Smart cities are a fast-growing species, and a fascinating field for new experiments in a number of critical areas, ranging from urban planning, sustainable energy, and transport strategies to social integration and talent attraction, to name a few. As leaders and citizens around the world continue to assess, design, implement and improve on ways to create better cities, they often find themselves confronted with a multitude of decisions and a wide range of partial solutions to specific problems such as traffic congestion, waste management and crime. Unfortunately, they have precious few tools to enable them to define the strategies required and take advantage of the experience of other smart cities around the world. In such a context, metrics can play a significant and constructive role: by quantifying efforts and results, they increase the ability of decision-makers to identify where their priorities should lie as well as the relative merits of various approaches.

The Right Place explains why firms succeed in one country and fail in another, irrespective of their inner drivers, and suggests potential initiatives that governments can take to help the private sector create jobs and, consequently, make their countries more prosperous. The competitiveness race is not unlike a cycling race. If you want to ride fast, you need three things: a good bike, to be in good shape, and a smooth and fast road. In a collaborative model, you might say the business is the bicycle, the business leader is the cyclist, and the road is the government and the external environment. The responsibility of a government is to design and build the best possible road. It turns out that when the road is good, good cyclists suddenly appear and want to race on it. In this book, competition and macroeconomics expert, Arturo Bris, provides the analysis of country competitive performance based on 30 years advising countries on this topic. The typical mistakes that countries make are revealed and the pillars necessary in building a competitive economy: economic performance as a necessary condition for prosperity; government efficiency, so the public sector can create the conditions for a productive economy; business efficiency, so companies can create jobs; and infrastructure, both tangible and intangible, so businesses and individuals can operate efficiently. With contemporary case studies throughout, the book provides an illuminating read for politicians, business leaders and students of macroeconomics.

Committed to highlighting the regulatory needs and priorities of emerging economies in the context of AI and big data, this expertly crafted Companion explores the nature and role of regulation in the Global South from a techno-dependent societal perspective. It not only amplifies the unspoken and underrepresented voices in AI and data regulation scholarly discourse, but also provides a novel approach to otherwise recipient economies in an age of digital transformation.

Explains how self-delusion is part of a person's psychological defense system, identifying common misconceptions people have on topics such as caffeine withdrawal, hindsight, and brand loyalty.

A landmark survey of the work of Isaac Mizrahi, a trailblazing and influential American fashion designer, artist, and entrepreneur Beginning with Isaac Mizrahi's first fashion collection, which debuted to critical acclaim in 1986, and running though the present day, this stylish, lavishly illustrated book presents his signature couture collections. Mizrahi's exuberant couture style is classic American, inventively reimagined. He pioneered the concept of "high/low" in fashion, and was the first high-end fashion designer to create an accessibly priced mass-market line. Mizrahi approached other complex issues through his designs, as well--mixing questions of beauty and taste with those of race, religion, class, and politics. Although Mizrahi (b. 1961) is best known for his clothing, his work in theater, film, and television is also explored. The result is a spirited discourse on high versus low, modern glamour, and contemporary culture. Three essayists discuss Mizrahi's place in fashion history, his close connection to contemporary art, and the performative nature of his designs. New photography brings Mizrahi's fashions to life, and an interview with the artist offers an intimate perspective on his kaleidoscopic work in diverse media.