interaction. In this original and stimulating book, David Reisman assesses his influential contribution to the political economy of production, consumption, distribution and exchange. Drawing on the whole of Plato's published work, this book explores Plato's insights into the core philosophical concerns of stability, hegemony, justice and balance. It situates Plato's economics in the context of fourth century Athens. It argues that the transition from oligarchy to democracy in the wake of the disastrous war with Sparta had reinforced the attraction of justice, moderation and the middle way to a political philosopher who wanted to reverse the decay in popular standards of right and wrong. Analytical but accessible, this book is crucial reading for students and scholars of economic and social thought. Researchers and practitioners interested in social and public policy will also benefit from this book's comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach.

The twenty-first century has seen major challenges to freedom and democracy. Authoritarianism is on the rise and democracy is in retreat. Some promote individualism and markets as the solution to almost every problem. On the other side there are those who champion collectivism and full public ownership. Neither side is convincing. Unrestrained capitalism has exacerbated inequality. Socialism in practice has ended democracy. Effective defenders of liberty and human flourishing must find a different course. This book argues for a pragmatic, social democratic liberalism that avoids unrealistic extremes and tackles major problems such as inequality and climate change. This book is a topical and powerful statement of social democratic liberalism. It will be of interest to anyone concerned about modern politics, including those in universities and political parties

Elgar Research Agendas outline the future of research in a given area. Leading scholars are given the space to explore their subject in provocative ways, and map out the potential directions of travel. They are relevant but also visionary. With contributions from an international range of experts, this cutting-edge Research Agenda collates the most important and emerging research in the field to map out the new directions and promising paths ahead for the international political economy (IPE). Probing the most promising lines of research on the crucial inter-connections of globalization and socioeconomic inequality, the book opens with an investigation into our understanding of how externally generated financial, health, and migration crises affect political economic systems worldwide. Chapters explore fundamental changes in the nature of IPE, including those driven by technology, power transitions, the geography of trade, new foreign aid channels, and economic espionage. Rethinking the future research agenda for IPE, the book concludes by challenging the underlying ideas and perspectives that shape the thinking and scholarship of the field. Countering the deep-rooted western, white-male orientation of traditional IPE research with the alternative perspectives of decolonial and feminist ecological thinkers, this innovative Research Agenda will prove invaluable to students, scholars and policymakers concerned with the future of the international political economy.

Elgar Research Agendas outline the future of research in a given area. Leading scholars are given the space to explore their subject in provocative ways, and map out the potential directions of travel. They are relevant but also visionary. Forward thinking and provocative, this Research Agenda demonstrates different approaches to the field from experts focusing on global and local, and historical and contemporary issues. It asserts that critical political economists differ from their mainstream counterparts through the variety of methods they use and the questions they pose. Eminent global scholars examine a diverse selection of interdisciplinary themes, raising questions surrounding future research in the area, offering examples and linking the theory to its implications for practice and policy. Chapters explore economic growth and the ideology of development, sweatshop economics, experimental economics, the land question in urban economics, money and finance, and thinking beyond capitalism with the solidarity economy. A Research Agenda for Critical Political Economy will be a fascinating read for students and scholars of political economy, political science and economics. With case studies and practical examples of the application of the topic, it will also be an invigorating read for economists and policy makers looking for alternative approaches to the field.

Elgar Research Agendas outline the future of research in a given area. Leading scholars are given the space to explore their subject in provocative ways, and map out the potential directions of travel. They are relevant but also visionary. This exciting Research Agenda offers a multi-disciplinary and historically informed programme for the further investigation of the global political economy of the corporate sector. It tackles the question, can and should the corporation be reformed? Christopher May develops a range of intersecting areas for research while also offering an account of the possibilities for the reform of the global corporation. Based on an understanding of the history of corporations, the author provides key insights into their management and political agency as well as the operation of the global corporate supply chain. Drawing links between a range of disciplines and perspectives on business enterprises, May calls for a more nuanced understanding of the global corporate sector in order to better comprehend the contours of the contemporary global capitalist system. This Research Agenda will be a valuable resource for students and academics of politics, economics, sociology and law, who are curious to explore the corporation in relation to their area of study.

