Title search results
Showing 21 - 40 of 1820 items
Defining Democracy: Voting Procedures in Decision-Making, Elections and Governance
By Peter Emerson. 2012
Defining Democracy looks both at the theory of why and the history of how different voting procedures have come to…
be used - or not, as the case may be - in the three fields of democratic structures: firstly, in decision-making, both in society at large and in the elected chamber; secondly, in elections to and within those chambers; and thirdly, in the various forms of governance, from no-party to multi-party and all-party, which have emerged as a result.Private Placement of Public Equity in China
By Pengcheng Song. 2014
By retrieving entries from the financial-data vendor Wind and collecting relevant data from private placement statements, the author builds a…
proprietary database and studies five aspects of private placement in China. He examines which listed firms are more likely to choose private placement over SEO in refinancing; he looks into the controlling shareholder's decision on whether or not to purchase privately placed shares; he investigates how the offer discount is determined; he calculates announcement periods for abnormal returns on private placements. Where the abnormal return is significantly positive, he documents positive long-run abnormal return on private offerings and evidence supporting the under-reaction hypothesis. Finally, he concludes that the largest shareholders tunnel by means of excess discounts from which they benefit but which is harmful to other shareholders.This book provides unique insights into the politics of finance and the socio-political relations which drive financial policymaking in Hong…
kong Singapore and Shanghai While the existing literature in the field focuses mainly on economic explanations for financial centre development this book fills a gap by focusing on the socio-political relations which underpin the financial policy-making process Drawing on extensive interviews with senior policy-makers and financial sector professionals the book describes how state-industry relations drive financial policy-making in three major financial hubs Insights and policy recommendations drawn from these interviews will be particularly useful for policy-makers and financial sector professionals hoping to draw lessons from the successful development of the three leading Asian financial centres Business and Politics in Asia s Key Financial Centres draws on public policy theoretical frameworks for its analytical basis The three chapters focusing on the historical development of Hong Kong Singapore and Shanghai also provide a consolidated narrative with regard to the development of these three cities as leading financial centres while also serving as independent case studies Scholars focusing on policy processes and political factors that underpin financial sector development as well as instructors and students of public policy international political economy and financial sector policy will find this book useful for their researchMoon Ontario
By Carolyn Heller. 2015
Professional travel writer Carolyn B. Heller shares the best ways to experience all that Ontario has to offer, from scuba…
diving shipwrecks in the Great Lakes to dining on contemporary fare at Toronto's hottest restaurants. Heller leads readers to the highlights of this fascinating region with trip ideas such as Food and Wine Touring, Active Adventures, and History and Culture-providing different approaches for different kinds of travelers. Complete with tips on enjoying more than just the falls on the Niagara peninsula, hopping a ferry to Pelee Island for wine-tasting and relaxation, and ice skating on the world's longest skating rink in Ottawa, Moon Ontario gives travelers the tools they need to create a more personal and memorable experience.Private Communities and Urban Governance
By Amnon Lehavi. 2016
This book offers an interdisciplinary and comparative study of the complex interplay between private versus public forms of organization and…
governance in urban residential developments. Bringing together top experts from numerous disciplines, including law, economics, geography, political science, sociology, and planning, this book identifies the current trends in constructing the physical, economic, and social infrastructure of residential communities across the world. It challenges much of the conventional wisdom about the division of labor between market-driven private action and public policy in regulating residential developments and the urban space, and offers a new research agenda for dealing with the future of cities in the twenty-first century. It represents a unique ongoing academic dialogue between the members of an exceptional group of scholars, underscoring the essentially of an interdisciplinary and comparative approach to the study of private communities and urban governance. As such, the book will appeal to a broad audience consisting of policy-makers, practitioners, scholars, and students across the world, especially in developing countries and transitional and emerging economies.The Ethics of Tax Evasion
By Robert W. Mcgee. 1997
Why do people evade paying taxes? This is the central question addressed in this volume by Robert McGee and a…
multidisciplinary group of contributors from around the world. Applying insights from economics, public finance, political science, law, philosophy, theology and sociology, the authors consider the complex motivations for not paying taxes and the conditions under which this behavior might be rationalized. Applying theoretical approaches as well as empirical research, The Ethics of Tax Evasion considers three general arguments for tax evasion: (1) in cases where the government is corrupt or engaged in human rights abuses; (2) where citizens claim inability to pay, unfairness in the tax system, paying for things that do not benefit the taxpayer, excessively high tax rates, or where taxes are used to support an unpopular war; and (3) through philosophical, moral, or religious opposition. The authors further explore these issues by asking whether attitudes toward tax evasion differ by country or other demographic variables such as gender, age, ethnicity, income level, marital status, education or religion. The result is a multi-faceted analysis of tax evasion in cultural and institutional context, and, more generally, a study in ethical dilemmas and rational decision making.Moon Banff National Park: Including Banff And Jasper National Parks (Moon Handbooks Ser.)
