This book examines the influences of various cultural factors on economic analyses that could be misrepresented by existing economic theories. Most significantly, the book measures the cultural diversity and bilateral similarity indexes of the existing 200 or more countries and regions, and quantifies their impacts on economic activities.

Since the end of the Cold War, the study of intercultural relations has become one of the most popular topics in the field of global politics and economics. This book presents a methodological framework for the analysis of intercultural issues frequently misinterpreted by existing theories. The book uses a challenge-and-response theory of cultural development to examine the relationship between different natural disasters and threats and the developments of ancient civilizations. The spatial interaction of ancient civilizations is assessed and some theoretical patterns of intercultural influences are presented with a focus on the Chinese, Egyptian, Indus, and Mesopotamian civilizations. Using the development of China as a case study, and on the basis of a simplified spatial model, the optimal spatial structure and size of culture areas are mathematically solved, and the political economy implications to the interactions between cultures differing in size are illustrated. The book also examines various aspects of intercultural economic influences, such as those of culture on international trade. The empirical results suggest that high-income trade partners are less sensitive than low-income trade partners to the measures of cultural dissimilarity which block international trade. The existing literature relating to the determinants of economic growth treats explanatory variables such as income inequality and cultural diversity separately. This book investigates whether there are any conditions under which income inequality and cultural diversity could encourage economic growth and provides evidence from a broad panel of nations, which reveals that economic growth is quite independent from the variables of inequality and cultural (linguistic and religious) diversity. Finally, this book provides suggestions for how cultural influences can benefit developing economies both large and small.

The rapid growth and development of emerging economies offer both opportunities and threats for international businesses. Understanding the economic development of emerging markets, combined with a knowledge of the increasingly complex international business market, enables better exploitation of opportunities in increasingly competitive world markets. The BRIC countries, the most prominent emerging markets, have long been discovered by foreign firms due to their enormous potential for investment opportunities. This book offers a comprehensive look at emerging markets, especially as they integrate with the global economy. It offers a conceptual framework to analyze emerging markets from multiple perspectives, including those of indigenous entrepreneurs struggling to overcome constraints to build world-class businesses, multinationals from developed countries tapping into emerging markets for their next growth spurt, and domestic and foreign investors seeking to profit from investment opportunities in emerging markets.

In revisiting the forty year history of reforms to China’s state-owned enterprises (SOE), the book assesses the experiences of this process of reform and scrutinizes how this has helped advance the country’s economy overall. The author finds that China’s SOE reform not only commits to institutional innovation within the corporation in terms of operating mechanisms, management structure, legal organization and the economic system of the enterprise; but that it is also underpinned by a series of policies that highlight an increasing market orientation. The measures have given rise to a benign interaction between enterprise reform and market development, while switching the SOE’s role from appendages of government organs under a planned economic system to more autonomous entities that integrate public ownership and the market economy. In this regard, SOE reform’s success in constructing a modern enterprise system serves as the micro-foundation and core of an improved socialist market economic system. The book will appeal to academics and students interested in political economy and the Chinese economy, with particular reference to SOE reform and the recent economic transition in China.

This series spans the globe presenting leading research in economics. It is perhaps a sign of the times that economic weapons seem to be as powerful as or more so than tanks. International applications and examples of economic progress are invaluable in the world of the 21st century.

Promoting a comparative perspective, this comprehensive Research Handbook aids in the understanding of alternative finance and its values in a global setting. Readers are encouraged to view alternative finance through the lens of economic mechanisms rather than terminology.

Attempting to define the meaning of culture and the nature of its possible consequences on economic processes and outcomes, this book examines alternative theoretical and empirical approaches to the economic analysis of cultural effects in the labour market. Using extensive new data from 14 countries, this book presents tangible evidence of substantial cross-cultural differences in beliefs about wage inequality.

Empirical studies show that the reputation of transaction partners affects the economic outcomes of online auction markets. In four studies, Christopher Schlägel investigates the country-specific effects of reputation and the underlying reasons for these differences.