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"This book analyses the political economy of US climate policy, explaining how the drive to promote accumulation in green markets has been translated under conditions of American neoliberalism, where the state struggles to find a stable and legitimate role in the economy, and where environmental and industrial policy are contentious topics. It conceptualizes US climate policy not as environmental policy (with regulation as its primary objective), but as innovation policy (with capital accumulation and market domination as its main objective). It argues that US climate policy must be understood in the context of the government's broader strategy to dominate and monopolize high-tech markets."--

After World War II, France embarked on a project of modernization, which included the development of the modern mass home. At Home in Postwar France examines key groups of actors - state officials, architects, sociologists and tastemakers - arguing that modernizers looked to the home as a site for social engineering and nation-building; designers and advocates of the modern home contributed to the democratization of French society; and the French home of the Trente Glorieuses, as it was built and inhabited, was a hybrid product of architects', planners', and residents' understandings of moder

Climate change threatens the economy of the United States through increased flooding and storm damage, climate-driven changes in crop yields, disruptions in labor productivity, crime, and public health and heat-related strains on energy systems. Combining current data with state-of-the-art climate models, econometric research on human responses to climate, and cutting-edge private sector risk assessment tools, this prospectus crafts a game-changing analysis of the risks of future climate change in specific U.S. regions and sectors. This work is based on a critically acclaimed independent assessment of climate change's economic risks commissioned by the Risky Business Project. With contributions from Karen Fisher-Vanden (Penn State University), Michael Greenstone (MIT), Geoffrey Heal (Columbia Business School), Michael Oppenheimer (Princeton University), and Nicholas Stern and Bob Ward (Grantham Research Institute), as well as a foreword from the nation's leading voices on environmental action, the prospectus speaks to scientists, researchers, scholars, activists, and policymakers. It depicts the distribution of escalating climate change risk across the country and anticipates its effects on aspects as varied as coastal property and crime. Beautifully illustrated and accessibly written, Economic Risks of Climate Change is an essential tool for helping businesses and governments prepare for the future

Intro -- Acknowledgments -- Table of Contents -- List of Figures -- List of Tables -- List of Abbreviations -- 1 Introduction -- 1.1 Background -- 1.1.1 The Current Land Rush -- 1.1.2 LSLAs as a Global Phenomenon -- 1.1.3 The Role of the Law -- 1.2 LSLAs and Rural Households -- 1.3 Research Question and Aim of the Study -- 1.3.1 Large-Scale Land Acquisitions -- 1.3.2 Rural Households -- 1.3.3 The Impact of LSLAs on Rural Households -- 1.3.4 Ethiopia and Tanzania -- 1.4 Methodology -- 1.5 Relevance of the Study -- 1.6 Book Outline -- 2 LSLAs and Rural Development: Theoretical Predictions -- 2.1 Introduction of the Second Chapter -- 2.2 The Four Development Indicators -- 2.3 Efficiency, Distribution and Win-win -- 2.3.1 Equity and Efficiency in Rural Development -- 2.3.2 LSLAs and Win-win Solutions -- 2.3.3 The Four Development Indicators and the Equity/Efficiency Claims -- 2.4 Pathway (1) Access to Land and Natural Resources -- 2.4.1 Private Property and Economic Development -- 2.4.2 Land Use Systems -- 2.4.3 Land Governance -- 2.5 Pathway (2) Returns to Land Controlled by Rural Households -- 2.5.1 Infrastructure/Non-natural Capital -- 2.5.2 Access to Credit -- 2.5.3 Sustainable Use of Resources -- 2.6 Pathway (3) Access to Labour -- 2.6.1 Increased Returns to Labour -- 2.6.2 Increased Vulnerability in Market Access -- 2.6.3 Labour Opportunities for Rural Minorities -- 2.7 Pathway (4) Price of Agricultural Goods -- 2.7.1 Rural Markets for Agricultural Goods -- 2.7.2 LSLAs and Agricultural Goods -- 2.8 The Institutions, Rural Development and LSLA -- 2.9 Conclusions of the Second Chapter -- 3 Policy -- 3.1 Introduction of the Third Chapter -- 3.2 International Policy Tools: Global Governance -- 3.2.1 Principles of International Law -- 3.2.1.1 Free, Prior and Informed Consent -- 3.2.1.2 Other Principles of International Law.

