As financial positions expand, the economy becomes more vulnerable to adverse and unexpected developments taking place outside the six to seven year business cycle. Over 50 years ago Nikolai Kondratieff developed the theory of "The Long Waves in Economic Life", which incorporated an extended cycle of innovation and upward thrust, and changed our understanding of business cycles in financial settings. Financial Cycles concentrates on two areas that have thus far been omitted from mainstream economics. The first is the impact of the longer term financial cycle; the second is the beginning of de-globalization as the world enters an era of iron-glad economic blocks. Chorafas argues that to overcome the more narrow limits of the business cycle, we need to go beyond its traditional six to seven year focus and address the longer term. This includes the building-up and running-off of economic risks characterizing the financial cycle, as well as the appreciation of forces underwriting both its growth and its decay. An ever-increasing public debt and the behavior of the banking industry are two principal reasons why the structure of analysis characterizing the previous financial cycle no longer fits present-day realities. A new methodology starts getting in shape, even if it still has to acquire political legitimacy.

Building on his earlier Praeger work, "Contemporary EconomicS," Rich here examines current and historical, theoretical and practical, notions of welfare economics. Through an in-depth discussion of the theories of Edgeworth, Pareto, and Slutsky, the author analyzes how the present approach to welfare economics developed and how it has failed in significant ways to alleviate the problems of poverty and unemployment. Rich then develops a new theory of welfare economics based on the concept of dynamic disequilibrium and designed to respond to present-day economic and social realities. Scholars and students of both economics and public policy will find Rich's work a significant contribution to contemporary debates on welfare policy directions.

Divided into four parts, the volume begins by redefining the problem of welfare economics. In contrast to those who see the problem as simply the redistribution of income, Rich argues that the challenge today is to use our present economic system to absorb welfare recipients and make them productive members of the economy. He argues further that current approaches to the welfare situation are Keynesian and therefore relevant to a different era--that of the Great Depression. In subsequent chapters, Rich develops his theory of contemporary welfare economics, utilizing a welfare utility function and incorporating the components of government, industry, and labor. Designed to make the economy more efficient without the redistribution of income, Rich's proposals include making welfare payments contingent upon training and applying training to the needs of the business sector. Only by employing a theory more rooted in contemporary realities, Rich argues, can we ultimately remove the heavy burden of welfare so detrimental to large segments of society.

The book compares neoclassical and Marxian economics and points out that both the schools of thought seek to analyze how a capitalist society functions. The authors show that the neoclassical economics vindicates capitalism and prescribes policies that further the interest of the rich (giant capitalists), who own most of the non-human productive resources of the economy, whereas Marxian analysis yields the result that a capitalist society is exploitative and crisis-prone. Marxian economics also suggests that the class struggle inherent in a capitalist society will eventually transform it into an equal, just and humane socialist society The book also presents Keynesian theory, which suggests measures that can counter at least some of the crises that Marx said a capitalist country is subject to. It discusses the current state of the capitalist world, the recent crises it was subject to and assesses the three theories in the light of these experiences. It recounts the current states of two important socialist states, namely, China and Cuba. It discusses the economic performance of Soviet Union since its birth and explains the reasons for its disintegration. It compares economic performances of the capitalist and the socialist states and assesses in the light of the experiences of these two blocs of countries which school of thought is more acceptable and closer to the truth.

The research purpose of this book is to advance the reform of the existing international monetary system through the establishment of a new international currency standard that is a super-sovereign currency. International Monetary System provides international economic activities rules for the human society. It has significant influences not only on international economic activities of various countries but also on their domestic economic activities as well. Since the disintegration of International gold standard in 1971, studies on reform of international monetary system have remained as the important research themes for international economic research fields. Improvements of international monetary system to facilitate worldwide economic developments have been interests to all. Thus this book has valuable theoretical contributions. Since the collapse of Bretton Woods System, the current international monetary system of Jamaica System has come into being. Under Jamaica System, the sovereign currency US dollar has acted as the main international currency. This has caused vulnerability of money standard, instability of exchange rate system, and frequent occurrences of currency crises. Calls for international monetary system reforms have increased under these circumstances. Various programs such as improved international gold standard system, expansion of Special Drawing Rights, as well as establishment of single world currency surface. So this book has significant practical contributions as well. The major contribution of this book is the proposal of new scheme of establishment of supra-sovereign international currency. This is an entire new reform program that differs significantly from any past or current reform programs in international economic research fields from all over the world.

