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Research Handbook on the Law of Virtual and Augmented Reality
by Woodrow Barfield Marc J. BlitzThe proliferation of virtual and augmented reality technologies into society raise significant questions for judges, legal institutions, and policy makers. For example, when should activities that occur in virtual worlds, or virtual images that are projected into real space (that is, augmented reality), count as protected First Amendment ‘speech’? When should they instead count as a nuisance or trespass? Under what circumstances would the copying of virtual images infringe intellectual property laws, or the output of intelligent virtual avatars be patentable inventions or works of authorship eligible for copyright? And when should a person (or computer) face legal consequences for allegedly harmful virtual acts? The Research Handbook on the Law of Virtual and Augmented Reality addresses these questions and others, drawing upon free speech doctrine, criminal law, the law of data protection and privacy, and of jurisdiction, as well as upon potential legal rights for increasingly intelligent virtual avatars in VR worlds. The Research Handbook offers a comprehensive look at challenges to various legal doctrines raised by the emergence – and increasing use – of virtual and augmented reality worlds, and at how existing law in the USA, Europe, and other jurisdictions might apply to these emerging technologies, or evolve to address them. It also considers what legal questions about virtual and augmented reality are likely to be important, not just for judges and legal scholars, but also for the established businesses and start-ups that wish to make use of, and help shape, these important new technologies. This comprehensive Research Handbook will be an invaluable reference to those looking to keep pace with the dynamic field of virtual and augmented reality, including students and researchers studying intellectual property law as well as legal practitioners, computer scientists, engineers, game designers, and business owners.
Research Handbook on the Law of Artificial Intelligence
by Woodrow Barfield Ugo PagalloThe field of artificial intelligence (AI) has made tremendous advances in the last few decades, but as smart as AI is now, it is getting exponentially smarter and becoming more autonomous in its actions. This raises a host of challenges to current legal doctrine, including whether the output of AI entities should count as ‘speech’, the extent to which AI should be regulated under antitrust and criminal law statutes, and whether AI should be considered an independent agent and responsible for its actions under the law of tort or agency. Containing chapters written by leading U.S., EU, and International law scholars, the Research Handbook presents current law, statutes, and regulations on the role of law in an age of increasingly smart AI, addressing issues of law that are critical to the evolution of AI and its role in society. To provide a broad coverage of the topic, the Research Handbook draws upon free speech doctrine, criminal law, issues of data protection and privacy, legal rights for increasingly smart AI systems, and a discussion of jurisdiction for AI entities that will not be “content” to stay within the geographical boundaries of any nation state or be tied to a particular physical location. Using numerous examples and case studies, the chapter authors discuss the political and jurisdictional decisions that will have to be made as AI proliferates into society and transforms our government and social institutions. The Research Handbook will also introduce designers of artificially intelligent systems to the legal issues that apply to the make-up and use of AI from the technologies, algorithms, and analytical techniques. This essential guide to the U.S., EU, and other International law, regulations, and statutes which apply to the emerging field of “law and AI”will be a valuable reference for scholars and students interested in information and intellectual property law, privacy, and data protection as well as to legal theorists and social scientists who write about the future direction and implications of AI. The Research Handbook will also serve as an important reference for legal practitioners in different jurisdictions who may litigate disputes involving AI, and to computer scientists and engineers actively involved in the design and use of the next generation of AI systems.
Research Handbook on the Law and Economics of Competition Enforcement (Research Handbooks in Competition Law series)
This incisive Research Handbook identifies and assesses the emerging trends in competition enforcement, investigating how such changes impact the enforcement approach of competition authorities and the behaviour of companies in an ever-evolving business and regulatory environment.Insightful contributions from experts in the field of competition enforcement law cover anticompetitive agreements, unilateral conduct, and merger control, as well as exploring topics such as algorithmic collusion, market power and data, big data, industrial policy, consumer welfare, common ownership, and competition enforcement in digital platforms. Combining academic, practitioner, and enforcer perspectives, this expansive Handbook sheds light on topical developments concerning competition enforcement, representing an expansion of existing enforcement practices. The Handbook concludes by considering how competition authorities could address the proliferating competition enforcement challenges arising from the appearance of new markets, novel business models, and technological developments. Bringing together unique perspectives on new trends affecting competition enforcement, this timely Handbook will prove invaluable to law firms with an international competition or merger law practice, as well as to economic consultants and competition and regulatory authorities. Comprehensive and accessible, its analysis of the latest developments and perspectives in competition enforcement establish the Handbook as essential reading material for scholars of law and business across the globe.
