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e-Transformation: enabling new development strategies
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ISBN: 9781441911841 9781441911858 9781441911865 9781441978431 Year: 2010 Publisher: New York, N.Y. Springer

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Could information and communication technology (ICT) become the transformative tool for a new style of global development? Could ICT promote knowledge-based, innovation-driven, and smart, adaptive, participatory development? As countries seek a way out of the present period of economic contraction, they are trying to weave ICT into their development strategies, in the same way organizations have learned to use ICT to transform their business models and strategies. This integration offers a new path to development that is responsive to the challenges of our times. In e-Transformation, Nagy Hanna identifies the key ingredients for the strategic integration of ICT into national development, with examples from around the world. He draws on his rich experience of over 35 years at the World Bank and other aid agencies to outline the strategic options involved in using ICT to maximize developmental impact—transforming public service institutions, networking businesses for innovation and competitiveness, and empowering communities for social inclusion and poverty reduction. He identifies the key interdependencies in e-transformation and offers a holistic framework to tap network effects and synergies across all elements of the process, including leadership, cyber policies, institutions, human resources, technological competencies, information infrastructure, and ICT uses for government, business, and society. Integrating analytical insights and practical applications across the fields of development, political economy, public administration, entrepreneurship, and technology management, the author candidly argues that e-transformation, like all bold ideas, faces implementation challenges. In particular, the aspiration-reality gap needs to be systematically addressed if ICT-enabled innovation and transformation is to become a development practice. E-transformation is first and foremost about thinking strategically and creatively about the options made possible by the information technology revolution in the context of globalization. To this end, the author provides tools and best practices designed to nurture innovation, select entry points, prioritize among competing demands, and sequence and scale up. He outlines the roles of all participants—political, managerial, entrepreneurial, social and technical—whose leadership is essential for successful innovation.


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The search for a unified Korea: political and economic implications
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ISBN: 9781441915610 9781441915627 9781441915672 9781489984630 Year: 2010 Publisher: New York, N.Y. Springer

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With the leadership of the North Korean political regime in flux, the political and economic relationship between North Korea and South Korea, and between the Korean peninsula and the world, is uncertain. What would be the implications if the current North Korean government were to fall? This timely book provides a thorough analysis of the complexities of regime change that goes far beyond the usual media discussion of this topic. The book traces the historical roots of the existence of the two Koreas and their ideological divide. It goes on to review the consequences of South Korea’s alternating policies of "sternness and sunshine" toward North Korea since World War II, and presents an analysis of their likely relative efficacy in achieving re-unification. The book then examines the effect of international affairs on the prospects for stability and reunification on the Korean peninsula and assesses the relevance of reunification experiences in Germany and Vietnam to Korea’s situation. Finally, it suggests how to proceed if the opportunity for reunification arises, tackling the issue of how South Korea can respond to other nations’ interests in the outcome on the Korean Peninsula and the need for a multinational body to supervise a North Korean transition replacing the present regime. This comprehensive book will be invaluable to any researcher, student, or decision maker interested in the future of the Korean peninsula, East Asian political economy, and international diplomacy.


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Mineral Resources Science in China: A Roadmap to 2050
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ISBN: 9783642053443 9783642053757 9783642053436 Year: 2010 Publisher: Berlin, Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg

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As one of the eighteen field-specific reports comprising the comprehensive scope of the strategic general report of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, this sub-report addresses long-range planning for developing science and technology in the field of mineral resources science. They each craft a roadmap for their sphere of development to 2050. In their entirety, the general and sub-group reports analyze the evolution and laws governing the development of science and technology, describe the decisive impact of science and technology on the modernization process, predict that the world is on the eve of an impending S&T revolution, and call for China to be fully prepared for this new round of S&T advancement. Based on the detailed study of the demands on S&T innovation in China's modernization, the reports draw a framework for eight basic and strategic systems of socio-economic development with the support of science and technology, work out China's S&T roadmaps for the relevant eight basic and strategic systems in line with China's reality, further detail S&T initiatives of strategic importance to China's modernization, and provide S&T decision-makers with comprehensive consultations for the development of S&T innovation consistent with China's reality. Supported by illustrations and tables of data, the reports provide researchers, government officials and entrepreneurs with guidance concerning research directions, the planning process, and investment. Founded in 1949, the Chinese Academy of Sciences is the nation's highest academic institution in natural sciences. Its major responsibilities are to conduct research in basic and technological sciences, to undertake nationwide integrated surveys on natural resources and ecological environment, to provide the country with scientific data and consultations for government's decision-making, to undertake government-assigned projects with regard to key S&T problems in the process of socio-economic development, to initiate personnel training, and to promote China's high-tech enterprises through its active engagement in these areas.


