Life under pressure

mortality and living standards in Europe and Asia,1700-1900

This highly original book -- the first in a series analyzing historical population behavior in Europe and Asia -- pioneers a new approach to the comparative analysis of societies in the past. Using techniques of event history analysis, the authors examine 100,000 life histories in 100 ...

The second century

reconnecting customer and value chain through build-to-order : moving beyond mass and lean production in the auto industry

As the auto industry moves into its second century, it suffers from low margins and a sclerotic value chain that cannot evolve with customer desires. Inventories of many weeks pile up on dealer lots and at distribution centers around the world while executives applaud marginal ...

The green state

rethinking democracy and sovereignty

What would constitute a definitively "green" state? In this important new book, Robyn Eckersley explores what it might take to create a green democratic state as an alternative to the classical liberal democratic state, the indiscriminate growth-dependent welfare state, and the neoliberal market-focused state--seeking, she ...

Green giants

environmrntal policies of the United States and the European Union

The United States in recent years has been abandoning its historical role as a leader in environmental regulation. At the same time, the European Union, spurred by political integration, has enacted many new environmental laws and assumed a leadership role in promoting global environmental sustainability ...

Earthly politics

local and global in environmental governance

Globalization today is as much a problem for international harmony as it is a necessary condition of living together on our planet. Increasing interconnectedness in ecology, economy, technology, and politics has brought nations and societies into ever closer contact, creating acute demands for cooperation. Earthly ...

Models of a man

essays in memory of Herbert A.Simon

colleagues. Long Description Herbert Simon (1916-2001), in the course of a long and distinguished career in the social and behavioural sciences, made lasting contributions to many disciplines, including economics, psychology, computer science and artificial intelligence. In 1978 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in economics ...

Shaping the network society

the new role of civil society in cyberspace

Information and computer technologies are used every day by real people with real needs. The authors contributing to Shaping the Network Society describe how technology can be used effectively by communities, activists, and citizens to meet society's challenges. In their vision, computer professionals are ...

Digitizing the news

innovation in online newspapers

In this study of how daily newspapers in America have developed electronic publishing ventures, Pablo Boczkowski shows that new media emerge not just in a burst of revolutionary technological change but by merging the structures and practices of existing media with newly available technical capabilities ...

Breakthrough

stories and strategies of radical innovation

Since the late 1990s, technology markets have declined dramatically. Responding to the changing business climate, companies use strategies of open innovation: acquiring technologies from outside, marketing their technologies to other companies, and outsourcing manufacturing. But open innovation is not enough; it is mainly a way ...

Digital nation

toward an inclusive information society

As our social institutions migrate into cyberspace, the digitally disenfranchised face increasing hardships. What happens when -- in search of quick and cheap fixes -- a government office shuts down and is replaced by a public Web site? What happens when a company accepts only online job ...

The global Internet economy

By 2002, all but a handful of countries were connected to the Internet. The intertwining of the Internet and the globalization of finance, corporate governance, and trade raises questions about national models of technology development and property rights. The sudden ability of hundreds of millions ...

Real options and investment under uncertainty

classical readings and recent contributions

The study of investment under uncertainty was stagnant for several decades, until recent developments in real options provided the tools to revitalize the field. The techniques and insights derived from option pricing can now be used to quantify the elusive elements of managerial operating flexibility ...

Capital flows and crises

The implications of capital mobility for growth and stability are some of the most contentious and least understood contemporary issues in economics. In this book, Barry Eichengreen discusses historical, theoretical, empirical, and policy aspects of the effects, both positive and negative, of capital flows. He ...

Decisions, uncertainty, and the brain

the Science of neuroeconomics

In this provocative book, Paul Glimcher argues that economic theory may provide an alternative to the classical Cartesian model of the brain and behavior. Glimcher argues that Cartesian dualism operates from the false premise that the reflex is able to describe behavior in the real ...

Market discipline across countries and industries

The effectiveness of market discipline -- the strong built- in incentives that encourage banks and financial systems to operate soundly and efficiently -- commands much attention today, particularly in light of recent accounting scandals. As government discipline, in the form of regulation, seems to grows less effective ...

The venture capital cycle

In The Venture Capital Cycle, Paul Gompers and Josh Lerner correct widespread misperceptions about the nature and role of the venture capitalist and provide an accessible and comprehensive overview of the venture capital industry. Bringing together fifteen years of ground- breaking research into the form ...

The political economy of education

implications for growth and inequality

The dominant role played by the state in the financing, regulation, and provision of primary and secondary education reflects the widely-held belief that education is necessary for personal and societal well-being. The economic organization of education depends on political as well as market mechanisms to ...

A Constitution for the European Union

The leaders of European Union member states have declared that a European constitution should take "a clear, open, effective, democratically controlled Community approach." Their goal -- that within the Union, "European institutions should be brought closer to its citizens" -- raises many questions about implementation. What is ...

Labor market institutions and public regulation

The six studies collected in this CESifo volume analyze the sometimes unpredictable effects of public regulation on the labor market. Examining a wide range of policy interventions -- from subsidized employment to an increased tax on capital -- and using a variety of methodologies to analyze them ...

The privatization of the oceans

Rich with detail and provocatively argued, this study of the development of property rights in the world's fisheries tells the story of one industry's evolution and provides a useful illustration of the forces that shape economic institutions. The emergence of exclusive individual rights ...