Economic Analysis, Moral Philosophy and Public Policy



Economic Analysis, Moral Philosophy and Public Policy
Cambridge University Press | ISBN 0521846293 | 2006-03-20 | PDF | 352 pages | 2.31 MB

This book shows through accessible argument and numerous examples how understanding moral philosophy can improve economic analysis, how moral philosophy can benefit from economists’ analytical tools, and how economic analysis and moral philosophy together can inform public policy. Part I explores rationality and its connections to morality. It argues that in defending their model of rationality, mainstream economists implicitly espouse contestable moral principles. Part II concerns welfare, utilitarianism and standard welfare economics, while Part III considers important moral notions that are left out of standard welfare economics, such as freedom, rights, equality, and justice. Part III also emphasizes the variety of moral considerations that are relevant to evaluating policies. Part IV then introduces technical work in social choice theory and game theory that is guided by ethical concepts and relevant to moral theorizing. Chapters include recommended readings and the book includes a glossary of relevant terms.

Credit Portfolio Management



Credit Portfolio Management
Wiley | ISBN 0471324159 | 2003-02-07 | PDF |320 pages | 1.31 MB

Credit risk. A number of market factors are causing revolutionary changes in the way it is measured and managed at financial institutions. Charles Smithson, author of the bestselling Managing Financial Risk, introduces a portfolio management approach to credit in his latest book. Understanding how to manage the inherent risks of this market has become increasingly important over the years. Credit Portfolio Management provides readers with a complete understanding of the alternative approaches to credit risk measurement and portfolio management. This definitive guide discusses the pricing and managing of credit risks associated with a variety of off-balance-sheet products such as credit default swaps, total return swaps, first-to-default baskets, and credit spread options; as well as on-balance-sheet customized structured products such as credit-linked notes, repackage notes, and synthetic collateralized debt obligations (CDOs). Filled with expert insight and advice, this book is a must-read for all credit professionals.
Charles W. Smithson, PhD (New York, NY), is the Managing Partner of Rutter Associates and Executive Director of the International Association of Credit Portfolio Managers (IACPM). He is the author of five books, including The Handbook of Financial Engineering and Managing Financial Risk (now in its Third Edition).

The Economics of Microfinance



The Economics of Microfinance
The MIT Press | ISBN 0262012162 | 2005-06-01 | PDF | 360 pages | 6.31 MB

The microfinance revolution, begun with independent initiatives in Latin America and South Asia starting in the 1970s, has so far allowed 65 million poor people around the world to receive small loans without collateral, build up assets, and buy insurance. This comprehensive survey of microfinance seeks to bridge the gap in the existing literature on microfinance between academic economists and practitioners. Both authors have pursued the subject not only in academia but in the field; Beatriz Armendariz founded a microfinance bank in Chiapas, Mexico, and Jonathan Morduch has done fieldwork in Bangladesh, China, and Indonesia.

The authors move beyond the usual theoretical focus in the microfinance literature and draw on new developments in theories of contracts and incentives. They challenge conventional assumptions about how poor households save and build assets and how institutions can overcome market failures. The book provides an overview of microfinance by addressing a range of issues, including lessons from informal markets, savings and insurance, the role of women, the place of subsidies, impact measurement, and management incentives. It integrates theory with empirical data, citing studies from Asia, Africa, and Latin America and introducing ideas about asymmetric information, principal-agent theory, and household decision making in the context of microfinance.

The Economics of Microfinance can be used by students in economics, public policy, and development studies. Mathematical notation is used to clarify some arguments, but the main points can be grasped without the math. Each chapter ends with analytically challenging exercises for advanced economics students.

Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Finance and Economics, Volume 19 (Advances in Econometrics)



Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Finance and Economics, Volume 19 (Advances in Econometrics)
Publisher:JAI Press (2005-03-24) | ISBN-10: 0762311509 | PDF | 7.3 Mb | 290 page

Artificial intelligence is a consortium of data-driven methodologies which includes artificial neural networks, genetic algorithms, fuzzy logic, probabilistic belief networks and machine learning as its components. We have witnessed a phenomenal impact of this data-driven consortium of methodologies in many areas of studies, the economic and financial fields being of no exception. In particular, this volume of collected works will give examples of its impact on the field of economics and finance. This volume is the result of the selection of high-quality papers presented at a special session entitled 'Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Economics and Finance' at the '2003 International Conference on Artificial Intelligence' (IC-AI '03) held at the Monte Carlo Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, June 23-26 2003. The special session, organised by Jane Binner, Graham Kendall and Shu-Heng Chen, was presented in order to draw attention to the tremendous diversity and richness of the applications of artificial intelligence to problems in Economics and Finance. This volume should appeal to economists interested in adopting an interdisciplinary approach to the study of economic problems, computer scientists who are looking for potential applications of artificial intelligence and practitioners who are looking for new perspectives on how to build models for everyday operations.