Over the past 30 years sustainability has become increasingly important to scholarly research and business in practice. This book explores a variety of challenges faced by businesses when becoming sustainable and how this links to economic development and its corruption, ethical and taxation implications. Showcasing an interdisciplinary approach, the chapters explore topics such as business ethics, corporate responsibility, tax governance and sustainability practice.

This book examines failure in the urbanisation of Northwest China as a result of government industrial policies that have impacted on the economic development of the region. By looking at the under-researched provinces of Gansu, Qinghai and Inner Mongolia, which make up a quarter of China's territory, Zheng and Deng challenge the common story of China's miracle growth and reveal the dark side of the country's pursuit of modernity. Severe weather conditions, chronic drought, permanent lack of oxygen and unforgiving terrain in the Northwest make farming, manufacture and services difficult simply because people tend not to stay. Yet, China's current political system forces growth to take place even though basic conditions and prerequisites for market-based growth are missing. This volume analyses 'ghost cities' and social tension in the process of 'forced urbanisation' in which huge amount of resources are wasted, the local environment is systematically damaged and ordinary people's basic rights are brutally violated in the name of higher GDP and greater government glory.

This book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license. This book takes a taxpayer's perspective on the relations taxation creates between people and their state. Bjoerklund Larsen proposes that in order to understand tax compliance and cheating, we have to look beyond law, psychological experiments and surveys to also include tax collectors and taxpayers' practices. The text explores the view of taxes seen as citizen's explicit economic relation to the state and implicit economic relation to all other compatriots. Bjoerklund Larsen directs our gaze onto the concept of reciprocity, which is often proposed as an explanation in tax compliance research, and explores its diverse meanings and implications ethnographically. The empirical cases are based on ethnography from two opposing tax practices in Sweden. Firstly, from a study of analysts, auditors, legal experts and managers at the Swedish Tax Agency and how they, quite successfully, strive for legitimacy in their tax collecting activities. Secondly, from fieldwork among a group of middle-aged Swedes and how they justify their purchasing work off the books - essentially tax-cheating practices. Sweden is a modern welfare society with citizens holding rational and secular values, yet trusting their government and fellow citizens. Sweden also has a high tax burden that is collected by one of its most revered governmental agencies - the Swedish Tax Agency - making it an interesting case studying tax compliance.

This book provides the reader with the basis for a theoretical understanding of public-sector finance in general - and more specifically, a comprehensive, policy-oriented application of that understanding to Japanese public finance. Particular emphasis is placed upon developing tools which can be used both theoretically and empirically to clarify essential economic concerns in Japan's public sector. These include the macroeconomic incidence of fiscal decentralization, dependence on government bonds for covering fiscal deficits, and social security reform. In analyzing Japan's underperforming public sector, the authors develop and recommend policy solutions aimed at achieving Japan's growth potential, improving the quality of the public sector, and strengthening the sector's contribution to the Japanese economy. Guiding the reader toward an overall understanding of public-sector reforms, decentralization and fiscal policy in Japan, this book will strongly appeal to academics, students and researchers with an interest in modern public finance theory and macroeconomic analysis.

This book analyzes shifting international taxation strategies in pursuit of tax nomads, individuals and companies who minimize their tax obligations among multiple countries. Focusing on the efforts of the United States, the collective endeavours of the European Union and the global initiative of the OECD under G20 guidance, it investigates their attempts to understand and control the mechanisms employed by such nomads. The author directs particular attention to intellectual property, used by multinational corporations to move income from high-tax to low-tax locations. Contrary to claims that globalization hinders tax collection, Vlcek argues that state sovereignty and state power remain the defining characteristic of international taxation. The EU and OECD in turn, he concludes, are leveraging cooperation with the US to force other countries to share taxpayer information with them. This significant work will interest economists, political scientists and tax experts.

