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\"A node of poverty lying at the geographical core of the world's most dynamic region, Laos is being progressively drawn into the wider Greater Mekong sub-region. The spatial, market and mental integration of the population of Laos is advancing as boundaries become more permeable, mobility rises and, more generally, as people are drawn into the mainstream. Drawing on original field work and unpublished reports, and taking an individual and household viewpoint, the book examines and assesses the effects of these transitions on poverty, inequality and livelihoods.\"--BOOK JACKET.

This book explores the problems of fiscal policy as an instrument of economic and social development in the modern environment, primarily focusing on the transition economies of Eastern Europe, Caucasus, and Central Asia. Evaluating the transformational experience in these countries, this work meets a need for a critical analysis in the aftermath of the 1990s market liberalization reforms, of current trends and to outline the roadmap for future development.

In the past few years, food security survey modules have been widely used to assess Inuit food access. However, these modules were not originally designed for use in mixed economies where both purchased and country (hunted, fished, and gathered) foods contribute to peoples' diets. These methods have been extensively tested and modified for use in Alaska, but research conducted in the Canadian Arctic has not been rigorously evaluated. This paper examines the validity of a modified version of the commonly used USDA Household Food Security Survey Module for assessing the food security of Inuit households in Kangiqsujuaq, Nunavik. The data come from 110 household surveys that were collected as part of an extended ethnographic project in the community. Rasch modeling of the food security module results indicates that, even with modifications that make reference to country food, the module assesses only the dimension of food security related to material wealth. Household income is a contributing factor for country food access, because it is important for access to harvesting equipment; however, other factors related to country food harvesting may affect the reliability of some food security module questions. Consequently, studies that assess Inuit food access using only standard survey modules may misrepresent how Inuit experience food insecurity, which is a serious concern given the current food crisis among Inuit in Canada. Assessment tools that provide reliable and valid assessments of country food access, specifically including traditional knowledge and social support networks, need to be developed. Au cours des dernières années, les modules de questionnaires portant sur la sécurité alimentaire ont beaucoup été utilisés dans le but d'évaluer l'accès aux aliments par les Inuits. Cependant, ces modules s'appliquent mal aux économies mixtes caractérisées par des régimes alimentaires composés de nourriture achetée et de nourriture traditionnelle (produits de la chasse, de la pêche et de la cueillette). Ces méthodes ont été rigoureusement mises à l'épreuve et modifiées afin d'être employées en Alaska. Toutefois, les recherches effectuées dans l'Arctique canadien n'ont pas été évaluées minutieusement. Le présent article examine l'utilité d'une version modifiée du Household Food Security Survey Module développé par l'USDA, un type de questionnaire couramment utilisé, afin d'évaluer la sécurité alimentaire des ménages inuits à Kangiqsujuaq, au Nunavik. Les données analysées émanent de 110 ménages sondés dans le cadre d'une étude ethnographique prolongée. Les résultats montrent que, malgré certaines modifications portant spécifiquement sur la nourriture traditionnelle, le module ne mesure que la dimension de la sécurité alimentaire liée à la richesse matérielle. Cette dernière facilite l'accès à la nourriture traditionnelle en favorisant l'accès aux équipements de chasse. Toutefois, d'autres facteurs liés à l'accès à la nourriture traditionnelle peuvent influer sur la fiabilité de certaines questions du module. En conséquence, les études qui évaluent la sécurité alimentaire des Inuits en ne se basant que sur le questionnaire portant sur la sécurité alimentaire risquent de mal représenter l'insécurité alimentaire telle que perçue par les Inuits. Ce problème est préoccupant étant donné la crise d'accès à la nourriture qui prévaut actuellement chez les Inuits du Canada. Des outils de recherche permettant de mieux évaluer l'accès à la nourriture traditionnelle devront être développés, en particulier en ce qui a trait aux connaissances traditionnelles et aux réseaux d'entraide sociaux.

From 1949 to 1978, communist elites held clashing visions of China’s economic development. Mao Zedong advocated the “first way\" of semi-autarchy characteristic of revolutionary Stalinism (1929–34), while Zhou Enlai adapted bureaucratic Stalinism (1934–53) to promote the “second way\" of import substitution industrialization. A Third Way tells the story of Deng Xiaoping’s experimentation with export-led development inspired by Lenin’s New Economic Policy and the economic reforms of Eastern Europe and Asia.Having uncovered an extraordinary collection of internal party and government documents, Lawrence Reardon meticulously traces the evolution of the coastal development strategy, starting with special economic zones in 1979 and evolving into the fourteen open coastal cities, the Hainan SEZ, and eventual accession to the global trade regime in 2001. Reardon details how Deng and Zhao Ziyang tackled large-scale smuggling operations, compromised with Chen Yun’s conservative views, and overcame Deng Liqun’s ideological opposition. Although Zhao Ziyang was airbrushed out of official Chinese history after June 4, 1989, Reardon argues that Zhao was the true architect of China’s opening strategy. A Third Way provides important new insights about the crucial period of the 1980s and how it paved the way for China’s transformation into a global economic superpower.

In the West, Harvard philosopher Michael Sandel is a thinker of unusual prominence. In China, he's a phenomenon, greeted by vast crowds. China Daily reports that he has acquired a popularity \"usually reserved for Hollywood movie stars.\" China Newsweek declared him the \"most influential foreign figure\" of the year. In Sandel the Chinese have found a guide through the ethical dilemmas created by the nation's swift embrace of a market economy--a guide whose communitarian ideas resonate with aspects of China's own rich and ancient philosophical traditions. Chinese citizens often describe a sense that, in sprinting ahead, they have bounded past whatever barriers once held back the forces of corruption and moral disregard. The market economy has lifted millions from poverty but done little to define ultimate goals for individuals or the nation. Is the market all there is? In this context, Sandel's charismatic, interactive lecturing style, which roots moral philosophy in real-world scenarios, has found an audience struggling with questions of their responsibility to one another. Encountering China brings together leading experts in Confucian and Daoist thought to explore the connections and tensions revealed in this unlikely episode of Chinese engagement with the West. The result is a profound examination of diverse ideas about the self, justice, community, gender, and public good. With a foreword by Evan Osnos that considers Sandel's fame and the state of moral dialogue in China, the book will itself be a major contribution to the debates that Sandel sparks in East and West alike.-- Provided by publisher

The Rise of Big Government chronicles the phenomenal growth of local, state, and federal government over the last 100 years. The authors explain this growth by arguing that public and social acceptance of government intervention has allowed government to maintain a presence at all levels of the economy. The authors take issue with the opposing argument that government has grown by itself and by the bureaucracy's constant push for its own expansion.

Many developing countries are mixed economies in which public and private firms engage in Cournot competition. We show that some fundamental results in environmental economics fail to hold in these economies: more stringent environmental regulation does not necessarily reduce pollution levels, the equivalence between environmental taxes and standards breaks down, and not every emission level can be induced by emission taxes. These results are due to the endogeneity of the public firm CEO’s career choices. Instruments that can induce the CEO to choose a public career are most effective in reducing emissions and improving social welfare.