Values At The Core: How Human Values Contribute To The Rise Of Nations

Values At The Core: How Human Values Contribute To The Rise Of Nations

Author: Chin Hwee Tan

Publisher: World Scientific

Published: 2020-12-03

Total Pages: 222

ISBN-13: 981122854X

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'A thought-provoking book, bringing readers outside their comfort zones. It challenges us to think beyond the typical macro and microeconomic …' [Read Full Review]A TanFT readers' best 2021 summer booksThroughout the history of mankind, the rise of societies, whether civilizations, nations, or communities, has been a story of human achievement. From the rise of the Akkadian empire in ancient Mesopotamia to the re-emergence of modern China, people constitute the basic denominator upon which societies build their success. The way people around the world think and behave is guided by a complex system of values. These values constitute key factors in the way economies are structured and their potential for further growth. To a large extent, they explain why Japan has gone through multiple lost decades; why Nordic countries accept the highest tax rates in the world, making their societies much more equal; why China has such a large trade surplus with the United States; or why some nations become stuck in a middle-income trap. It is these values, coupled with the right policies, that ultimately determine the destiny of nations.In this book, we explore how the combination of human values and policies affects national economic outcomes. We focus on certain key values conducive to growth: are people of a given nation, on average, hardworking, thrifty? Do they trust each other? Are they risk-takers? The harder people work, the higher the growth potential. Different savings patterns determine, to a large extent, whether a country will grow through investments and exports or consumption, and have generated large global imbalances over time. Trust goes a long way in explaining wealth and income inequalities and the role that governments can play in minimizing those inequalities. Economies with highly risk-averse citizens will stall. We also identify policies which have the greatest impact on economies. Political stability, much more so than any form of governance, is a precondition for growth. Free markets imply a process of creative destruction, free and fair competition, and a level playing field among companies. An educated workforce is a vital enabler of higher productivity and innovation. Corruption can seriously derail growth once it becomes endemic. Sound fiscal and monetary policies stabilize an economy as it goes through cycles and can greatly contribute to a more equal society and a more robust financial sector.


Economic Success: Fate Or Destiny?: Values And Policies Across 12 Countries To Better Understand The World We Live In

Economic Success: Fate Or Destiny?: Values And Policies Across 12 Countries To Better Understand The World We Live In

Author: Thomas Grandjean

Publisher: World Scientific

Published: 2024-05-28

Total Pages: 251

ISBN-13: 9811294968

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The traditional rules-based system of the West, which has yielded peace dividends for many decades, now faces challenges from an emerging new world order. Building upon the themes introduced in Grandjean and Tan's Financial Times Readers' Best 2021 Summer Books, Values at the Core: How Human Values Contribute to the Rise of Nations, this book adopts a fresh perspective, examining historical precedents while charting a course for the future. Through accessible economic and social analyses of 12 nations, it offers insights into potential pathways forward.


A Valuable World

A Valuable World

Author: Thomas Grandjean

Publisher:

Published: 2019-12-14

Total Pages: 365

ISBN-13: 9781675375167

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People around the world grow up with different sets of values guiding their vision and their behavior. Too often neglected by economists, those values constitute key factors in the way economies are structured and their potential for further growth. To a large extent, they explain why Japan has gone through multiple lost decades, why Nordic countries accept the highest tax rates in the world, making their societies much more equal, why China has such a large trade surplus with the US or why some nations become stuck in a middle-income trap. It is those values, coupled with the right policies, that ultimately determine the economic destiny of nations.In this book we explore how the combination of human values and policies affects national economic outcomes. We focus on key values conducive to growth: are people of a given nation, on average, hard-working, thrifty, do they trust each other, what is their attitude towards risk? The harder people work, the higher the growth potential. The willingness and ability to save determines to a large extent whether a country will grow through investments and exports vs consumption. Trust goes a long way to explaining wealth and income inequalities and the role that governments can play in minimizing those inequalities. Economies with highly risk-averse citizens will stall.We also identify policies which in our view have the greatest impact on economies. Market forces are essential for further growth. Political stability, in particular the absence of armed conflicts, is more conducive to growth than any specific form of government. An educated workforce breeds innovation and productivity. Corruption can seriously derail an economy. Sound fiscal and monetary policies are vital for an economy to go through its cycles and prevent crises.This book bridges the gap between those two sets of factors, recognizing that it is only by taking into consideration values and policies that we can truly understand how economies work.


Human Values and Social Change

Human Values and Social Change

Author:

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2003-02-01

Total Pages: 297

ISBN-13: 904740436X

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This book presents findings based on a unique source of insight into the role of human values--the World Values Survey and the European Values Survey, covering 78 societies containing over 80 per cent of the world's population. The findings reveal large and coherent cross-national differences in what people want out of life. Four waves of surveys, from 1981 to 1999-2001, reveal the impact of changing values on societal phenomena. Evidence from eleven Islamic societies demonstrates that a distinctive Islamic culture exists-but the democratic ideal is endorsed overwhelmingly. Other analyses examine Gender Equality and Democracy; Corruption and Democracy; Social Capital in Vietnam; the Clash of Civilization; political satisfaction in global perspective; Trust in International Governance; and Israeli and South African values.