In recent years, crowdfunding has become important and it has been enthusiastically used not only by commercial organizations but also by the public sector. This alternative source of financing in times of constrained government budgets enables citizens to vote with their dollars online to bring ideas into reality. This book sheds light on the developing concept of crowdfunding in the public sector, with an overview of current academic discussions and best practices on crowdfunding in the public sector. The volume approaches crowdfunding in the public sector from an integrated perspective, addressing the dearth of publications on the subject. The book gathers a wealth of theoretical information, ideas, best practices and lessons learned in the context of executing concrete crowdfunding projects, and assess methodological approaches to integrating the topic of crowdfunding in public organizations curricula. The book provides definitions, insights and examples of this managerial perspective resulting in a theoretical framework of crowdfunding in the public sector. The contributors also explore different crowdfunding applications in public sectors such as local government, higher education, schools, arts & culture organizations, healthcare, energy sector, and police services, which are presented in several case studies. This is a unique book in the field that points the way forward both for policymakers and for the research community in terms of thinking about crowdfunding in the public sector and the complex issues surrounding its development.

Issues related to central banks feature regularly in economic news coverage, and in times of economic or financial crisis, especially when a commercial bank is bailed out, they become the focus of the policy debate. But what role do central banks play in a modern economy? How do central banks wield influence over the financial system and the broad economy? Through which channels does monetary policy impact macroeconomic fundamentals such as inflation or unemployment? For example, how does a central bank alter the money supply? What are the benefits of central bank independence, and what are the up- and downsides of having a common currency? This book provides easily accessible answers to these and other questions associated with central banking.

This book serves as a foundational reference of U.S. land settlement and early agricultural policy, a comprehensive journey through the evolution of 20th century agricultural policy, and a detailed guide to the key agricultural policy issues of the early 21st century. This book integrates the legal, economic and political concepts and ideas that guided U.S. agricultural policy from colonial settlement to the 21st century, and it applies those concepts to the policy issues agriculture will face over the next generation. The book is organized into three sections. Section one introduces the main themes of the book, explores the pre-Columbian period and early European settlement, and traces the first 150 years of U.S. agricultural policy starting with the post revolution period and ending with the "golden age" of agriculture in the early 20th century. Section two outlines that grand bargain of the 1930s that initiated the modern era of government intervention into agricultural markets and traces this policy evolution to the early days of the 21st century. The third section provides an in-depth examination of six policy issues that dominate current policy discussions and will impact policy decisions for the next generation: trade, environment/conservation, commodity checkoff programs, crop insurance, biofuels, and domestic nutrition programs.

A careful and precise presentation, from leading experts in the field, of the development of the welfare state in the UK. Looking at both historical processes and the welfare systems current state, these excellent contributors provide an authoritative analysis, packed with data. The United Kingdom had one of the oldest and most extensive welfare states in the world. The economic crisis of 1976 and eighteen years of Conservative Government have tested the welfare system to its very foundations. Much changed, yet much remained the same after two decades. Did the Conservative Government dismember the welfare state or reform it? Did the changes of the past twenty years make any difference and to whom? This second edition of the widely-acclaimed State of Welfare reviews the changing fate of social policy in the years since 1974. It details changes in policy but also charts trends in spending in real terms over the period and analyses the outcomes of spending on education, the National Health Service, the personal social services, housing and social security. There is no other consistent published time series of spending on these services over this period in real and volume terms. The General Household Survey is re-analysed to produce a common source of information on the way changes in these services have affected families. Other available sources of information on the impact of past government reforms are drawn upon to provide a comprehensive account. This completely revised edition uses the successful framework adopted in the first volume to bring the story up to the end of the Conservative Administration with the latest available expenditure figures. This adds nearly a decade to the account detailed in the first edition - a decade of remarkable change. The book is clearly structured, with core chapters covering each of the five service areas of education, health, housing, personal social services and social security, and a concluding chapter summarising the key findings of previous chapters to provide an overview of the current state of welfare. Each chapter is then subdivided, with sections on the ultimate aims of welfare policy in the particular area covered, public expenditure, the outputs for that spending, and the outcomes in terms of indicators of individual welfare. Each chapter is summarised in an in brief section at the end, and has a further reading list. Illustrated with approximately 150 figures and tables, the book presents a substantial amount of quantitative information (much of which comes from Local and Central Government sources) in accessible formats. The book contains a substantial bibliography, including many government papers as well as published books and journal articles. The book can therefore be used as a bibliographical database, besides functioning as a textbook. The State of Welfare functions as an ideal text for public economics students, or those studying social or public policy.