This authoritative book examines the power of multinational corporations (MNCs) to exert influence in global politics. Focusing on the actions and motivations of MNCs, it explores how they attempt to shape the political issues that affect them. Combining theoretical perspectives with analyses of enlightening case studies, the contributors consider key areas in which MNCs seek to exert political influence such as environmental sustainability, social conflicts and corporate tax avoidance, as well as in specific industries including mining, shipping and consulting. They also illustrate the mechanisms used by MNCs to exert influence in a wide range of policy fields at multiple territorial levels, discussing how they interact with states, intergovernmental organizations and civil society, as well as how they coordinate their activities with other parts of the business community. The book concludes that MNCs enjoy certain basic privileges in society and politics due to their preponderant economic position and their key role in the processes of globalization, but action is necessary to sustain this role. MNCs in Global Politics will be critical reading for academics and students of politics, international relations and political economy, particularly those with an interest in globalization and governance. Its exploration of specific case studies will also be beneficial for policy-makers.

This thought-provoking book analyses the process of labour commodification, through which the individual's ability to earn a basic living becomes dependent on the conditions of the market relationship. Building on the premise that the separation of a group of individuals from the means of production is an intrinsic element of capitalism, Fausto Corvino theorises that this implies a form of domination in a neo-republican sense. Proposing an original theory of global justice denoted as a minimum de-commodification of labour power, this book explains the ways in which this cosmopolitan principle resists the criticisms that are commonly advanced against classic theories of global justice and charts a theory falling between the neo-republican and labour republican approaches. It stimulates the debate on, and moral critique of, capitalism and the obstacles it poses to individual freedoms, with a focus on exploitation and domination. Global Justice, Markets and Domination will be a key resource for students and scholars researching capitalism and analytical Marxism, political economics and human rights. It will also be of benefit to those interested in theories of global and distributive justice and the economic implications of the neo-republican theory of freedom as non-domination.

This cutting-edge Handbook puts economic nationalism in its historical context, from early industrialization to globalization. It explores how economic nationalism has emerged to new prominence in the post-globalization era as states are trying to protect their economies, societies, and cultures from unwanted external influences. Drawing together contributors from a wide range of disciplines, the Handbook demonstrates the many ways in which nationalisms and national cultures affect and are affected by the economy, paying attention to the different contexts in which they emerge. Chapters consider key topics including economic nationalism and climate change, resource nationalism, economic nationalism in left-wing ideologies and far-right party discourse, and dimensions of economic nationalism in the US, Russia, India and Japan. Providing a comprehensive analysis of the historical, theoretical, and geographical dimensions of economic nationalism, this Handbook will be a key resource for scholars and students of political economy, international economics and the history of economic thought. Its use of case studies from a range of countries will also be beneficial for policy makers and practitioners in these fields.

This innovative book examines the maritime component of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), focusing on three key trade routes and addressing the question of how China protects its overseas assets. Gerald Chan explores China's rising maritime power, using geo-developmentalism as a theoretical framework to analyse the country's development of port facilities and infrastructure along important trade routes. Through developing these sea routes, he argues that a new global order is in the making. The book also offers an in-depth and balanced review of two major criticisms of China's BRI: the first being so-called 'debt trap diplomacy', and the second being security concerns surrounding China's IT industry, the resolution of which Chan suggests will pave the way towards developing a 'digital Silk Road'. Following on from Chan's previous work on high-speed rail and other land networks, this book offers a comprehensive and up-to-date account on infrastructure building in this context. It will prove a stimulating read for scholars and students of Chinese foreign policy and international relations, as well as policy makers, government officials and businesses seeking to better understand China's foreign trade and development policies.

Nowhere in the world presents a more dramatic case of wealth creation than East Asia. Contrary to the common belief that social policy in the economic powerhouses of the region is secondary to their pursuit of economic growth, Gyu-Jin Hwang argues that it has in fact played an integral part in building strong states and competitive market economies. Building Markets examines the original four Newly Industrialised Economies (NIEs) of East Asia: Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan, as well as Japan, the regional forerunner in both economic and social terms. Chapters undertake a comparative analysis of the various social policy measures and redistributive efforts taken across a diverse range of social policy sectors in the region, covering cash transfers, healthcare, education, housing, and family policy. Addressing the mounting pressure on East Asian economies to rethink their growth strategies, Hwang concludes with a call for social means to be diverted, adapted, and converted to serve new social ends. Integrating cutting-edge theoretical insights with detailed policy analysis, Building Markets will be an invaluable tool for academics and postgraduate students interested in social policy, economics, and development in East Asia.

