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What kind of world are we leaving for our children and grandchildren? Geoscientist Laurence Smith draws on the latest global modeling research to construct a sweeping thought experiment on what our world will be like in 2050. The result is both good news and bad: Eight nations of the Arctic Rim (including the United States) will become increasingly prosperous, powerful, and politically stable, while those closer to the equator will face water shortages, aging populations, and crowded megacities sapped by the rising costs of energy and coastal flooding. Smith combines the lessons of geography and history with state-of-the-art model projections and analytical data--everything from climate dynamics and resource stocks to age distributions and economic growth projections. But Smith offers more than a compendium of statistics and studies--he spent fifteen months traveling the Arctic Rim, collecting stories and insights that resonate throughout the book.--From publisher description

Why are poor countries poor and rich countries rich? How are wealth and poverty related to changes in nutrition, health, life expectancy, education, population growth and politics? This modern, non-technical 2005 introduction to development studies explores the dynamics of socio-economic development and stagnation in developing countries. Taking a quantitative and comparative approach to contemporary debates within their broader context, Szirmai examines historical, institutional, demographic, sociological, political and cultural factors. Key chapters focus on economic growth, technological change, industrialisation, agricultural development, and consider social dimensions such as population growth, health and education. Each chapter contains comparative statistics on trends from a sample of twenty-nine developing countries. This rich statistical database allows students to strengthen their understanding of comparative development experiences. Assuming no prior knowledge of economics the book is suited for use in inter-disciplinary development studies programmes as well as economics courses, and will also interest practitioners pursuing careers in developing countries.

"Cultural policy is changing. Traditionally, cultural policies have been concerned with providing financial support for the arts, for cultural heritage and for institutions such as museums and galleries. In recent years, around the world, interest has grown in the creative industries as a source of innovation and economic dynamism. This book argues that an understanding of the nature of both the economic and the cultural value created by the cultural sector is essential to good policy-making. The book is the first comprehensive account of the application of economic theory and analysis to the broad field of cultural policy. It deals with general principles of policy-making in the cultural arena as seen from an economic point of view, and goes on to examine a range of specific cultural policy areas, including the arts, heritage, the cultural industries, urban development, tourism, education, trade, cultural diversity, economic development, intellectual property and cultural statistics"--Provided by publisher

Cultural policy is changing. Traditionally, cultural policies have been concerned with providing financial support for the arts, for cultural heritage and for institutions such as museums and galleries. In recent years, around the world, interest has grown in the creative industries as a source of innovation and economic dynamism. This book argues that an understanding of the nature of both the economic and the cultural value created by the cultural sector is essential to good policy-making. The book is the first comprehensive account of the application of economic theory and analysis to the broad field of cultural policy. It deals with general principles of policy-making in the cultural arena as seen from an economic point of view, and goes on to examine a range of specific cultural policy areas, including the arts, heritage, the cultural industries, urban development, tourism, education, trade, cultural diversity, economic development, intellectual property and cultural statistics

Prolonged worldwide economic depression forces some economists and policy makers to demand for a tougher regulation to protect their domestic economy. If implemented, this may lead to a high tariff and non-tariff regime that ruled the pre-globalised world economy. This paper examines the consequences of a tariff protected trade regime. It takes up the case of trade misreporting phenomena under the framework of protected regime. It builds up a basic trade mis-invoicing model and then develops a collusion between underreporting traders of partner countries. I show that high tariff barrier gives incentives not only to the importers but also to the exporters to gain by underreporting the trade statistics. Interestingly, this paper shows that even if foreign exchange is fully floated, underground foreign exchange market can be created and exporters may rationally underreport without any gain through black market premium a departure from conventional theory.

Since the sweeping (re)introduction of multiparty systems in the early 1990s almost all sub-Saharan countries have introduced bans on ethnic or - in more general terms - particularistic parties. Such party bans have been neglected in research, and this paper engages in a preliminary analysis of their effects on democracy and peace. Theoretically, particularistic party bans can block particularisms from entering politics but also run the risk of forcing groups to resort to extra-legal or violent means. Neutral or context-dependent effects are also possible. Applying macro-qualitative comparison and bivariate statistics on the basis of a unique inventory of party bans and readily available indicators for the dependent variables, no simple connection can be detected. Rather, context conditions seem to be of superior explanatory power. We also find a systematic connection between party bans and variables that could be conceptualized as the causes of their implementation. -- Sub-Saharan Africa ; party bans ; ethnicity ; conflict ; democracy

In an economy characterized by frequent change in technology, in the types of goods and services purchased, and in the forms of business organization, keeping track of price change continues to pose many difficulties. Price change affects the way we perceive changes in such basic measures as real output, productivity, and living standards. This volume, which brings together academic economists with those responsible for official price indexes, presents outstanding new research on price measurement. Half of the papers focus on prices for mainframe and personal computers, semiconductors, and other high-tech products, using mainly hedonic techniques. The volume includes a panel discussion by distinguished economists about the theoretical and practical considerations of how best to measure price change of capital goods whose quality is changing rapidly. The authors also present new research on more conventional but still unsettled problems in the price field affecting both the consumer and producer price indexes of the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Governments and corporations may chip in, but around the world houshold saving is the biggest factor in national saving. To better understand why saving rates differ across countries, this volume provides the most up-to-date analyses of patterns of household saving behavior in Canada, Italy, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Each of the six chapters examines micro data sets of household saving within a particular country and summarizes statistics on patterns of saving by age, income, and other demographic factors. The authors provide age-earning profiles and analyses of the accumulation of wealth over the lifetime in a clear way that allows quick comparisons between earning, consumption, and saving in the six countries. Designed as a companion to Public Policies and Household Saving (1994), which addresses saving policies in the G-7 nations, this volume offers detailed descriptions of saving behavior in all G-7 nations except France