Revised and updated for the 2nd edition, this textbook guides the reader towards various aspects of growth and international trade in a Diamond-type overlapping generations framework. Using the same model type throughout the book, timely topics such as growth with bubbles, robots and involuntary unemployment, financial integration and house price dynamics, policies to mitigate climate change and the persistence of religion in a globalized market economy are explored. The first part starts from the "old" growth theory and bridges to the "new" growth theory (including R&D and human capital approaches). The second part presents an intertemporal equilibrium theory of inter- and intra-sectoral trade, investigates innovation, growth and trade and limits to public debt as well as nationally and internationally optimal climate policies. The debt dynamics of the Euro Zone and the origins of intra-EMU and Asian-US trade imbalances are also explored. The book is primarily addressed to upper undergraduate and graduate students wishing to proceed to the analytically more demanding journal literature.

The overall objective of the book is to holistically assess the property tax systems in BRICS megacities. As megacities play a vital role within their respective countries - economically, administratively, and from a human development perspective - they experience the costs and benefits of urbanization simultaneously with major investment needs, rising poverty, and increasing congestion and pollution levels in the context of limited financial resources, raising the question for a suitable decentralized funding source. This book highlights the property tax as a means to help further improve the financial sustainability of megacities, the reliability and quality of their services, and megacities' contribution to supporting economic growth.

This book provides a historical understanding of current debates over tax reform and offers a comparative framework for discussing the relationship between fiscal policy and the distribution of income and wealth. Topics covered include the evolution of income taxation since World War II; the turn toward value added taxation; the relationship between tax reform and the construction of welfare states; the impact of globalization on tax and fiscal policy; the social forces shaping tax consent; and the political economy of tax and fiscal reform. These topics are covered in case studies that focus on significant episodes in the fiscal history of Denmark, Sweden, France, Greece, the United Kingdom, Spain, Switzerland, the United States, and Japan.

This book deeply analyzes the theoretical roots of the development of global artificial intelligence ethics and AI governance, the ethical issues in AI application scenarios, and the discussion of artificial intelligence governance issues from a global perspective. From the perspective of knowledge, the book includes not only the metaphysical research of traditional Western ethics, but also the interpretation of AI-related practical cases and international policies. The purpose of this book is not only to study AI ethics and governance issues academically, but to seek a path to solve problems in the real world. It is a very meaningful monograph in both academic theory and reality. This book responds to the implementation of China's digital economy governance and other topics. It is a cutting-edge academic monograph that combines industry, policy, and thought. In this book, the author not only discusses the humanities thoughts such as ethics, political economy, philosophy, and sociology, but also involves computer science, biology, and medicine and other science and engineering disciplines, effectively using interdisciplinary thinking as readers clarify how to explore ethical consensus and establish smart social governance rules in the era of artificial intelligence, so as to provide the most comprehensive and unique scientific and technological insights for smart economy participants, related practitioners in the artificial intelligence industry, and government policy makers. For academia, this is a representative book of Chinese scholars' systematic thinking on AI ethical propositions from a global perspective. For the industry, this is a book that understands the policies and ethical propositions faced by the development of AI industry. An important reference book, for policy makers, this is a monograph for understanding how policies in the AI industry make decisions that conform to AI industry practices and people's moral order.

