61 books match the query 'Business Development' and 13 start with t

cover of The Decline of Latin American Economies: Growth, Institutions, and Crises

The Decline of Latin American Economies

Growth, Institutions, and Crises

Editied by Sebastian Edwards, Gerardo Esquivel, and Graciela Márquez

University of Chicago Press, 2007

Latin America’s economic performance is mediocre at best, despite abundant natural resources and flourishing neighbors to the north. The perplexing question of how some of the wealthiest nations in the world in the nineteenth century are now the most crisis-prone has long puzzled economists and historians. The Decline of Latin American Economies examines the reality behind the struggling economies of Argentina, Chile, and Mexico.

A distinguished panel of experts argues here that slow growth, rampant protectionism, and rising inflation plagued Latin America for years, where corrupt institutions and political unrest undermined the financial outlook of already besieged economies. Tracing Latin America’s growth and decline through two centuries, this volume illustrates how a once-prosperous continent now lags behind. Of interest to scholars and policymakers alike, it offers new insight into the relationship between political systems and economic development.

[more]
cover of The Economics of Aging

The Economics of Aging

Edited by David A. Wise

University of Chicago Press, 1988

The Economics of Aging presents results from an ongoing National Bureau of Economic Research project. Contributors consider the housing mobility and living arrangements of the elderly, their labor force participation and retirement, the economics of their health care, and their financial status. The goal of the research is to further our understanding both of the factors that determine the well-being of the elderly and of the consequences that follow from an increasingly older population with longer individual life spans. Each paper is accompanied by critical commentary.

[more]
cover of The Evolution of Agrarian Institutions: A Comparative Study of Post-Socialist Hungary and Bulgaria

The Evolution of Agrarian Institutions

A Comparative Study of Post-Socialist Hungary and Bulgaria

Mieke Meurs

University of Michigan Press, 2001

The Evolution of Agrarian Institutions studies the unexpectedly slow and uneven growth of private agriculture in postsocialist East-Central Europe. Comparing developments in Hungary and Bulgaria, Mieke Meurs offers an explanation for this slow growth and examines its implications for efficiency and income distribution in postsocialist agriculture. With the collapse of the state socialist regimes in East-Central Europe, it was widely expected that collectivized agriculture would quickly be remade in the glowing image of China--a patchwork of small, privately run farms yielding rapid increases in output and incomes. However, the European experience has been quite different; while socialist collective farms have disappeared, collective forms of organization have persisted, and private farming has been slow to emerge. Meurs argues that an understanding of the causes of the slow emergence of private farming is essential to effective policy intervention in agriculture. This book contributes to such an understanding through analyzing variations in farm organization and rural market development and comparing agricultural restructuring in Hungary and Bulgaria. The Evolution of Agrarian Institutions is unique in its combination of original survey data, published data on land use, and published historical data. It also tests two institutionalist explanations for the pace and direction of change in agricultural organization. This book will be of interest to economists, political scientists, sociologists, scholars working in the area of rural development in emerging countries, and anyone with an interest in transitional economics. Mieke Meurs is Associate Professor of Economics, American University.
[more]
cover of The Federal Future of Europe: From the European Community to the European Union

The Federal Future of Europe

From the European Community to the European Union

Dusan Sidjanski

University of Michigan Press, 2000

The European Union is building step-by-step a new federal system based on states, nations, and regions. In his authoritative and comprehensive book, Dusan Sidjanski describes the formation of the original European Community and the dynamics of the process of integration that has brought the Union to its current state. He then provides a sophisticated analytic framework for considering the future of the Union.
The author argues that federalism is the best antidote to the reemergence of nationalism in Europe. It is also the best guarantee for a peaceful community that balances the claims of national, regional, and local identity against the need for large-scale economies that springs from the forces of globalization, competition, and technical change. The Union preserves diversity within a flexible and innovating European system.
This major study of the development of the European project, informed by a thorough knowledge of the Community and Union over the years and by deep understanding of the relevant literatures in political science and political economy is important for all who study the European Union or work with it as officials and business people.
Dusan Sidjanski is founder and Professor Emeritus of the Department of Political Science, University of Geneva and Professor Emeritus, European Institute. He has authored numerous publications, most recently, The ECE in the Age of Change (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, United Nations).
[more]
cover of The Gender Impact of Social Security Reform