Longitudinal research is a broad field in which substantial advances have been made over the past decade. Unlike many of the existing books that only address the analysis of information. The Handbook of Longitudinal Researchcovers design and measurement as well as the data analysis. Designed for use by a wide-ranging audience, this Handbook not only includes perspective on the methodological and data analysis problems in longitudinal research but it also includes contributors' data sets that enable readers who lack sophisticated statistics skills to move from theories about longitudinal data into practice. As thecomprehensive reference, this Handbook has no direct competition as most books in this subject area are more narrowly specialized and are pitched at a high mathematical level. *Contributors and subject areas are interdisciplinary to reach the broadest possible audience (i.e., psychology, epidemiology, and economics research fields) *Summary material will be included for less sohisticated readers *Extensive coverage is provided of traditional advanced topics

There is a vigorous debate about the merits of globalisation for developing countries. Based on numerous focus-group discussions and over 10,000 interviews, this book studies economic and cultural openness from the perspective of the public in four developing or 'transitional' countries: Vietnam, (South) Korea, the Czech Republic and Ukraine (both before and after the Orange Revolution). It finds many supporters of opening up, but also many who are discontented with its downsides and who expect states to tackle the exploitation and unfairness that accompany it. Among the most fervent enemies of openness there is support not just for peaceful public protest to tackle the problems it brings, but for violence or sabotage. The methodology provides a unique opportunity for the public in developing countries to 'speak with their own voices' about markets and openness - and highlights the subtlety, ambiguity, tensions, conflicts and emotion that statistics alone fail to capture

Why are poor countries poor and rich countries rich? How are wealth and poverty related to changes in nutrition, health, life expectancy, education, population growth and politics? This modern, non-technical 2005 introduction to development studies explores the dynamics of socio-economic development and stagnation in developing countries. Taking a quantitative and comparative approach to contemporary debates within their broader context, Szirmai examines historical, institutional, demographic, sociological, political and cultural factors. Key chapters focus on economic growth, technological change, industrialisation, agricultural development, and consider social dimensions such as population growth, health and education. Each chapter contains comparative statistics on trends from a sample of twenty-nine developing countries. This rich statistical database allows students to strengthen their understanding of comparative development experiences. Assuming no prior knowledge of economics the book is suited for use in inter-disciplinary development studies programmes as well as economics courses, and will also interest practitioners pursuing careers in developing countries

Many engineers, from the chemical and process industries, waste treatment system management and design to the clean-up of contaminated sites, are engaged in careers that address hazardous wastes. However, no single book is available that explains how to manage the risks of those wastes. At best it is dealt with in diverse sections of books on the general field of environmental engineering, and in various treatments of the subject of risk, statistics and hazard assessment. This is a reference and text that blends together theoretical explanations, techniques and case study examples to complement practical knowledge. These include problems with solutions, case studies of current and landmark hazardous waste problems, a companion website, and reference sections that will make certain that this text stays on the practicing engineer's bookshelf. - Addresses a subject of theoretical and regulatory importance - The only book to take this approach - Includes textbook case studies and examples as well as practical advice

Health and Safety at Work: Key Terms provides instant information to readers on a range of key terms used in health and safety at work. The book, produced in A-Z format, incorporates the principal legal, technical and practical terms derived from statutes, regulations, approved codes, case law and other appropriate publications. As such, it will be of particular use to health and safety practitioners, those studying for degrees in occupational health and safety and courses run by NEBOSH, and those engaged in enforcement activities, such as Health and Safety Executive inspectors, environmental health officers and fire protection officers. The key terms referenced and explained include: accident statistics, absolute duties, distance guard, noise-induced hearing loss, oxidising classifications, relevant statutory provisions. Provides instant information to readers on a range of key terms used in health and safety at workIncorporates in a single source the principal legal, technical and practical terms used in health and safety at work

This volume provides a history of the concepts, practices, institutions, and ideologies of social sciences (including behavioural and economic sciences) since the eighteenth century. It offers original, synthetic accounts of the historical development of social knowledge, including its philosophical assumptions, its social and intellectual organization, and its relations to science, medicine, politics, bureaucracy, philosophy, religion, and the professions. Its forty-two chapters include inquiries into the genres and traditions that formed social science, the careers of the main social disciplines (psychology, economics, sociology, anthropology, political science, geography, history, and statistics), and international essays on social science in Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America. It also includes essays that examine the involvement of the social sciences in government, business, education, culture, and social policy. This is a broad cultural history of social science, which analyzes from a variety of perspectives its participation in the making of the modern world

Between 1900 and 2000 an unprecedented American effort to use state regulation to guarantee health, opportunity, and security to the country's children failed to reach its goals. The achievements envisioned were enormously ambitious and reflected entrenched but self-contradictory values and Americans' inconsistent expectations of government. As such, a 'failed' century deserves a mixture of rebuke and cautious admiration. Starting with the young, American public policy transformed individuals into strings of measurable characteristics. People became statistics, and if society could just get the measurements right, social policy said, progress would be possible. But children proved hard to quantify. Policies based on optimistic faith in the powers of applied scientific truth revealed perils implicit in acceptance of poorly understood social science paradigms. Definitions changed, as psychology or sociological or statistical theory changed, and good intentions foundered, as experts fiercely challenged each other's conclusions and public policies sought to respond