By Andrew Hempstead. 2016
Join Canadian resident and avid outdoorsman Andrew Hempstead on an unforgettable adventure. With his unique perspective and advice you can…
trust, Moon Banff National Park has everything you need to know to explore the great outdoors.Moon Banff National Park shows travelers the best way to experience all Banff has to offer-from savoring the spectacular backdrop of glacial lakes and lush forests, to spotting wildlife like black bears, elk, and bighorn sheep. Hemstead includes unique trip ideas, such as taking a sleigh ride through the snow, or riding though the sky in a mountain gondola. Complete with details on escaping the crowds at Lake Louise, camping out under the stars, and dining in Banff, Moon Banff National Park provides travelers with all the necessary tools to head outdoors.With expertly crafted maps and gorgeous photos, this full-color guidebook gives you the tools you need to have an immersive and unique experience.Moon Banff National Park includes areas such as:Town of BanffLake Louise and VicinityIcefields ParkwayNearby ParksFind the Moon guide that best suits your trip! Exploring more of Canada's National Parks? Try Moon Canadian Rockies.Moon Montréal & Québec City
By Sacha Jackson. 2014
Writer Sacha Jackson guides travelers to the highlights of Montréal and Québec City, from the trendy bars, restaurants, and festivals…
of Montréal to the original city walls and historic center of Québec City. Jackson also offers unique trip ideas like Romantic Weekend Getaways and Montréal on the Cheap. Complete with details on kayaking the Lachine canal, eating your own weight in poutine, and participating in the concerts, parades, and sleigh races of the Carnaval de Québec, Moon Montréal & Québec City gives travelers the tools they need to create a more personal and memorable experience.Population Ageing - A Threat to the Welfare State?: The Case of Sweden
By Tommy Bengtsson. 2010
This book is the first to take a comprehensive view of the challenges that population ageing present in the near…
future taking Sweden as the case. Can the increasing number of retirees per worker be stopped by immigration or increasing fertility or will we need to increase pension age instead? Cost for the social-care system is readily increasing; even more is the costs for health care. Can the galloping costs be funded by an increase in taxes or do we need to make reforms, similar to the ones already made in the pension system, which has been used as a model for many other countries. The fact that it is difficult to make health care dependent on personal contributions, as is the case of the pension system, funding of health care is a true test of solidarity across generations. The book ends with a discussion on whether the demographic challenge to the welfare system is also a threat to the welfare state as such.Transforming Government and Building the Information Society
By Nagy K. Hanna. 2011
Information and communication technology (ICT) is central to reforming governance, innovating public services, and building inclusive information societies. Countries are…
learning to weave ICT into their strategies for transforming government as enterprises have learned to use ICT to innovate and transform their processes and competitive strategies. ICT-enabled transformation offers a new path to digital-era government that is responsive to the challenges of our time. It facilitates innovation, partnering, knowledge sharing, community organizing, local monitoring, accelerated learning, and participatory development. In Transforming Government and Building the Information Society, Nagy Hanna draws on multi-disciplinary research on ICT in the public sector, and on his rich experience of over 35 years at the World Bank and other aid agencies, to identify the key ingredients for the strategic integration of ICT into governance and poverty reduction strategies. The author showcases promising practices from around the world to outline the strategic options involved in using ICT to maximize developmental impact--transforming government institutions and public services, and empowering communities for inclusion and grassroots innovation. Despite the ICT promise, Hanna acknowledges that reforming governance and empowering poor communities are difficult long-term undertakings. Hanna moves beyond the imperatives and visions of e-transformation to strategic design and implementation options, and draws practical lessons for policymakers, reformers, innovators, community leaders, ICT specialists and development experts.The Economics of the Monetary Union and the Eurozone Crisis
By Manuel Sanchis i Marco. 2014
A regulatory idea conducted this work: the need to connect the economic rationale of the theory of currency areas with…
the current EU institutional frame of the European monetary unification process. The latter includes the recent revamping of fiscal rules of the Stability and Growth Pact, and calls for enhancing 'flexicurity' in EU labour markets. The lack of EU political leadership is a dead-weight loss to build a genuine economic and monetary union, and risks to blow-up the whole project. Further, it undermines the internal macroeconomic logic of a single currency like the euro, and gives a prominent non-democratic role to financial markets. As it happened in the past with the gold-standard, the euro condemns today the peripheral countries to a deflationary process which might last for a decade. A more pro-European approach is needed with both sides of the system (core and periphery) making the required adjustment efforts, though in the opposite way, to save the eurozone and Europe.Price Regulation and Risk
