The book portrays the scope and dimension of different financial inclusion strategies. It looks at the role and potential of banks involved in financial inclusion. This book focuses on the importance of financial inclusion and in measuring its important determinants. It provides an empirical insight into how the different factors influence financial inclusion of a nation, providing a guideline to the banks and the regulators to select an effective structure of bank branch and efficient composition, to ensure best utilization of their devoted resources in the context of a developing economy.

Comparing Fiscal Federalism investigates intergovernmental financial relations and the current de jure and de facto allocation of financial and fiscal powers in compound states from a comparative and interdisciplinary perspective. The volume combines theoretical approaches with case studies and involves scholars from various disciplines, in order to provide a comprehensive analysis of different approaches, developments and trends. This includes outlining fiscal federalism's basic principles and overall frameworks, investigating current constitutional/legislative settings and how financial systems function, as well as zooming in on a selection of emerging issues in financial and fiscal relations. The single chapters are based on comparative investigations under the umbrella of a broad definition of fiscal federalism that includes all varieties of federal systems.

The authors provide a broad overview of economic aspects of commodity taxation, focussing in particular on theory and on policy applications in OECD countries. Some major papers in public economics have discussed whether these taxes should be levied at a uniform rate, or whether different commodities should be taxed differently, for reasons of either equity or efficiency. The authors begin with this question, and then discuss further issues, including the economic incidence of commodity taxes, the properties of the VAT, the taxation of financial services, the international aspects of commodity taxation, and environmental and health policy aspects.

Economic growth and development critically depends on the quality of infrastructure. Each aspect of the economy and its infrastructure are linked systemically. Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) are increasingly being promoted as the solution to the shortfall in financing needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Public-private partnerships enable the public entity to utilize the expertise and efficiencies of the private sector to deliver services and facilities that traditionally have been delivered by the public sector, either through public sector employees or by traditional procurement methods. To be beneficial to all stakeholders, a PPP project requires careful planning, implementation, and strong governance. This book breaks down the steps involved and the traps to circumvent. Despite its globally growing importance, project finance has been somewhat underrepresented in research. This book analyzes project finance from an interdisciplinary perspective-finance, management, and international business-and includes international laws of arbitrage and perspectives of international financial institutions as never endeavored by any previous research projects. The book also includes case studies assessing the relevance of private-public partnerships by comparing the country expectations and the real outcomes. The gap between expectations and results does not necessarily mean that significant progress has not been made. To the contrary, the book suggests that some of the original targets set may have been unrealistic, and that the requisite financial resources-or the financial sector policies that could have generated those resources-may have been lacking.

This timely book reveals that the budget deficits and accumulating debts that plague modern democracies reflect a clash between two rationalities of governance: one of private property and one of common property. The clashing of these rationalities at various places in society creates forms of societal tectonics that play out through budgeting. The book demonstrates that while this clash is an inherent feature of democratic political economy, it can nonetheless be limited through embracing once again a constitution of liberty. Not all commons settings have tragic outcomes, of course, but tragic outcomes loom large in democratic processes because they entail conflict between two very different forms of substantive rationality; the political and market rationalities. These are both orders that contain interactions among participants, but the institutional frameworks that govern those interactions differ, generating democratic budgetary tragedies. Those tragedies, moreover, are inherent in the conflict between the different rationalities and so cannot be eliminated. They can, as this book argues, be reduced by restoring a constitution of liberty in place of the constitution of control that has taken shape throughout the west over the past century. Economists interested in public finance, public policy and political economy along with scholars of political science, public administration, law and political philosophy will find this book intriguing. Contents: Preface 1. Budgeting: The Elusive Quest for Fiscal Responsibility 2. Budgeting and Political Economy: A Theoretical Framework 3. Budget Deficits, Ricardian Equivalence, and Macro-Micro Supervenience 4. Property Rights, Societal Tectonics, and the Fiscal Commons 5. Parliamentary Assemblies as Peculiar Market Bazaars 6. Taxation, Fiscal Politics, and Political Pricing 7. Regulation as Alternative Taxation 8. Public Finance for a Constitution of Liberty Bibliography Index