Research Handbook on Social Media and Society
As social media scholarship matures, early optimism has been replaced by a more complex and arguably gloomier picture of the role of digital media platforms in our lives. This incisive Research Handbook showcases the academic community’s responses to key societal challenges posed by evolving social media ecologies.Multidisciplinary and international in outlook, leading contributors present wide-ranging and balanced coverage of social media research, including non-Western settings and the Global South. Chapters explore emerging interdisciplinary research methods which support the increasingly sophisticated, theoretical understanding in the field. They also debate the complex ethical issues confronting social media scholars today.Students and early career researchers in communications, digital media and sociology will find this a highly valuable book. Due to its inclusion of diverse contexts and locales, this book will also be of interest to experienced researchers and academics.
Research Handbook on Public Management and Artificial Intelligence (Elgar Handbooks in Public Administration and Management)
This pioneering Research Handbook on Public Management and Artificial Intelligence provides a comprehensive overview of the potentials, challenges, and governance principles of AI in a public management context. Multidisciplinary in approach, it draws on a variety of jurisdictional perspectives and expertly analyses key topics relating to this socio-technical phenomenon.Showcasing contributions by a collection of eminent scholars from across the globe, this Research Handbook presents cutting-edge research on AI in public management. Organised into three parts corresponding with distinct foci of research, it explores the adoption and implementation of AI in public management settings, presents specific case studies and examples of AI in the public sector, and outlines future trends and directions in the evolution of AI adoption and use in public management.Based on empirical research from a global perspective, this Research Handbook will prove invaluable to practitioners, policymakers, and public managers both as users and co-creators of AI-enabled services. Researchers and academics in the fields of organisational innovation, public management, technology, public administration, and public policy will also find this to be an essential read.
Research Handbook on Privacy and Data Protection Law: Values, Norms and Global Politics (Research Handbooks in Information Law series)
This Research Handbook is an insightful overview of the key rules, concepts and tensions in privacy and data protection law. It highlights the increasing global significance of this area of law, illustrating the many complexities in the field through a blend of theoretical and empirical perspectives. Providing an excellent in-depth analysis of global privacy and data protection law, it explores multiple regional and national jurisdictions, bringing together interdisciplinary international contributions from Europe and beyond. Chapters cover critical topics in the field, including key features of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), border surveillance, big data, artificial intelligence, and biometrics. It also investigates the relationship between privacy and data protection law and other fields of law, such as consumer law and competition law. With its detailed exploration and insights into privacy and data protection, this Research Handbook will prove a useful resource for information and media law students as well as academics researching fields such as data protection and privacy law and surveillance or security studies.
Research Handbook on Law and Technology
This thorough and incisive Research Handbook reconstructs the scholarly discourses surrounding the field of law and technology, recognising how it has been established over the last decade as one of the focal points of legal scholarly debate.Adopting a multidimensional approach, the Research Handbook on Law and Technology brings together an array of esteemed experts and new voices in the field with chapters considering antitrust, artificial intelligence, consumer law, legal responses to techlaw uncertainties, internet, methodology, and human rights in the digital age. Contributors examine the interaction between various branches of law and technology and analyse specific challenges that technology poses to law and legal scholarship, using theoretical reasoning and case-specific examples to support key arguments. Ultimately, this Research Handbook encourages a critical approach when engaging with discussions on law and technology, arguing that our understanding can only be improved and developed by challenging existing paradigms.The Research Handbook on Law and Technology is a fundamental resource for legal students, academics, researchers and practitioners interested in the legal challenges stemming from the use of different technologies. Providing a comprehensive examination of technology’s multidisciplinary nature, this book will also appeal to academics in the fields of philosophy, social science, political science and public policy.
Research Handbook on International Law and Cyberspace (Research Handbooks in International Law series)
This revised and expanded edition of the Research Handbook on International Law and Cyberspace brings together leading scholars and practitioners to examine how international legal rules, concepts and principles apply to cyberspace and the activities occurring within it. In doing so, contributors highlight the difficulties in applying international law to cyberspace, assess the regulatory efficacy of these rules and, where necessary, suggest adjustments and revisions.More specifically, contributors explore the application of general concepts and principles to cyberspace such as those of sovereignty, power, norms, non-intervention, jurisdiction, State responsibility, human rights, individual criminal responsibility and international investment law and arbitration. Contributors also examine how international law applies to cyber terrorism, cyber espionage, cyber crime, cyber attacks and cyber war as well as the meaning of cyber operations, cyber deterrence and the ethics of cyber operations. In addition, contributors consider how international and regional institutions such as the United Nations, the European Union, NATO and Asia-Pacific institutions and States such as China and Russia approach cyber security and regulation.This Research Handbook is an essential resource for scholars of international law, international relations and public and private law as well as for legal practitioners and policymakers.
