In general, information available as of January 1, 2007 was used in the preparation of this edition. Provides brief information on the geography, people, government, economy, communications, and defense of countries and regions around the world. Contains information on international organizations. Designed to meet the specific requirements of United States Government Officials in style, format, coverage, and content. Includes 3 unattached maps.

Current Affairs.

Republication of U.S. Central Intelligence Agency material in the public domain.

In general, information available as of January 1, 2008 was used in the preparation of this edition. Provides brief information on the geography, people, government, economy, communications, and defense of countries and regions around the world. Contains information on international organizations. Designed to meet the specific requirements of United States Government Officials in style, format, coverage, and content. Includes 3 unattached maps. Cover title reads: The 2008 World Factbook. Item 856-A-07.

Pathways to Excessive Gambling draws upon extensive empirical research amongst young people and problem gamblers in Australia, comparing it with situations in other territories, to shed light on social, recreational gambling and the ways in which this can lead to excessive gambling. It highlights the relationship between the local community, sports clubs, governments, social recreation, economy and regulation of gambling venues, identifying the social indicators that typify situations which commonly lead to excessive gambling. By developing a 'society-based' perspective, this volume recognizes problem gambling as an issue for the whole society rather than just the individual, focusing on the availability of gambling and identifying its capacity, as a construct, to encourage or restrict the behaviour of the individual. As such, this book will be of significance to social scientists with interests in gambling, young people, social problems, and the sociology of leisure and culture.

Mutual funds form the bedrock of retirement savings in the United States, and, considering their rapid growth, are sure to be more critical in the future. Because the size of fees paid by investors to mutual fund advisers can strongly affect the return on investment, these fees have become a contentious issue in Congress and the courts, with many arguing that investment advisers grow rich at the expense of investors. This ground-breaking book not only conceptualizes a new economic model of the mutual fund industry, but also uses this model to test for price competition between investment advisers, evaluating the assertion that market forces fail to protect investors' returns from excessive fees. Highly experienced authors track the growth of the industry over the past twenty-five years and present arguments and evidence both for and against theories of adviser malfeasance. The authors review the regulatory history of mutual fund fees and summarize leading case decisions addressing excessive fees. Revealing the extent to which the governance structure of mutual funds truly impacts fund performance, this book provides the best understanding of today's mutual fund industry and is a vital tool for investors, money managers, fund directors, securities lawyers, economists, and anyone concerned with the regulation of mutual funds.

The ultimate authoritative source for information on all the nations of the world. Provides current data for more than 250 countries and territories.