In this timely book, Benjamin J. Cohen identifies and analyses a range of critical pathologies currently afflicting the field of international political economy (IPE) and offers remedies to restore the field's vitality. The book addresses the purpose of IPE as a field of study, highlighting the key questions posed by scholars since the modern field's inception, and explores how research seeks to engage with politics in practice. Tackling contemporary factionalism in the field, chapters consider IPE's remarkable diversity and fragmentation of research traditions across the globe and draw attention to the lack of clear methods and behavioural assumptions established as 'best practice' internationally. To rejuvenate the field, Cohen argues, reforms are needed that would both encourage more policy engagement by IPE scholars and maximize opportunities to enjoy the benefits of the field's diversity. The book offers a cutting-edge research agenda, emphasising the need for collaboration across scholarly divides and the obligations of leading professional associations and societies to countervail the forces that keep these groups separated. A powerful critique and a rousing call-to-arms, this book is crucial reading for scholars of IPE in search of innovative ways to develop new research and revitalise the field as a whole. It also offers key insights for students who need to understand the challenges facing IPE and its potential research trajectories.

Since Garrett Hardin published 'The Tragedy of the Commons' in 1968, critics have argued that population growth and capitalism contribute to overuse of natural resources and degradation of the global environment. They propose coercive, state-centric solutions. This book offers an alternative view. Employing insights from new institutional economics, the authors argue that property rights, competitive markets, polycentric political institutions, and social institutions such as trust, patience and individualism enable society to conserve natural resources and mitigate harms to the global environment. The authors support their argument by considering several types of commons: forests, fisheries, minerals, and the global environment. The central lesson of these empirical studies is that following a simple set of rules - definition and enforcement of property rights in response to local conditions, creating and maintaining democracy at the local level, and establishing markets to allocate resources - improves ecological and environmental sustainability. This book will appeal to scholars of natural resources, economics, political science and public policy as well as policymakers who are interested in environmental governance and the ways markets contribute to sustainability.

In this penetrating volume, Jeffery Webber charts the political dynamics and conflicts underpinning the contradictory evolution of left-wing governments and social movements in Latin America in the last two decades. Throughout the 2000s, Latin America transformed itself into the leading edge of anti-neoliberal resistance in the world. But what is left of the Pink Tide today? What are the governments' relationships to the explosive social movements that first propelled them to power? And as China's demand for Latin American commodities slackens, is there a viable economic strategy based on continued natural resource extraction? Webber approaches these questions through an analysis of capitalist accumulation from 1990 to 2015 in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador and Venezuela. He explains these countries' patterns of inequality through a decolonial Marxist framework, rooted in a new understanding of class and its complex associations with racial and gender oppression. He also discusses indigenous and peasant resistance to the expansion of private mining, agro-industry and natural gas and oil activities. The book concludes with chapters on 'passive revolution' in Bolivia under Evo Morales and debates around dual power and class composition during the era of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela.

This book summarises an investigation into elements of the economic and political institutions that affect prosperity in ECOWAS development. Information and material enclosed was obtained from most relevant literature and publicly available data. The work evaluates the macroeconomic consequences of various programs and policies, which are represented through key selected mainstream indicators for ECOWAS countries from 1960-2013, contrasted with the European Union 28 countries in the same period and illustrating the specific situation of Guinea-Bissau. It was found that actual progresses in the theoretical domain are slow, solid formal models are lacking, and inconsistency predominates as challenges, outcomes and relations from inputs to outputs are mostly evidenced by adoption of anecdotal examples. Negative prosperity is the norm and thus, the question of how, and what, the institutions are doing to address it, becomes especially relevant. It is also observed that the available source data is inconsistent and controversial; for same indicators, it varies wildly at intra and inter organisations. In the likeliness of many of the current aid and structuring programmes being based on data from the mentioned sources, a risk emerges that, even though mathematic and economic models may be advanced, they are based on fundamentally unreliable data that push wrongdoing and hinder prosperity. It also emerges that, frequently, institutions and programmes do have negative impact on the sub-region, because the framework that they provide is based on western values, mostly carried by western experts or local experts that acquired western behaviour and values ignoring the rural and peri-urban populations. It was found that circumstances where cultural differences are not accounted for, namely in acceptance of the distribution of power, collaboration, personal relations, traditions and manners of performing work and duties as well as managing free time, potentially hinder societal development.