By Michael Hierzenberger. 2009
Natural monopolies are not subject to the market-based principle of competition. Consequently, it is necessary to control companies in such…
monopoly positions with regard to their pricing. In the future, it will become more and more important to consider a possible change in the regulation regime when the future-oriented costs of equity - both in terms of price regulation and for conducting capital market-oriented business valuations - are to be determined. Based on the principal-agent problem, the book explains this topic. The effect of a change in the regulation regime is presented in the form of two studies: an international secondary analysis of the effects on cost of equity based on event studies of the Anglo-Saxon area and a primary analysis based on the Austrian regulation policy for electricity and gas supply systems. The two studies arrive at similar results: The change from a rate-of-return regulation to incentive regulation systems leads to a significant increase in systematic risk.This book addresses the nexus of issues exploring governance structures and mechanisms in public service organizations, thus contributing to the…
development of disciplines that focus on public management. It goes beyond the state of the art by addressing a number of specific issues in a more systematic fashion. The book's interdisciplinary focus is a particularly valuable asset, as its topic is situated at the crossroads of a number of fields, including public management, business administration, corporate governance, policy studies, political science, sociology, and third sector studies, all of which offer important perspectives and are important for the development of public management and public services. The book covers more than Italy and Norway and focuses specifically on public service organizations, addressing more aspects of their governance structures and mechanisms than any other book available today. The unique presentation of features related to the governance and management of different actors (state-owned enterprises, local public utilities, ministries, municipalities, citizens, etc.), involved at different levels in the production and provision of public services, makes it possible to compare and contrast these different perspectives and opens new avenues of theoretical collaboration and development.Financial Market Regulation
By John A. Tatom. 2005
What role should regulation play in financial markets? What have been the ramifications of financial regulation? To answer these and…
other questions regarding the efficacy of legislation on financial markets, this book examines the impact of the Gramm Leach Bliley Act (GLBA), also called the Financial Modernization Act of 1999, which fundamentally changed the financial landscape in the United States. The GLBA allows the formation of financial holding companies that can offer an integrated set of commercial banking, securities and insurance products. The tenth anniversary of the most sweeping financial legislation reform in the industry's structure is a natural benchmark for assessing the effects of the law and for questioning whether changes are necessary in the working of this historic legislation. The importance of this review is reinforced by a variety of proposals in the last several years to reform the regulation of financial institutions that have attracted considerable attention among regulators and in the financial firms that they regulate. Most recently, the financial crisis and the failure of some large financial institutions have called into question the legitimacy of America's current financial structure and its regulation, including to some degree the GLBA. There is no doubt that regulatory reform is front and center on today's policy agenda. The lessons of the GLBA experience and its effects, both domestic and international, on financial markets and competitiveness, risk-taking and risk management by financial services firms and their regulators will be critical to the direction the country takes and the effort to ensure that future financial crises do not occur or have less costly damage. With contributions from academics, policy experts, and a sponsor of the GLBA, Congressman James Leach, this book is invaluable to anyone interested in financial system reform.Democratic Governance and Economic Performance
By Dino Falaschetti. 2009
Conventional wisdom warns that unaccountable political and business agents can enrich a few at the expense of many. But logically…
