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The purpose of this paper is to explore the application of a hermeneutic-based approach as innovative way to study the Cultural Heritage management in a mesoeconomic space.

The paper builds a theoretical framework based on the analysis of relevant literature in the field of cultural economics, heritage economics and conservation and restoration techniques. Then, after having defined the conceptual hypothesis, a hermeneutical interpretative model is designed for the analysis of the processes of Cultural Heritage management with particular regard to the strategies of stakeholder engagement.

The research shows how the mesoeconomic space is that border area where it is possible to solve more easily the conflicts that arise as a result of the different expectations of stakeholders. Hermeneutical analysis, applied in iterative form, allows us to find common connections, points of contact and convergences between the interpretative horizons of the various stakeholders.

The application of the interpretative model allows the identification of the expectations of stakeholders, improving the knowledge of the tangible and intangible attributes of works of art, in order to design appropriate interventions of restoration, conservation and valorization.

The new model of analysis, based on hermeneutic methodology, is designed to understand and describe the social and economic relations between the different stakeholders involved in the management of Cultural Heritage.

This paper examines for the first time the Cultural Heritage sector within the mesoeconomic area between the micro and the macroeconomy. In addition to this mesoeconomic analysis and conceptual approach, the authors introduce as methodology the economic hermeneutics that represents an innovative tool in the field of economic and business disciplines.

Both neoclassical and Keynesian economists have widely favored the use of equilibrium models to understand economic activity, but dramatic periods of change such as the current global economic downturn are poorly understood by assuming equilibrium. The economist Joseph Schumpeter tried to inject dynamism and disequilibrium into economic models by arguing for the role of entrepreneurs in creating microeconomic change, and for examining long-term macroeconomic change as represented in business cycles. No economist, including Schumpeter, has ever connected these two approaches to change and these approaches are not typically used as alternative and complementary ways of viewing transformation over time. We suggest that these theories can be connected in a “mesoeconomic” institutional analysis rooted in economic sociology; we demonstrate this connection by examining the US commercial building industry. This industry has changed in qualitatively distinct ways over the past two centuries in what we call market orders, economic orders sometimes lasting for decades or more. In each market order, entrepreneurs of different sorts are able to flourish and push forward institutional changes that result in long-term economic shifts. Credit and finance have been pivotal influences in each market order, a factor supporting Schumpeter's focus on entrepreneurial action and speculation and one not largely discussed today. We view the recent disruption of financial markets as a signal of the destruction of a reigning market order.

In the twenty‐first century, the forces of information technology, markets and globalization will continue to be felt and will bring about both positive and negative effects. The past century saw these forces contribute to the wealth of nations but the greatest challenge for economists in the next century and more is to understand how these forces can bring about the wealth of the world, built around the concept of sustainability (with its four pillars of economic efficiency, social equity, ecological balance, and democratic governance). This article sets an ambitious agenda for economic research along four lines: socio‐economics, mesoeconomics, technoeconomics, and foresight.

In the wake of public service liberalisation in many OECD countries, economic interventions into the purpose and implementation of social policies have gained a lot of interest in recent years. The prime aim of this paper is to describe the nature of these interventions. The paper examines the reasons for pursuing elusive efficiency objectives in the conduct of public policy, rationales for purchaser‐provider splits, evaluation of cost‐quality relationships, service costing and pricing, and the influence of “external” economic variables.

The paper breaks the analysis of public policy down to three layers of economic interventions: macroeconomics (allocative efficiency, intervention rationales and macroeconomic environment), mesoeconomics (economics of delivery in “social industries”) and microeconomics (agent behaviour, contracting, pricing and evaluation). Each level of economic intervention is illustrated with examples, mainly taken from Australian public policy and mainstream social economic research.

Some of the most critical questions in policy implementation (outsourcing, pricing, contracting and agency problems) can be traced back to economic reforms. Experiments with new modes of service delivery are driven by a changing economic context, yet the efficiency gains from these innovative approaches may come at the expense of service quality.

Changing macro‐, meso‐ and microeconomic variables profoundly alter the parameters of service delivery. Designers and managers of service delivery systems need to be aware of – and skilled in – the practical application of economic principles, concepts and methods.

