Nothing matters more to the long-term economic welfare of a nation than its rate of economic growth. Compounded over many years, seemingly small... differences in annual growth rates can lead to vast differences in standards of living. Research on economic growth has exploded in the past decade. Hundreds of empirical studies on economic growth across countries have highlighted the correlation between growth and a variety of variables. Determinants of Economic Growth, based on Robert Barro's Lionel Robbins Memorial Lectures, delivered at the London School of Economics in February 1996, summarizes this important literature.The book contains three essays. The first is a survey of the research on the determinants of long-run growth through the estimation of panels of cross-country data. The second essay details the interplay between growth and political freedom or democracy and finds some evidence of a nonlinear relationship. At low levels of political rights, an expansion of rights stimulates growth; however, once a moderate level of democracy has been obtained, a further expansion of rights reduces growth. The final essay looks at the connection between inflation and economic growth. Its basic finding is that higher inflation goes along with a lower rate of economic growth.Unlike recent work that has focused on "endogenous" growth theories, in which the long-term growth rate was determined by government policies and other forces contained in the model, cross-country empirical work draws heavily on the older neoclassical model. The neoclassical model's central idea of conditional convergence receives strong support from the data: holding measures of government policy, initial levels of human capital, and other variables constant, poor countries grow faster than rich countries.

Tough Test Questions? Missed Lectures? Not Enough Time? Fortunately for you, there's Schaum's Outlines. More than 40 million students have... trusted Schaum's to help them succeed in the classroom and on exams. Schaum's is the key to faster learning and higher grades in every subject. Each Outline presents all the essential course information in an easy-to-follow, topic-by-topic format. You also get hundreds of examples, solved problems, and practice exercises to test your skills. This Schaum's Outline gives you: Practice problems with full explanations that reinforce knowledge Coverage of the most up-to-date developments in your course field In-depth review of practices and applications Fully compatible with your classroom text, Schaum's highlights all the important facts you need to know. Use Schaum's to shorten your study time-and get your best test scores! Schaum's Outlines-Problem Solved.

This fifth title in the Elements of Preaching series offers preaching students and clergy an overview of some of the most common sermonic forms and... provides insights for determining which forms are most - and least - amenable to the claim that they want to make in their sermon. Many, if not most, sermons wind up being somewhat formless and thus less effective than they might be in communicating the gospel. Rather than training students in a single rhetorical form, this volume will demonstrate a variety of options without advocating for any particular form.Accomplished preachers can think of rhetorical strategy in a nuanced manner, but beginning preachers are well-served by having a knapsack of simple sermonic forms they can turn to when building a sermon out of a sermonic claim. This book will offer preachers a strong foundation in considering sermonic form and a handful of basic, reliable rhetorical structures to use in the pulpit.

Uniquely blends mathematical theory and algorithm design for understanding and modeling real-world problemsOptimization modeling and algorithms are key... components to problem-solving across various fields of research, from operations research and mathematics to computer science and engineering. Addressing the importance of the algorithm design process. Deterministic Operations Research focuses on the design of solution methods for both continuous and discrete linear optimization problems. The result is a clear-cut resource for understanding three cornerstones of deterministic operations research: modeling real-world problems as linear optimization problem; designing the necessary algorithms to solve these problems; and using mathematical theory to justify algorithmic development.Treating real-world examples as mathematical problems, the author begins with an introduction to operations research and optimization modeling that includes applications form sports scheduling an the airline industry. Subsequent chapters discuss algorithm design for continuous linear optimization problems, covering topics such as convexity. Farkas’ Lemma, and the study of polyhedral before culminating in a discussion of the Simplex Method. The book also addresses linear programming duality theory and its use in algorithm design as well as the Dual Simplex Method. Dantzig-Wolfe decomposition, and a primal-dual interior point algorithm. The final chapters present network optimization and integer programming problems, highlighting various specialized topics including label-correcting algorithms for the shortest path problem, preprocessing and probing in integer programming, lifting of valid inequalities, and branch and cut algorithms.Concepts and approaches are introduced by outlining examples that demonstrate and motivate theoretical concepts. The accessible presentation of advanced ideas makes core aspects easy to understand and encourages readers to understand how to think about the problem, not just what to think. Relevant historical summaries can be found throughout the book, and each chapter is designed as the continuation of the “story” of how to both model and solve optimization problems by using the specific problems-linear and integer programs-as guides. The book’s various examples are accompanied by the appropriate models and calculations, and a related Web site features these models along with Maple™ and MATLAB® content for the discussed calculations.Thoroughly class-tested to ensure a straightforward, hands-on approach, Deterministic Operations Research is an excellent book for operations research of linear optimization courses at the upper-undergraduate and graduate levels. It also serves as an insightful reference for individuals working in the fields of mathematics, engineering, computer science, and operations research who use and design algorithms to solve problem in their everyday work.