The Gender Impact of Social Security Reform

Estelle James, Alejandra Cox Edwards, and Rebeca Wong

University of Chicago Press, 2008

As populations age and revenues diminish, government and private pension funds around the world are facing insolvency. The looming social security crisis is especially dire for women, who live longer than men but have worked less in the formal labor force. This groundbreaking study examines alternative social security systems and their disparate impacts on men and women. Emphasis is placed on the new multi-pillar systems that combine a publicly managed benefit and a mandatory private retirement saving plan.

The Gender Impact of Social Security Reform compares the gendered outcomes of social security systems in Chile, Argentina, and Mexico, and presents empirical findings from Eastern and Central European transition economies as well as several OECD countries. Women’s positions have improved relative to men in countries where joint pensions have been required, widows who have worked can keep the joint pension in addition to their own benefit, the public benefit has been targeted toward low earners, and women’s retirement age has been raised to equality with that of men. The Gender Impact of Social Security Reform will force economists and policy makers to reexamine the design features that enable social security systems to achieve desirable gender outcomes.
 
 
[more]
cover of The Launch Lens: 20 Questions Every Entrepreneur Should Ask

The Launch Lens

20 Questions Every Entrepreneur Should Ask

Jim Price

Michigan Publishing Services, 2018

Too often, innovative individuals and teams come up with new-business ideas only to hit the proverbial wall, become discouraged, and fail to follow through. How can you get more traction with your ideas and see them through to fruition? As with so many things in life, half the battle is knowing what questions to ask. In this book, serial entrepreneur and business professor Jim Price illustrates a simple, yet powerful framework known as the Launch Lens. Price’s method leads innovators through a structured process to clearly define and communicate their concept, distinguish the good ideas from the not-so-good, and lay the cornerstones of the startup planning process.

The Launch Lens is comprised of twenty critical questions or Focal Points, organized according the classic new-business planning categories: problem, solution, market, business model, marketing and sales, finance, capital, and team. The book leads readers through explanations of how to address each question, illustrated by useful examples, tips, and red flags. Already in active use by thousands of innovators – ranging from aspiring entrepreneurs to early-stage startup teams and venture investors, from incubators and accelerators to intrapreneurs within established corporations and non-profits – The Launch Lens can help you bring your new-business concepts into clear focus.

[more]
cover of The Macroeconomics of Populism in Latin America

The Macroeconomics of Populism in Latin America

Edited by Rudiger Dornbusch and Sebastian Edwards

University of Chicago Press, 1991

Again and again, Latin America has seen the populist scenario played to an unfortunate end. Upon gaining power, populist governments attempt to revive the economy through massive spending. After an initial recovery, inflation reemerges and the government responds with wage an price controls. Shortages, overvaluation, burgeoning deficits, and capital flight soon precipitate economic crisis, with a subsequent collapse of the populist regime. The lessons of this experience are especially valuable for countries in Eastern Europe, as they face major political and economic decisions.

Economists and political scientists from the United States and Latin America detail in this volume how and why such programs go wrong and what leads policymakers to repeatedly adopt these policies despite a history of failure. Authors examine this pattern in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Peru—and show how Colombia managed to avoid it. Despite differences in how each country implemented its policies, the macroeconomic consequences were remarkably similar.