Research Handbook on Intellectual Property and Digital Technologies (Research Handbooks in Intellectual Property series)
by Tanya AplinThis Research Handbook provides a scholarly and comprehensive account of the multiple converging challenges that digital technologies present for intellectual property (IP) rights, from the perspectives of international, EU and US law. Despite the fast-moving nature of digital technology, this Handbook provides profound reflections on the underlying normative legal dilemmas, identifying future problems and suggesting how digital IP issues should be dealt with in the future. Written by leading international academics, commentators and practitioners, the Handbook is organised into clear thematic parts that address the most prominent types of IP rights: copyrights and related rights; patents and trade secrets; and trade mark law and designs. Chapters analyse a range of key technologies and their impacts within these areas, including big data, artificial intelligence, streaming, software, databases, user-generated content, mass digitisation, metatags, keywords and 3D printing. The Handbook concludes by exploring issues of competition and enforcement that cut across all of these technologies, particularly in the light of online exploitation and infringement. Scholars and doctoral students of law will find this Handbook an invaluable introduction and guide to the field of digital IP. Practitioners will also find its thoughtful coverage practically relevant.
Research Handbook on Intellectual Property and Artificial Intelligence (Research Handbooks in Intellectual Property series)
This incisive Handbook offers novel theoretical and doctrinal insights alongside practical guidance on some of the most challenging issues in the field of artificial intelligence and intellectual property. Featuring all original contributions from a diverse group of international thought leaders, including top academics, judges, regulators and eminent practitioners, it offers timely perspectives and research on the relationship of AI to copyright, trademark, design, patent and trade secret law.The Handbook is divided into four thematic parts, beginning with topics that address the intersection of IP and AI broadly before focusing on issues associated with specific types of IP. Chapters tackle critical legal questions, from issues with protecting AI-generated ourput to the impact of AI on how trademarks are used, offering valuable lessons on technology regulation and how technological evolution will disrupt existing legal frameworks.Scholars and students of intellectual property law and its intersections with AI and related technologies will find this Handbook ’s cutting-edge contributions to be a crucial read. Its guidance on the practical legal implications of technological advances will also be of interest to IP practitioners, as well as policymakers and regulators.
Research Handbook on Information Systems and the Environment (Research Handbooks in Information Systems)
This comprehensive Research Handbook provides international perspectives on the role of information systems in environmental sustainability, drawing on groundbreaking research from leading scholars to predict future trends.This Research Handbook presents in-depth studies on green information systems which utilise a diverse range of approaches and methods, including reviews of previous literature, experimental studies, surveys, and interviews. Chapters focus on the development and promotion of energy informatics, the use of digital technologies in the implementation of a circular economy, and the role of information systems in supporting the integration of renewable energy. This Research Handbook further analyses the ways in which digital nudging, demand response, and the impact of psychological ownership can influence consumer behaviour and encourage sustainable consumption. Tackling the issues facing information systems and the environment on an individual, organisational, and societal scale, this Research Handbook will be crucial reading for students and scholars in business ethics, environmental management, information systems, and management and sustainability. It will also be beneficial for practitioners in business management and corporate social responsibility who are interested in environmental sustainability.
Research Handbook on Information Policy
This comprehensive and innovative Research Handbook tackles the pressing issues confronting us at the dawn of the global network society, including freedom of speech, government transparency and the digital divide. Representing a milestone in information policy research, this new volume edited by Alistair Duff brings together leading contributors from a wide range of disciplines to discuss important topics such as genetic information, news and privacy, and provides case studies on cyber harms, freedom of information and national digitization policy. Engaging with controversial problems of public policy including freedom of expression, copyright and information inequality, the Research Handbook on Information Policy offers a well-rounded exploration of the history and future of this vital field. Systematically addressing both general theory and specific issues, as well as providing international perspectives, this Research Handbook will be of particular interest to academics and students in the disciplines of information science, journalism and media studies, politics, sociology, philosophy and law.
