Optimal Decisions In Markets And Planned Economies PDF Download

Author: Richard Quandt
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000308375
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 352

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Book Description
Much research into the economics of socialist planned economies has emphasized macroeconomic issues central to setting and meeting macroeconomic goals, and research on the theory of the firm in capitalist economies is not generally relevant to socialist economies. In this volume, leading economists from both East and West fill the gap in the literature by examining in critical detail many different aspects of the microeconomics of the firm in socialist economies.

Author: Leigh Phillips
Publisher: Verso Books
ISBN: 178663516X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 257

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Book Description
Are multi-national corporations like Walmart and Amazon laying the groundwork for international socialism? For the left and the right, major multinational companies are held up as the ultimate expressions of free-market capitalism. Their remarkable success appears to vindicate the old idea that modern society is too complex to be subjected to a plan. And yet, as Leigh Phillips and Michal Rozworski argue, much of the economy of the West is centrally planned at present. Not only is planning on vast scales possible, we already have it and it works. The real question is whether planning can be democratic. Can it be transformed to work for us? An engaging, polemical romp through economic theory, computational complexity, and the history of planning, The People’s Republic of Walmart revives the conversation about how society can extend democratic decision-making to all economic matters. With the advances in information technology in recent decades and the emergence of globe-straddling collective enterprises, democratic planning in the interest of all humanity is more important and closer to attainment than ever before.

Author: Peter A. Hall
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199247749
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 557

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Book Description
Applying the new economics of organisation and relational theories of the firm to the problem of understanding cross-national variation in the political economy, this volume elaborates a new understanding of the institutional differences that characterise the 'varieties of capitalism' worldwide.

Author: J.K. Sengupta
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3642701639
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 295

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Book Description
Understanding the stochastic enviornment is as much important to the manager as to the economist. From production and marketing to financial management, a manager has to assess various costs imposed by uncertainty. The economist analyzes the role of incomplete and too often imperfect information structures on the optimal decisions made by a firm. The need for understanding the role of uncertainty in quantitative decision models, both in economics and management science provide the basic motivation of this monograph. The stochastic environment is analyzed here in terms of the following specific models of optimization: linear and quadratic models, linear programming, control theory and dynamic programming. Uncertainty is introduced here through the para meters, the constraints, and the objective function and its impact evaluated. Specifically recent developments in applied research are emphasized, so that they can help the decision-maker arrive at a solution which has some desirable charac teristics like robustness, stability and cautiousness. Mathematical treatment is kept at a fairly elementary level and applied as pects are emphasized much more than theory. Moreover, an attempt is made to in corporate the economic theory of uncertainty into the stochastic theory of opera tions research. Methods of optimal decision rules illustrated he re are applicable in three broad areas: (a) applied economic models in resource allocation and economic planning, (b) operations research models involving portfolio analysis and stochastic linear programming and (c) systems science models in stochastic control and adaptive behavior.

Author: Adam Smith
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 522

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Book Description

Author: Barry Schwartz
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0061748994
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 308

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Book Description
Whether we're buying a pair of jeans, ordering a cup of coffee, selecting a long-distance carrier, applying to college, choosing a doctor, or setting up a 401(k), everyday decisions—both big and small—have become increasingly complex due to the overwhelming abundance of choice with which we are presented. As Americans, we assume that more choice means better options and greater satisfaction. But beware of excessive choice: choice overload can make you question the decisions you make before you even make them, it can set you up for unrealistically high expectations, and it can make you blame yourself for any and all failures. In the long run, this can lead to decision-making paralysis, anxiety, and perpetual stress. And, in a culture that tells us that there is no excuse for falling short of perfection when your options are limitless, too much choice can lead to clinical depression. In The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz explains at what point choice—the hallmark of individual freedom and self-determination that we so cherish—becomes detrimental to our psychological and emotional well-being. In accessible, engaging, and anecdotal prose, Schwartz shows how the dramatic explosion in choice—from the mundane to the profound challenges of balancing career, family, and individual needs—has paradoxically become a problem instead of a solution. Schwartz also shows how our obsession with choice encourages us to seek that which makes us feel worse. By synthesizing current research in the social sciences, Schwartz makes the counter intuitive case that eliminating choices can greatly reduce the stress, anxiety, and busyness of our lives. He offers eleven practical steps on how to limit choices to a manageable number, have the discipline to focus on those that are important and ignore the rest, and ultimately derive greater satisfaction from the choices you have to make.

Author: Jiří Hlaváček
Publisher: Karolinum Press
ISBN: 8024620243
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 207

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Book Description
The generalization of microeconomics enables model descriptions of economic rationality, even in fields that standard microeconomics more or less avoids, like nonprofit sectors of market economies, altruism, or externalities. Here, the authors broaden the scope of microeconomics while treating standard profit maximization as a special case. They argue, ultimately, that the generalizing criterion is a Darwinian maximization of the probability of survival.

Author: Lawrence J. Gitman
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 1455

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Book Description
Introduction to Business covers the scope and sequence of most introductory business courses. The book provides detailed explanations in the context of core themes such as customer satisfaction, ethics, entrepreneurship, global business, and managing change. Introduction to Business includes hundreds of current business examples from a range of industries and geographic locations, which feature a variety of individuals. The outcome is a balanced approach to the theory and application of business concepts, with attention to the knowledge and skills necessary for student success in this course and beyond. This is an adaptation of Introduction to Business by OpenStax. You can access the textbook as pdf for free at openstax.org. Minor editorial changes were made to ensure a better ebook reading experience. Textbook content produced by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Author: János Kornai
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691228027
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 675

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Book Description
To understand the dramatic collapse of the socialist order and the current turmoil in the formerly communist world, this comprehensive work examines the most important common properties of all socialist societies. JNBnos Kornai brings a life-long study of the problems of the socialist system to his explanation of why inherent attributes of socialism inevitably produced in-efficiency. In his past work he has focused on the economic sphere, maintaining consistently that the weak economic performance of socialist countries resulted from the system itself, not from the personalities of top leaders or mistakes made by leading organizations and planners. This book synthesizes themes from his earlier investigations, while broadening the discussion to include the role of the political power structure and of communist ideology. Kornai distinguishes between two types, or historical phases, of socialism. The "classical socialism" of Stalin, Mao, and their followers is totalitarian and brutally repressive, but its components fit together and make up a coherent edifice. Associated with names like Tito, KNBdar, Deng-Xiaoping, and Gorbachev, "reform socialism" relaxes repression, but brings about a sharpening of inner contradictions and the eventual dissolution of the system. Kornai examines the classical system in the first half of the book, and moves on to explore the complex process of reform in the second half. The Socialist System is addressed to economists in the first place, but also to political scientists, sociologists, and historians. In addition, it will appeal to policymakers, business analysts, and government officials who need to understand either formerly or presently communist countries.

Author: British Library of Political and Economic Science
Publisher: Psychology Press
ISBN: 9780415074575
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 704

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Book Description
The IBSS is the essential tool for librarians, university departments, research institutions and any public or private institution whose work requires access to up-to-date and comprehenisve knowledge of the social sciences.