Except for the health sector, there is a lack of consistent research on the interrelationships between the standard economics toolkit and the delivery of public services. Yet the two are profoundly intertwined. The paper helps distinguish these relationships by putting together elements of conceptual analysis and fieldwork.

Over the last five years several frameworks have been suggested for the development of corporate' competitive advantage, on the basis of their intangible resources. These frameworks are mainly managerially oriented; they require the design of a set of metrics dealing with organisational inputs. Hence the importance of making the link between internal and external perspectives, especially those related to financial performance. Making such a link is the main aim of the intellectual capital dynamic value (IC‐dVAL®) approach, which integrates four dimensions for measurement – inputs, processes, assets, and outputs – and defines ad hoc metrics for measuring intellectual capital in a dynamic way. This approach is now used at the corporate level in several contexts. It is also under consideration for implementation at the mesoeconomic and even the macroeconomic levels. The paper also presents how such an approach can be used at the country level, especially in Europe.

The chapter looks for the conditions of a contribution of microcredit to poverty alleviation.

It uses socioeconomical hypotheses for defining a direct and fast positive effect of microcredit on the income of the poorest. The contribution raises ten issues or conditions at a micro, meso and macro level.

It is not often that these ten conditions are all completely met. So, the impact of microcredit is generally low as regards the alleviation of poverty. The problems to achieve them are linked to the specificities of the clients and of the prevailing institutions in various sub-Saharan Africa countries.

The chapter clearly identifies the limits of microcredit and their reasons.

This chapter establishes the conceptual and analytic framework for the book. It relates not only to much of the existing work in evolutionary and institutional economics, but also to work in cultural science and cultural semiotics domains as well as in media convergence and transmedia studies. The central concept it first deploys is ‘innovation systems’ as applied in national, regional, international and sectoral contexts. It then builds on the general theory of economic evolution by Kurt Dopfer and Jason Potts and reviews the tools this theory provides to carry out a meso-level analysis of industries co-innovating and converging. It then proposes a new concept – ‘cross-innovation’ – to refer to the emergence of new structures and ‘rules’ at the boundaries of existing industries.

The aim of this chapter is to draw attention to the changes that have taken place in Czechia in the last 20 years in the field of foreign trade, focussing on the key milestones of 2002, 2012 and 2022. The chapter also explains the important link between the performance of foreign trade and economic growth; this link has its support in theory, and above all in empiricism. The importance of foreign trade for economic growth is key, especially from the point of view of changes in the territorial and commodity structure, which saw several important changes in the observed period 2002–2022, so we can relevantly explain the effects on the economic growth of Czechia. However, the chapter finds a connection with yet another economic category, which is competitiveness. The method of measuring and subsequent ranking of competitiveness is also of utmost importance. If the economy is to be competitive, it must have its own strategy, and this directly concerns the key instruments of pro-export policy.

Empirical studies on occupational choice have typically concentrated on a specific sector. The purpose of this study is to compare two sectors wherein there are grounds to hypothesise that lifestyle reasons play a key role for occupational choice.

Arguing that the potential for qualitative web scraping is still underused, the hypothesis is tested through qualitative web scraping for occupational choices.

It is shown that incomes for farmers are both documented in a better way and higher than in arts. The central roles played by farmers in the provision of basic needs and in powerful value chains are possible reasons for this difference. As a common factor between the sectors, two-thirds of both farmers and artists choose their profession for reasons of self-realisation or societal motives.

This study is the first to show both common grounds and differences in occupational choices of two different sectors.

The purpose of this paper is to develop the argument that the link between efficiency and utility was strongest in the twentieth century. This would not only explain the growing focus on efficiency in the past, but also suggest that the importance of efficiency in society is set to decrease from now on.

The two arguments in support of the claim were: first, the growing importance of the service sector where an exaggerated focus on efficiency may decrease utility and second, the utility that is generated by different working environments and identities where heterogeneity is increasing.

Good reasons are found why the strong correlation between utility and efficiency that could be found in the process of industrialization is loosening.

The findings imply that the role of economic science is probably rather decreasing.

Social indicators for utility will probably gain importance.

This paper puts the importance of efficiency into a historical context.