Shahdad Naghshpour - Böcker

A unique and major contribution to the scholarly and policy debate on American foreign and economic policy toward the Islamic Republic of Iran. A volume that will be of interest to scholars and policy makers who struggle to understand the complex rivalry between these two nations and wish to analyze the Iranian/American relationship since 1979. Authors frame the conflicted relationship between Iran and the United States as a low intensity conflict, embodying elements of superpower gamesmanship, insurgent tactics and economic warfare. Revolutionary Iran and the United States is unique in its approach by exploring how diplomatic, military, and economic weapons are employed to bolster each nation's strategic and tactical advantage. This analysis encompasses the political, military, and economic facets of the rivalry.

Understanding the role of money in the economy is essential for comprehending the complex intricacies of modern economics. Money and its value is an essential medium through which government policies are implemented to change the course of the economy. However, before attempting to comprehend these complex mechanisms it is necessary to understand the role of money.

This book defines money and its value. It clarifies, in simple and clear terms, why money is demanded, what factors affect the demand for money, and what the different theories are that explain why people demand money. Next, it explains how money is created, which involves more than just printing money. Finally, the text addresses financial institutions, which are the brokers of the monetary system. The role financial institutions play in impacting the supply of the money and how they facilitate the flow of goods and services through different sectors are discussed. The discussion is focused on the theory of equilibrium in the market for goods, services and the money market.

Undoubtedly, what happens to the economy affects the lives of the citizens of a country, and often the lives of people in other countries around the globe. In addition to natural disasters two things affect the economy more than anything else: monetary and fiscal policies. Fiscal policy and monetary policy represent forms of government intervention to influence market performance. Fiscal policy relates to government spending and revenue collection; monetary policy relates to the supply of money, which is controlled by factors such as reserve requirements and interest rates.

If there were a universally accepted set of rules that prescribe appropriate actions to bring and sustain prosperity to the economy the study of economics would have been a positive science, as opposed to a collection of normative beliefs. The study of these policies is normative in nature because fiscal and monetary policies do not necessarily impact everyone equally or in the same way. In other words not everybody loses or gains equally as the result of fiscal and monetary policies. Nevertheless, there are non-normative economic theories that explain the expected outcome of specific fiscal or monetary policies. The economists that advocate for fiscal or monetary policies generally agree on the economic consequences produced by each policy when implemented. What differentiates the economists is the degree to which they believe in the effectiveness of the policy, their ability to know the extent of the need that it is intended to address, the proper amount of intervention required in order to effect the desired correction, and the length of the time it would take to see the consequence of the policy.

This book covers fiscal policy. It is part of a projected two volume set covering fiscal and monetary policies. The two volumes will be written to be complimentary to but independent of each other.

Statistics is the branch of mathematics that deals with real life problems. As such, it is an essential tool for economists. Unfortunately, the way the concept is introduced to students is not compatible with the way economists think and learn. The problem is worsened by the use of mathematical jargon and complex derivations. However, as this book demonstrates, neither is necessary. The book is written in simple English with minimal use of symbols, mostly for the sake of brevity and to make reading literature more meaningful. The second edition also incorporates Stata software for use by more technically oriented readers who have access to sophisticated software.The objective of this book is to address the fundamentals of statistical analysis in a simple and easy-to-comprehend way. Instead of covering numerous topics, the book covers interrelated subjects that are necessary for the comprehension of the presented topics. The second edition has augmented the explanations in the first to clarify the subjects even more. The examples are based on economic theory utilizing actual data. The hope is that the use of theory will prove useful in relating the subject to actual empirical applications and help with research.

There are several powerful statistical analysis software, such as Stata, SAS, and a host of other packages with different levels of elegance, completeness, and support. Preferred is Stata because of its extensive contributions from its users and reliable technical support. I will add Stata commands to perform all the examples of the book. The commands are simple and quick to run. I will provide an appendix with the list of the commands used in the manuscript, their syntax, and a brief description of the output they create.Updated data for all the examples using the most recent available data. Provide the solutions in Excel and Stata and explain the meanings of the output to reinforce the subject and allow users to have another set of examples using another real-life data. Increased graphical representations to reinforce and clarify the concept.

Nonparametric statistics provide a scientific methodology for cases where customary statistics are not applicable. Nonparametric statistics are used when the requirements for parametric analysis fail, such as when data are not normally distributed or the sample size is too small. The method provides an alternative for such cases and is often nearly as powerful as parametric statistics. Another advantage of nonparametric statistics is that it offers analytical methods that are not available otherwise. Nonparametric methods are intuitive and simple to comprehend, which helps researchers in the social sciences understand the methods in spite of lacking mathematical rigor needed in analytical methods customarily used in science. This book is a methodology book and bypasses theoretical proofs while providing comprehensive explanations of the logic behind the methods and ample examples, which are all solved using direct computations as well as by using Stata. It is arranged into two integrated volumes. Although each volume, and for that matter each chapter, can be used separately, it is advisable to read as much of both volumes as possible; because familiarity with what is applicable for different problems will enhance capabilities.