There is a lack of international comparative housing studies, possibly because it requires thorough knowledge of the real estate market in question. This book brings together scholars with knowledge of different national markets in order to facilitate comparisons for real estate and housing and urban studies scholars and practitioners. By studying international markets using new data as well as new analysis of existing data, the chapters in this book present insights into the institutional constraints on national housing markets. Specifically, the contributors seek to examine the role of institutional factors and their influence on transaction costs in these markets. Exhibiting a diverse range of geographical, legal, and economic perspectives, the countries are grouped together based on legal institutional similarities, and each group includes an introduction and a conclusion highlighting similarities and differences from the institutional perspective. The book is divided into 3 parts: Part I sets the theoretical context and the reasons for writing a book focusing on national housing markets. Part II presents national markets from the perspective of the transaction process and covers Europe, North and South America, East Asia, the Pacific, and Africa. Part III contains conclusions with a critical discussion on how to compare national housing markets and a reflection on future directions of housing markets in an increasingly competitive international environment. The Routledge Companion to International Housing Markets is essential reading for academics and professionals in housing studies, real estate, economics, and urban studies.

Real estate represents an increasingly significant global asset class and its distinctive characteristics must be understood by investors and researchers. The Routledge Companion to Real Estate Investment provides an authoritative overview of the real estate asset class. The Companion focuses on the current academic research and its relevance for practical applications. The book is divided into four parts, each containing specially written chapters by international experts in the relevant field. The contributors cover the institutional context for real estate investment, the main players in real estate investment, real estate appraisal and performance measurement, and real estate portfolios and risk management. This Companion provides a comprehensive reference for students, academics and professionals studying, researching and working in real estate investment, finance and economics.

Real estate development shapes the way people live and work, playing a crucial role in determining our built environment. Around the world, real estate development reflects both universal human needs and region-specific requirements, and with the rise of globalization there is an increasing need to better understand the full complexity of global real estate development. This Companion provides comprehensive coverage of the major contemporary themes and issues in the field of real estate development research. Topics covered include: social and spatial impact markets and economics organization and management finance and investment environment and sustainability design land use policy and governance. A team of international experts across the fields of real estate, planning, geography, economics and architecture reflect the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of real estate studies, providing the book with a depth and breadth of original research. Following on from the success of the textbook International Approaches to Real Estate Development, the Routledge Companion to Real Estate Development provides the up-to-date research needed for a full and sophisticated understanding of the subject. It will be an invaluable resource to students, researchers and professionals wishing to study real estate development on an international scale.

The Routledge Companion to Banking Regulation and Reform provides a prestigious cutting edge international reference work offering students, researchers and policy makers a comprehensive guide to the paradigm shift in banking studies since the historic financial crisis in 2007. The transformation in banking over the last two decades has not been authoritatively and critically analysed by the mainstream academic literature. This unique collection brings together a multi-disciplinary group of leading authorities in the field to analyse and investigate post-crisis regulation and reform. Representing the wide spectrum of non-mainstream economics and finance, topics range widely from financial innovation to misconduct in banking, varieties of Eurozone banking to reforming dysfunctional global banking as well as topical issues such as off-shore financial centres, Libor fixing, corporate governance and the Dodd-Frank Act. Bringing together an authoritative range of international experts and perspectives, this invaluable body of heterodox research work provides a comprehensive compendium for researchers and academics of banking and finance as well as regulators and policy makers concerned with the global impact of financial institutions.

The fields of Economic Geography and International Business share an interest in the same phenomena, whilst each provides both a differing perspective and different research methods in attempting to understand those phenomena. The Routledge Companion to the Geography of International Business explores the nature and scope of inter-disciplinary work between Economic Geography and International Business in explaining the central issues in the international economy. Contributions written by leading specialists in each field (including some chapters written by inter-disciplinary teams) focus on the nature of multinational firms and their strategies, where they choose to locate their activities, how they create and manage international networks and the key relationships between multinationals and the places where they place their operations. Topics covered include the internationalisation of service industries, the influence of location on the competitiveness of firms and the economic dynamism of regions and where economic activity takes place and how knowledge, goods and services flow between locations. The book examines the areas for fruitful inter-disciplinary work between International Business and Economic Geography and sets out a road map for future joint research, and is an essential resource for students and practitioners of International Business and Economic Development.

The field of business ethics continues to expand intellectually and geographically. During the past five decades, scholars have developed and deepened their inquiries into the ethics of commercial and corporate conduct. This Companion provides a novel overview of the discipline of business ethics, covering the major areas of the field as well as new and emerging topics. The eight thematic units range over an extraordinary set of subjects and include chapters on the history and pedagogy of business ethics, moral philosophy, the nature of business, responsibilities within the firm, economic institutions, the 2008 financial crisis, globalization, and business ethics in different regions of the world. Led by a well-respected editorial team, this unique volume gathers an international array of experts whose various critical approaches yield insights from areas such as public policy, economics, law, and history, in addition to business and philosophy. With its fresh analyses, wide scope, and clarity of approach, this volume will be an essential addition to library collections in business, management, and applied ethics.

In the past decade, urban regeneration policy makers and practitioners have faced a number of difficult challenges, such as sustainability, budgetary constraints, demands for community involvement and rapid urbanization in the Global South. Urban regeneration remains a high profile and important field of government-led intervention, and policy and practice continue to adapt to the fresh challenges and opportunities of the 21st century, as well as confronting long standing intractable urban problems and dilemmas. This Companion provides cutting edge critical review and synthesis of recent conceptual, policy and practical developments within the field. With contributions from 70 international experts within the field, it explores the meaning of ‘urban regeneration’ in differing national contexts, asking questions and providing informed discussion and analyses to illuminate how an apparently disparate field of research, policy and practice can be rendered coherent, drawing out common themes and significant differences. The Companion is divided into six sections, exploring: globalization and neo-liberal perspectives on urban regeneration; emerging reconceptualizations of regeneration; public infrastructure and public space; housing and cosmopolitan communities; community centred regeneration; and culture-led regeneration. The concluding chapter considers the future of urban regeneration and proposes a nine-point research agenda. This Companion assembles a diversity of approaches and insights in one comprehensive volume to provide a state of the art review of the field. It is a valuable resource for both advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students in Urban Planning, Built Environment, Urban Studies and Urban Regeneration, as well as academics, practitioners and politicians.