Research Handbook on Information Law and Governance (Research Handbooks in Information Law series)
This fresh and insightful Research Handbook delivers global perspectives on information law and governance, delving into principles of information law in the areas of trade secrecy, privacy, data protection and cybersecurity.Providing US, Japanese and European perspectives, this Research Handbook presents an overview of legal regimes concerning the protection of information, with a particular focus on trade secrecy protection. Top international contributors offer analyses of general principles of information law, rights in data, the tension between trade secrecy and the freedom of information and the cross-fertilisation between national and regional data protection regimes.Presenting an interdisciplinary and holistic approach to information law and governance, this innovative Research Handbook will be useful to those researching trade secrets, privacy and data security laws. The broad range of perspectives will also appeal to attorneys and information professionals who are engaged in information governance activities on behalf of their clients or employers.
Research Handbook on Human Rights and Digital Technology: Global Politics, Law and International Relations (Research Handbooks in Human Rights series)
by Ben Wagner Matthias C. Kettemann Kilian ViethIn a digitally connected world, the question of how to respect, protect and fulfil human rights has become unavoidable. Uniting research from scholars and practitioners, this contemporary Research Handbook offers new insights into well-established debates surrounding digital technologies by framing them in terms of human rights. An international group of expert contributors explore the issues posed by the management of key Internet resources, the governance of its architecture, the role of different stakeholders, the legitimacy of rule-making and rule-enforcement, and the exercise of international public authority over users. Highly interdisciplinary, the Research Handbook draws on law, political science, and international relations, as well as computer science and science and technology studies in order to engage with human rights aspects of the digitally connected world. The chapters examine in depth current topics relating to human rights and security, Internet access, surveillance, automation, trade, and freedom of expression. This comprehensive and engaging Research Handbook will be vital reading for both researchers and students in law, human rights, international politics, international relations and technology studies. Policy-makers seeking an understanding of the state of human rights in technology will also find this book a highly useful resource.
Research Handbook on Human Resource Management and Disruptive Technologies (Research Handbooks in Business and Management series)
This comprehensive Research Handbook examines the fundamental influence of emerging disruptive technologies, such as artificial intelligence, online platforms, the internet of things, and social robots, on Human Resource Management (HRM). Bringing together an array of interdisciplinary experts, this erudite Research Handbook analyses the HRM challenges posed by disruptive technologies and develops practical propositions to counteract them. It discusses the navigation of ethical dilemmas, human rights and digital governance in HRM, consumer value in the digital economy, and technology driven changes in HRM practice. Featuring case studies on talent management in multinational enterprises, the engagement of digital generations with contemporary technologies, and the introduction of cobots in the manufacturing industry, contributors expertly explore current discussions and future directions for scholarly research. Promoting a better understanding of critical perspectives on HRM and disruptive technologies, this Handbook will be a vital resource for students, scholars and researchers in business analytics, information systems, knowledge management, organizational innovation, technology and ICT. It will also provide valuable guidance on the effects of emerging technologies for HR and leadership practitioners.
Research Handbook on EU Internet Law (Research Handbooks in European Law series)
The Internet has brought about unprecedented changes to modern life, creating a connected society but also radically opening up the question of how to design and apply legal rules in a digital world. This thoroughly revised second edition provides an updated exploration of the latest developments and controversies in European Internet law. Paying close attention to recent acts and proposals, including the Digital Services Act (DSA), Digital Markets Act (DMA), AI Act and others, this Research Handbook traces the developments of main regulatory ideas; provides criticism of the methods, principles, approaches and enforcement; and gives a critical analysis of the normative side of regulation. The expert contributors are clustered around the main regulatory fields and each deals adeptly with one or more of the key features of the passed or proposed acts. Providing a critical analysis of the EU’s regulatory efforts in digital regulation, this discerning Research Handbook will be a useful reference tool for academics and postgraduate students specialising in international law, e-commerce, consumer law and IT law. It will also be of interest to practitioners, including governmental officials and data protection officers.
