This work presents twelve case studies of foreign direct investment in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, and Slovenia. The studies include major firms such as Skoda and Danone, as well as smaller ventures, and cover the same sectors for each country, thereby permitting useful comparisons and assessments of: the role of country, sector, technology, and firm-specific characteristics in determining the pattern and nature of foreign direct investment; the potential implications of FDI for the comp...

This contributed volume seeks to provide a unique window on the globalization process by analyzing the dynamics of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Europe and Asia, as well as its influence on the renewal of public policies and regulations, both transnational and local. It discusses the link between the trans-nationalization of productive and business systems and the renewal of local regulations in the light of concerns over competitiveness and attractiveness, as well as new social tensi...

This book examines China’s response to the 2007-2008 global financial crisis, and the resulting new status acquired by China within the international economy. It considers the things China did to weather the crisis, discussing the stimulus package put in place by China and how China’s banks coped, but above all examines the measures which countries outside China look to China to put in place in order to better encourage and secure world-wide economic recovery, measures such as currency rev...

China's Economy: What Everyone Needs to Know® is a concise introduction to the most astonishing economic growth story of the last three decades. In the 1980s China was an impoverished backwater, struggling to escape the political turmoil and economic mismanagement of the Mao era. Today 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 ...

Regulation by public and private organizations can be hijacked by special interests or small groups of powerful firms, and nowhere is this easier than at the global level. In whose interest is the global economy being regulated? Under what conditions can global regulation be made to serve broader interests? This is the first book to examine systematically how and why such hijacking or "regulatory capture" happens, and how it can be averted.Walter Mattli and Ngaire Woods bring toget...

There is no alternative to neoliberal economics - or so it appeared when Reclaiming Development was published in 2004. Many of the same driving assumptions - monetarism and globalization - remain within the international development policy establishment. Ha-Joon Chang and Ilene Grabel confront this neoliberal development model head-on by combining devastating economic critique with an array of innovative policies and an in-depth analysis of the experiences of leading Western and East Asian...

How public affairs are run depends upon the degree of authority and control central government decides to relinquish to regional and local governments, and the extent to which it favors citizen involvement in the governing process. Public administrators do not operate in a vacuum. The context within which decision-making takes place greatly influences public administrators approach to public issues. Consequently, what government decides to do and how it decides to carry it out affects the ...

In the past 30 years, China has achieved an unprecedented development "miracle" in human history. How did China achieve this? What are the key drivers for such a rapid growth? And most importantly, what can be learned from China's success? While many factors could be identified to explain China's success, it is no doubt that the numerous Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and industrial clusters that emerged after the country's reforms are two important engines that have been driving China's rapid...

In June 2008, Justin Yifu Lin was appointed Chief Economist of the World Bank, right before the eruption of the worst global financial and economic crisis since the Great Depression. Drawing on experience from his privileged position, Lin offers unique reflections on the cause of the crisis, why it was so serious and widespread, and its likely evolution. Arguing that conventional theories provide inadequate solutions, he proposes new initiatives for achieving global stability and avoiding ...

In a time when multinational corporations have become truly globalised, demands for global standards on their behaviour are increasingly difficult to dismiss. Work conditions in sweatshops, widespread destruction of the environment, and pharmaceutical trials in third world countries are only the tip of the iceberg.This timely collection of essays addresses the interface between the calls for corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the demands for an extension of international hum...

This landmark study provides an integrated analysis of China's unexpected economic boom of the past three decades. The authors combine deep China expertise with broad disciplinary knowledge to explain China's remarkable combination of high-speed growth and deeply flawed institutions. Their work exposes the mechanisms underpinning the origin and expansion of China's great boom. Penetrating studies track the rise of Chinese capabilities in manufacturing and in research and development. The e...

The global financial crisis of 2007-09, and the Great Recession that it engendered, were both a challenge and an opportunity for Asia. The region not only remained unharmed by the global financial crisis initially but also recovered the fastest. In addition, it was also the principal driver of the global recovery.This book analyzes the impact of the global financial crisis and the Great Recession on the Asian economy. Chapters look at the most significant issues related to the Asia...