Food price volatility is one of the major challenges facing the global agricultural system today. This was most vividly illustrated during the global food crisis of 2007–9 when price spikes occurred for key staple food commodities—such as wheat, rice, maize, and soybeans. Given the variety of reactions by governments of countries experiencing similar food price shocks, the 2007–9 crisis o…
This book clarifies several ambiguous arguments and claims in finance and the theory of the firm. It also serves as a bridge between derivatives, corporate finance and the theory of the firm. In addition to mathematical derivations and theories, the book also uses anecdotes and numerical examples to explain some unconventional concepts. The main arguments of the book are: (1) the ownership of t…
This monograph initially offers a systematic treatment of the theory and methodology of alternative notions of income polarization and related issues. It then goes on to analyze social polarization, ordinal polarization, and the relations between inequality polarization, fractionalization and likelihood of conflicts. Axiomatic approaches to the measurement of polarization from different perspec…
This book provides a much-needed review of Asia’s economic growth and its challenges in the context of post-war industrialization. In the early 1990s, the World Bank (1993) recognized eight high-performing Asian economies (HPAEs) (Japan, the Asian tigers, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand) and named them the ‘Asian economic miracle’. In the recent past, the term ‘emerging economies’ ha…
This book is an attempt to capture and analyze several idiosyncratic features of industry and labor in the developing world. Available books and graduate-level texts in labor economics largely discuss industrial and labor market situations prevalent in developed countries, where well-defined institutional arrangements and regulations create a very different scope of analysis. The patterns of ch…
This book deals with the economic aspects of changing attitudes in arts and sciences. The effects of the public good character of culture, along with the very long production period and lifetime for its products, are emphasized, since both contribute to the failure of normal market solutions. Embodiment of ideas and the consequences of modern reproduction technology for protection of property r…
This guide to the WTO Customs Valuation Agreement is based on the authors' experiences of teaching its finer points to customs officials and policy-makers around the world. Covering the methods of valuation and the provisions on enforcement, implementation and dispute settlement, the authors give practical examples, explain interpretative decisions of national and international customs bodies, …
This is a detailed guide on how to read WTO Schedules of Commitments for Goods and Services. The Schedules are part of the Legal Texts of the WTO Uruguay Round Agreements. They comprise about 27,000 pages of specific commitments by 153 members of the WTO on market access conditions for their markets. Understanding how to interpret the Schedules is essential for anyone wishing to glean informati…
The subject of anti-dumping procedures has received growing attention in international trade policy and has become a source of tension between countries. This handbook covers the major areas arising in anti-dumping investigations as embodied in the relevant WTO provisions, providing an exposition of well-sourced information, explanations and guidance for grasping the intricacies of anti-dumping…
The dramatic price falls of 2014–2015 marked the end of the most powerful and enduring commodity boom since the Second World War. Now in its third edition, this book acts as a guide to the ins and outs of the primary commodity universe. Updates to this edition reflect on the consequences of both China's economic slowdown as its industrialization enters a new, less commodity demanding phase, a…