Scholars of Latin America will find this work a valuable resource, offering a distinctive macroeconomic perspective on the continuing controversy over the dynamics of populism.
[more]
cover of The Nonprofit Sector in the Mixed Economy

The Nonprofit Sector in the Mixed Economy

Avner Ben-Ner and Benedetto Gui, Editors

University of Michigan Press, 1993

In recent years, the number of scholars doing research and teaching on the nonprofit sector, the number of research and teaching centers dedicated to it, and the number of books and journals focusing on the topic of nonprofit organizations have all grown significantly. Nonetheless, this is the first book that explicitly recognizes and emphasizes the role and behavior of the nonprofit sector in the mixed economy.The book’s twelve chapters present a picture of the nonprofit sector and its relationship with other sectors of the mixed economy and analyze theoretically and empirically various aspects of this relationship. The book offers new perspectives on the role of nonprofit organizations vis-à-vis for-profit firms and government organizations, a theoretical reevaluation of the relationship between government expenditures and private contributions, and a critique of the econometric studies of the “crowd-in” and “crowd-out” issues. It presents new analysis of the relationship between government expenditures and competition between nonprofit organizations and for-profit firms and new results on the Pareto efficiency of philanthropy and offers comprehensive statistical information on key variables in nonprofit organizations in comparison with for-profit firms and government organizations in several countries.Contributors: Avner Ben-Ner, Theresa Van Hoomissen, Benedetto Gui, Dennis A. Kaufman, Richard Steinberg, Jerald Schiff, Burton Weisbrod, Alphonse G. Holtmann, Steven G. Ullmann, Cyril F. Chang, Howard P. Tuckman, Helmut K. Anheier, Carlo Borzaga, Martin Knapp, and Jeremy Kendall.
[more]
cover of The Voluntary City: Choice, Community, and Civil Society

The Voluntary City

Choice, Community, and Civil Society

David T. Beito, Peter Gordon, and Alexander Tabarrok, Editors

University of Michigan Press, 2002

The rise and decline of American civic life has provoked wide-ranging responses from all quarters of society. Unfortunately, many proposals for improving our communities rely on renewed governmental efforts without a similar recognition that the inflexibility and poor accountability of governments have often worsened society's ills. The Voluntary City investigates the history of large-scale, private provision of social services, the for-profit provision of urban infrastructure and community governance, and the growing privatization of residential life in the United States to argue that most decentralized, competitive markets can contribute greatly to community renewal.
Among the fascinating topics covered are: how mutual-aid societies in America, Great Britain, and Australia provided their members with medical care, unemployment insurance, sickness insurance, and other social services before the welfare state; how private law, known historically as the law merchant, is returning in the form of arbitration; and why the rise of neighborhood associations represents the most comprehensive privatization occurring in the United States today.
The volume concludes with an epilogue that places the discoveries of The Voluntary City within the theory of market and government failure and discusses the implications of these discoveries for theories about the private provision of public goods. A refreshing challenge to the position that insists government alone can improve community life, The Voluntary City will be of special interest to students of history, law, urban life, economics, and government.
David T. Beito is Associate Professor of History, University of Alabama. Peter Gordon is Professor in the School of Policy, Planning, and Development and Department of Economics, University of Southern California. Alexander Tabarrok is Vice President and Research Director, the Independent Institute.
[more]
cover of The Wealth and Poverty of Regions: Why Cities Matter

The Wealth and Poverty of Regions

Why Cities Matter

Mario Polèse

University of Chicago Press, 2009

As the world becomes more interconnected through travel and electronic communication, many believe that physical places will become less important. But as Mario Polèse argues in The Wealth and Poverty of Regions, geography will matter more than ever before in a world where distance is allegedly dead.

This provocative book surveys the globe, from London and Cape Town to New York and Beijing, contending that regions rise—or fall—due to their location, not only within nations but also on the world map. Polèse reveals how concentrations of industries and populations in specific locales often result in minor advantages that accumulate over time, resulting in reduced prices, improved transportation networks, increased diversity, and not least of all, “buzz”—the excitement and vitality that attracts ambitious people. The Wealth and Poverty of Regions maps out how a heady mix of size, infrastructure, proximity, and cost will determine which urban centers become the thriving metropolises of the future, and which become the deserted cities of the past. Engagingly written, the book provides insight to the past, present, and future of regions.

