Economics and Finance

This book provides an overview of youth labour force and workforce participation in India and explores the dynamics of changing youth labour market in India. Despite notifying a demographic dividend phase, a significant share of youth witnessed higher exclusion (unemployment and not in employment, education or training) from the Indian labour market. Therefore, this book investigates the role of education in labour market and examines open unemployment. It conceptualizes the not-in-employment-education-or-training (NEET) status of youth in Indian context and explores the heterogeneity of NEET youth by analysing the push and pull role of demographic and socio-economic variables. Furthermore, this book examines the nexus of youth labour market status and economic growth in India to provide plausible recommendations for youth's higher, inclusive and sustained participation in the labour market and the country's development pathway. The book creates room for necessary policy interventions considering the changing dynamics of youth labour market and contemplating the challenges of skill, technology and Industry 4.0., which entails a higher emphasis on ‘re-shape’, ‘re-focus’ and ‘re-share’ for enhanced and sustained inclusion of youth in labour market. It is a necessary resource for students, researchers, policymakers, and industry partners interested in exploring and understanding the political economy of youth labour market in India.

This book examines the contributory role of inclusive housing management services in safeguarding the living environment, empowering neighborhoods, sustaining lovable home, building social capital, fostering community wellbeing and social sustainability from the perspective of the sociology of housing. By repositioning professional housing management as an important driving force in community building, this book argues that the community-initiated inclusive housing management model has been acting as a cornerstone in enhancing a sense of belonging, cultural renewal, environmental sustainability, social integration and community cohesion particularly in cities with high density and compact development. This case study in Hong Kong will make an important contribution to interdisciplinary research in urban sociology, business management, community development, leadership building and environmental health. This study also contributes to the international literature on the dynamics of neighborhood and community governance by addressing the concrete local community initiatives and collaborative management practices in meeting the ever-changing environmental, social and health risks in Hong Kong and beyond. It will be of value to scholars researching on housing management and inclusive community building in world cities globally. 

This book focuses on the political economy behind innovation in China's new industrial sectors, particularly the effects of policies and government regulation in the absence of the rule of law. In its analysis, the book aims to elucidate the mechanisms that generate innovation from multiple perspectives while utilizing insights from political science and law. The analysis in this book focuses on the following three points. First, by examining Guizhou Province's Big-data industry promotion policy, "import substitution digitization" policy, and government intellectual property strategy, we seek to empirically clarify the extent to which Chinese government industrial policy has stimulated innovation. Next, we examine in detail the issues surrounding the "rule of law" in China regarding introducing anti-monopoly laws for digital platform companies and developing the intellectual property court system. Third, it focuses on the role played by local governments in industrial policy, including the impact of industrial guidance funds on the efficiency of the regional financial sector and the impact of local bond issuance on the effectiveness of resource allocation among regions.

This book brings together selected papers from the The Vietnam-EU Economic and Trade Forum 2023 jointly organized by the VNU University of Economics and Business (UEB, Vietnam) and Krakow University of Economics (Poland). The book deals with the economic and political relationship between Asian and EU countries in the context of globalization, sustainable development, and climate change responses. This book covers a wide range of topics, such as Asian-EU economic-politic relation promotion, policies for environmental protection, green growth and climate change responses in Asian and EU countries, and education, culture, science and technology, and innovation cooperation between Asian and EU countries.

This book, "The Economy of Goodness" by Dr. Rey-Sheng Her, offers a comprehensive faith-based and philosophical perspective on economic activities throughout human history. It explores how cross-cultural ethics and philosophies, particularly Eastern and Western, shape our economy. The book delves into applying altruism to economic spheres, demonstrating how good motivations and means lead to good outcomes. Key themes include defining 'goodness' as altruism, harmony, and common goodness, and addressing fairness and justice in production, consumption, trade, and finance. Highlighting enterprises that embody these ideals, the book also presents ten principles for fostering altruistic business practices, aiming to guide society toward common wealth and goodness. This engaging and insightful work is essential for those interested in economics, ethics, and the philosophy of altruism.

This book delves into the multifaceted concept of sustainability, placing a particular emphasis on the social dimension and its intersection with economic and environmental considerations. It examines how individuals, corporations, and institutions can adapt their behaviors to align with sustainable practices. Through a global perspective, the book explores various aspects of behavior changes required for sustainability, highlighting diverse approaches adopted in different regions around the world. One of the central themes explored in this book is the notion of equity in sustainability. While it is acknowledged that complete equality is unattainable, the book argues that achieving fairness in outcomes is essential for the stability and longevity of sustainable practices. Without equity, there is a risk of social unrest and instability, which could undermine the sustainability agenda.

Drawing on contributions from scholars representing diverse international backgrounds, the book offers fresh perspectives and innovative solutions to the challenges of sustainability. Rooted in the tradition of the Social Responsibility Research Network (SRRNet), this book embodies the network's ethos of promoting dialogue, sharing best practices, and seeking relevant solutions. It aims to inspire new thinking and action toward a more sustainable and equitable future for all, presenting a blend of academic rigor and practical insights. Through its exploration of sustainability from a social perspective, this book contributes to the ongoing discourse on how to address the pressing global challenges of our time.

This book evaluates development progress using the lens of structural transformation in four groups of developing countries: Africa’s least developed countries (LDCs), Asia’s LDCs, landlocked Central Asian countries, and Pacific small island states. The analysis presented is contextualized in the diverse economic characteristics and geopolitical landscape of the four categories of countries. 

It emphasises critical binding factors unique for each category. Therefore, the chapter on Africa’s LDCs emphasises their path dependence determined by colonial exploitation and maintained through neo-colonial arrangements. The chapter on Asia’s LDCs highlights their democratic deficits and influences of geopolitical rivalries among global and regional powers. The chapter on landlocked Central Asian countries focuses more on the unique transition experience of those countries coming out from USSR hinterlands to independent states in the wake of the third wave of democratisation in the 1990s. Lastly the evaluation of Pacific small island states is very much influenced by the fate of geography for being small in size and remotely located.  

The diverse coverage offers readers rich political economy explanations of varied, but largely poor, structural transformation experiences. The book is nontechnical, with descriptive, narrative, and analytical approaches on comparative development, making it suitable and accessible for non-specialist audiences.

Shifting gears between the most abstract (invisible) and the most concrete (visible) world, this book contains one unifying theoretical construct and six milestone stories to shed light on China’s pathways towards building a moderately prosperous society since 1949. Today, China’s GDP per capita is about US$ 12,000; it was only about US$ 150 in the late 1970s, that is, before the reform era. That is a very dramatic increase, lifting over 700 million people out of poverty in the process! What is unique about this book is that the six stories, when read together, systematically unfold a simple coherent logic — as well as a rich history — of economic development in the complex institutional setting of politics, economics and sociology that is uniquely Chinese. A key educational feature of the book is for the reader to learn and appreciate both the universals (or global vision) and the particulars (or local knowledge) of these stories so as to gain a deeper understanding of China’s development trajectory in a global setting in the past several decades. In other words, for China’s growth strategies to work, theories must be contextualized dynamically by local conditions. This book will be appreciated by students and educators alike.