Thomas Gries

Many of the major international and intrastate crises and conflicts, but also the threat to democratic principles, are driven by belief systems and ideologies. They fuel political polarization, which is particularly evident in the battleground of social media. Nevertheless, we hardly pay attention to ideologies, their narratives, functions and organizations in economic theory today. Ideologies as “non-rational beliefs” seem incompatible with rationality in economic models. Therefore, the book examines the role of ideologies and belief systems in individual decision-making behavior from an economic and rational perspective. Due to the fact that people have incomplete information, belief systems and ideologies fulfill a number of important functions. While ideologies themselves serve psychological needs, they are used as a cognitive framework for rational decision-making once they have been adopted through a Bayesian learning process. They influence decisions in a wide range of areas, from consumption and work to politics. This is where the role of ideological organizations becomes important, because they determine the ideological direction of the narratives and their dissemination. Thus, ideologies give a normative direction, for better or for worse. The “quality” of ideological leadership can be evaluated normatively on the basis of principles such as individual sovereignty and human dignity. A democratic discourse requires an information and communication system that enables an evaluation of precisely these ideologies, free from resource and information power.

This book combines theoretical and empirical research across various academic disciplines including economics, psychology, neuroscience, philosophy, and political science to describe why individuals adopt political ideologies and how this choice can potentially exacerbate conflict and violence. Ideology is particularly important to conflict. Data on intra- and international conflict shows that the number of ideologically driven conflicts has increased tremendously in recent decades. Although some researchers started to investigate this link extensively, they struggle to find holistic explanations. The book illustrates that ideologies are not only capable of shaping conflictual behavior or mobilizing political actors, but also of addressing human needs, desires, and preferences. Hence, the authors compile valuable insights from various academic disciplines to explain how individuals adopt ideologies that match their underlying needs and preferences; that ideologies have the capacity to reconcile deprived psychological human needs; and that radical groups and organizations use ideologies to recruit individuals and pursue their objectives. Real-life cases are included to better understand these relationships and to apply the theoretical background to real-world situations.

Is Artificial Intelligence a more significant invention than electricity? Will it result in explosive economic growth and unimaginable wealth for all, or will it cause the extinction of all humans? Artificial Intelligence: Economic Perspectives and Models provides a sober analysis of these questions from an economics perspective. It argues that to better understand the impact of AI on economic outcomes, we must fundamentally change the way we think about AI in relation to models of economic growth. It describes the progress that has been made so far and offers two ways in which current modelling can be improved: firstly, to incorporate the nature of AI as providing abilities that complement and/or substitute for labour, and secondly, to consider demand-side constraints. Outlining the decision-theory basis of both AI and economics, this book shows how this, and the incorporation of AI into economic models, can provide useful tools for safe, human-centered AI.

Is Artificial Intelligence a more significant invention than electricity? Will it result in explosive economic growth and unimaginable wealth for all, or will it cause the extinction of all humans? Artificial Intelligence: Economic Perspectives and Models provides a sober analysis of these questions from an economics perspective. It argues that to better understand the impact of AI on economic outcomes, we must fundamentally change the way we think about AI in relation to models of economic growth. It describes the progress that has been made so far and offers two ways in which current modelling can be improved: firstly, to incorporate the nature of AI as providing abilities that complement and/or substitute for labour, and secondly, to consider demand-side constraints. Outlining the decision-theory basis of both AI and economics, this book shows how this, and the incorporation of AI into economic models, can provide useful tools for safe, human-centered AI.

Textile Technology is a unique and readable introduction into the field of textile engineering. It is based on an elementary level course focusing on the manufacture (processes and machines) of yarn, fabric, knitwear, nonwovens, braids, reinforcing fabrics, and technical textiles, but also provides technicians and engineers in the textile industry with an up-to-date review of processes and equipment for textile manufacturing. The book covers all processing steps for the manufacturing of textiles, describing materials, processes and machines, finishing, making-up, and recycling. To provide a better understanding of the individual textile processes, each chapter ends with an example describing the respective processing steps for a specific textile product. In addition, current and future development trends are discussed. The second edition is brought up to date with extensive coverage of new developments, such as in the fields of testing, measurement, and simulation.

