Comprises six papers which focus on the need for improvements in social performance and reductions in inequality and poverty if sustainable economic development is to be achieved. Examines disparities among educational outcomes in OECD and Latin American countries and shows how educational attainment is related to employment outcomes. Explores demographic trends and challenges facing the health sector, examines the use of culture-related and poverty indicators and analyses the relationships between growth, poverty and income distribution. Includes results of a poverty survey in Ghana.

Why and how do politics, society and economics shape the growth and failure of labour markets? Does government intervention help or harm labour market reforms/adjustments in times of economic downturn? What forces drive such government intervention and do they differ from society to society?In addressing these big-picture questions, this book's analytical scope is heavily centred around the topic of labour markets' performance. The book argues that performance in labour markets across countries are influenced by their labour market policies. In turn, these policies are shaped, in varying degrees, by the country's politics. Each chapter in this book dives into the labour market experiences in various countries to demonstrate why in some countries, labour markets perform better than in other countries. Major findings from this book suggest that countries can produce better economic and social outcomes (e.g. lower socio-economic inequality) if their labour market policies are aimed at fostering a socially and politically stable society via greater equity in wealth distribution across various socio-cultural and income groups.This book is an essential read for any public policy researchers, policy practitioners and undergraduate/graduate students who are interested or vested in the topic of labour markets' performance in the political, social and economic dimensions. Particularly, this book provides a critical synthesis of the labour market experiences in many countries. Hence, the book serves as an ideational tool to advance future labour market research and policy.

Selected background papers prepared for the regional workshop, 1993.

The book outlines a journey from enabling models of government and business to strategies for creating both financial and social inclusion and entrepreneurism as mechanisms for sustainable and inclusive growth.

Taking a comparative and multidisciplinary approach, this textbook offers a non-technical introduction to the dynamics of socio-economic development and stagnation.

"A small business is not a little big business." Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are considered the engines of worldwide economies and the main sources of job creation. Management in these companies is different from management in larger/older enterprises with their already established concepts and instruments. In view of the high importance of SMEs in emerging, developing and developed economies worldwide, the De Gruyter Handbook of SME Entrepreneurship investigates the underlying mechanisms and practices of management within these companies with a focus on entrepreneurship, growth and innovation. It argues that it is time for a dedicated theory of "SME Entrepreneurship" to emerge. Entrepreneurial thinking and behavior in SMEs must be differentiated from that of start-ups and large companies. On the other hand, it also explores the different entrepreneurship manifestations that exist within a widely heterogeneous group of SMEs. The handbook provides a theoretical framework in which to understand, compare and contrast the complexity of SMEs in both domestic and international processes and addresses the strengths, achievements, and challenges of entrepreneurship in SMEs.

The imperative of the twenty-first century is sustainability: to raise the living standards of the world's poor and to achieve and maintain high levels of social health among the affluent nations while simultaneously reducing and reversing the environmental damage wrought by human activity. Scholars and practitioners are making progress toward environmental and economic sustainability, but we have very little understanding of the social dimension of sustainability. This volume is an ambitious, multi-disciplinary effort to identify the key elements of social sustainability through an examination of what motivates its pursuit and the conditions that promote or detract from its achievement. Included are theoretical and empirical pieces; examination of international and local efforts; discussions highlighting experiences in both the developing and industrialized nations; and a substantial focus on business practices. Contributors are grounded in sociology, economics, business administration, public administration, public health, geography, education and natural resource management.

Behavioral Economics and Intrinsic power socio-economic theories have been developing rapidly in the last few years with its more differentiated live labs applications that are influencing the quality of life and the development of many communities. This edited book is a collection of published papers and articles in different peer-reviewed journals and conferences. The idea behind this work is to show and follow the progress of one of the new coming behavioral economy fields that is Inspiration Economy, a rapidly developing socioeconomic concept that might create a differentiated outcome in the coming years. It is a reference book for those interested in understanding how Inspiration Economy labs, currency, problem solving, differential diagnosis and complex models work. The papers show the relation also between Inspiration Economy and the supporting coming economies as Youth Economy and Resilience Economy and how they address foresighted needs in unique ways. The opportunities developed in the chapters of the book show how much we humans can change positively the fate of humanity, if we realise, discover and capitalize on the opportunities around us in effective creative ways.

Similar to our needs to secure the basic necessities (food, water, shelter and clothing), we need more than ever today to build resilient communities’ livelihoods which have a set of approaches that help us to manage the challenges and be tolerant to a sudden crisis. Communities livelihood involves the capacity to ensure sustainable and continuously developing activities that overcome turbulent economic, ecological, and socially complex contemporary or foreseen situations. Having intolerant communities that refuse diversified life is a serious socio-economic problem that might lead to both socio-environmental and socio-political problems which deteriorate our livelihood. Therefore, we need to tackle non-resilience as an issue of hidden opportunities that need to be exploited until we reach optimum resilience status. Being more resilient helps to create lasting change, which is what differentiates any community outcome or realized change. Therefore, the purpose of this work is to create aspiring leaders from around the world who have the right mindset and passion towards creating a difference towards this challenging, positive change.