Economic Development


Book Description

There is much discussion about global poverty and the billions of people living with almost nothing. Why is it that governments, development banks, think-tanks, academics, NGOs and many others can't just fix the problem? Why is it that seemingly obvious reforms never happen? Why are prosperity and equity so elusive? Is the current backlash against globalization another show-stopper? The revised second edition of Economic Development: What Everyone Needs to Know(R) brings readers right into the trenches of development policies to show what practitioners are actually doing and explains the issues, dilemmas, options, frustrations and opportunities they face, day in and day out. In straightforward language and a question-and-answer format, Marcelo M. Giugale outlines the frontier of the development practice or, as he puts it, ..".the point at which knowledge stops and ignorance begins." He takes readers from why it is so difficult to get governments to function, to the basic policies that economies need to work well, the powerful new tools for social assistance, and the challenges of inclusion, education, health, infrastructure, technology, data, and foreign aid. Giugale gives no definitive, universal answers. They don't really exist. Rather, he highlights what works, what doesn't, and what's promising. Drawing from examples across the world, his overall message is clear: economic development, and the poverty reduction that goes with it, have never been more possible for more countries.




Recast Your City


Book Description

Community development expert Ilana Preuss explains how local leaders can revitalize their downtowns or neighborhood main streets by bringing in and supporting small-scale manufacturing. Small-scale manufacturing businesses help create thriving places, with local business ownership opportunities and well-paying jobs that other business types can't fulfill.




Why Nations Fail


Book Description

Brilliant and engagingly written, Why Nations Fail answers the question that has stumped the experts for centuries: Why are some nations rich and others poor, divided by wealth and poverty, health and sickness, food and famine? Is it culture, the weather, geography? Perhaps ignorance of what the right policies are? Simply, no. None of these factors is either definitive or destiny. Otherwise, how to explain why Botswana has become one of the fastest growing countries in the world, while other African nations, such as Zimbabwe, the Congo, and Sierra Leone, are mired in poverty and violence? Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson conclusively show that it is man-made political and economic institutions that underlie economic success (or lack of it). Korea, to take just one of their fascinating examples, is a remarkably homogeneous nation, yet the people of North Korea are among the poorest on earth while their brothers and sisters in South Korea are among the richest. The south forged a society that created incentives, rewarded innovation, and allowed everyone to participate in economic opportunities. The economic success thus spurred was sustained because the government became accountable and responsive to citizens and the great mass of people. Sadly, the people of the north have endured decades of famine, political repression, and very different economic institutions—with no end in sight. The differences between the Koreas is due to the politics that created these completely different institutional trajectories. Based on fifteen years of original research Acemoglu and Robinson marshall extraordinary historical evidence from the Roman Empire, the Mayan city-states, medieval Venice, the Soviet Union, Latin America, England, Europe, the United States, and Africa to build a new theory of political economy with great relevance for the big questions of today, including: - China has built an authoritarian growth machine. Will it continue to grow at such high speed and overwhelm the West? - Are America’s best days behind it? Are we moving from a virtuous circle in which efforts by elites to aggrandize power are resisted to a vicious one that enriches and empowers a small minority? - What is the most effective way to help move billions of people from the rut of poverty to prosperity? More philanthropy from the wealthy nations of the West? Or learning the hard-won lessons of Acemoglu and Robinson’s breakthrough ideas on the interplay between inclusive political and economic institutions? Why Nations Fail will change the way you look at—and understand—the world.




At Your Service?


Book Description

Manufacturing-led development has provided the traditional model for creating jobs and prosperity. But in the past three decades the conventional pattern of structural transformation has changed, with the services sector growing faster than the manufacturing sector. This raises critical questions about the ability of developing economies to close productivity gaps with advanced economies and to create good jobs for more people. At Your Service? The Promise of Services-Led Development (www.worldbank.org/services-led-development) assesses the scope of a services-driven development model and policy directions that can maximize the model’s potential.




China's Economy


Book Description

China's economic growth has been revolutionary, and is the foundation of its increasingly prominent role in world affairs. It is the world's second biggest economy, the largest manufacturing and trading nation, the consumer of half the world's steel and coal, the biggest source of international tourists, and one of the most influential investors in developing countries from southeast Asia to Africa to Latin America. Multinational companies make billions of dollars in profits in China each year, while traders around the world shudder at every gyration of the country's unruly stock markets. Perhaps paradoxically, its capitalist economy is governed by an authoritarian Communist Party that shows no sign of loosening its grip. China is frequently in the news, whether because of trade disputes, the challenges of its Belt and Road initiative for global infrastructure, or its increasing military strength. China's political and technological challenges, created by a country whose political system and values differ dramatically from most of the other major world economies, creates uncertainty and even fear. China's Economy: What Everyone Needs to Know® is a concise introduction to the most astonishing economic and political story of the last three decades. Arthur Kroeber enhances our understanding of China's changes and their implications. Among the essential questions he answers are: How did China grow so fast for so long? Can it keep growing and still solve its problems of environmental damage, fast-rising debt and rampant corruption? How long can its vibrant economy co-exist with the repressive one-party state? How do China's changes affect the rest of the world? This thoroughly revised and updated second edition includes a comprehensive discussion of the origins and development of the US-China strategic rivalry, including Trump's trade war and the race for technological supremacy. It also explores the recent changes in China's political system, reflecting Xi Jinping's emergence as the most powerful leader since Mao Zedong. It includes insights on changes in China's financial sector, covering the rise and fall of the shadow banking sector, and China's increasing integration with global financial markets. And it covers China's rapid technological development and the rise of its global Internet champions such as Alibaba and Tencent.




