The specialist, as we know it in the modern age, is a creation of modernity. Up until the modern age, scholars were known for their expertise in multiple areas. From Avicenna (Ibn-i Sina) and Hezarfen Ahmet Celebi to Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo, many medieval, Renaissance, and Enlightenment scholars were polymaths, mastering knowledge from several fields. The needs of the modern age created specialists focusing deeply on one field. At the convergence of postmodernism and the age of the Internet, social, cultural, and economic realities of increasingly diverse societies have created a new need for the revival of the polymath. Emerging globalization post-Cold War triggered rapid social change that cannot be explained from the perspective of a single discipline. This reality has recently increased the interest in interdisciplinary studies but established academic work that is focused on single disciplines still dominates the academic world and it offers limited opportunities for the publication of interdisciplinary studies. One of the aims of this book is to become one example for interdisciplinary work. It also aims to prepare the ground for the cultivation of scholars that can specialize in more areas on the long term. This book is made out of sixteen articles that bring together different disciplines such as educational sciences, law, linguistics, economics, culture, and sports. All articles passed the referee process. Bearing in mind that the book is the result of a multidisciplinary work, the respect towards each discipline is shown by leaving the referencing and methodology according to the common usage of the relevant discipline. Therefore, some authors have used the Chicago Manual of Style within their articles while others have used the APA system.

Examines the key policies that would increase competitiveness in the countries of the region through developing human capital, improving access to finance for SMEs and creating more and better investment opportunities.

The changing dynamics in the European region and beyond, the unfolding political-economic challenges across the European Union, and the rising global power of emerging economic powers require knowledge, skills, and methodological platforms inducing strategies and operations in the new and ever-changing business landscape. Geo-Regional Competitiveness in Central and Eastern Europe, the Baltic Countries, and Russia seeks to address East Central Europe’s (ECE), the Baltics’, and Russia’s increasingly important roles as emerging markets and competitive economic players in the European region. This premier reference work is designated for scholars, professionals, government agencies, think tanks, and other individuals, organizations, and institutions interested in gaining a deeper understanding of the geo-regional strategic business dynamics and landscape involving ECE, the Baltics, and Russia.

No Miracle examines the role of institutions in bridging the 'digital divide' between rich and poor nations and what that means for the country's integration into a global economy. Shifting the debate from whether institutions are important to economic development to which institutions are important and how to build them, Mitchell Wigdor expertly addresses fundamental shortcomings in the existing development literature by identifying specific institutions that mediate the relationship between Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and economic growth. In doing so he challenges those concerned with development to shift their gaze from whether institutions are important to economic development to which institutions might be the focus of government efforts and how to build them. Detailed case studies of the economic development strategies of Singapore and Malaysia from 1960 demonstrate that institution-building and economic development may be as much about process as the specific policies governments pursue. Written in accessible, non-technical, language this book should be read by everyone concerned with economic growth both in less economically developed countries and the more prosperous including those in government, international organizations, NGOs, universities, policy makers and the private sector.

This book presents peer-reviewed, state-of-the-art conceptual and empirical papers devoted to changes in the international competitive position of the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region, its countries and businesses. While the unprecedented scale of transformation in the CEE region has provided a distinct research setting for international business and economics scholars for more than two decades, there have also been recent discussions about the extent to which the region continues to have a unique business environment. The region's economies have reached different levels of market development and modern business practice adoption, with some of them now frequently classified as advanced economies. Consequently, the same level of heterogeneity among CEE countries can also be observed at the sector and business level. The contributions in this book highlight possible sources of competitive advantage for CEE countries and firms, in light of recent intensive debates about the danger of the middle-income trap and the potential solutions to it.

Este informe cita ejemplos de utilización de las TIC en diferentes regiones del mundo - África, la región árabe, Asia y América Latina - y proporciona un buen ejemplo de los cambios que las TIC aportan a los sistemas y políticas de educación. La gran diversidad que ofrecen los países seleccionados - Jordania, Namibia, Rwanda, Singapur y Uruguay - en términos de desarrollo económico y educativo, sugiere que lo que está en juego no se limitan a un determinado grupo de países privilegiados.

This book analyzes the foundations and means of overcoming the current crisis in the broader area of Southeast Europe. The contributions make proposals from both theoretical and empirical points of view and discuss the concept, determinants and policies of competitiveness in these countries. The financial crisis became a prolonged fiscal crisis, a bank confidence crisis, and economic recession, and the book discusses the European and national policies implemented to resolve it. It also investigates the internal conflicts generated by institutional arrangements and policy measures, both within the nation states and the eurozone. Economic competitiveness is a key topic for policymakers, as they have to secure economic growth and improve their populations’ standards of living. This volume sheds light on what constitutes economic competitiveness, as well as on the policies and economic and institutional structures that improve competitiveness.

The past two decades have seen exciting changes with developing countries emerging as exporters of services. Technological developments now make it easier to trade services across borders. But other avenues are being exploited: tourists visit not just to sightsee but also to be treated and educated, service providers move abroad under innovative new schemes, and some developing countries defy traditional notions by investing abroad in services. "Exporting Services: A Developing Country Perspective" takes a brave approach, combining exploratory econometric analysis with detailed case studies of representative countries: Brazil, Chile, the Arab Republic of Egypt, India, Kenya, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Two questions lead the analysis: How did these developing countries succeed in exporting services? What policy mix was successful and what strategies did not deliver the expected results? The analysis evaluates the role of three sets of factors: First, the fundamentals, which include a country’s factor endowments, infrastructure, and institutional quality; second, policies affecting trade, investment, and labor mobility in services; and third, proactive policies in services designed to promote exports or investment. The case studies illustrate the complex nature of reforms and policy making in the service sector as well as the benefits of well-implemented reforms. Although success seems to be explained by a set of conditions that are difficult to replicate, common features can also be identified. Several countries have adopted policies to support exports, especially exports of information technology–related services. This resource will be valuable for policy makers, experts, and academics who are engaged in efforts to reform service and investment policies in their own country.

This important book delivers a critical wake-up call: a fierce global race for innovation advantage is under way, and while other nations are making support for technology and innovation a central tenet of their economic strategies and policies, America lacks a robust innovation policy. What does this portend? Robert Atkinson and Stephen Ezell, widely respected economic thinkers, report on profound new forces that are shaping the global economy—forces that favor nations with innovation-based economies and innovation policies. Unless the United States enacts public policies to reflect this reality, Americans face the relatively lower standards of living associated with a noncompetitive national economy.The authors explore how a weak innovation economy not only contributed to the Great Recession but is delaying America's recovery from it and how innovation in the United States compares with that in other developed and developing nations. Atkinson and Ezell then lay out a detailed, pragmatic road map for America to regain its global innovation advantage by 2020, as well as maximize the global supply of innovation and promote sustainable globalization.