Deforesting Malaysia: The Political Economy and Social Ecology of Agricultural Expansion and Commercial Logging critically examines the major economic, political and social forces responsible for deforestation in Malaysia. It carefully distinguishes among the three major regions of the country, namely Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak, not only in recognition of the ecological variation of equatorial Malaysia, but also of the different economic, political and social dynamics involved. Originally commissioned by UNRISD, the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, this volume primarily considers the role of agricultural expansion in deforestation. In recent decades after independence, however, commercial logging has greatly increased in significance, exacerbated by the complex dynamics of Malaysian federal-state fiscal relations, 'money politics', 'cronyism' and international demand for tropical timber. A large team of contributors to the research that went into the volume supported the principal authors.

There are competing theories to explain the reasons behind the international competitiveness of manufacturing in Asia. Analysing these different theories will bring important lessons, not just for Asia, but for developing economies the world over. This lucid book studies industries and firms in East Asia and examines the major determinants of their economic performance. With contributions from such leading thinkers as Ha-Joon Chang and Rajah Rasiah, the book covers such themes as: *industrial policy and East Asia *Taiwan's information technology industry *The role of the government in technological capability building Manufacturing Competitiveness in Asia touches on many important themes and issues and as such will be of great interest to students, academics and policy-makers involved in industrial economics, international trade and Asian studies.

"The debate on the major factors contributing to Southeast Asian industrialization continues unabated. As might be expected, there is much at stake in this debate. The debate is largely ideological in nature and partly centers on the role and contribution of state interventions and other institutions in market processes in the context of late industrialization. At the risk of caricaturing the debate, on the one hand, one finds the dominant and more influential position held by those who blame the state for all that has gone wrong and credit the market for all that has turned out right; on the other hand, the minority statist extreme position basically credits most major economic achievements in East Asia to appropriate interventions by developmentalist states. While very few people would actually fully identify with either of these caricatured extremes, much of the discussion actually gravitates around either of these poles. "

In this first critical, multidisciplinary assessment of recent privatization in a developing country, the contributors offer valuable lessons for the comparative study of denationalization and related public policy options. After an introductory survey, the volume presents broad perspectives on the context, formulation, and adjustment of privatization policy in Malaysia. The contributors review the distributional implications of specific privatizations for the public interest as well as for consumer and employee welfare. The book concludes with an examination of the economic, political, and cultural impacts of the privatization of physical infrastructure, telecommunications, and television programming.

There are competing theories to explain the reasons behind the international competitiveness of manufacturing in Asia. Analysing these different theories will bring important lessons, not just for Asia, but for developing economies the world over.
This lucid book studies industries and firms in East Asia and examines the major determinants of their economic performance. With contributions from such leading thinkers as Ha-Joon Chang and Rajah Rasiah, the book covers such themes as:
*industrial policy and East Asia
*Taiwan's information technology industry
*The role of the government in technological capability building
Manufacturing Competitiveness in Asia touches on many important themes and issues and as such will be of great interest to students, academics and policy-makers involved in industrial economics, international trade and Asian studies.

What do dear friends who grew up together do when one abandons his faith in God for Atheism? They do the obvious. They remain friends! This witty, funny, and intellectual dialogue follows two young men as they discuss such issues as the possibility of God, Science, Ultimate Reality, and John and Kate Plus 8. Charles is the bright University Student who has chosen to cast off the restraints of religion for free thought, skepticism, and naturalist philosophy. JJ, his dear and beloved friend, has just enrolled in seminary to study for ministry. When JJ hears of Charles surprising conversion to Atheism, a unique correspondence begins that will challenge both men intellectually. The reader who peers into this conversation will be engaged in one of the most creative and unique debates on Theism and Atheism ever seen.

Flat World, Big Gaps critically considers the impact of economic liberalization and globalization on inequality and poverty. The first half surveys the major analytical issues in the recent study of global inequalities. After a brief survey of different approaches to international income inequalities, the second chapter notes that indicators of economic growth performance as well as international economic inequities have deteriorated in the last quarter-century compared to the 1960s and 1970s. The following three chapters critically consider recent trends as well as their implications from different perspectives. High global inequalities mean that a very small share of economic growth -- which often exacerbates living conditions for the poor - actually trickles down to the poor, who make up half the world's population. The second half of the volume surveys recent inequality trends in various parts of the world including the OECD, the USA, Eastern Europe and the CIS economies, Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, India, East Asia and China.

The history of modern economic thought has been pre-occupied with the question of economic transformation or development. This survey of important contributions to the economics of development includes many economists not normally considered as pioneers in this field. The contributors point to the role of imperialist considerations in the early development of economic thought and the development discourse, and the impact of pressures for social and political reform. The economists and thinkers discussed include William Petty, David Ricardo, Friedrich List, Alexander Hamilton, Karl Marx, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, Alfred Marshall, Michal Kalecki, John Maynard Keynes, Nicholas Kaldor, Karl Polanyi, Raul Prebisch, Arthur Lewis, Alexander Gerschenkeron and Hans Singer.