Intro -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Preface: Pyjama Profit -- Why we wrote this book -- What this book is not -- Chapter 1: Our Story -- Prologue -- Swinging for the big leagues -- Our own separate ways -- Chapter 2: The Freelance Economy -- Freelancing is the future -- Why freelance works, regardless of your country -- The Pyjama Economy -- The economy and you -- Chapter 3: Learning Your Core Skill -- Finding your value -- The life cycle of a skill -- The Pyjama Categories -- Admin support -- Marketing -- Content writing -- Design -- Web development -- Game development and 3D modelling -- Product management -- App and back-end development -- How do I pick? -- Chapter 4: Communicating Your Value -- Why is value communication important? -- How much should I charge? -- Chapter 5: The Platform Game -- Where do I land my first project? -- Your player profile -- Your superpowers -- Bidding and proposals -- Making a charismatic bid -- Game rewards -- Communication is key -- When do you stop playing? -- When things go bad -- Chapter 6: The Freelancer's Mindset -- Setting targets -- Common questions -- Chapter 7: Your Personal Brand -- Authority -- First steps -- Personal brand -- What, where and how -- The 48h guide to a personal website -- Chapter 8: The Art of the Cold Email -- Cold to warm -- Prospecting -- Finding emails -- Sending personalized emails -- Converting replies to calls -- Finding opportunity on a call -- Closing a freelance contract -- Chapter 9: Tackling Tax -- What in the world is tax and why should I care? -- Chapter 10: Managing Your Finances -- Building your support infrastructure -- Chapter 11: Managing Stress and Ambiguity -- Don't take it too seriously -- Overcoming anxiety -- Chapter 12: Robots Will Take Your Job -- Artificial intelligence(AI) -- Should I be scared?

This work examines the main directions of the Japanese Arctic policy, its impact on the development of Russian-Japanese cooperation in the region.Aim. The study aims to analyze the formation of the Japanese Arctic strategy, to define promising areas and problems of Russian-Japanese relations.Tasks. The authors identify the main stages of the Japanese Arctic policy, determine the significance of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) for Tokyo, study the areas of Russian-Japanese cooperation, assess the problems and prospects of bilateral cooperation in the Arctic.Methods. Using the method of comparative analysis, content analysis, event analysis, we have identified areas that contribute to the strengthening of Russian-Japanese relations in the Arctic and factors that can weaken this cooperation.Results. The study shows that Japan seeks to be an active actor in the Arctic processes, since this region will play a significant role in the development of the Japanese economy through the energy supplies diversification. Japan's key partner here is Russia, and they are implementing a major energy project — Arctic LNG-2. The modernization of the NSR's infrastructure is another promising area for the development of Russian-Japanese relations. However, there are contradictions that may affect their cooperation — this is the differences in definition the NSR status and the international legal status of the Arctic.Conclusion. Despite Japan's interest in using the NSR and participation in energy projects in the Russian Arctic, there are some issues that make it difficult to strengthen their Arctic cooperation. There are the problem of the Kuril Islands and the difference in determining the status of the Arctic region.

Compiled from a series of blog posts which can be found at "The Next Recession." Modern monetary theory (MMT) has become flavor of the time among many leftist economic views in recent years. MMT has some traction in the left as it appears to offer theoretical support for policies of fiscal spending funded by central bank money and running up budget deficits and public debt without fear of crises – and thus backing policies of government spending on infrastructure projects, job creation and industry in direct contrast to neoliberal mainstream policies of austerity and minimal government intervention. Here I will offer my view on the worth of MMT and its policy implications for the labor movement. First, I'll try and give broad outline to bring out the similarities and difference with Marx's monetary theory.

The demand for minerals and metals from Africa has experienced a boom since the turn of the century. This has increased state revenues and created new employment opportunities, but also led to negative effects on the environment and resulted in social conflicts in areas of extraction. The term 'Corporate Social Responsibility' (CSR) has increasingly been on the agenda during debates about the costs and benefits of resource extraction. While some observers endorse CSR activities as important contributions to local development that compensate for the negative externalities of mining, others criticise it for being ineffective, bearing the potential to influence local political dynamics or causing more harm than good. However, there is little academic evidence that can support these claims. This doctoral research aims to improve our understanding of these issues by studying possible consequences of CSR activities on state-society relations and conflicts in mining areas in Africa. First, this research investigates whether knowledge about CSR payments affects the social contract between citizens and the state. In a survey-based experiment conducted in Burkina Faso, we present respondents anecdotal information about either CSR or government investments in public infrastructure in an imaginary village. Results show that information about CSR worsens respondents' beliefs in the legitimacy of the government in that village. Yet, we find little evidence that this affects legitimating beliefs in respondents' own government. The research further reveals that knowledge about either public or private investments increases participation in local political debates. This suggests that interventions providing anecdotal information about infrastructure projects can raise expectations regarding such investments and hence strengthen the social contract. Second, this research analyses whether and how CSR is linked to conflicts in areas of extraction. We analyse a qualitative case study of a company-community conflict in Burkina Faso. ...

