Kenneth Lee

Now, as when this book was originally published in 1982, health services have shown themselves only too capable of absorbing a large share of the resources that nations have available for public and private expenditure. Then, as now, as nations are faced with problems of slow or negative economic growth, government resources are increasingly directed towards setting limits on the resources absorbed by the health sector. Looking especially at the UK and USA, the book explores the challenges that countries face in attempting to improve the health and well-being of their communities through conscious planning of health-related activities. It is argued that there is often a huge credibility gap between the rhetoric of comprehensive planning and the reality of health policy-making and planning in many societies. The book identifies feasible approaches that can be made to improve decision-making in the health sector.

The Valuation Book contains the tools needed by anyone who wants to make a robust valuation of a business.No detailed prior knowledge of business valuation is required – the book covers everything you need to know, including how to read relevant parts of company accounts and the valuation tools (including DCF and multiples) that are used by professionals.Written by academics who are also practitioners, The Valuation Book provides a unique mix of theory and practical application. It is designed around the authors' experience of teaching thousands of people about valuation principles over the last two decades.Short, accessible chapters with a consistent structure and layout allow readers to build up their knowledge step by step.And the book is fully up to date, with accessible specialist chapters on integrating ESG into valuations, valuing immature companies, identifying flaws in valuation models, valuation for mergers and acquisitions, and more.The Valuation Book is a comprehensive introductory valuation guide for investors, managers, accountants, lawyers and anyone else who needs to value a business.

Revised and updated.The influence of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) on accounting across the world is stronger than ever. Most importantly, this stems from the mandatory adoption of IFRSs in many parts of the world, including Europe, Canada, Australia, Brazil and, with some relatively small exceptions, China. Additionally, foreign registrants in the US are also permitted to use IFRS by the SEC. The impact of IFRSs also extends to accounting developments as the IASB and the FASB work closely together to formulate new standards such as those recently issued on leasing and revenue recognition. It is clear that investors, analysts and valuers need to understand financial statements produced under IFRS to feed in to their valuations and broader investment decisions.Written by practitioners for practitioners, the book addresses valuation from the viewpoint of the analyst, the investor and the corporate acquirer. It starts with valuation theory: what is to be discounted and at what discount rate? It explains the connection between standard methodologies based on free cash flow and on return on capital. And it emphasizes that, whichever method is used, accurate interpretation of accounting information is critical to the production of sensible valuations. The authors argue that forecasts of cash flows imply views on profits and balance sheets, and that non-cash items contain useful information about future cash flows – so profits matter.The book addresses the implications for analysis, modelling and valuation of key aspects of IFRS, all updated for recent developments, including:- Pensions- Stock options- Derivatives- Provisions- Leases- Revenue recognition- Foreign currencyThe text also sets out the key differences between IFRS and US GAAP treatments of these issues, in addition to their implications for analysis.A detailed case study is used to provide a step-by-step valuation of an industrial company using both free cash flow and economic profit methodologies. The authors then address a range of common valuation problems, including cyclical or immature companies, as well as the specialist accounting and modelling knowledge required for regulated utilities, resource extraction companies, banks, insurance companies, real estate companies and technology companies. Accounting for mergers and disposals is first explained and then illustrated with a detailed potential acquisition.

In 1997 the United States accepted more legal immigrants than all other countries combined. This large influx of newcomers, however, has alarmed many Americans. Immigration is a controversial issue because it intersects with the most contentious issues of our time: multiculturalism, bilingualism, unemployment, crime, etc. Opinion polls since 1965 show that a strong majority want to reduce immigration. Yet our government has refused to respond to the public's wish. In 1996, Congress scuttled a proposal to reduce immigration by a third. (Earlier, in 1990, Congress voted to increase immigration by a whopping 40 percent.) This is all the more surprising because the United States has had no qualms about severely restricting immigration in the past.Kenneth Lee explains why recent immigration policy has failed to reflect the public opinion by approaching the question from a broad, historical outlook, and from a focused, contemporary perspective. He traces several momentous historical changes that have abetted the pro-immigration block and weakened the restrictionists' clout (mainly, the rise of conservative economics in the 1970s and the growing racial liberalism in America). He also examines immigration policy on a micro-level: detailing the intense lobbying that went on for the 1990 and 1996 immigration bills, and he also shows how unlikely players as, for example, Christian Coalition's Ralph Reed, helped defeat the restrictionist bill in 1996.

Korea has had a long, great civilization, with four golden ages. Destruction caused by foreign powers has failed to extinguish the Korean spirit for survival. Korea, at least its southern part, is at the threshold of another golden age, despite the handicap of being a divided nation. To understand Korea's present situation, one must look back at many thousands of years of Korean history. The purpose of this study is to look squarely at that history, including the atrocities committed against Koreans by several countries, especially Japan in the periods of 1592-1598 and 1895-1945. Some of the questions addressed in this study are: How did Koreans rebuild their country time after time, following destruction by foreign invaders? How could Koreans, in recent years, rebuild their economy in such a short time? What motivates them? Why is North Korea so different from South Korea? What is the potential of Korea in the twenty-first century? Why do Koreans have such difficulty unifying their country?