Economic growth and its relevant subjects have been given the first priority in the research agenda since China initiated economic reforms in 1978, while the topics of social protection and gender equality have been largely left at the periphery for a long period. This book is a collection of evidence-based studies conducted mainly in poor areas of rural China during the recent two decades. Based on individual interviews and sample data analyses, this book emphasizes the importance of cooperative organizations to poverty reduction, and puts forward that gender equality is closely related with sustainable development. In addition, it addresses the issues of food security and elimination of social exclusion - the key to bridging economic divide. It also studies social protection, including basic health protection system, nutrition and healthcare for children, old age security for landless farmers and rural migrant workers. By providing first-hand accounts of different vulnerable groups, such as the poor, women, migrant workers, ethnic minorities and small farmers, this book offers valuable insights into studies of contemporary Chinese society and economy.

This book provides unique insights into the challenges and potential solutions to alleviate poverty in western China. Many people are interested in China's economic and social development; the development of Tibet is an important part of this narrative. Unlike big cities in the east of China, Tibet is still underdeveloped, with severe poverty, relatively poor communications, poor infrastructure, transport links, and limited social services. Using deep and well-researched analyses, learned Chinese scholars share their policy insights, experience and knowledge of the underlying causes and potential solutions to this underdevelopment and poverty. The reader is also provided with firsthand accounts of different people in Tibet, ranging from local government officials to poverty-stricken herdsmen. This book gets at the heart of problems faced by ordinary Tibetans, such as dealing with impacts of natural disasters, lack of education, managing ecological resettlement, and trying to prevent the transmission of intergenerational poverty.Looking at these issues from a theoretical, policy, government and practical perspective, Breaking Out of the Poverty Trap -- Case Studies from the Tibetan Plateau in Yunnan, Qinghai and Gansu covers the full range of issues in the development of the Tibetan Plateau.

Economic growth and its relevant subjects have been given the first priority in the research agenda since China initiated economic reforms in 1978, while the topics of social protection and gender equality have been largely left at the periphery for a long period. This book is a collection of evidence-based studies conducted mainly in poor areas of rural China during the recent two decades. Based on individual interviews and sample data analyses, this book emphasizes the importance of cooperative organizations to poverty reduction, and puts forward that gender equality is closely related with sustainable development. In addition, it addresses the issues of food security and elimination of social exclusion - the key to bridging economic divide. It also studies social protection, including basic health protection system, nutrition and healthcare for children, old age security for landless farmers and rural migrant workers. By providing first-hand accounts of different vulnerable groups, such as the poor, women, migrant workers, ethnic minorities and small farmers, this book offers valuable insights into studies of contemporary Chinese society and economy.

Oil tankers are not the only vessels that have caused oil pollution at sea. Numerous spills in the past have been of heavy fuel oil from non-tankers. However, the international liability and compensation regime covered only oil pollution damage caused by oil tankers. There was thus a need to bring the law on marine oil pollution responsive to oil pollution damage caused by non-tankers. In March 2001, the International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage was adopted following a diplomatic conference at the International Maritime Organization. Though this convention has not yet come into force, its various aspects should already be considered as they will surely affect the maritime industry as a whole and the non-tanker sector, in particular. This book provides a timely and comprehensive study on the concept of compulsory insurance, its main purpose of ensuring compensation and its interrelations with other features such as the rule of strict liability and the limitation of liability under the convention.

Public service innovation, defined as the adoption of new technology and methods of service delivery, is at the heart of public management research. Scholars have long studied public and private sector innovation as distinctive phenomena, arguing that private sector innovation aims to increase firms' competitive advantage, while public sector innovation purports to improve governance and performance. The public-private dichotomy overlooks the complex way how organizations interact with each other for service delivery. Public services are increasingly delivered through the web of collaborative networks, in which organizations compete and cooperate simultaneously. This Element explores how coopetition, namely the simultaneous presence of competition and collaboration, shapes innovation in the health care sector. Analyzing panel data of 4,000+ American hospitals from 2008 to 2017, this Element finds evidence that coopetition catalyzes the technology and service process innovation and offers practical implications on managing innovation in competitive environments.