The current pandemic intensifies underlying structural bottlenecks and systemic inefficiencies. At the same time, it provokes the hasty adoption of innovations made possible by the already accelerating technological developments before being accompanied by necessary institutional and systemic adjustments. This leads to multidimensional crises as well as new socioeconomic challenges and prospects globally. The book enables readers to anticipate separate, yet interrelated functional spheres of global socioeconomic reality, understand their structure, and recognize potential vulnerabilities and opportunities in light of the current pandemic and the induced transformations. It tackles global aspects of the crisis by means of standard and innovative economic policies at the national and international level, faces challenges by businesses and revealing models of effective transformations and strategies in the present circumstances, and discusses individual and collective societal problems in light of sustaining our constantly upgrading humanitarian values in the 21st century. It is ideal for academicians, master's or Ph.D. degree students, university teachers, and scientists working in the field of management, business, economics, computer science, and engineering.

This unique and well-researched study takes a systematic look at the incredible rise in the life expectancy of the population of Albania, one of the world's poorest countries. Through a careful analysis of newly available archive documents and statistics, Gjon^D,ca examines the social, economic, and political factors behind the success of improving life expectancy at birth from 51 to 71 years in a relatively short period of time and despite extreme poverty and strict isolationist governmental policies. The research, based on data obtained primarily from the Albanian State Archives, which opened in 1994, attempts to explain why the Albanian pattern of mortality, with very high infant and child mortality and very low adult mortality, is so different from that of other East European countries with similar social and economic conditions. Using many tables, figures, and other data to illustrate the trends, the author concludes that lifestyle factors, and to a lesser extent government policies directed at health care, are the most likely determinants of Albania's successful mortality transition. In his attempt to shed new light on the phenomena of Albania's remarkable success in shifting patterns of mortality, the author compares the changes with those experienced by other similar countries in an effort to determine whether the Albanian success was part of an overall improvement among countries that have good health at low cost or if the Albanian way is a novel route to low mortality in developing countries. To support his conclusion that Albania's success largely depended on lifestyle, he carefully examines the changes in disease and infection, dietary patterns and lifestyle, education and urbanization, fertility levels, and regional differences. By providing a brief but detailed background of the country itself, and its policies and programs to promote lower mortality, Gjon^D,ca offers readers an interesting portrait of the transitions that have taken place in this poorest of countries.