This book analyzes the issue of European fiscal State aid in order to provide insights into the related evolution prospects and legal problems. State aid has assumed a central position in the field of taxation, becoming the most important instrument of European legal integration, especially in the area of direct taxes. This is the result of major regulatory and interpretative development, which has altered the initial European and national balances in the face of globalization and the problems of the new economy. In this context, the scope and objectives of State aid have progressively broadened, encompassing a significant level of both positive and negative integration of European national tax systems.

This book describes official statistics as a tool to hold up a mirror to society - but also as an instrument for those who can manipulate this mirror. It addresses the precarious interaction of politics, official statistics, and ethical principles. Three sets of themes can be derived from this relationship, which are the focus of this book: Political systems and guiding principles, official statistics as a science of the state, and ethical issues arising from them. Ultimately, the determining factor is the political system that exists in each case. The book contains eleven chapters. The first three focus on the key concepts of the book: power and morality, official statistics and policy making, and ethical principles for statistical work. Three further chapters focus on episodes that illustrate, as "drastic" examples, the misuse of official statistics over the past hundred years, covering the situation in the Soviet Union, the Third Reich and Greece. The remaining five chapters take up current topics that pose particular challenges to official statistics. These are the phenomena paraphrased by digitalisation, globalisation, happiness research, overpopulation, migration, the Covid-19 pandemic and climate change. The book is primarily aimed at statisticians working in national and international statistical institutions, but also at readers interested in statistics, national accounts, economic and statistics history, and ethical issues.

Some of the best writings on public budgeting and finance can be found in the journals that ASPA publishes or sponsors. For this volume editor Irene Rubin has brought together the best of these articles - emerging classics that address the most important theoretical and practical problems underlying public budgeting.The anthology is organized topically rather than historically, with an effort to delineate the issues needed to understand some of the more recent controversies in the field. Rubin's introductory essay and section openers frame the key issues and provide historical context for each article. The collection begins with descriptions of what public budgeting is, where it comes from, and what it is for. It moves on to the relationship between budget processes and outcomes, constraints on budgeting, the legal context in which it operates, and adaptations to those constraints such as contracting out.The book concludes with a discussion of the ethics and norms that underlie budgeting in a democracy. Throughout the anthology, the emphasis is on areas of disagreement and debate, so students can get involved and explore different viewpoints.

Public-Private Partnerships for Infrastructure and Business Funding is ideal for scholars and practitioners who work in the field of public policy design and implementation, finance and banking, and economic development.

This book tackles political, social, and behavioural aspects of public finance and fiscal exchange. The book combines conventional approaches toward public finance with new developments in economics such as political governance, social and individual aspects of economic behaviour. It colligates public finance and behavioural economics and gathers original contributions within the emerging field of behavioural public finance. The book addresses public finance topics by incorporating political, social, and behavioural aspects of economic decision-making, assuming the tax relationship is shaped by three dimensions of decision-making. Thus, it aims not only to reflect the interdisciplinary nature of public finance by bringing together scholars from various disciplines but also to examine public finance through the lens of political, social, and behavioural aspects. The book scrutinizes the relationship between political institutions, governance types, and public finance; it investigates the impact of social context, social capital, and societal cooperation on public finance; it explores behavioural biases of individual fiscal preferences. This book is of interest to scholars, policymakers, tax professionals, business professionals, financers, university students, and researchers in the fields of public policy and economics.

This book examines the effect of banking on the real economy and society, focusing on banking supervision as the decisive factor in steering banking activities and determining the social outcome of the game of finance. Banking is like a cardiovascular system for our society. If it functions correctly, it allows the economy to operate smoothly. On the other hand, if it malfunctions it becomes a doomsday device. This creates an asymmetry of risks - the asymmetry between the potential dire consequences and the modest rewards of accepting those risks. Banking was one of the critical technological factors enabling the transition from the middle ages and the creation of modern society. However, while today it contributes little to economic growth, its malfunction has a profound and lasting adverse impact. The book explains why, how and what. Why is it important to keep tight supervision of the banks? How can banking supervision improve stability, not only of the financial system but also of the whole human society? What went wrong with the regulation in the past?