At a time when stimulus plans are giving pride of place to transport infrastructure, we begin by examining, in Chapter 1, the productive impact of this type of spending in the American states over the period 1978-2018. Indeed, public investment appears to be a key determinant of future growth and thus of the favorable evolution of the debt/GDP ratio. While transport infrastructure contributed to total factor productivity growth until the end of the 20th century, the data do not show a significant effect in the recent period. Moreover, when we distinguish between federal and state funding of expenditures, we find that federal subsidies reduce productivity growth. While our results reflect the advanced level of transportation infrastructure in the U.S. states, they suggest caution about the effect of stimulus spending.In Chapter 2, we look ahead to the very early months of 2020, examining the effect of budget rules on health policy. Were U.S. state policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic driven by partisan politics or by budgetary reasons? We show that Balanced-Budget Rules also had an impact, mediated by the possibility of benefiting from the funds previously stored in Budget Stabilization Funds. State policymakers tried to square the circle by simultaneously respecting budget rules, limiting the economic impact of the social distancing measures, combating the pandemic, and pandering to their political basis. Some fiscal rules have induced a trade-off between health and public finance, which may reignite the debate on the procyclicality of fiscal rules.Chapter 3 analyzes the institutional determinants of budget forecast errors in U.S. states over the period 1988-2017, whereas this examination is not addressed in the empirical literature from the perspective of budget rules. Despite supposedly binding budget rules, we highlight that not only are budget forecast errors persistent, but that governors do not make the best use of the information available to them. By distinguishing between the level of legal design ...

At a time when stimulus plans are giving pride of place to transport infrastructure, we begin by examining, in Chapter 1, the productive impact of this type of spending in the American states over the period 1978-2018. Indeed, public investment appears to be a key determinant of future growth and thus of the favorable evolution of the debt/GDP ratio. While transport infrastructure contributed to total factor productivity growth until the end of the 20th century, the data do not show a significant effect in the recent period. Moreover, when we distinguish between federal and state funding of expenditures, we find that federal subsidies reduce productivity growth. While our results reflect the advanced level of transportation infrastructure in the U.S. states, they suggest caution about the effect of stimulus spending.In Chapter 2, we look ahead to the very early months of 2020, examining the effect of budget rules on health policy. Were U.S. state policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic driven by partisan politics or by budgetary reasons? We show that Balanced-Budget Rules also had an impact, mediated by the possibility of benefiting from the funds previously stored in Budget Stabilization Funds. State policymakers tried to square the circle by simultaneously respecting budget rules, limiting the economic impact of the social distancing measures, combating the pandemic, and pandering to their political basis. Some fiscal rules have induced a trade-off between health and public finance, which may reignite the debate on the procyclicality of fiscal rules.Chapter 3 analyzes the institutional determinants of budget forecast errors in U.S. states over the period 1988-2017, whereas this examination is not addressed in the empirical literature from the perspective of budget rules. Despite supposedly binding budget rules, we highlight that not only are budget forecast errors persistent, but that governors do not make the best use of the information available to them. By distinguishing between the level of legal design ...

At a time when stimulus plans are giving pride of place to transport infrastructure, we begin by examining, in Chapter 1, the productive impact of this type of spending in the American states over the period 1978-2018. Indeed, public investment appears to be a key determinant of future growth and thus of the favorable evolution of the debt/GDP ratio. While transport infrastructure contributed to total factor productivity growth until the end of the 20th century, the data do not show a significant effect in the recent period. Moreover, when we distinguish between federal and state funding of expenditures, we find that federal subsidies reduce productivity growth. While our results reflect the advanced level of transportation infrastructure in the U.S. states, they suggest caution about the effect of stimulus spending.In Chapter 2, we look ahead to the very early months of 2020, examining the effect of budget rules on health policy. Were U.S. state policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic driven by partisan politics or by budgetary reasons? We show that Balanced-Budget Rules also had an impact, mediated by the possibility of benefiting from the funds previously stored in Budget Stabilization Funds. State policymakers tried to square the circle by simultaneously respecting budget rules, limiting the economic impact of the social distancing measures, combating the pandemic, and pandering to their political basis. Some fiscal rules have induced a trade-off between health and public finance, which may reignite the debate on the procyclicality of fiscal rules.Chapter 3 analyzes the institutional determinants of budget forecast errors in U.S. states over the period 1988-2017, whereas this examination is not addressed in the empirical literature from the perspective of budget rules. Despite supposedly binding budget rules, we highlight that not only are budget forecast errors persistent, but that governors do not make the best use of the information available to them. By distinguishing between the level of legal design ...

