In standard economic theory human beings are portrayed as selfish money-maximizing actors. This book investigates the conditions under which people deviate from this prediction and when they are prepared to contribute to the common good in a more altruistic fashion. Based on field experiments from charitable giving, Stephan Meier analyses people's decisions to contribute to public goods. He argues that people are more likely to contribute if their giving is matched by more money - people are generous if their peers also show this trait. He investigates the conditions under which people are willing to voluntarily contribute and draws conclusions on how the empirical findings influence economic theory and policy. Academic economists interested in behavioural economics or public economics will find The Economics of Non-selfish Behaviour of great interest as will the general public interested in developments in economics.

The third volume of Leibniz s philosophical letters documents the critical period when he first disclosed his philosophical system to the general public. This took place in two papers published around 1695, the Specimen dynamicum and the Systeme nouveau, whose basic theses were a subject of discussion in multiple letters (including Leibniz s correspondence with de Volder and Wagner)."

Estimates show that there are around 20,000 Ultra High Net Worth individuals in existence today, each with bankable assets in excess of $50 million. Between them they possess a wealth of $5,000 billion, 10 per cent of the world's estimated total wealth. The UHNW wealth management business is therefore a critically important as well as complex part of modern finance. It exists within a 'client-banker-bank' triangle and is influenced by serious exogenous factors in political, economic and fiscal environments, as well as by numerous emotional, familial and personal dimensions. In this book, the authors address these complex relationships, serving as guides and advisors for UHNW bankers, banks and clients alike. The authors' clients have taught them that the three major frustrations for private banking clients are bad performance, bad communication with the banker, and confusion in the face of poorly explained financial processes. In the first part of the book, the authors offer their expert solutions to these problems and, in the second, help to eliminate confusion by explaining UHNW financial processes as clearly and simply as possible. The authors mix authoritative advice, gained from long careers in wealth management, with anecdotes and narrative, to make the book approachable as well as informative. The book also contains five major case studies that help to exemplify certain elements involved in UHNW banking across the world, including the importance and impact of: family values and governance; client confidence and connections; cultural and religious considerations; philanthropy; market crises and volatility; and, portfolio diversity and enterprise management. This book is for private bankers who work or aim to work in the Ultra High Net Worth field, the most sought-after and secluded high-end client segment of private banking and wealth management. For UHNW clients, this book is a guide on how to deal with your bankers and what you can expect from them, depicting the view from the other side of the table. And for the management of a private bank or private banking division of a financial institution, this book will serve as an essential introduction on how to improve performance. Expert, in-depth and accessible, "The Ultra High Net Worth Banker's Handbook" is the ultimate guide to this area of modern finance.