“People don’t get exponential” - Nicholas NegroponteIn the next 5 years, global Machine-to-Machine connections will grow by 400% from 5 billion to over 20 billion. In the past six years Uber has grown from a mere app to a 50 billion-dollar business. The driverless electric car is a reality, and the noxious methane gas that once escaped the Artic Ocean in meter-wide plumes now bubbles out of the water in kilometer-wide columns.This is expone...

The aims of and motives for development cooperation have changed significantly in recent times. Besides pursuing short- and longer-term objectives in their own economic, foreign policy and other interests, donors usually have a recognisable and genuine interest in assisting countries in their processes of development.

This book examines the issue of price volatility in agricultural commodities markets and how this phenomenon has evolved in recent years. The factors underlying the price spike of 2007-08 appear to be global and macroeconomic in nature, including the rapid growth in demand by developing countries, the international financial crisis, and exchange rate movements. Some of these factors are new, appearing as influences on price volatility only in the last decade. Although volatility has always...

The focus of the global economy has increasingly shifted toward China and emerging countries. However, despite their high growth prospects, emerging economies often lack the sound capital market and corporate governance systems necessary to promote the efficient allocation of financial resources to maintain the confidence of capital providers. As China becomes more prominent economically, the development of its capital market becomes an increasingly important issue. This book presents some...

In the context of Strategy 2020 and in the follow-up to the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), ADB prepared the report Environment Operational Directions, 2013–2020. The report aims to provide a coherent overview of its environment operations and to articulate how it will step up efforts to help the region achieve a transition to environmentally sustainable growth or green growth. Building on ADB sector and thematic plans, this paper provides a brief review of r...

In September 2010, the Cuban government decided to embark on an economic reform program, unprecedented after the Revolution in 1959. This opened up opportunities for Cuban economists and scholars to participate in the development of the reform program. Thanks to grants from SSRC (Social Sciences Research Council, New York) and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, several researchers from the Cuban think tank CEEC (Center for Studies of the Cuban Economy, Havana) got an opportunity to...

This book examines the ways in which universities can play a crucial role in inclusive development, social innovation and social entrepreneurship. It aims to prove the importance of inclusive development and inclusive innovation on economic growth and demonstrate the ways in which universities can be pioneers in this area through initiatives in social responsibility and social innovation. For example, providing access to a university education without discrimination of race, gender, income...

This book presents a coherent framework for assessing economic policy making in developing countries, with special reference to those in Africa. The chapters focus on policy making issues in three critical areas that are of major importance in the African context: capacity building for domestic resource mobilization; regional integration in Africa and intra-regional trade; and export diversification of individual African countries. Although applying economic theory as well as using case st...

This book examines the effects of high and volatile food prices during 2007-08 on low-income farmers and consumers in developing, transition, and industrialized countries. Previous studies of this crisis have mostly used models to estimate the likely impacts. This volume includes actual evidence from the field as to how higher prices affected access to food and farm income among poor people. In addition to country and regional case studies, the book presents discussions of cross-cutting th...

Learning transfer is the missing link in training. Using conventional approaches to training, an average of just 10-20% of learning makes it back into the workplace and contributes to better business outcomes. With the current increased emphasis on efficiency and cost-effectiveness, such a dismal record is no longer acceptable. To improve these statistics and to make training truly valuable we must recognise that successful learning is not just about good content and well executed programm...

Global production of soybeans and palm oil has increased enormously in the tropics over the last two decades. The Tropical Oil Crop Revolution provides a broad synthesis of the major supply and demand drivers in their production; their economic, social, and environmental impacts; and the future outlook to 2050. The planting of these crops is controversial because they are often sown on formerly forested or savanna lands, rely on large farmers and agribusiness rather than smallhold...

This book aims to contribute to our understanding of recent changes in Chinese and Western cooperatives. It will provide a variety of audiences with relevant and useful information for further co-operative development, mutual understanding and cooperation.