Valuing Intellectual Capital provides readers with prescriptive strategies and practical insights for estimating the value of intellectual property (IP) and the people who create that IP within multinational companies. This book addresses the crucial topic of taxation from a rigorous and quantitative perspective, backed by experience and original research that illustrates how large corporations need to measure the worth of their intangible assets. Each method in the text is applied through the lens of a model corporation, in order for readers to understand and quantify the operation of a real-world multinational enterprise and pinpoint how companies easily misvalue their intellectual capital when transferring IP rights to offshore tax havens. The effect contributes to the issues that can lead to budgetary crises, such as the so-called "fiscal cliff" that was partially averted by passage of the American Taxpayer Relief Act on New Year's day 2013. This book also features a chapter containing recommendations for a fair and balanced corporate tax structure free of misvaluation and questionable mechanisms. CFOs, corporate auditors, corporate financial analysts, corporate financial planners, economists, and journalists working with issues of taxation will benefit from the concepts and background presented in the book. The material clearly indicates how a trustworthy valuation of intellectual capital allows a realistic assessment of a company's income, earnings, and obligations. Because of the intense interest in the topic of corporate tax avoidance the material is organized to be accessible to a broad audience.

Challenges to the Welfare State examines and assesses cultural, economic and political problems facing welfare states in Europe and North America and provides policy suggestions to alleviate these problems. An important group of authors identifies the relative merits of welfare state systems in the United States and Europe. They consider the transition of the welfare state in former Communist countries to more market oriented systems and the status of the European welfare state in the context of deepening European integration. More specifically, these experts address the question of whether further integration in Europe will result in an environment where all citizens are guaranteed only certain basic social rights and are encouraged to take private financial responsibility for health care, pension provision and insurance. The nature of social insurance institutions, the problems of ageing populations and the backlash against increasing taxation are also considered. The authors conclude that the reduction of existing government debt in the context of the move towards European Monetary Union will require either considerable increases in taxation or a significant reduction in entitlements. This book will be required reading for scholars and students of economics, social and public politics, politics and public administration.

This book informs the American Education Stakeholders about the importance of empowering our learners with new knowledge, skills, and ability to help them become more effective and influential in society. The United States ranks 25th on the list of OECD countries in its overall poverty gap between people in poverty and affluent people, and ranks 26th in its poverty gap for children born into poverty and children from affluent families. Considering new educational funding measures at the federal, state, and local levels, the American educational system must focus on implementing programs that equip children with multidimensional human capital that enables them to be upwardly mobile, particularly in an era of intense technological change with the expansion of automation and artificial intelligence. These goals are not new. We believe that now is an important time to articulate and commit to the transmission of human capital for children and identify the practices that best promote it. This book aims to make recommendations to educational programming that should be invested in that has shown potential in mitigating the opportunity gap and increasing human capital. With long aftershocks, the pandemic's dramatically decreased educational opportunities may mean that America's future workforce will be devastated by the declining number of children in our pre-K-12 system, a phenomenon predicted to begin showing its effects in 2025, with a higher number of students projected to be below grade level in skilled areas. Simply increasing funding will have little impact in driving improved outcomes if the funds are not used wisely; indeed, expenditures per student have roughly tripled since 1960. This book recommends a systems-level approach to the American education system. The authors believe that without deeply considering the underlying incentives and governance of educational programming initiatives, more money alone will not solve the skills gap and declining out comes among learners. This handbook will be essential to state and local entities to make systemic recommendations to practitioners, college professors, and researchers.

This non-technical volume analyses topical problems of public finance in a changing world characterized by growing mobility of production factors, liberalized economic policy regimes, and the formation of new nations. It discusses alternative views of government and the way we measure its activities; the modern welfare state and its impact on entrepreneurship and employment; issues of fiscal coordination and income redistribution in a world with many jurisdictions; and the problems of raising government revenue and of allocating property rights in transition economies.