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The Economic Impact of Public Support to Agriculture : An International Perspective
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ISBN: 9781441963857 9781441963840 9781461426417 9781441963864 Year: 2010 Publisher: New York, NY Springer

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The recent reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union extend in a significant way the “decoupling” process started some ten years earlier. By adopting the Single Farm Payment (SFP) scheme only limited support for agriculture is tied to current production decisions. This is also true of U.S. farm policy. The reform act of 1996 introduced greater planting flexibility, shifted some support to direct payments, and eliminated the authority for acreage reduction programs. The 2002 and 2008 Acts retained these features. However, they added countercyclical components to direct payments based on market prices and historic production, and allowed for updating of base acreage underlying direct payments. These steps arguably reintroduced ties between support and production decisions. This volume explores the economic implications of these recent changes in the design of agricultural policies for the economic performance of the sector in the European Union and the United States. The book is organized around five themes: (1) New Directions in Agricultural Policy: U.S. and EU Perspectives; (2) Agricultural Policy and Economic performance; (3) Energy and Agricultural Policy; (4) International Trade and Agricultural Policy; and (5) Commodity Programs and Risk Management. The authors apply rigorous tools to analyze the impact and implications of current agricultural policies on efficiency, productivity, and competitiveness in the sector, and consider opportunities for improvement in policymaking and practice.


Digital
Market dynamics and productivity in developing countries : economic reforms in the Middle East and North Africa
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ISBN: 9781441912084 9781441910363 9781441910370 9781441910387 Year: 2010 Publisher: Ottawa, Ont. Springer

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To what degree are trade liberalization, productivity, and economic growth correlated? Can economic policies designed to encourage competition and curtail industry protection result in large-scale improvements, such as increased innovation and reduced unemployment? After 20 years of economic reform in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), economic performance is still lagging behind many regions of the world. Even in those countries that are the most advanced in implementing reforms, including Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia, industries with low productivity growth and high market power continue to dominate. Moreover, the termination of the Multi-Fiber Agreement and the negotiations concerning further liberalization of trade in agricultural products (under the framework of the World Trade Organization) put these and other countries under pressure of fierce competition from emerging nations. Recent empirical evidence on the impact of reforms in a number of developing countries shows that such persistence of inefficiency and market power is specific to MENA. Showcasing in-depth analyses from Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia, and Turkey (with comparative data from Asia and Latin America), this book focuses on the dynamics of firm entry and exit to help explain the low productivity of the region. The results suggest a number of policy recommendations designed to foster competition, which, in turn, would contribute to innovation, productivity growth, and improved return on capital investments. The book not only reveals important correlations among policy and market factors in MENA, but suggests fruitful areas of research in other developing regions of the world.


Digital
Indian Ocean Region : Maritime Regimes for Regional Cooperation
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ISBN: 9781441959898 9781461426431 9781441959935 9781441959881 Year: 2010 Publisher: New York, NY Springer

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The Indian Ocean region is arguably one of the world’s least understood, yet its importance in geopolitics and international relations is greater than ever before. This book explores the concepts of regime theory, regional orders and ocean governance to critically assess the effectiveness of maritime regimes, something that not been attempted before for the Indian Ocean Region. This study employs the theoretical framework of international regimes in the context of ocean governance by developing a new model, which is used to test the regimes’ effectiveness. This book addresses the analytical gap in our understanding about the strategic importance of the Indian Ocean as a region in contemporary world geopolitics and international relations. Case studies display the groundwork for regional cooperation in the maritime realm laid by Indian Ocean countries, and the effectiveness of current political leadership is addressed. There is considerable value in looking at the Indian Ocean as a region for future analysis of maritime regimes, and this book proposes that international maritime regimes can expand regional cooperation in the Indian Ocean to create a new geopolitical region. The interdisciplinary approach presented draws on historical analysis, international maritime law, political science, international relations and the literature on regime theory and will be of interest to academics in those fields as well as policy-makers concerned with maritime issues. This book is original in many ways and makes a significant contribution to the knowledge on the Indian Ocean. The book is well researched and documented with a very creative approach in regimes to ocean governance and regional cooperation in international relations. This book is particularly eloquent and helpful in developing an understanding of maritime regimes in the Indian Ocean. The book offers a refreshing and original approach to overcoming the difficulties of developing Indian Ocean cooperation. Professor Dr. Hasjim Djalal This book presents a thoughtful and careful analysis of regional Indian Ocean issues, based on extensive and difficult research. It helps readers understand what has been accomplished in the region, but also what remains to be done. The author provides a road map for the countries of this region to follow and challenges them to work together more effectively in the future. Professor Jon Van Dyke.


