Critics of globalization often portray neoliberalism as an extremist laissez-faire political-economic philosophy that rejects government any sort of government intervention in the domestic economy. Like most over-used terms, it is more complicated than this introductory sentence suggests. This volume seeks to move beyond these caricature depictions and definitions as well as the emotional rhetoric that has unfortunately dominated both the scholastic and political debate on neoliberalism and global market-oriented reform. This book emphasizes that there are in fact a variety of neoliberalisms that share a common emphasis on the role of the market. Beyond this however, its usages and applications appear much more varied according to the cultural, economic, political, and social context in which it is used. A host of eminent contributors, including Douglass C. North, Arthur T. Denzau, Thomas D. Willett, Mark Blyth, Colin Hay, Craig Parsons, and others provide a rigorous assessment of the significance of neoliberal ideas on economic policy. Through their detailed international case studies the contributors to this book show how varied its impact has in fact been and the result is a book that will stimulate further debate in this most controversial of subject matters. Ravi K. Roy is a Research Scholar at the Claremont Institute for Economic Policy Studies. Arthur T. Denzau is Professor of Economics at Claremont Graduate University. He is also a Research Associate at the Center for American Business at Washington University (St. Louis).Thomas D. Willett is Horton Professor of Economics at Claremont Graduate University. He is also Director of the Claremont Institute for Economic Policy Studies

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Critics of globalization often portray neoliberalism as an extremist laissez-faire political-economic philosophy that rejects government any sort of government intervention in the domestic economy. Like most over-used terms, it is more complicated than this introductory sentence suggests. This volume seeks to move beyond these caricature depictions and definitions as well as the emotional rhetoric that has unfortunately dominated both the scholastic and political debate on neoliberalism and global market-oriented reform. This book emphasizes that there are in fact a variety of neoliberalisms that share a common emphasis on the role of the market. Beyond this however, its usages and applications appear much more varied according to the cultural, economic, political, and social context in which it is used. A host of eminent contributors, including Douglass C. North, Arthur T. Denzau, Thomas D. Willett, Mark Blyth, Colin Hay, Craig Parsons, and others provide a rigorous assessment of the significance of neoliberal ideas on economic policy. Through their detailed international case studies the contributors to this book show how varied its impact has in fact been and the result is a book that will stimulate further debate in this most controversial of subject matters. Ravi K. Roy is a Research Scholar at the Claremont Institute for Economic Policy Studies. Arthur T. Denzau is Professor of Economics at Claremont Graduate University. He is also a Research Associate at the Center for American Business at Washington University (St. Louis).Thomas D. Willett is Horton Professor of Economics at Claremont Graduate University. He is also Director of the Claremont Institute for Economic Policy Studies

Anchored in the principles of the free-market economics, 'neoliberalism' has been associated with such different political leaders as Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Augusto Pinochet, and Junichiro Koizumi. In its heyday during the late 1990s, neoliberalism emerged as the world's dominant economic paradigm stretching from the Anglo-American heartlands of capitalism to the former communist bloc all the way to the developing regions of the global South. At the dawn of the new century, however, neoliberalism has been discredited as the global economy, built on its principles, has been shaken to its core by a financial calamity not seen since the dark years of the 1930s. So is neoliberalism doomed or will it regain its former glory? Will reform-minded G-20 leaders embark on a genuine new course or try to claw their way back to the neoliberal glory days of the Roaring Nineties? Is there a viable alternative to neoliberalism? Exploring the origins, core claims, and considerable variations of neoliberalism, this Very Short Introduction offers a concise and accessible introduction to one of the most debated 'isms' of our time. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Very few studies have ventured to explore the shift in economic ideas that were such a critical factor in shaping and understanding the East European transition process. Paul Dragos Aligica and Anthony J. Evans have seized upon the potential that this crucial case has to illuminate the larger phenomenon of diffusion and adoption of economic ideas. Two different but related research agendas are developed: the study of the spread of neoliberalism as seen from the perspective of Eastern European post-communist evolutions and the study of Eastern European transition as seen from an ideas-centered perspective. Combining a distinctive synthesis of the existing data about the spread of neoliberal economic ideas in Central and Eastern Europe with an analysis of the processes at work, the authors challenge a series of misunderstandings and myths about the spread of neoliberal economic ideas. The disputed topics include: the myth of an Eastern European rush to embrace the theories and ideas that may be considered the mark of market fundamentalism ; the notion that a harsh neoliberal dogmatism was somehow imposed on the region from outside; the idea that the standardization and regimentation of economic thinking was a result of the spread of the Western way of doing economics; and the belief that the Eastern Europeans passively embraced this uniformity and standardization due to pressure from the Westerners. This unusual synthesis will appeal to scholars in economics, political science, communist/post-communist studies and new institutionalism, as well as policymakers.

As globalization has brought about new concerns and responsibilities for business, particularly in the realm of human rights, many multinational corporations (MNC) operating in Asia have argued that such rights are the responsibility of government. However, as globalization continues to improve market access for MNCs, it increasingly exposes them to new forms of transnational social movements, and as a result the private sector has emerged as one of the central stakeholders in the region’s human rights dialogue. Taking three of Asia’s fastest emerging economies – Cambodia, China and Thailand – as its starting point, Corporate Social Responsibility and Human Rights in Asia explores the business case for corporate social responsibility, human rights and anti-corruption in the region. In doing so, it examines how industry perceives human rights and corruption within the corporate social responsibility (CSR) paradigm, and builds on the argument that the CSR regime is a socially constructed concept. Drawing on interviews with key stakeholders including business leaders, nongovernmental organizations, international organizations and government officials, Robert Hanlon argues that industry perceives human rights as outside their sphere of influence; that divergent stakeholder interests are side-lining the human rights debate; and that human rights are increasingly ignored in the quest for profit-maximization. This leads to the conclusion that human rights and corruption will remain peripheral business issues until stakeholders find new ways of creating space for CSR engagement, and business actors will continue to marginalize the human rights issue so long as governments in the region let them. This interdisciplinary book draws on political science, business and sociological perspectives and as such, will be of great interest to students and scholars working across the fields of Asian business, corporate social responsibility and business ethics, human rights and international political economy.

While the 2011 Egyptian revolution has already become the subject of much debate, the roots of the socio-economic context which made the revolution possible have seldom been explored. Roberto Roccu addresses this gap and in doing this provides the first detailed study of the deeper causes of the Egyptian revolution. Relying on an innovative understanding of Antonio Gramsci's thought, He argues that economic reforms implemented since the late 1980s provided the conditions for both the emergence of a capitalist oligarchy within the regime and an unprecedented rise in socio-economic inequality in society at large. These two processes substantially eroded any remnants of hegemony, leaving the Mubarak regime ill-equipped to face the global economic crisis. By alienating sections of the ruling bloc while impoverishing vast strata of the population, neoliberal reforms provided a necessary, although by no means sufficient, condition for the Egyptian revolution to occur.