The Economist Style Guide: 9th Edition




The Economist Style Guide: 9th Edition
Profile Books (2005-11-01) | ISBN: 1861979169 | 160 Pages | 7.6 MB PDF

Rare is the style guide that a person--even a word person--would want to read cover to cover. But The Economist Style Guide, designed, as the book says, to promote good writing, is so witty and rigorous as to be irresistible. The book consists of three parts. The first is the Economist's style book, which acts as a position paper of sorts in favor of clear, concise, correct usage. The big no-noes listed in the book's introduction are: "Do not be stuffy.... Do not be hectoring or arrogant.... Do not be too pleased with yourself.... Do not be too chatty.... Do not be too didactic.... [And] do not be sloppy." Before even getting to the letter B, we are reminded that aggravate "means make worse, not irritate or annoy"; that an alibi "is the proven fact of being elsewhere, not a false explanation"; and that anarchy "means the complete absence of law or government. It may be harmonious or chaotic."

Incentives and Political Economy




Incentives and Political Economy
Publisher:Oxford University Press, USA (2001-11-21) | ISBN-10: 0199248680 | PDF | 6.3 Mb | 272 pages

Mainstream economics has only recently recognized the need to incorporate political constraints into economic analysis intended for policy advisors. "Incentives and Political Economy" uses recent advances in contract theory to build a normative approach to constitutional design in economic environments. It is written by one of Europe's leading theorists. The first part of the book remains in the tradition of benevolent constitutional design with complete contracting. It treats politicians as informed supervisors and studies how the Constitution should control them, in particular to avoid capture by interest groups. Incentive theories for the separation of powers or systems of checks and balances are developed. The second part of the book recognizes the incompleteness of the constitutional contract which leaves a lot of discretion to the politicians selected by the electoral process. Asymmetric information associates information rents with economic policies and the political game becomes a game of costly redistribution of those rents. Professor Laffont investigates the trade-offs between an inflexible constitution which leaves little discretion to politicians but sacrifices ex post efficiency and a constitution weighted towards ex post efficiency but also giving considerable discretion to politicians to pursue private agendas. The final part of the book reconsiders the modeling of collusion given asymmetric information. It proposes a new approach to characterizing incentives constraints for group behaviour when asymmetric information is non-verifiable. This provides a methodology to characterize the optimal constitutional response to activities of interest groups and to study the design of any institutions in which group behavior is important.

Techonomics: The Theory of Industrial Evolution



Techonomics: The Theory of Industrial Evolution
Publisher:CRC (2006-09-18) | ISBN-10: 0849370671 | PDF | 8.3 Mb | 225 pages

Providing a platform to understand and navigate our rapidly advancing world, Techonomics: The Theory of Industrial Evolution explains the relationship between technology, economy, and organizations. The author examines four foundations of healthy organizations: energy, communication, computation, and community. He then elucidates a method of tracking market progress, based on measuring both technology performance and economic cost, that provides a tool to consistently monitor advancement of any endeavor. The book looks at three contemporary trends based on electronic advancement, network expansion, and increasing productivity that are forcefully driving organizations in the 21st century.

Financial Justification of Nondestructive Testing: Cost of Quality in Manufacturing



Financial Justification of Nondestructive Testing: Cost of Quality in Manufacturing
Publisher:CRC ( 2006-08-15) | ISBN-10: 0849397197 | PDF | 6.3 Mb | 376 pages

Demonstrating how to apply financial formulas to prove or disprove the utility of 100% Nondesctructive testing (NDT), this book helps readers build the financial case for their NDT projects. It not only explains how 100% inspection by high-tech methods can save money for a manufacturing organization, but also how to justify this cost. Providing examples of successful NDT implementation drawn from factory situations, the author describes high-tech inspection technology in the context of modern ISO Quality Standards, TQM theory, and Statistical Process Control. Placing NDT in the historical context of quality and inspection, the book provides three methods of calculation for proving its validity.