At a time when stimulus plans are giving pride of place to transport infrastructure, we begin by examining, in Chapter 1, the productive impact of this type of spending in the American states over the period 1978-2018. Indeed, public investment appears to be a key determinant of future growth and thus of the favorable evolution of the debt/GDP ratio. While transport infrastructure contributed to total factor productivity growth until the end of the 20th century, the data do not show a significant effect in the recent period. Moreover, when we distinguish between federal and state funding of expenditures, we find that federal subsidies reduce productivity growth. While our results reflect the advanced level of transportation infrastructure in the U.S. states, they suggest caution about the effect of stimulus spending.In Chapter 2, we look ahead to the very early months of 2020, examining the effect of budget rules on health policy. Were U.S. state policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic driven by partisan politics or by budgetary reasons? We show that Balanced-Budget Rules also had an impact, mediated by the possibility of benefiting from the funds previously stored in Budget Stabilization Funds. State policymakers tried to square the circle by simultaneously respecting budget rules, limiting the economic impact of the social distancing measures, combating the pandemic, and pandering to their political basis. Some fiscal rules have induced a trade-off between health and public finance, which may reignite the debate on the procyclicality of fiscal rules.Chapter 3 analyzes the institutional determinants of budget forecast errors in U.S. states over the period 1988-2017, whereas this examination is not addressed in the empirical literature from the perspective of budget rules. Despite supposedly binding budget rules, we highlight that not only are budget forecast errors persistent, but that governors do not make the best use of the information available to them. By distinguishing between the level of legal design ...

Since opening its economy to the outside world in late 1978, China has experienced a massive, protracted, and unexpected economic upsurge, which has attracted the attention of a large and diverse group of researchers. China's three-decade economic reforms have reshaped the economic structure from plan to market, through a variety of policy actions, such as openness to foreign investment and efforts to build economic zones. Economic growth and potential technology transfer are indeed the main rationale behind the Chinese government's aggressive efforts over the past three decades to enhance openness and to increase domestic competition. This dissertation consists of three chapters. All chapters study firm behavior and their policy implications. However, the focus of each chapter is different. The first chapter (coauthored with Ann Harrison and Gary Jefferson) studies how institutions affect productivity spillovers from foreign direct investment (FDI) to China's domestic industrial enterprises. The second chapter separates the effect of agglomeration economies on firm performance (measured by total factor productivity) from the impact of competition and better transport infrastructure. The third chapter (coauthored with Philippe Aghion, Mathias Dewatripont, Ann Harrison, Patrick Legros) tests for the complementarity between competition and industrial policy.The first Chapter (co-authored with Ann Harrison and Gary Jefferson) investigates how institutions affect productivity spillovers from foreign direct investment (FDI) to China's domestic industrial enterprises during 1998-2007. We examine three institutional features that comprise aspects of China's "special characteristics": (1) the different sources of FDI, where FDI is nearly evenly divided between mostly Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries and Hong Kong (SAR of China), Taiwan (China), and Macau (SAR of China); (2) China's heterogeneous ownership structure, involving state- (SOEs) and non-state owned (non-SOEs) enterprises, firms with foreign equity participation, and non-SOE, domestic firms; and (3) industrial promotion via tariffs or through tax holidays to foreign direct investment. We also explore how productivity spillovers from FDI changed with China's entry into the WTO in late 2001. We find robust positive and significant spillovers to domestic firms via backward linkages (the contacts between foreign buyers and local suppliers). Our results suggest varied success with industrial promotion policies. Final goods tariffs as well as input tariffs are negatively associated with firm-level productivity. However, we find that productivity spillovers were higher from foreign firms that paid less than the statutory corporate tax rate. The second chapter separates the effect of agglomeration economies on firm performance (measured by total factor productivity) from the impact of competition and better transport infrastructure. Consequently, this paper primarily addresses the problem of omitted variable bias in estimating the impact of agglomeration economies on firm performance. The results suggest that firm productivity is improved only by the presence of other firms in the same sector (localization economies). The inclusion of information on road construction does not affect the importance of pure localization economies. However, including a measure of competition in the estimation significantly reduces the importance of localization externalities. The results also suggest that both road-building and competition are positively associated with productivity growth. The results for sub-samples indicate that exporting firms and firms financed by foreign investment benefit more from localization externalities than do their non-exporting and domestically-financed counterparts. The third chapter (co-authored with Philippe Aghion, Ann Harrison, Mathias Dewatripont, and Patrick Legros) argues that sectoral state aid tends to foster productivity, productivity growth, and product innovation to a larger extent when it targets more competitive sectors and when it is not concentrated on one or a small number of firms in the sector. A main implication from our analysis is that the debate on industrial policy should no longer be for or against having such a policy. As it turns out, sectoral policies are being implemented in one form or another by a large number of countries worldwide, starting with China. Rather, the issue should be on how to design and govern sectoral policies in order to make them more competition-friendly and therefore more growth-enhancing. Our analysis suggests that proper selection criteria together with good guidelines for governing sectoral support can make a significant difference in terms of growth and innovation performance. Yet the issue remains of how to minimize the scope for influence activities by sectoral interests when a sectoral state aid policy is to be implemented. One answer is that the less concentrated and more competition-compatible the allocation of state aid to a sector, the less firms in that sector will lobby for that aid as they will anticipate lower profits from it. In other words, political economy considerations should reinforce the interaction between competition and the efficiency of sectoral state aid. A comprehensive analysis of the optimal governance of sectoral policies still awaits further research.

