This book explores institutional change and economic behaviour by examining the transition process in the former socialist countries that joined the EU in 2004, looking at the growth occurring in China, offering a historical perspective on economic underdevelopment in the Middle East, and...

1. Introduction / Ying Ma and Hans-Michael Trautwein -- 2. Physiocracy and the Chinese model / Stefan Gaarsmand Jacobsen -- 3. The reception of Adam Smith in East Asia / Qunyi Liu -- 4. Commodities, natural resources, and growth / Mauro Boianovsky -- 5. Yan Fu, individualism, and social order /...