With stocks reduced, and plans revised, relations between states with nuclear arsenals have been transformed after the Cold War. However, Patrick Morgan... argues that these changes have not been accompanied by great advances in our knowledge of whether and how deterrence works. He accordingly explores the state of deterrence theory and its continuing relevance under conditions of nuclear proliferation, collective security organizations, and a revolution in military affairs.

The amazing true story behind the siege of America's favorite beer company How did InBev, a Belgian company controlled by Brazilians, take over one... of America's most beloved brands after barely a whimper of a fight? Timing, and some unexpected help from powerful members of the Busch dynasty, the very family that had run the company for more than a century. In Dethroning the King, the award-winning financial journalist who led coverage of the takeover for the Financial Times details how the drama that unfolded at Anheuser-Busch in 2008 went largely unreported as the world tumbled into a global economic crisis second only to the Great Depression. Today, as the dust settles, questions are being asked about how the "King of Beers" was so easily captured by a foreign corporation, and whether the company's fall mirrors America's dwindling financial and political dominance. Discusses how the takeover of Anheuser-Busch will be seen as a defining moment in U.S. business history Reveals the critical missteps taken by the Busch family and the Anheuser-Busch board Argues that Anheuser-Busch had a chance to save itself from InBev's clutches, but strong forces behind the scenes forced it to capitulate From the very heart of America's heartland to the European continent to Brazil, Dethroning the King is the ultimate corporate caper and a fascinating case study that's both wide-reaching and profound. Amazon.com Exclusive: Q & A with Author Julie MacIntosh Author Julie MacIntosh What was the most startling piece of information you came across during your interviews and research for Dethroning the King? Two things shocked me, actually. I had heard about the rough relationship between August Busch III and his son, August Busch IV, but the rumors hadn’t prepared me for the reality of the situation on the ground in St. Louis. They had a huge blowup over whether to buy a top-of-the-line private jet not long after August IV became CEO, when they should have been figuring out how to save Budweiser. The company’s board of directors got stuck trying to mediate their arguments, and I doubt that had been in their job descriptions. I was also surprised at how close Anheuser-Busch came to merging with Modelo to try to save itself, and at how that all ultimately fell apart. I had covered this deal as a journalist and had known the whole time that the two companies were talking, but I hadn’t known they were just inches from the finish line. Did you run into any hurdles as you worked to uncover everything that happened behind the scenes? I wasn’t worried about getting access to key people on Wall Street who were involved in the takeover. I’d known many of them for years. But I was nervous about the reception I’d get from insiders at Anheuser-Busch. I figured the relationship between August III and August IV would be the toughest thing to explore because people had been so closed-mouthed about it in the past, but that was one of the angles my sources were the most eager to talk about. Those two guys are fascinating characters, and I think the people who had witnessed some of their more outrageous moments felt they deserved to be brought to light as part of the story. I got the sense, in general, that this book was a chance for catharsis for some people. The way it all went down is just too fascinating to sweep under the rug with the rest of the mess from the economic crash. Is this the story of The Busch family dynasty imploding? If so, in what way? It depends on how you look at it. Adolphus Busch might roll over in his grave if he knew Budweiser was being brewed by Brazilians. But the Busch family hadn’t actually controlled Anheuser-Busch for years – many people just thought they still did. Some family members made hundreds of millions of dollars on this deal. They’re so rich now that it’s almost incomprehensible. That’s not a bad consolation prize. Was the takeover inevitable? And what are the implications now that such a beloved American icon is being run by a foreign company? If Anheuser-Busch hadn’t arrogantly ignored what was going on in the rest of the world, it wouldn’t have been inevitable. But the company focused far too heavily on America, as if this is the only place where people drink beer. Now, thousands of workers have lost their jobs, beer prices are higher, and you have a bunch of Brazilians running around in Missouri. The company has even started charging for Clydesdale appearances. That Bud Light you drank last weekend was brewed by a Brazilian number-cruncher. The big question is whether that actually matters in a globalized world.