In the new global economy, more countries have opened up to international competition and rapid capital flows. However, in the triad the process of globalization is rather asymmetric. With a rising role of multinational companies there are favorable prospects for higher global growth and economic catching-up, respectively. Theoretical analysis suggests key ingredients of sustained growth, but there is also a new concept of a long-term equilibrium income gap in which convergence is rather unlikely. The analysis also picks up European and US labor market issues in the context of economic globalization and raises the question of which EU policies in the field of labor market reform and of innovation policies are adequate.

Die Nordrhein-Westf lische Akademie der Wissenschaften und der K nste ist eine Vereinigung der f hrenden Forscherinnen und Forscher des Landes. Sie wurde 1970 als Nachfolgeeinrichtung der Arbeitsgemeinschaft f r Forschung des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen gegr ndet. Die Akademie ist in drei wissenschaftliche Klassen f r Geisteswissenschaften, f r Naturwissenschaften und Medizin sowie f r Ingenieur- und Wirtschaftswissenschaften und in eine Klasse der K nste gegliedert. Mit Publikationen zu den wissenschaftlichen Vortr gen in den Klassensitzungen, zu ffentlichen Veranstaltungen und Symposien will die Akademie die Fach- und allgemeine ffentlichkeit ber die Arbeiten der Akademie und ihrer Forschungsstellen informieren.

In the new global economy, more countries have opened up to international competition and rapid capital flows. However, in the triad the process of globalization is rather asymmetric. With a rising role of multinational companies there are favorable prospects for higher global growth and economic catching-up, respectively. Theoretical analysis suggests key ingredients of sustained growth, but there is also a new concept of a long-term equilibrium income gap in which convergence is rather unlikely. The analysis also picks up European and US labor market issues in the context of economic globalization and raises the question of which EU policies in the field of labor market reform and of innovation policies are adequate.

Ist der Standort Deutschland international gefahrdet? Dieses Lehrbuch erschliesst dem Leser kompakt und leicht verstandlich die offentliche Diskussion uber das Problem der internationalen Wettbewerbsfahigkeit des Standorts Deutschland. Ausgehend von der Darstellung der Mechanismen des internationalen Wettbewerbs und den Funktionsweisen globaler Markte werden die wichtigsten Standortfaktoren Deutschlands diskutiert und in den Mittelpunkt unterschiedlicher Losungsansatze gestellt.

Behandelt wird in diesem Buch nicht nur der Standardstoff des Grundstudiums wie Guternachfrage- und Arbeitsangebot der Konsumenten, Guterangebot- und Faktornachfrage der Unternehmen und die Analyse von Markten, sondern auch Loesungen neuerer Probleme wie Spieltheorie, Externe Effekte, OEffentliche Guter, Humankapitalbildung und Institutionen. Dieses Buch unterscheidet sich von anderen Lehr- oder Aufgabenbuchern dadurch, dass durch die konsequente Anwendung eines Frage-Antwort-Stils der Stoff in kurzen Lerneinheiten dargeboten wird. Es eignet sich daher sowohl zum Selbststudium als auch zum prufungsvorbereitenden Lernen. Alle Fragestellungen werden in der Regel sowohl graphisch als auch analytisch behandelt.

Die theoretische Analyse internationaler makrookonomischer Interdependenzen ist traditionell auf Zwei-Lander-Betrachtungen beschrankt. Die hierdurch unterstellten Symmetrien schranken jedoch die Allgemeinheit der Ergebnisse dieser Modelle ein. Die implizite -composite country- Annahme verdeckt, dass wichtige Grossen einzelner Lander entgegengesetzt zu denen des -composite country- reagieren konnen. Dies wird in einem vollstandigen Drei-Lander-Modell gezeigt. In einem weiteren Schritt werden die Abschirmungsmoglichkeiten einzelner Lander nach einem exogenen Schock durch Einzelmassnahmen oder bilaterale, international koordinierte Massnahmen untersucht. Auch hier zeigt sich, dass die Analyse bilateral koordinierter Politik in Mehr-Lander-Modellen zu zusatzlichen interessanten Ergebnissen fuhrt."