This groundbreaking textbook introduces basic economic principles from a new perspective, characterized by its uniquely pluralist, sustainable, progressive and global approach. The book begins with an introduction to the problems of our generation and the benefits of pluralism. It then introduces students to the principles of economics. Rather than constricting the economy to fit through rose-colored glasses or limit the pedagogy to one ideology, the book will teach our current economic predicament through the vantage of multiple perspectives and sustainability. The book begins by introducing the key concepts of pluralism, sustainability and progressivity. It then moves on to discuss human sustainability within an economic context by discussing work, employment, power, capital, markets, money and debt. The fundamentals of economics are then presented with special attention devoted to prices, firms and the evolution of industries, the development and applicability of knowledge, consumption, savings and investment and recessions. Next it introduces tools to help students model the economy from a dynamic and global perspective.And finally the book concludes with attention to consensus building, democratic decision making and offering a roadmap for the future. Co-authored by an all-star international team based on three continents and led by Jack Reardon, founding editor of the International Journal of Pluralism and Economics Education, this is a landmark work that will set the standard for years to come.

This book aims to fill a gap in existing literature in order to contribute to the understanding of the main features and outcomes of the private equity business model that has already been spread around the world. Private equity funds have been drivers of the financialisation of the global economy. Lying at the juncture of the real economy and the shadow banking system, private equity funds draw upon capital and debt to acquire stakes in companies that are intended to be sold for profit after a number of years. Indeed, these institutional investors have a key role in the diversification of global investments. Although US private equity firms are still dominant, the global private equity industry has been mainly moving toward Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. The process of financialisation has contributed to unprecedented social, political, and environmental challenges. In this setting, the complexity of social and economic policy problems of the 21st century requires the recognition of the role of private equity globalization in the selection of investments and in the creation of new business structures. The shifts in corporate ownership, trough waves of mergers and acquisitions, have created new business structures where companies are considered bundles of assets and liabilities to be traded in order to get short-term returns. Indeed, new investment and portfolio management practices have been overwhelmed by the financialisation of wealth and "short-termism" in American and European business. While private equity investors aim to maximize their short-term returns, private equity funds turn to be major transnational employers. The outcomes of the global financial crisis of 2007-2008 made clear the need to redress and redesign business models and re-balance corporate power in order to broaden the dialogue on social responsibility. Maria Alejandra Madi's book aims to foster a deeper understanding of the ethical challenges related to the private equity financial engineering model. In short, the book aims to prepare the reader for participating in a fruitful debate. The main target is the transformation of the global economy to a more just and sustainable one. This book is recommended for a broad interdisciplinary audience. Not only students in economics, management and international business, but also policy makers, regulators, managers and investors. Reading this book will benefit all those who seek to better understand the complex stakes in the evolution of the capitalist system, in the tensions between short-term profit targets, regulatory policies, and participatory openings in governance and social inclusion.

In the current global scenario, business dynamics suffered deep transformations as a result of new patterns in wealth accumulation around the world. In this context, profit-seeking strategies have stimulated the re-organization of companies with the objective of creating global competitive advantages. In the Brazilian scenario, the vulnerability of small businesses has been put into question. Indeed, small businesses have specific competitive features that restrict the level and continuity of its activities, such as lack of capital and technical knowledge. Considering this background, this book is guided to answer the following research questions: 1. Why do some micro and small businesses succeed in improving their performance while others do not? 2. What are the critical success factors that facilitate the increase in productivity, assets and employment? 3. How does the micro and small business' growth unfold? There is undoubtedly the need to open up the discussion of some neglected aspects that will certainly broaden analytical perspectives, in both economic and social dimensions. The aim of this book is to apprehend the challenges of small business dynamics in order to rethink policies that could favor strong bridges between entrepreneurs, government and financial institutions toward economic growth and social inclusion. Chapter 1 refers to the global background where challenges and policies in the micro and small business sector are considered, including countries such as India, China, Russia and South Africa. Chapter 2 presents the recent evolution of the Brazilian entrepreneur and the performance of micro and small business in order to focus the outcomes of the global financial crisis and the current entrepreneurial concerns, taking into account the manufacturing, commerce and services sectors. Chapter 3 highlights a discussion on the concept of small business sustainability in order to analyze the factors that have affected the resilience of micro and small firms in the recent Brazilian trajectory. Chapter 4 presents the financial challenges to micro and small firms in the context of financialization. Chapter 5 deepens the understanding on challenges of micro and small firms, including management trends, labor qualification, innovation and exports, besides networking and clustering. Finally, the conclusion presents a prospective analysis on the Brazilian micro and small business sector in the near future and proposes a set of measures for enhancing a policy agenda toward small business sustainability.

This groundbreaking textbook introduces basic economic principles from a new perspective, characterized by its uniquely pluralist, sustainable, progressive and global approach. The book begins with an introduction to the problems of our generation and the benefits of pluralism. It then introduces students to the principles of economics. Rather than constricting the economy to fit through rose-colored glasses or limit the pedagogy to one ideology, the book will teach our current economic predicament through the vantage of multiple perspectives and sustainability. The book begins by introducing the key concepts of pluralism, sustainability and progressivity. It then moves on to discuss human sustainability within an economic context by discussing work, employment, power, capital, markets, money and debt. The fundamentals of economics are then presented with special attention devoted to prices, firms and the evolution of industries, the development and applicability of knowledge, consumption, savings and investment and recessions. Next it introduces tools to help students model the economy from a dynamic and global perspective.And finally the book concludes with attention to consensus building, democratic decision making and offering a roadmap for the future. Co-authored by an all-star international team based on three continents and led by Jack Reardon, founding editor of the International Journal of Pluralism and Economics Education, this is a landmark work that will set the standard for years to come.