extending this wisdom implies that associated principals - voters, consumers, shareholders - will favor themselves over the greater good when 'rules of the game' instead create too much accountability. Democratic Governance and Economic Performance rigorously develops this hypothesis, and finds statistical evidence and case study illustrations that democratic institutions at various governance levels (e.g., federal, state, corporation) have facilitated opportunistic gains for electoral, consumer, and shareholder principals. To be sure, this conclusion does not dismiss the potential for democratic governance to productively reduce agency costs. Rather, it suggests that policy makers, lawyers, and managers can improve governance by weighing the agency benefits of increased accountability against the distributional costs of favoring principal stakeholders over more general economic opportunities. Carefully considering the fundamentals that give rise to this tradeoff should interest students and scholars working at the intersection of social science and the law, and can help professionals improve their own performance in policy, legal, and business settings.Evolutionary Governance Theory: An Introduction
By Raoul Beunen, Martijn Duineveld, Kristof Van Assche. 2014
This short books offers the reader a remarkable new perspective on the way markets, laws and societies evolve together. It…
can be of use to anyone interested in development, market and public sector reform, public administration, politics & law. Based on a wide variety of case studies on three continents and a variety of conceptual sources, the authors develop a theory that clarifies the nature and functioning of dependencies that mark governance evolutions. This in turn delineates in an entirely new manner the spaces open for policy experiment. As such, it offers a new mapping of the middle ground between libertarianism and social engineering. Theoretically, the approach draws on a wide array of sources: institutional & development economics, systems theories, post-structuralism, actor- network theories, planning theory and legal studies.Government Austerity and Socioeconomic Sustainability
By P. K. Rao. 2015
This short book integrates the imperatives of public debt sustainability with those of socioeconomic sustainability in the context of budget…
austerity measures. It is argued that poverty, inequality and unemployment problems should be integral aspects of policy frameworks for austerity and fiscal stability. The economics of austerity in much of economic analysis remains narrowly focused and lopsided, since the implications on the role of human capital and loss of prosperity base are usually ignored. This book argues that various misapplications of policies of government austerity can be avoided if greater attention is accorded to the imperatives of maintaining the win-win approaches for socioeconomic resilience and sustainability in conjunction with debt sustainability and/or fiscal stability.Health Care Financing and Insurance
By Francesco Paolucci. 2011
As a contribution to the search for suitable and sustainable solutions to finance rising medical care expenditures, the book proposes…
a typology of healthcare financing and insurance schemes, based on the dimensions of basic vs. supplementary services and mandatory vs. voluntary coverage, to analyse the design and the complex interactions between various financing and insurance arrangements in several OECD countries. This study provides a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the financial and organisational structures of different countries' healthcare financing and insurance schemes. Its main contributions are the development of a novel and rigorous theoretical framework analysing the economic rationales for the optimal design of healthcare financing and insurance schemes, and an empirical and institutional analysis investigating the consequences for efficiency and affordability of the complex interactions between basic and supplementary sources of financing.Saving America: 7 Proven Steps to Make Government Deliver Great Results
By Mark Aesch. 2016
National polling indicates that, for the first time in American history, people believe their children will not be as well…
off as they are. Even more alarming, is that many Americans believe the biggest problem facing our nation today is government itself. The public sector receives trillions of taxpayer dollars every year, and yet because of its inability to operate effectively, government fails to deliver the quality of service we are paying for. It is clear the American people are weary of paying Ritz Carlton-level taxes for Bates Motel-quality government. In Saving America, Mark Aesch tells us where government--at the local, state, and federal level--is falling short and offers a coherent, non-partisan, seven-step plan for rebuilding our nation's public agencies. The book is not a political broadside nor is it theoretical; instead, it's an inspirational and instructional framework that will help citizens, elected officials, and public administrators make American government great--and provide taxpayers with real value. The 7 Steps to Success will lead to measurable gains for organizations large and small, including school systems, municipal governments, entire states, and even the federal government itself, producing real results for taxpayers and consumers.The China Fantasy: How Our Leaders Explain Away Chinese Repression
By James Mann. 2007
What are our ideas and hidden assumptions about China? Does America's policy toward China make sense? In this vigorous look…
at China's political evolution and direction, Mann offers a startling vision of our future with China that will have a profound impact for decades to come.