The modern legal library is caught in a transformative stage. Often seen by firm management as unnecessary and outdated, legal libraries are facing a double-pronged challenge: it is now essential for librarians to demonstrate the continuing value of their profession whilst battling with shrinking budgets and the development of new, disruptive technologies that are transforming working practices and processes at a rapid rate.

In today's modern, techno-centric world with its endless endless supply of data, and the multitude of ways to collect and utilize it, Intelligence has become the best tool for law firms when it comes to understanding client needs, offering quality value-oriented services, and garnering and retaining business. Ark Group's new report Strategic Intelligence for Law Firms offers a robust overview of how, and why, strategic use of intelligence can foster real results in your firm. Featuring adv...

Infrastructure and its effects on economic growth, social welfare, and sustainability receive a great deal of attention today. There is widespread agreement that infrastructure is a key dimension of global development and that its impact reaches deep into the broader economy with important and multifaceted implications for social progress.At the same time, infrastructure finance is among the most complex and challenging areas in the global financial architecture. Ingo Walter, Profes...

Investment in infrastructure is critical to economic growth, quality of life, poverty reduction, access to education, healthcare, and achieving many of the goals of a robust economy. But infrastructure is difficult for the public sector to get right. Public-private partnerships (PPPs) can help; they provide more efficient procurement, focus on consumer satisfaction and life cycle maintenance, and provide new sources of investment, in particular through limited recourse debt. But PPPs prese...

Revenues from natural resources often pose unique challenges for tax administration. This Handbook is one of the first of its kind to focus attention on effectively administering revenues from extractive industries. It provides policymakers and officials in developing and emerging market economies with practical guidelines to establish a robust legal framework, organization, and procedures for administering revenue from these industries. It discusses transparency and how to promote it in t...

While energy efficiency projects could partly meet new energy demand more cheaply than new supplies, weak economic institutions in developing and transitional economies impede developing and financing energy efficiency retrofits. This book analyzes these difficulties, suggests a 3-part model for projectizing and financing energy efficiency retrofits, and presents thirteen case studies to illustrate the issues and principles involved.

The vast majority of international trade is supported by some form of trade financing: a specialized, sometimes complex form of financing that is poorly understood even by bankers and seasoned finance and treasury experts. Financing Trade and International Supply Chains takes the mystery out of trade and supply chain finance, providing a practical, straightforward overview of a discipline that is fundamental to the successful conduct of trade: trade that contributes to the creation of econ...

This book provides a comprehensive approach to Corporate Governance, Audit Process and Risk Management. Furthermore, it provides an analytical and comprehensive approach of the issues facing governance directors, internal and external auditors, risk managers, and public officials conducting assessments based upon the Report on Standards and Codes.

International policies towards protecting intellectual property rights have seen profound changes over the past two decades. Rules on how to protect patents, copyright, trademarks and other forms of intellectual property have become a standard component of international trade agreements. Most significantly, during the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations (1986-94), members of what is today the World Trade Organization (WTO) concluded the Agreement on Trade Related Intellectual Pro...

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is an active partner of the Government of the Philippines in developing microfinance---the provision of insurance products that meet the needs of the disadvantaged for risk protection and relief against misfortune. As a result, microfinance activities have increased, and diversified formal financial services were made available to impoverished clients at affordable costs. However, there is still the risk of making poverty-stricken clients worse off because ...

This Manual provides guidance on the implementation of the Code of Good Practices on Fiscal Transparency by setting out its principles and practices in detail, and establishing priorities for improving fiscal transparency. Serving as a reference for economists and financial analysts on the various aspects of fiscal transparency, the Manual includes a section on open budget preparation, execution, and reporting, and presents the OECD’s best practices for achieving budget transparency.

For decades, workers’ capital stewards have invested wisely to provide a secure retirement for millions of people around the world. This money – our money – represents an enormous share of economic and capital market wealth. It has seeded and grown innumerable innovative industries that have had far-reaching impacts. However, the 2008 financial crisis has seriously threatened these trusted assets and drained away prosperity.In response, a growing number of investors are moving towards resp...