[more]
cover of Time, Ignorance, and Uncertainty in Economic Models

Time, Ignorance, and Uncertainty in Economic Models

Donald W. Katzner

University of Michigan Press, 1998

Emerging from the tradition of Marshall, Knight, Keynes, and Shackle, Time, Ignorance, and Uncertainty in Economic Models is concerned with the character of formal economic analysis when the notions of logical or mechanical time and probabilistic uncertainty and the relatively complete knowledge basis it requires, are replaced, respectively, by historical time, and nonprobabilistic uncertainty and ignorance. Examining that analytical character by constructing and exploring particular models, this book emphasizes doing actual economic analysis in a framework of historical time, nonprobabilistic uncertainty, and ignorance.
Donald W. Katzner begins with an extensive investigation of the distinction between potential surprise and probability. He presents a modified version of Shackle's model of decision-making in ignorance and examines in considerable detail its "comparative statics" and operationality properties. The meaning of aggregation and simultaneity under these conditions is also explored, and Shackle's model is applied to the construction of models of the consumer, the firm, microeconomics, and macroeconomics. Katzner concludes with discussions of the roles of history, hysteresis, and empirical investigation in economic inquiry.
Time, Ignorance, and Uncertainty in Economic Models will be of interest to economists and others engaged in the study of uncertainty, probability, aggregation, and simultaneity. Those interested in the microeconomics of consumer and firm behavior, general equilibrium, and macroeconomics will also benefit from this book.
Donald W. Katzner is Professor of Economics, University of Massachusetts.
[more]
cover of Transforming Markets: A Development Bank for the 21st Century. A History of the EBRD, Volume 2

Transforming Markets

A Development Bank for the 21st Century. A History of the EBRD, Volume 2

Andrew Kilpatrick

Central European University Press, 2021

The second volume of the history of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) takes up the story of how the Bank has become an indispensable part of the international financial architecture. It tracks the rollercoaster ride during this period, including the Bank’s crucial coordinating role in response to global and regional crises, the calls for its presence as an investor in Turkey, the Middle East and North Africa and later Greece and Cyprus, as well as the consequences of conflicts within its original region. It shows how in face of the growing threat of global warming the EBRD, working mainly with the private sector, developed a sustainable energy business model to tackle climate change.
Transforming Markets also examines how the EBRD broadened its investment criteria, arguing that transition towards sustainable economies requires market qualities that are not only competitive and integrated but which are also resilient, well-governed, green and more inclusive. This approach aligned with the 2015 Paris Agreement and the international community’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with its core set of 17 sustainable development goals. The story of the EBRD’s own transition and rich history provides a route map for building the sustainable markets necessary for future growth and prosperity.
[more]
cover of Trust, Ethnicity, and Identity: Beyond the New Institutional Economics of Ethnic Trading Networks, Contract Law, and Gift-Exchange

Trust, Ethnicity, and Identity

Beyond the New Institutional Economics of Ethnic Trading Networks, Contract Law, and Gift-Exchange

Janet Tai Landa

University of Michigan Press, 1995

Trust, Ethnicity, and Identity deals with the economic role of laws and institutions in achieving social order in a decentralized economy. Specifically, this book considers the coordinating role of three major nonprice institutions--ethnic trading networks, contract law, and gift-exchange--in economizing on transaction costs and thus facilitating the process of exchange in decentralized economies in different historical contexts.

The major unifying theme of the book is this: identity matters when traders operate in an environment characterized by contract uncertainty, where the legal framework for the enforcement of contracts is not well developed. This in turn points out the importance of trust embedded in particularistic exchange relations such as kinship or ethnicity.

One unique facet of this book is that the author uses a property rights--public choice approach--part of the New Institutional Economics--to provide a unifying theoretical framework to explain such diverse exchange institutions as contract law, ethnic trading networks, and gift-exchange, In addition, it goes beyond the New Institutional Economics paradigm by incorporating some crucial concepts from sociology, anthropology, and bioeconomics, such as social structure, social norms, culture, reciprocity, and kin-related altruism. This broad interdisciplinary framework gives Landa's work a relevance beyond economics to law, political science, sociology, anthropology, and bioeconomics.

[more]