"Charles Konigsberg has done a great service for American taxpayers-- giving all of us a clear, direct and meaningful guide to the $3 trillion of our money that goes to the government to fund programs that shape our daily lives (for better or worse.) For one used to wading through gobbledygook or impenetrable jargon, the plainspoken, straightforward actual English in this book is especially refreshing. Every American concerned about federal taxing and spending--Democrat, Republican or other, budget analyst or average citizen--should have this book." Norman Ornstein, Resident Scholar, American Enterprise Institute "This is an extremely useful book--both for those seeking a comprehensible introduction to the complexities of the federal budget and to practitioners needing a quick refresher course." Alice M. Rivlin, former Director, Office of Management and Budget, and Congressional Budget Office "Charles Konigsberg, who advised my good friend Pat Moynihan on fiscal policy, explains in clear and concise language why the United States is on a dangerous fiscal path, with entitlement programs, particularly the health care entitlements, growing at an unsustainable rate due to rapidly rising health care costs." Bob Kerrey, former Senator from Nebraska and current President of the New School ____________________________________________________________ America's Priorities explains in clear, concise, nonpartisan language how the U.S. government raises and spends $3 trillion per year. The book provides plain English explanations of the budget process, major Federal spending programs, Federal taxes, and the reasons for the major swing from deficits in the 1980s to surpluses in the late 1990s and back to rapidly increasing debt in the current decade. A broad spectrum of readers will find the book useful: journalists, political and financial commentators, the government and financial sectors, the academic community, and voters looking for a nonpartisan explanation of how our elected officials are prioritizing public resources. Charles S. Konigsberg has over two decades of bipartisan experience in the White House and U.S. Senate, having served as General Counsel at the Senate Finance Committee, Minority Chief Counsel at the Senate Rules Committee, Staff Attorney at the Senate Budget Committee, and 4 years as an Assistant Director at the Office of Management and Budget.

This book covers several areas of economic theory and political philosophy from the perspective of Austrian Economics and libertarianism. As such, it deals with Epistemology and Methodology, Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Labor Economics, International Economics, Political Philosophy, Law and Public Policy, all from the Austro-libertarian perspective. Hence, this book offers an integrated view of libertarianism and Austrian economics in the light of recent debates in the areas of economic science and political philosophy. Moreover, it builds from the foundations of the Austrian approach (epistemology and methodology), while the latter material deals with its application to the individual from the microeconomic perspective, which in turn allows an exploration of subjects in macroeconomics. Additionally, this work applies Austro-libertarianism to law, politics, and public policy. Thus, it offers a unified view of the entire approach, in a logical progression, allowing the readers to judge this perspective in full. Futerman and Block say that their book is not a manual, which I suppose it is not. But it is a collection of highly pertinent essays, from which you can understand what is mistaken in the orthodoxy of economics, law, and politics. The central term of art in Austrian economics is that phrase "human action." It is the exercise of human will, not the blind bumping of one molecule against another or one organism against another, as in the physical sciences... Futerman and Block distinguish Austrian economics as a scientific enterprise based on liberty of the will from "libertarianism" as an advocacy based on policies implied by such liberty. "Although Austrian economics is positive and libertarianism is normative," they write, "this book shows how both are related; how each can support the other." Indeed they do. Deirdre N. McCloskey, PhD UIC Distinguished Professor of Economics and of History Emerita, Professor of English Emerita, Professor of Communication Emerita, University of Illinois at Chicago

This book presents a scientific view of fighting climate change in the economy of the future, the foundations of which are being set around the world. The authors substantiate the potential of Industry 4.0 in stimulating sustainable development in environmental protection and preservation of natural resources. This book considers the modern experience of fighting climate change based on possibilities of Industry 4.0 at the national scale in view of developed and developing countries with a special focus on Russia and at the corporate scale by the example of transnational corporations. It determines the future contribution of Industry 4.0 into development of responsible production and consumption, and compiles the "outlines" of "green" economy in Industry 4.0. It offers recommendations for control of climate change in Industry 4.0, and presents the authors' vision of ecological responsibility in Industry 4.0 for implementing the sustainable development goals. This book will be of interest to academics and practitioners interested in climate change and development of Industry 4.0, as well contributing to a national economic policy for fighting climate change and corporate strategies of sustainable development in Industry 4.0.

This unique book gives a measure of the direct financial costs and benefits to a city of constructing a sports stadium without injecting biases and values into the situation. The literature on the indirect economic impact of these projects is reviewed and discussed. Private and public stadium projects are compared with respect to construction costs, use, and amenities. The work has an introduction that deals with the justification of subsidies, a comparison of ownership plans of the facilities, and a review of the literature. Following this are 15 chapters dealing with individual stadium projects. A summary and analysis of financial and non-financial data are followed by a conclusion.