Games in Economic Development


Book Description




Development as Freedom


Book Description

By the winner of the 1988 Nobel Prize in Economics, an essential and paradigm-altering framework for understanding economic development--for both rich and poor--in the twenty-first century. Freedom, Sen argues, is both the end and most efficient means of sustaining economic life and the key to securing the general welfare of the world's entire population. Releasing the idea of individual freedom from association with any particular historical, intellectual, political, or religious tradition, Sen clearly demonstrates its current applicability and possibilities. In the new global economy, where, despite unprecedented increases in overall opulence, the contemporary world denies elementary freedoms to vast numbers--perhaps even the majority of people--he concludes, it is still possible to practically and optimistically restain a sense of social accountability. Development as Freedom is essential reading.




Economics for Everyone


Book Description

"Economics is too important to be left to the economists. This concise and readable book provides non-specialist readers with all the information they need to understand how capitalism works (and how it doesn't). Economics for Everyone, now published in second edition, is an antidote to the abstract and ideological way that economics is normally taught and reported. Key concepts such as finance, competition and wages are explored, and their importance to everyday life is revealed. Stanford answers questions such as 'Do workers need capitalists?', 'Why does capitalism harm the environment?', and 'What really happens on the stock market?' The book will appeal to those working for a fairer world, and students of social sciences who need to engage with economics. It is illustrated with humorous and educational cartoons by Tony Biddle, and is supported with a comprehensive set of web-based course materials for popular economics courses."--Publisher's description.




Economic Development Is Not for Amateurs!


Book Description

Economic Development Is Not for Amateurs! shows forward-thinking leaders how to transform local, regional, or state economies and supercharge a community's revitalization effort to attract jobs, investment, and residents. Offering practical, real-world solutions, economic development experts Jay Garner and Ross Patten identify the steps that communities of all sizes can implement to create a roadmap for long-term economic success. This step-by-step guide to transform locations explains how to: Provide the certainty, simplicity, and speed necessary to build a strong business climate Sell voters on the investments necessary to attract and retain employers and jobs Create, identify, and reinforce your community's brand Build a resilient economy prepared for business closings, natural catastrophes, and stiff competition Help create irrefutable proof of a skilled workforce that is ready to work as well as a talent pipeline that is ready to fill the jobs of tomorrow Find the inevitable bottlenecks of investment in order to keep your momentum building Chapter titles include: Chapter 1: Effective Leadership = Community Prosperity Chapter 2: No Product, No Project(tm) Chapter 3: Market Regionally, Sell Locally Chapter 4: Is Your Labor Force Work Ready? Chapter 5: Grow Your Garden Chapter 6: Time Kills Deals Chapter 7: It's All About the Brand Chapter 8: Control Your Own Destiny or Someone Else Will Each chapter has a bulleted summary of the key takeaways for quick reference and recall. Whether you are a newly elected or appointed leader wondering where to start or a long-term policymaker looking to model today's best practices, Economic Development Is Not for Amateurs! will show you the way. Bulk order purchasing: eBook: Amazon does not allow the modification of eBook fees. The cost for this book is $9.99. You can still buy it in bulk as an eBook and then provide a redemption code to selected recipients. When an entity buys multiple copies of a Kindle eBook on Amazon.com, Amazon creates a set of redemption links, one for each copy of the book. You can send these links to any reader who is in the same country where you bought the copies. Recipients can redeem the eBook from desktop or mobile browsers and download the eBook to registered devices. This eBook can only be read through a Kindle or a Kindle app. Any smart device or tablet, e.g. iPhone, iPad, can download the Kindle app and read this book. We use this app on our iPhone and iPad and it works great! Paperback: Amazon will print exactly how many were ordered and will ship to the customer. For paperback orders of 1-25 copies, the cost is $15.99 per copy plus shipping purchased directly through Amazon. Pricing: For orders of 26-50, $14.99 per copy, plus shipping & handling. The order will be shipped from the authors and can be signed if desired (by one author). Please contact either author for bulk orders of 26 or more. For orders of 51-100, $13.99 per copy, plus shipping & handling and can be signed if desired. For orders in excess of 101, $12.99 per copy, plus shipping & handling and can be signed if desired. Allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Co-authors Jay Garner or Ross Patten can customize a speaking event and book signing for your group. Contact the authors at [email protected] for more information.




Ferraris for All


Book Description

The growth of the economy and the spread of prosperity are increasingly seen as problematic rather than positive - a trend Daniel Ben-Ami has termed 'growth scepticism'. Prosperity is accused of encourage greed, damaging the environment, causing unhappiness and widening social inequalities. Ferraris for all: A defence of economic progress is a rejoinder to the growth sceptics. Using examples from a range of countries, including the US, the author argues that society as a whole benefits from greater affluence. Action is needed - but to increase abundance and spread it worldwide, not to limit prosperity, as the sceptics would have it. The lively and provocative hardback edition was published to widespread coverage in 2010, and triggered debate and dissent in equal measure.