Long considered an unpolished gem of film noir, the private treasure of film buffs, cinephiles and critics, Edgar G. Ulmer’s Detour (1945) has... recently earned a new wave of recognition. In the words of film Critic David Thomson, it is simply “beyond remarkable.”  The only B-picture to make it into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress, Detour has outrun its fate as the bastard child of one of Hollywood’s lowliest studios.  Ulmer’s film follows, in flashback, the journey of Al Roberts (Tom Neal), a pianist hitching from New York to California to join his girlfriend Sue (Claudia Drake), a singer gone to seek her fortune in Hollywood.  In classic noir style, Detour  features mysterious deaths, changes of identity, an unforgettable femme fatale called Vera (Ann Savage), and, in Roberts, a wretched, masochistic antihero.Noah Isenberg’s study of Detour draws on a vast array of archival sources, unpublished letters and interviews, to provide an animated and thorough account of the film’s production history, its critical reception, its afterlife (including various remakes) and the different ways in which the film has been understood since its release.  He devotes significant attention to each of the key players in the film--the crew as well as the principal actors--while charting the uneasy transformation of Martin Goldsmith’s pulp novel into Ulmer’s signature film, the disagreements between the director and writer, and the severe financial and formal limitations with which Ulmer grappled.  The story that Isenberg tells, rich in historical and critical insight, replicates the briskness of a B-movie.

By all appearances, Lizzie Simon was perfect. She had an Ivy League education, lots of friends, a loving family, and a dazzling career as a theater... producer by the age of twenty-three. But that wasn't enough: Lizzie still felt alone in the world, and largely misunderstood. Having been diagnosed with bipolar disorder as a teenager, she longed to meet others like herself; she wanted to hear the experiences of those who managed to move past their manic-depression and lead normal lives. So Lizzie hits the road, hoping to find "a herd of her own." Along the way she finds romance and madness, survivors and sufferers, and, somewhere between the lanes, herself. Part road trip, part love story, Detour is a fast-paced, enduring memoir that demystifies mental illness while it embraces the universally human struggle to become whole.

"Detours and Lost Highways begins with the Orson Welles film, Touch of Evil (1958), which featured Welles both behind and in front of the camera. That... movie is often cited as the end of the line, noir's rococo tombstone...the film after which noir could no longer be made, or at least could no longer be made in the same way... It is my belief, Hirsch writes, that neo-noir does exist and that noir is entitled to full generic status. Over the past forty years, since noir's often-claimed expiration, it has flourished under various labels. Among the movies he discusses as evidence: Chinatown (1974), Body Heat (1981), John Woo's Hong Kong blood-ballets (e.g., The Killer, 1989) and the pulpy oeuvre of Quentin Tarantino." -Washington Post Book World

Detroit was established as a French settlement three-quarters of a century before the founding of this nation. A remote outpost built to protect... trapping interests, it grew as agriculture expanded on the new frontier. Its industry took a great leap forward with the completion of the Erie Canal, which opened up the Great Lakes to the East Coast. Surrounded by untapped natural resources, Detroit turned iron from the Mesabi Range into stoves and railcars, and eventually cars by the millions. This vibrant commercial hub attracted businessmen and labor organizers, European immigrants and African Americans from the rural South. At its mid-20th-century heyday, one in six American jobs were connected to the auto industry, its epicenter in Detroit. And then the bottom fell out.            Detroit: A Biography takes a long, unflinching look at the evolution of one of America’s great cities, and one of the nation’s greatest urban failures. It tells how the city grew to become the heart of American industry and how its utter collapse—from 1.8 million residents in 1950 to 714,000 only six decades later—resulted from a confluence of public policies, private industry decisions, and deep, thick seams of racism. And it raises the question: when we look at modern-day Detroit, are we looking at the ghost of America’s industrial past or its future?

In a “first ring” suburb outside a midsize American city, Ben and Mary fire up the grill to welcome the new neighbors who’ve moved into the... long-empty house next door. The fledgling friendship soon veers out of control, shattering the fragile hold that newly unemployed Ben and burgeoning alcoholic Mary have on their way of life—with unexpected comic consequences. Detroit is a fresh, offbeat look at what happens when we dare to open ourselves up to something new. After premiering at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre last year to rave reviews, Lisa D’Amour’s brilliant and timely play moves to Broadway this fall.

Detroit: I Do Mind Dying tracks the extraordinary development of the Dodge Revolutionary Union Movement and the League of Revolutionary Black Workers as... they became two of the landmark political organizations of the 1960s and 1970s. It is widely heralded as one the most important books on the black liberation movement.Marvin Surkin received his PhD in political science from New York University and is a specialist in comparative urban politics and social change. He worked at the center of the League of Revolutionary Black Workers in Detroit.Dan Georgakas is a writer, historian, and activist with a long-time interest in social movements. He is the author of My Detroit, Growing up Greek and American in Motor City.

De una vez! reaches out to heritage speakers who have had very little or no training in reading or writing in Spanish. It eases them into reading,... writing, and grammar using a rich cultural approach designed to make these students fully aware of their own cultural background as well as of the diversity that exists across Latin cultures. After first gaining a strong sense of self, students are then exposed to a variety of career role models within Hispanic communities. They are encouraged to be active in their own communities, to interview Hispanic professionals, and to explore different Spanish-speaking countries and regions using the Internet.