Digital
Persistence Pays : U.S. Agricultural Productivity Growth and the Benefits from Public R&D Spending
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ISBN: 9781441906588 9781441906595 9781461425236 9781441906571 Year: 2010 Publisher: New York, NY Springer

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This book documents the evolving path of U.S. agriculture in the 20th Century and the role of public R&D in that evolution. The work begins with a detailed quantitative assessment of the shifting patterns of production among the states and over time and of the public institutions and investments in agricultural R&D. Then, based on newly constructed sets of panel data, some of which span the entire 20th Century and more, the authors present new econometric evidence linking state-specific agricultural productivity measures to federal and state government investments in agricultural research and extension. The results show that the time lags between R&D spending and its effects on productivity are longer than commonly found or assumed in the prior published work. Also, the spillover effects of R&D among states are important, such that the national net benefits from a state’s agricultural research investments are much greater than own-state net benefits. The main findings are consistent across a wide range of reasonable model specifications. In sum, the benefits from past public investments in agricultural research have been worth many times more than the costs, a significant share of the benefits accrue as spillovers, and the research lags are very long. An accelerated investment in public agricultural R&D is warranted by the high returns to the nation, and may be necessary to revitalize U.S. agricultural productivity growth even though the benefits may not be visible for many years. Julian M. Alston is Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Director of the Robert Mondavi Institute Center for Wine Economics at the University of California, Davis and Associate Director for Science and Technology at the University of California Agricultural Issues Center Matthew A. Andersen is Assistant Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics at the University of Wyoming Jennifer S. James is Associate Professor in the Department of Agribusiness at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo Philip G. Pardey is Professor in the Department of Applied Economics and Director of the International Science and Technology Practice and Policy (InSTePP) Center at the University of Minnesota.


Digital
Postwar Japanese Economy : Lessons of Economic Growth and the Bubble Economy
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ISBN: 9781441963321 9781441963314 9781489994653 9781441963338 Year: 2010 Publisher: New York, NY Springer

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Since the end of World War II, the Japanese economy has seen rapid changes and remarkable progress. It has also experienced a bubble economy and period of prolonged stagnation. The book seeks to address three major questions: What kind of changes have taken place in the postwar years? In what sense has there been progress? What lessons can be drawn from the experiences? The book is organized as follows: It begins with an overview of the postwar Japanese economy, using data to highlight historical changes. The four major economic issues in the postwar Japanese economy (economic restoration, rapid economic growth, the bubble economy and current topics) are addressed, with particular focus on the meaning of economic growth and the bubble economy. The next chapters examine the important economic issues for Japan related to a welfare-oriented society, including income distribution, asset distribution, and the relative share of income. Another chapter deals with the household structure of Japan, the pension issue, and the importance of the effect of demographic change on income distribution. The final chapter gives a brief summary, examines quality of life as a lesson of this research, and briefly outlines a proposal for a basic design towards achieving a high satisfaction level society. This book will be of interest to economists, economic historians and political scientists and would be useful as a text for any course on the Japanese economy.


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Third Sector Research
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ISBN: 9781441957078 9781441957085 9781441957061 9781461415138 Year: 2010 Publisher: New York, NY Springer

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To mark the 20th Anniversary of Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations the editor has compiled a comprehensive overview of contemporary debates in third sector scholarship, comprised of all original research by leaders in the field. This work offers a critical review of the central and innovative themes that have come to form the core of third sector debate and research with an international focus. The first global compendium of third sector research, this contributions to this work provide an international, multi-disciplinary, and state-of-the-art overview of the field. The contributions not only examine and review the existing scholarship, but introduce new perspectives and thinking on the third sector—especially in terms of future implications around the world. Topics covered include: -History and Development of the Field -New Trends in Volunteering and Philanthropy -Volunteering and Participation in Developing Countries -Leadership and Governance -Corporate Responsibility -Social Capital -Global Civil Society With a broad and comprehensive look at the field of Third Sector Research, this work will be of primary interest to researchers in political science, sociology, development studies, and nonprofit leadership programs.

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