Drawing on a rich trove of documents, including correspondence not seen for 300 years, this study explores the emergence and growth of a remarkable global trade network operated by Armenian silk ...merchants from a small outpost in the Persian Empire. Based in New Julfa, Isfahan, in what is now Iran, these merchants operated a network of commercial settlements that stretched from London and Amsterdam to Manila and Acapulco. The New Julfan Armenians were the only Eurasian community that was able to operate simultaneously and successfully in all the major empires of the early modern world—both land-based Asian empires and the emerging sea-borne empires—astonishingly without the benefits of an imperial network and state that accompanied and facilitated European mercantile expansion during the same period. This book brings to light for the first time the trans-imperial cosmopolitan world of the New Julfans. Among other topics, it explores the effects of long distance trade on the organization of community life, the ethos of trust and cooperation that existed among merchants, and the importance of information networks and communication in the operation of early modern mercantile communities.
The most arresting aspect of the Scottish Enlightenment is its conception of commercial society as a distinct and distinctive social formation. Christopher Berry explains why Enlightenment thinkers ...considered commercial society to be wealthier and freer than earlier forms, and charts the contemporary debates and tensions between Enlightenment thinkers that this idea raised. The book analyses the full range of literature on the subject, from key works like Adam Smith's ‘Wealth of Nations’, David Hume's ‘Essays and Treatises on Several Subjects’ and Adam Ferguson's ‘Essay on the History of Civil Society’ to lesser-known works such as Robert Wallace’s ‘Dissertation on Numbers of Mankind’.
More than 40 percent of the world’s population has access to the internet, with new users coming online every day. Among the poorest 20 percent of households, nearly 7 out of 10 have a mobile phone. ...This report finds that traditional development challenges are preventing the digital revolution from fulfilling its transformative potential. For many people, today’s increase in access to digital technologies brings more choice and greater convenience. While this is great progress, many are still left out because they do not have access to digital technologies. To deliver universal digital access, one must invest in infrastructure and pursue reforms that bring greater competition to telecommunications markets, promote public-private partnerships, and yield effective regulation. The report concludes that the full benefits of the information and communications transformation will not be realized unless countries continue to improve their business climate, invest in people’s education and health, and promote good governance. The World Bank Group are already working with clients to promote competitive business environments, increase accountability, and upgrade education and skills-development systems to prepare people for the jobs of the future.
The Chinese and U.S. economies have been locked in an uncomfortable embrace since the late 1970s. Although the relationship initially arose out of mutual benefits, in recent years it has taken on the ...trappings of an unstable codependence, with the two largest economies in the world losing their sense of self, increasing the risk of their turning on one another in a destructive fashion.InUnbalanced: The Codependency of America and ChinaStephen Roach, senior fellow at Yale University and former chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia, lays bare the pitfalls of the current China-U.S. economic relationship. He highlights the conflicts at the center of current tensions, including disputes over trade policies and intellectual property rights, sharp contrasts in leadership styles, the role of the Internet, the recent dispute over cyberhacking, and more.A firsthand witness to the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s, Roach likely knows more about the U.S.-China economic relationship than any other Westerner. Here he discusses:
Why America saving too little and China saving too much creates mounting problems for bothHow China is planning to re-boot its economic growth model by moving from an external export-led model to one of internal consumerism with a new focus on service industriesHow America, shows a disturbing lack of strategy, preferring a short-term reactive approach over a more coherent Chinese-style planning frameworkThe way out: what America could do to turn its own economic fate around and position itself for a healthy economic and political relationship with China
In the wake of the 2008 crisis, both unbalanced economies face urgent and mutually beneficial rebalancings.Unbalancedconcludes with a recipe for resolving the escalating tensions of codependence. Roach argues that the Next China offers much for the Next America-and vice versa.
Global e-commerce Kraemer, Kenneth L; Dedrick, Jason; Melville, Nigel P ...
08/2006
eBook
Are the Internet and e-commerce truly revolutionizing business practice? This book explodes the transformation myth by demonstrating that the Internet and e-commerce are in fact being adapted by ...firms to reinforce their existing relationships with customers, suppliers, and business partners. Detailed case studies of eight countries show that, rather than creating a borderless global economy, e-commerce strongly reflects existing local patterns of commerce, business, and consumer preference, and its impact therefore varies greatly by country. Paradoxically, while e-commerce is increasing the efficiency, effectiveness, and competitiveness of firms, it is also increasing the complexity of their environments as they have to deal with more business partners and also face greater competition from other firms. This incisive analysis of the diffusion and impact of e-business provides academic researchers, graduates, and MBA students with a solid basis for understanding its likely evolution.
Opinion leaders in government and business routinely tout the Internet's power as a force for economic and social development, and programs designed to bridge the digital divide are springing up ...across the developing world. Many questions remain, however, about the effectiveness of such programs in fostering greater productivity and improving quality of life. Overselling the Web? offers a much needed antidote to the Internet hype touting the promise of new technologies. Drawing on macroeconomic data as well as eye-opening anecdotes, Charles Kenny underscores the trade-offs and constraints inherent in the new communications technology. His work raises serious questions about the advisability of channeling scarce investment funds into the Internet when countries are confronting more basic challenges in the realm of education, health, and infrastructure.
Against the backdrop of England's emergence as a major economic power, the development of early modern capitalism in general and the transformation of the Mediterranean, Maria Fusaro presents a new ...perspective on the onset of Venetian decline. Examining the significant commercial relationship between these two European empires during the period 1450–1700, Fusaro demonstrates how Venice's social, political and economic circumstances shaped the English mercantile community in unique ways. By focusing on the commercial interaction between Venice and England, she also re-establishes the analysis of the maritime political economy as an essential constituent of the Venetian state political economy. This challenging interpretation of some classic issues of early modern history will be of profound interest to economic, social and legal historians and provides a stimulating addition to current debates in imperial history, especially on the economic relationship between different empires and the socio-economic interaction between 'rulers and ruled'.
This monograph offers the first systematic overview of the protection of human rights in trade agreements in the Americas. Traditionally, trade agreements in the Americas were concerned with economic ...questions and paid little attention to human rights. However, in the wake of the ‘new regionalism’, which emerged at the end of the last century, more clauses addressing social issues such as labour rights and environmental standards were inserted in trade agreements. As economic integration increased, a framework for the protection of human rights evolved. This book argues that this framework allows for human rights protection on a transnational level, while constructing regional identities. Looking at the four key regional integration processes, namely the Caribbean Community, the Central American Integration System, the Andean Community of Nations and the Southern Common Market, and also at the North American Free Trade Agreement, it shows how regional integration has reached a considerable degree of consolidation. Writing on key sources in English for the first time, this book will be essential reading for all free trade and human rights scholars.
