Kategoria BISAC: Business & Economics >> Economics - Comparative

Financial services firms play a key role in the European economy. The efficiency and profitability of these firms and the competition among them have an impact on allocation of savings, financing of investment, economic growth, the stability of the financial system and the transmission of monetary policy.

This collection of research contributions includes evaluations of trends in the European financial service industry and examinations of the driving forces of efficiency, competition and profitability of financial firms and institutions in Europe. The papers have been...

Economics is often defined as the science of choice or human action. But choice and action are essentially mental phenomena, an aspect rarely mentioned in the economics discourse. Choice, while not always a conscious or rational process, is held to involve beliefs, desires, intentions and arguably even free will. Actions are often opposed to mere bodily movements, with the former being in some sense only understandable in reference to mental processes while the latter are understandable in entirely non-mental, physical terms.

While philosophers have long concerned themselves with...

The original edition of "The Encyclopedia of Money" won widespread acclaim for explaining the function and dysfunction of the financial system in a language any reader could understand. Now a decade later, with a more globally integrated, market-oriented world, and with consumers trying to make sense of subprime mortgages, credit default swaps, and bank stress tests, the "Encyclopedia" returns in an expanded new edition.

From the development of metal and paper currency to the ongoing global economic crisis, the rigorously updated "The Encyclopedia of Money, Second Edition" is the most...

Two decades have now passed since the fall of the Berlin Wall and it is now an excellent time to take stock on how the transition process has turned out for the economies that have moved from central planning.

This new handbook assembles a team of leading experts to explore the major themes that have characterized the period. After identifying the nature of initial conditions and the strength and weaknesses of institutions, the varying paths countries have taken are fully analyzed from the shock financial therapy, privatization and ethnic strife of the early years to the burning issues...

If sustainable growth is a key goal for the economy of every nation, its desirability is perhaps even more acute in Russia. Even President Medvedev argues that the country s heavy reliance on natural resources makes it primitive and uncompetitive, calling for innovation and diversification.

But the authors of this provocative new book argue that this modernization may not be the best thing for Russia. Two factors present major obstacles: first, the country s physical and human capital was inherited in the Soviet era and was allocated geographically in a way that was not conducive to...