A Modern Guide to State Intervention investigates the impact of the changing role of the state, offering an alternative political economy for the third decade of the twenty-first century. Building on important factors including history, the role of institutions, society and economic structures, this Modern Guide considers economic and administrative interventions towards changing the destabilised status quo of modern societies. Exploring a variety of theoretical approaches, chapters offer sustainable growth-inducing policies and proposals to address important challenges in this era of neoliberal globalization and financialization. With key contributions by distinguished academics in the field, the book evaluates past efforts and policies and critiques failed perspectives. A critical read for political economics scholars wishing to look beyond orthodox perspectives, this book highlights key areas of contention in modern economic policies. This will also be a vital book for policy-makers and economists looking ahead to a more sustainable economic atmosphere.

Taxes on the wealthy are a topic sure to incite venomous rants from both right-wing and left-wing ideologues. The topic attracts conflicting interpretations and policy recommendations, and generates proposals for tax reform that consume political debate. All this activity takes place against an opaque backdrop of empirical evidence dealing with the distribution of wealth and income, and tax avoidance and tax evasion by corporations and wealthy individuals. Rethinking Wealth and Taxes explores these problems and considers the possibilities for increasing taxes on wealth to address the increasingly unequal distribution of wealth, and income. Concerned with exploring the implications of globalization for government revenue policy and increasing inequality in wealth and income, it identifies the connection between ongoing inequality and the ability of the wealthy to avoid income taxes by exploiting differential treatment of capital income and wage income. The author explores the various ways in which the emergence of globalization has impacted the traditional national model of raising income tax revenue. He then offers policy recommendations that shift government revenue sources to taxes that are difficult for the wealthy to avoid and that better capture the goals of vertical and horizontal tax equity. This book will appeal to those directly involved in industry and public policy and may be used in university courses at all levels in public finance, financial economics, actuarial science and management. It will also be of interest to research libraries, individuals working in government and readers in the general public curious about topics such as 'the one percent'.

This timely book sets out a shrewd and comprehensive policy programme, for both 'microeconomic' supply-side settings of tax and regulatory systems, and 'macroeconomic' policies for fiscal and monetary policies to regulate demand and support the supply-side growth agenda. Explaining the numerous benefits of free trade after Britain's exit from the EU, and challenging the anti-Brexit argument, Patrick Minford builds on his extensive research into economic modelling to quantify the effects of Brexit and propose policies for the aftermath. Laying out an agenda for replacing social interventionist EU regulation with a robust free market framework, Minford proposes a radical tax reform programme to broaden the tax base and flatten marginal rates. This incisive book looks to the future of the UK beyond Brexit, addressing the effects of coronavirus and proposing an avenue of policies for recovery. Featuring key empirical analysis and insightful arguments, this book will be crucial reading for economists and policymakers investigating and overseeing the future of UK economic policy. It will also benefit scholars of economics and political economy, particularly those interested in tax reform programmes.

Malcolm Torry explores Citizen's Basic Income - an unconditional income for every individual - moving the reader from a basic understanding of the concept to an in-depth recognition of its wide-ranging implications. Torry examines debates around the desirability, feasibility and implementation of a Citizen's Basic Income, and how this idea is becoming increasingly widespread. This Modern Guide presents a comprehensive treatment of Citizen's Basic Income, first offering insight into the language surrounding it, and moving through a number of key disciplinary perspectives, including sociology, politics, economics and law. Each chapter discusses an academic discipline, looking at relevant aspects of the debate to understand how the discipline enhances knowledge of Citizen's Basic Income, and how discussion around the topic can contribute to the academic discipline. Containing detailed case studies in each chapter, this book will be helpful to a wide variety of scholars and students wanting a broader knowledge of Citizen's Basic Income. It will also be useful to policymakers who wish to engage in the debate on the potential benefits and drawbacks of a Citizen's Basic Income.

Providing a coherent and multidisciplinary approach to digitalization, this Modern Guide aims to systematize how the digitalization process affects infrastructure-based industries, including telecommunications, transport, energy, water and postal services. This important book reviews the literature on how digital technologies can impact infrastructure design, construction and maintenance costs, with specific references for each industry. Contributors analyse how digitalization is disrupting traditional infrastructure managers in terms of capacity management and traffic flows as well as discussing key topics including data governance, data sharing, digital platforms and sector convergence. With special attention devoted to regulatory and governance challenges, this will be welcomed by researchers of network industries and digitalization. This will also be of special interest to academics and scholars interested in the digitalization process, data governance and infrastructure management.