Research Handbook on EU Data Protection Law (Research Handbooks in European Law series)
Bringing together leading European scholars, this thought-provoking Research Handbook provides a state-of-the-art overview of the scope of research and current thinking in the area of European data protection. Offering critical insights on prominent strands of research, it examines key challenges and potential solutions in the field.Chapters explore the fundamental right to personal data protection, government-to-business data sharing, data protection as performance-based regulation, privacy and marketing in data-driven business models, data protection and judicial automation, and the role of consent in an algorithmic society. Expert contributors investigate the impact of Brexit on the right to data portability, essential equivalence as a benchmark for international data transfers following Schrems II, and data protection in relation to the application and boundaries of the Law Enforcement Directive, trade secret privileges, and competition law.Comprehensive, yet accessible, the Research Handbook on EU Data Protection Law will be a valuable resource for students and scholars of technology and data protection law, privacy law, and European law more broadly, while also being a useful tool for practitioners and policymakers concerned with data protection.
Research Handbook on Digital Trade
This comprehensive Research Handbook analyzes the impact of the rapid growth of digital trade on businesses, consumers, and regulators. Leading experts provide theoretical and practical insight into how to manage the legal and policy challenges of the global digital economy.Chapters cover key areas of digital trade policy and regulation, examining finance, investment, tax, AI, and security. Drawing from a broad spectrum of digital trade sub-specialisms, this Research Handbook explores diverse regional and national approaches to e-commerce, spanning Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. It scrutinizes the evolution of digital trade within the international trade system, assessing its inclusion within the WTO and the move towards digital-only agreements. Contributors investigate pressing legal controversies concerning trade protectionism, the recognition of intellectual property, and the safeguarding of personal data.This Research Handbook will be an invaluable resource for academics and students in digital trade, international law, public policy, and regulation. It will also be a useful guide for legal and political practitioners seeking to understand the emerging field of digital trade.
Research Handbook on Digital Strategy (Research Handbooks in Business and Management series)
This state-of-the-art Research Handbook presents a comprehensive overview of the key strategic challenges that firms face when dealing with digital markets, platforms, and products and services, from old strategy questions in need of different solutions to entirely novel issues posed by the new competitive digital context.Bringing together contributions from international experts in digital strategy, the Research Handbook depicts the contours of the major threads of investigation that shape the digital transformation process at firm, platform, market, and industry levels. Chapters explore the fundamentals of digital strategy and digitization, the design of digital organizational architectures, how value is created and captured through data strategies, and the manifold challenges that firms face in the digital era. From the impact of Big Data analytics and AI on management thinking and practice to the nature of digital competition and user engagement on social media platforms, the Research Handbook takes stock of emerging issues and advancements in digital strategy research and ultimately considers how future digital strategy frameworks might be cultivated.This timely Research Handbook will be an invaluable tool for students and scholars of strategic management, international management, entrepreneurship, and technology and innovation management. Its discussion of how digital strategy relates to traditional strategy frameworks will also benefit executives, entrepreneurs, and consultants with an interest in better understanding the state of the art of digital strategy.
Research Handbook on Digital Sociology (Research Handbooks in Sociology series)
Exploring the social implications of digital transformation, as well as demonstrating how we might use digital transformation to further sociological knowledge, this incisive Handbook provides an extensive overview of cutting-edge research on the digital turn of modern society.Bringing together contributions from more than 60 experts spanning a wide range of disciplines, Jan Skopek explores how digital technologies inextricably permeate the ways we go about our everyday lives, from how we seek information and carry out economic transactions to how we construct our identities and pursue and maintain social relationships. Chapters investigate timely issues related to social theory and social research in the digital age, including the study of online behaviour, digital social inequalities, and the micro- and macro-level consequences of digital technological change. Covering state-of-the-art quantitative and qualitative research methodologies in digital sociology, this Research Handbook serves as a comprehensive resource for teaching and research in a continually developing field. Cross-disciplinary in scope, this dynamic Research Handbook will be essential reading for a diverse audience of academics, researchers, students, and practitioners, particularly in the fields of sociology, demography, computer and information sciences, economics, business, and psychology.
Research Handbook on Contract Design (Research Handbooks in Information Law series)
This Research Handbook inspires a new vision of contracts, with practical illustrations of how they should be designed, rather than just drafted. The contributors offer a proactive approach, merged with innovative design, to show how contracts can be both user-friendly and legally functional. This ground-breaking work goes beyond the initial drafting and formation of contracts to cover implementation and integration with business infrastructure – including digital processes. Drawing on a multi-disciplinary perspective, it highlights all aspects of the contract lifecycle, using both theoretical and practical scenarios. As well as improved design and communication, the Handbook takes a creative view of the role of emerging technologies, including AI, and how they can increase contract functionality and visualisation. The goals are simplification, clarity about rights and obligations, and the prevention of unnecessary legal problems. Providing an up-to-date analysis of current trends in contract design thinking and practice, this Handbook will be an excellent resource for contract and legal professionals, scholars and practitioners. Entrepreneurs, procurement and sales managers, information designers and technologists will also find the forward-thinking, human-centred approach in this book illuminating and informative.