Waking the Buddha

Waking the Buddha

Author: Clark Strand

Publisher: Middleway Press

Published: 2014-05-01

Total Pages: 193

ISBN-13: 1938252527

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Is there more to Buddhism than sitting in silent meditation? Is modern Buddhism relevant to the problems of daily life? Does it empower individuals to transform their lives? Or has Buddhism become too detached, so still and quiet that the Buddha has fallen asleep? Waking the Buddha tells the story of the Soka Gakkai International, the largest, most dynamic Buddhist movement in the world today—and one that is waking up and shaking up Buddhism so it can truly work in ordinary people’s lives. Drawing on his long personal experience as a Buddhist teacher, journalist, and editor, Clark Strand offers broad insight into how and why the Soka Gakkai, with its commitment to social justice and its egalitarian approach, has become a role model, not only for other schools of Buddhism, but for other religions as well. Readers will be inspired by the struggles and triumphs of the Soka Gakkai’s three founding presidents—individuals who staked their lives on the teachings of the Lotus Sutra and the extraordinary power of those teachings to help people become happy.


The Changing Wealth of Nations 2018

The Changing Wealth of Nations 2018

Author: Glenn-Marie Lange

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2018-01-30

Total Pages: 293

ISBN-13: 1464810478

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Countries regularly track gross domestic product (GDP) as an indicator of their economic progress, but not wealth—the assets such as infrastructure, forests, minerals, and human capital that produce GDP. In contrast, corporations routinely report on both their income and assets to assess their economic health and prospects for the future. Wealth accounts allow countries to take stock of their assets to monitor the sustainability of development, an urgent concern today for all countries. The Changing Wealth of Nations 2018: Building a Sustainable Future covers national wealth for 141 countries over 20 years (1995†“2014) as the sum of produced capital, 19 types of natural capital, net foreign assets, and human capital overall as well as by gender and type of employment. Great progress has been made in estimating wealth since the fi rst volume, Where Is the Wealth of Nations? Measuring Capital for the 21st Century, was published in 2006. New data substantially improve estimates of natural capital, and, for the fi rst time, human capital is measured by using household surveys to estimate lifetime earnings. The Changing Wealth of Nations 2018 begins with a review of global and regional trends in wealth over the past two decades and provides examples of how wealth accounts can be used for the analysis of development patterns. Several chapters discuss the new work on human capital and its application in development policy. The book then tackles elements of natural capital that are not yet fully incorporated in the wealth accounts: air pollution, marine fi sheries, and ecosystems. This book targets policy makers but will engage anyone committed to building a sustainable future for the planet.


The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order

The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order

Author: Samuel P. Huntington

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2007-05-31

Total Pages: 555

ISBN-13: 1416561242

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The classic study of post-Cold War international relations, more relevant than ever in today’s geopolitical climate—with a foreword by Zbigniew Brzezinski. Since its initial publication in 1996, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order has become one of the most influential books ever written about foreign affairs. Samuel Huntington explains how clashes between civilizations pose the greatest threat to world peace, but also how an international order based on civilizations is the best safeguard against war. The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order explains how the population explosion in Muslim countries and the economic rise of East Asia have changed global politics. These developments challenge Western dominance, promote opposition to supposedly “universal” Western ideals, and intensify inter-civilization conflict over such issues as nuclear proliferation, immigration, human rights, and democracy. In his incisive analysis, Huntington offers a strategy for the West to preserve its unique culture and emphasizes the need for people everywhere to learn to coexist in a complex, multipolar, multi-civilizational world.


The Core Values Handbook

The Core Values Handbook

Author: Lynn Ellsworth Taylor

Publisher: Lynn E Taylor

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 196

ISBN-13: 0615166229

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"The Core Values Index (CVI) characterizes and measures each person's Real Core Values Nature. This is the essential self taht Abraham Maslow asserted is the innate unchanging nature in each of us that causes us to want to make our unique contribution. It is that part of us that determines where we fit, where we can each make our highest and best contribution. Fully automated Employment Pre-Selection, team building, conflict resolution, leadership training, management, restructuring departments, and businesses--all business and personal decisions are improved for those who have the advantage of the Core Values Index and the powerful Taylor Protocols that effectively put this revolutionary technology to work."--Page 2 of cover.


Human Values and Beliefs

Human Values and Beliefs

Author: Ronald F. Inglehart

Publisher: University of Michigan Press

Published: 1998-05-18

Total Pages: 557

ISBN-13: 0472108336

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Provides a wealth of information about values and beliefs of people all over the world


Measuring Attitudes Cross-Nationally

Measuring Attitudes Cross-Nationally

Author: Roger Jowell

Publisher: SAGE

Published: 2007-04-02

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 1848604963

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Winner of the 2006 The Descartes Prize "for excellence in collaborative scientific research" With the expansion of the European Union and the development of supra-national governance worldwide, the volume of cross-national data and the importance of rigorous comparative analysis has grown rapidly. This book, written by members of the design and implementation team for the groundbreaking European Social Survey (ESS), reviews current best practice in the conduct of cross-national, cross-cultural quantitative research. The first eight chapters cover the background and rationale for the Survey and offer a detailed analysis of the methods and procedures used, as well as exploring ways to overcome the obstacles to successful cross-national research. The final chapter looks ahead to future comparative surveys and discusses the lessons that can be learned from the ESS. As well as examining methodological issues, Measuring Attitudes Cross-Nationally includes four substantive chapters on the findings of the ESS, including the emergence of hitherto unknown national differences in values regarding immigration and perceptions of citizenship. The ESS data is also considered in comparison with that from US General Social Survey. Measuring Attitudes Cross-Nationally offers a practical guide, firmly grounded in theory, for researchers across the social sciences who have an interest the design, planning or interpretation of cross-national social surveys.