The following discussion took place in September 2018 at the Warsaw School of Economics. It focused on both senior politics, experts, and analysts. The discussion was moderated and planned by Andrzej Klimczuk, associated with the Warsaw School of Economics, and invited to the discussion: Barbara Szatur-Jaworska, social politician and gerontologist from the University of Warsaw, Paweł Kubicki, economist, Warsaw School of Economics, Marek Niezabitowski, sociologist from the Silesian University of Technology, Ryszard Majer, social politician , Agnieszka Cieśla, architect and urban planner, Warsaw University of Technology, Marzena Rudnicka, founder and president of the National Institute of Senior Management (biographical notes at the end of the debate). Panelists during the discussion analyzed the following issues: I. Beginnings of the senior policy, its definition, strategic documents of the state, II. The role of local governments in animating activities within the framework of senior policy and non-governmental organizations, III. Creation and role of the law on seniors, IV. Diversification of the environment of seniors, V. Activities in other countries within the framework of the senior policy, VI. Changes in social awareness, the evolution of attitudes towards older people, old age, ageing, VII. The market for products and services for seniors, VIII. Seniors' activity, formal and informal, activity infrastructure, IX. Housing for older people and ageing population X. The role of the state and self-government in the senior policy, dialogue with the authorities, public-private partnership, XI. Challenges and directions of development of the senior policy, XII. The deficit of care services, XIII. Senior and pension policy, XIV. Convergence and divergence in the senior policy.

The following discussion took place in September 2018 at the Warsaw School of Economics. It focused on both senior politics, experts, and analysts. The discussion was moderated and planned by Andrzej Klimczuk, associated with the Warsaw School of Economics, and invited to the discussion: Barbara Szatur-Jaworska, social politician and gerontologist from the University of Warsaw, Paweł Kubicki, economist, Warsaw School of Economics, Marek Niezabitowski, sociologist from the Silesian University of Technology, Ryszard Majer, social politician , Agnieszka Cieśla, architect and urban planner, Warsaw University of Technology, Marzena Rudnicka, founder and president of the National Institute of Senior Management (biographical notes at the end of the debate). Panelists during the discussion analyzed the following issues: I. Beginnings of the senior policy, its definition, strategic documents of the state, II. The role of local governments in animating activities within the framework of senior policy and non-governmental organizations, III. Creation and role of the law on seniors, IV. Diversification of the environment of seniors, V. Activities in other countries within the framework of the senior policy, VI. Changes in social awareness, the evolution of attitudes towards older people, old age, ageing, VII. The market for products and services for seniors, VIII. Seniors' activity, formal and informal, activity infrastructure, IX. Housing for older people and ageing population X. The role of the state and self-government in the senior policy, dialogue with the authorities, public-private partnership, XI. Challenges and directions of development of the senior policy, XII. The deficit of care services, XIII. Senior and pension policy, XIV. Convergence and divergence in the senior policy.