This comprehensive Handbook provides an analysis of the key issues, accomplishments, and challenges of research and practices related to the interactions between business and public policy. International expert contributors explore how the organizational structures of government and business have changed as the world has become more globalized, and as researchers have accumulated insights into why and how public policy is influenced by, and in turn influences, business. Examining how businesses themselves have increasingly contributed to the making and implementation of policy, chapters illuminate the most significant debates as well as the theoretical and empirical developments in these areas. This approach enables a comparison of the similarities and differences across the field of business and public policy as a whole. Identifying new directions and research questions in this rapidly evolving field, this Handbook will be a useful resource for academics and students of business and public policy, as well as related areas including corporate governance, political economy and international business. Practitioners and policy makers will also benefit from its illumination of the complex relationship between business and public policy.

Presenting a truly comprehensive history of Basic Income, Malcolm Torry explores the evolution of the concept of a regular unconditional income for every individual, as well as examining other types of income as they relate to its history. Examining the beginnings of the modern debate at the end of the eighteenth century right up to the current global discussion, this book draws on a vast array of original historical sources and serves as both an in-depth study of, and introduction to, Basic Income and its history. Commencing with Thomas Paine's advocacy for Basic Capital and Thomas Spence's for a Basic Income, Torry analyses thought from a variety of authors during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and explores the widespread debate across Europe from the 1980s to the present day. Chapters further investigate a terminologically diverse debate in Canada and the USA and highlight the significance of recent research on feasibility in the UK. Concluding with a study of the anatomy of what is now a single global debate about Basic Income, this book will be of value to policy makers, students and scholars of Basic Income, social and economic history, and the economics of social policy.

This timely book explores the long-standing process of infrastructural integration across Europe, with a particular focus on the EU member states. It illuminates the main economic infrastructure sectors, including transport, energy and information, examining how the process of infrastructural integration reflects an alignment of the needs of the countries that are the main drivers behind this process. Colin Turner highlights how these inter-governmental driven processes are supported by a series of policy measures undertaken at the supranational level by the EU, largely through the trans-European network initiative. Multidisciplinary chapters offer a thorough examination of trends in regional integration, and an in-depth analysis of core infrastructure sectors. The book further looks at the co-operative territoriality that is needed for the integration process, and that is driven by an alignment between states' territorial and geo-political strategies. Offering a contextualised analysis within the framework of state strategy, this will be an invigorating read for political economy and public policy scholars, particularly those focussing on the EU. It will also be helpful to public policy practitioners and sector specific consultants looking for up-to-date insights on the topic.

While a positive correlation between capitalism and democracy has existed in Western Europe and North America, the example of late-industrializing nations such as Turkey has demonstrated that the two need not always go hand in hand, and sometimes the interests of business coincide more firmly with anti-democratic forces. This book explores the factors that compelled capitalists in Turkey to adopt a more pro-democratic ideology by examining a leading Turkish business lobby (TUESIAD) which has been pushing for democratic reform since the 1990s, despite representing some of the largest corporation owners in Turkey and having supported the state's authoritarian tendencies in the past such as the military coup of 1980. Drawing on roughly 70 interviews with influential members of TUESIAD and individuals close to them, the book reveals that business leaders were willing to break away from the state due to the conflict between their evolving economic needs and power with a political elite and state that were unwilling to cater to their demands. In so doing, the book provides a rich account of business-state relations in Turkey as well as providing a case study for the wider study of democracy and capitalism in developing nations.

For most economists, 'Austrian economics' refers to a distinct school of thought, originating with Mises and Hayek and characterised by a strong commitment to free-market liberalism. This innovative book explores an alternative Austrian tradition in economics. Socialist in spirit but too diffuse to be described as a single school of thought, it shares a common conviction that the market, while possibly a good servant, is a very poor master. Demonstrating how the debate on the economics of socialism began in Austria long before the 1930s, this unique book analyses the work and impact of many leading Austrian economists. Beginning with the Austro-Marxist theorists Otto Bauer and Rudolf Hilferding and moving through to the new generation of social democratic economists, most prominently Kurt Rothschild and Josef Steindl, The Alternative Austrian Economics provides insight into the history and evolution of socialist economics in Austria. Offering a previously underrepresented discussion of a century of Austrian socialist economics, this engaging book will prove to be of great value to Marxian and heterodox economists, historians of economic thought and political scientists interested in political economy.