This book deals with the Neglected Links in economics and society. These neglected links are the inner bonds and lines which keep the society and economy together and are almost interconnected although they are very often treated and discussed separately in different discourses. Contemporary discussion has forgotten to think universally and to integrate items into one common field of observation. Instead, too often particular items are studied and discussed as being independent of each other without acknowledging a broader context. The book gives an exemplary instruction on how to treat reciprocal links and how to work in an interdisciplinary way, which tackles history, sociology and economics at least. By so doing, the book as also serves as an educational instruction for integrative and interdisciplinary science instead of recapitulating mono-disciplinary approaches. Discussion includes topics such as social and economic inequality research, limits of rationality, and orthodoxies and heterodoxies of economic research, as well as a discussion of the heroes of interdisciplinary thought.

"Advances in Taxation" publishes articles dealing with all aspects of taxation. Articles can address tax policy issues at the federal, state, local, or international level. The series primarily publishes empirical studies that address compliance, computer usage, education, legal, planning, or policy issues. These studies generally involve interdisciplinary research that incorporates theories from accounting, economics, finance, psychology, and/or sociology. Although empirical studies are primarily published, analytical and historical manuscripts are also welcome.

Critics of qualitative educational evaluation frequently assume this approach is a monolithic entity rather than a multitude of varied approaches. This collection dispels this myth by comparing, contrasting, and clarifying various qualitative approaches. It represents a wealth of practical alternatives designed to add to the evaluator's arsenal. The editor has combined classic papers with newer writings to present a comprehensive coverage of varied approaches in the field--including ethnography, naturalistic inquiry, generic pragmatic (sociological) qualitative inquiry, connoisseurship and criticism, and a few completely new qualitative approaches--which are presented in this work by their founders or major proponents.

The microeconomic foundation of the theory of money has long represented a puzzle to economic theory. Why is there Money? derives the foundations of monetary theory from advanced price theory in a mathematically precise family of trading post models. It has long been recognized that the fundamental theoretical analysis of a market economy is embodied in the Arrow-Debreu-Walras mathematical general equilibrium model, with one great deficiency: the analysis cannot accommodate money and financial institutions. In this groundbreaking book, Ross M. Starr addresses this problem directly, by expanding the Arrow-Debreu model to include a multiplicity of trading opportunities, with the resultant endogenous derivation of money as the carrier of value among them. This fundamental breakthrough is achieved while maintaining the Walrasian general equilibrium price-theoretic structure, augmented primarily by the introduction of separate bid and ask prices reflecting transaction costs. The result is foundations of monetary theory consistent with and derived from modern price theory. This fascinating book will provide a stimulating and thought-provoking read for academics and postgraduate students focusing on economics, macroeconomics, macroeconomic policy and finance, money and banking. Central bankers will also find much to interest them within this book. Contents: Introduction: Why is There No Money? 1. Why is There Money? 2. An Economy Without Money 3. The Trading Post Model 4. An Elementary Linear Example: Liquidity Creates Money 5. Absence of Double Coincidence of Wants is Essential to Monetization in a Linear Economy 6. Uniqueness of Money: Scale Economy and Network Externality 7. Monetization of General Equilibrium 8. Government-Issued Fiat Money 9. Efficient Structure of Exchange 10. Microfoundations of Jevons's Double Coincidence Condition 11. Commodity Money Equilibrium in a Convex Trading Post Economy 12. Efficiency of Commodity Money Equilibrium 13. Alternative Models 14. Conclusion and a Research Agenda Bibliography Index

This book provides innovative solutions to fundamental problems in finance, such as the valuation of bond and equity, the pricing of debt, equity and total asset, the determination of optimal capital structure, etc., which are unsolved or poor-solved so far. The solutions in this book all have the following features: Based on essential assumptions in line with reality, the final solutions are analytical solutions with closed-form models, the forms and variables of the models are determined by strict and objective logic processes rather than chosen or presumed subjectively, such as the new growth model for stock valuation, the new CAPM accounting for total risk rather than only systematic risk, the real solution to optimal capital structure based on the trade-off between tax shield and bankruptcy cost. In addition, these basic solutions or models are adjusted easily to various application scenarios.