Research Handbook on Big Data Law (Research Handbooks in Information Law series)
This state-of-the-art Research Handbook provides an overview of research into, and the scope of current thinking in, the field of big data analytics and the law. It contains a wealth of information to survey the issues surrounding big data analytics in legal settings, as well as legal issues concerning the application of big data techniques in different domains. Featuring contributions from a variety of expert scholars, this is an interdisciplinary dialogue addressing big data analytics, tools and techniques and the societal impact of the field. Chapters analyze both cases anchored in a particular legal system (such as anti-corruption in China) and big data law approaches relevant across multiple practice areas: including machine learning within law, legal information retrieval, natural language processing and e-discovery. It also offers original insights from industry project reports that use big data law techniques in interesting, new ways. Providing a unique and interdisciplinary blend of analysis, this Research Handbook will be a key resource for legal scholars and students researching in areas such as criminal, tax, copyright and administrative law. It will also prove useful for practicing lawyers wanting to get a sense of the legal practice of the future, as well as law-makers thinking about the use of big data law techniques in government policy.
Research Handbook on Artificial Intelligence and Decision Making in Organizations (Research Handbooks in Business and Management series)
Featuring state-of-the-art research from leading academics in technology and organization studies, this timely Research Handbook provides a comprehensive overview of how AI becomes embedded in decision making in organizations, from the initial considerations when implementing AI to the use of such solutions in strategic decision making. Bringing together cutting-edge scholarship on the many issues and complexities surrounding the use of AI in decision making for organizations, this enlightening Research Handbook illustrates how technology is intertwined with organizational processes and outcomes. Contributors examine human-AI collaboration in welfare services, responsible AI governance, AI systems in medical imaging, and the ethical implications of AI use in practice. Furthermore, the editors propose an integrative framework for decision making in organizations that encompasses making decisions about AI, with AI, and the implications of decisions made by AI. The Research Handbook will be essential reading for students, academics and researchers in business analytics, information systems, organizational innovation, organizational behavior, and organizational and occupational psychology. It will also be a valuable resource for business managers and AI engineers.
Research Handbook on Artificial Intelligence and Communication
This forward-looking Research Handbook makes an insightful contribution to the emerging field of studies on communication of, by and with AI. Bringing together state-of-the-art research from over 50 leading international scholars across various fields, it provides a comprehensive overview of the complex intersections between AI and communication. The team of expert contributors explore key conceptual, theoretical and methodological approaches and examine a variety of ethical considerations, legal issues and policy implications of AI across diverse contexts. The Handbook spans a wide range of topics related to AI-empowered, immersed, mediated and integrated communications. These range from the role of news media and digital communication platforms in constructing, representing and framing AI across different countries and cultures, to the public understanding of, attitude towards and interaction with AI and its related technologies. Offering foundational guidance on AI and communication, the Research Handbook will stimulate further intellectual inquiry for future scholarship in this rapidly evolving area. Cross-disciplinary in scope, this dynamic Research Handbook will prove an essential reference for students and scholars in multiple fields, including communication, computer science, data and information science, sociology, business, and education. Policymakers and practitioners will also find it a valuable resource to help inform AI-related regulations and policies.
Research Handbook on Alternative Finance (Research Handbooks in Money and Finance series)
Promoting a comparative perspective, this comprehensive Research Handbook aids in the understanding of alternative finance and its values in a global setting. Readers are encouraged to view alternative finance through the lens of economic mechanisms rather than terminology.Providing a holistic review of alternative finance, this timely Research Handbook emphasizes the development dynamics between financial practices and industry, financial structures, economic considerations and technology development. Chapters examine each individual type of alternative finance and explain their network advantages, such as their responsiveness to cultural structures and business conditions, bringing to light how significant modern developments such as technological advancements may lead to dramatic changes in financial systems. Ultimately, they expand on the great variation of alternative financial practices worldwide.Balancing theory, practice and policy considerations, this Research Handbook will be essential for academics and researchers pursuing the study of finance, banking, and international business. It will additionally be highly beneficial for policymakers involved in the development of financial systems and financial regulators.