Bernadette Andreosso-O'Callaghan is Jean Monnet Professor of Economics, University of Limerick, Ireland and International Research Fellow, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany.Sam Dzever is Professor of Management at the Institut Mines-Telecom Business School, LITEM, Université Paris-Saclay, Evry, France.Jacques Jaussaud is Professor of Management Sciences at the University of Pau, France.Robert Taylor was formerly Director of the Centre for Chinese Studies and Reader in Modern Chinese Studies at the University of Sheffield, U.K.

• Introduction xiRobert TAYLORChapter 1. The Role of Microfinance in Women Empowerment: Global Sustainable Perspectives in the Case of Vietnam 1Long Bui THANH, Lucía MORALES and Bernadette ANDREOSSO-O’CALLAGHAN1.1. Introduction 21.2. MF and women empowerment 31.3. Data and research methods 61.4. Research findings and discussion 101.4.1. Economic empowerment 111.4.2. Feminist and legal empowerment 141.5. Conclusion 161.6. References 17Chapter 2. Is China’s Dependency on Coal a Threat to Its Economic Development? 23Miroslava ZAVADSKA, Lucía MORALES and Bernadette ANDREOSSO-O’CALLAGHAN2.1. Introduction 242.2. Coal consumption and environmental implications in China 262.3. Coal demand and economic growth in China 292.4. Methodological framework and findings 342.5. Conclusion 412.6. References 42Chapter 3. China’s “Ecological Civilization”: Geopolitical and Geo-economic Insights 45Daniel RAJMIL, Lucía MORALES and Bernadette ANDREOSSO-O’CALLAGHAN3.1. Introduction 453.2. A tale of explosive economic growth 503.2.1. China’s economic model 513.2.2. Critiques to China’s growth strategy 543.3. China’s environmental degradation 563.4. The battle for “blue skies” and the BRI 593.5. Conclusion 603.6. References 61Chapter 4. City Logistics Foundation: Japan at the Forefront 65Gilles PACHÉ4.1. Introduction 654.2. City logistics: issues and stakeholders 674.2.1. Economic and societal stakes 674.2.2. Diversity of stakeholders 704.2.3. A potential development for the wholesaler? 724.3. Japan: a favorable context for research on city logistics 744.3.1. Main areas of logistics innovation 754.3.2. From logistics innovations to theoretical formalizations 804.4. Conclusion 854.5. Acknowledgments 874.6. References 87Chapter 5. The EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement as a Norm Model for Sustainable Development Issues in the Future EU FTAs in Asia 93Erja KETTUNEN and Claes G. ALVSTAM5.1. Introduction 945.2. The EU as a norm promoter in sustainable development 955.3. EU-Japan trade and investment imbalances 975.4. The context of the EU’s free trade negotiations with Asia 985.5. The EU-Japan EPA and sustainable development issues 1005.5.1. The EU’s aims in the EPA negotiations 1015.5.2. Trade and sustainable development issues 1025.5.3. Other issues in the negotiations and reflections from the field 1045.6. Conclusion 1065.7. Acknowledgments 1075.8. References 107Chapter 6. The Relationship Between Shareholder Value and International Transfer of Environmental Management Practices 111Kazuma MURAKAMI and Tatsuo KIMBARA6.1. Introduction 1116.2. Literature review 1136.2.1. Shareholder value and environmental performance 1136.2.2. Environmental management transfer 1146.3. Methodology 1156.3.1. Data 1156.3.2. Analytical framework and hypothesis 1166.3.3. Variables 1186.4. Results of analysis 1206.5. Discussion 1236.6. Conclusion 1256.7. References 125Chapter 7. Global Crisis of Sustainable Development and Global Warming: A Case Analysis of Indonesia and Laos 129Jasmeet LAMBA, Bhumika GUPTA and Sam DZEVER7.1. Introduction 1297.2. Background for climate change policy 1307.3. Literature review 1327.4. Research objectives 1337.4.1. Major objectives of the research 1347.5. Case studies 1347.5.1. The case of Indonesia 1347.5.2. The case of Laos 1367.6. The 2015 Paris climate agreement 1387.7. Regression analysis 1397.8. Conclusion 1407.9. References 142Chapter 8. Southeast Asian Energy Transformation: Is It Enough and Sustainable? 145Lucía MORALES and Bernadette ANDREOSSO-O’CALLAGHAN8.1. Introduction 1468.2. Southeast Asia’s energy strategy 1478.3. Energy consumption – dependency on fossil fuels 1508.4. The Southeast Asia energy dilemma 1558.5. Conclusion 1598.6. References 159Chapter 9. Analyzing the Reasons for the Low Ratio of Female Researchers in Japan: An Exploration of the Issue of Diversity and Sustainability in Japanese Academia 165Shiho FUTAGAMI9.1. Current situation of female researchers in Japan 1669.2. Research method 1679.2.1. Survey 1679.2.2. Profile of respondents 1679.3. Analysis 1689.3.1. Purpose of analysis 1689.3.2. Reasons for the low ratio of female researchers 1689.3.3. Reasons for the low ratio of female researchers in leading positions 1719.3.4. Remedial actions for the low ratio of female researchers 1739.3.5. Research performance to be evaluated in the recruitment process 1769.4. Conclusion 1799.5. References 180Chapter 10. Sustainable Agricultural Development and Rural Poverty in India 183Jasmeet LAMBA, Bhumika GUPTA and Sam DZEVER10.1. Introduction 18410.2. Objective and methodology of the research 18510.3. Review of literature on agricultural development, credit flows, and rural poverty 18610.4. Pattern of agricultural development in India 18710.5. Classification of Indian States in context with CIAD and rural poverty 19110.6. The model: relationship between agricultural development and rural poverty in India 19210.7. Suggestions 19410.8. References 194Chapter 11. European and Chinese Consumers’ Attitude for Food with Reduced Use of Chemicals: Results from a Survey 197Martina MAZZAROLO, Giacomo FERRARO, Ilda MANNINO and M. Bruna ZOLIN11.1. Introduction 19811.2. Background 19911.3. Data and methodology 20111.3.1. The sample 20211.4. Results 20411.4.1. Descriptive analysis on consumers’ behavior on food choice 20511.4.2. Regression analysis 20711.4.3. Descriptive analysis on different patterns of behavior on food choice between European and Chinese respondents 21011.5. Discussion and conclusion 21211.6. References 213Conclusion 217Bernadette ANDREOSSO-O’CALLAGHAN, Sam DZEVER, Jacques JAUSSAUD and Robert TAYLORList of Authors 219Index 221