This book presents a multidimensional perspective on the interlinkage between human development, community characteristics and public service delivery with special reference to India. The chapters in the book analyze the influence of public service delivery on human development from neo-classical as well as Marxian point of view. Thus, the expositions in the book provides a balanced mix of macro and micro approaches in the study of development. The analytical discussions are supplemented by case studies and empirical estimates so as to demonstrate the applicability of the theory and the theoretical discourse about human development, community network and the success and failures of critical public services in the Indian context. The methodology followed in the chapters involves critical survey of existing literature, case studies, field survey and use of econometric techniques as well as statistical tools of index construction. While contributors are primarily scholars from neo-classical economics discipline, some are intellectuals from the field of political economy and development studies. Given the wide array of development perspectives, this book is of interest not only to students and researcher of development economics, social science and management, but also a valuable reading for development practitioners and policy makers, who would be interested in understanding how community and public institutions interact to determine access to health, education and social security services that shapes the wellbeing of disadvantaged populations. The lessons and implications are extremely pertinent to other emerging economies, in particular those in South Asia.

In this book, leading experts take a long-term view of the trends and policies of most relevance in achieving the structural readjustment required by the current crisis, which for too long has been viewed merely as an economic recession. A wide variety of issues are addressed, including the implications of the massive movement of wealth from advanced countries to emerging ones and the increasing income inequality evident within many countries. Prospects for growth toward the mid-century and beyond are discussed, with consideration of lessons from the past and the impact of various constraints, including corruption. The policies and reforms required to restore economic dynamism within the EU and more generally, to foster the "Good Economy" are discussed, recognizing the need for measures to promote innovation, entrepreneurship, well-being and high levels of environmental performance. The book comprises a selection of contributions presented at the XXV Villa Mondragone International Economic Seminar. For the past quarter of a century, this seminar has brought together leading experts to engage in debates on pressing economic questions. This book, based on the most recent gathering, will be of interest to all who are concerned about the challenges to growth, well-being and social inclusion that will have to be confronted in the coming decades.

This book addresses the gaps in the present institutional structure of inclusive finance framework in India. It provides a comprehensive review of the role of banks in financial inclusion policy and micro-finance landscape in India at present. It identifies the key issues within the banking system which prove to be obstacles in the way of achieving financial inclusion and sustainable growth. The book conceptualizes inclusive banking, delves into the theoretical foundations thereof and suggests an institutional framework to avoid overlapping of their functions in order to ensure profitability. It reviews the existing market structure and competition in the inclusive finance arena while considering the role of banks, micro-finance institutions and SHGs in financing the poor. The book proposes a distinct change to the existing business model, examines the bank business model for inclusion and how the banks can and should treat the micro lending clientele as their core client base to counter the issues of profitability and competition in today's banking sector. It also discusses some of the latest initiatives in inclusive finance and the importance of entrepreneurship development experiments in India and their efficacy in comparison with the micro-lending model.

This introductory textbook on social choice theory makes the social choice theoretic framework and its main results, that have a direct bearing on the discourses on electoral rules and policy evaluation, accessible to a larger audience. The text is essentially self-contained. No previous knowledge of mathematical logic or relational algebra is assumed. Whatever technical prerequisites are needed, are developed in the text itself. Although the text is at an introductory level, there has been no compromise on rigor. Unlike most introductory books, the relevant proofs are not omitted; rather, they have been explained in detail. The text has a large number of examples so that the concepts and results become clear to the reader. There is a large number of exercises with full solutions provided at the end of the text, so that the reader can check her/his understanding of the material.

The first edition of Richard Wolf's volume was written during the infancy of the field of evaluation. Fifteen years later, educational evaluation is now an established field which has gone through considerable changes. Enduring the test of time, the value of Wolf's ideas remains constant. This third edition is an extension and refinement of his ideas. He continues to avoid the entanglement of unwarranted ideological positions. Instead he identifies basic questions addressed in a study and the classes of information needed to answer those questions. New material, including a new chapter, act as additional layers on the same structure. Throughout, Wolf advocates an eclectic approach--using both quantitative and qualitative techniques. He has structured this volume as a text for graduate students and a handbook for professionals.

Richard Wolf's book presents a comprehensive view of educational evaluation. It covers the history of evaluation, planning and conduct of evaluation studies, analysis and interpretation of results, report preparation, and decision making. A new chapter surveys the contemporary scene in educational evaluation: the development of evaluation; the convergence and divergence in views; qualitative versus quantitative approaches; and the role of teachers in evaluation. Each chapter concludes with updated, comprehensive references and additional readings. Wolf's text "Evaluation in Education" is a classic in the field. The eclecticism of its approach is its serviceability.