The Economics Of The Modern Construction Sector

This book will be of interest to built environment professionals and to students of the economics and management of the built environment. It shows the value of integrating ideas and data about the production of the built environment as an industrial process with theories and data about the demand for construction. The approach taken is institutional and post-Keynesian, and illuminates an important and distinctive sector of the economy, embracing design, construction and property industries. This book offers some new and important perspectives for research and teaching in construction economics and management.

This is a book about the whole diverse range of firms that are found in the construction sector, about their decision-making and the economic environments in which they operate. The authors aim to provide a new and coherent perspective on these firms and the choices they have to make - both for their managers and for all who have a stake in these firms and their industry. This book offers some new and important perspectives for research and teaching about construction firms.

Traditional building economics has primarily been concerned with issues around project appraisal and cost management techniques. On the other hand, modern construction economics has a wider focus with stronger links to mainstream economics, reflecting an increased interest in a range of theoretical issues in construction economics, both at the macro and micro level. In Modern Construction Economics: Theory and Application, a variety of approaches are used to present a coherent vision of synthesis between industry economics and project economics. Topics covered include: developing construction economics as idustry economics competition and barriers to entry in construction innovation in construction theory testing in construction management research collusion and corruption in the construction sector. Including contributions from academics in the UK, Sweden, Hong Kong, and Australia, this is a truly global review of a core issue for the construction industry worldwide. The result is a unique book that will push toward the development of a comprehensive theoretical framework of construction economics. This is a must-read for all serious students of construction economics, and all practitioners looking for a deeper understanding of their industry.

The American construction industry, reponsible for nearly 4% of the nation's Gross Domestic Product, directly employs over five million people and provides millions of additional support jobs in related fields. This book provides an introductory overview of the economic aspects of the industry, including the historical development of building activity from earliest times to modern day market-based construction, including the work of individual artisans to complex construction unions. The book explores current trends in labor force participation; the measurement of industry performance; the determinants of investment; government involvement; competition; wage determination; training; and worker safety.

Recent decades have seen a major social and economic changes across the developed world and consequent changes in the construction and property industries. The discipline of construction economics needs to respond to this. For instance, the importance of sustainable development has become recognised, as has the need to increasingly master the medium and long-term consequences of construction, not only in the production but also in the management of buildings across their whole life-cycle. And the new focus on the service rendered by buildings, as distinct from the buildings themselves, has prompted a new approach to the construction and property industries. Any economic analysis of these sectors has to take account of all the participants involved in the life-cycle of building structures – not only in the design and construction, but also in the operation, maintenance, refurbishment and demolition of property. This innovative new book draws on the work of the Task Group of the CIB (International Council for Research and Innovation) on Macroeconomics for Construction. It pulls together discussions of mesoeconomic and macroeconomic models and methodologies in construction economics and presents an exciting approach to the analysis of the operation and function of the construction and property sector within the economy. Graduate students and researchers will find it an invaluable work.

Construction Economics provides students with the principles and concepts underlying the relationship between economic theory and the construction industry. The New Approach adopts an argument that economics is central to government initiatives concerning sustainable construction. This edition has been revised to explain the effects of the current economic crisis on the construction industry. In addition, sections relating to less developed countries, the economics of sustainable development and theories relating to a firm's bid strategy have all been rewritten. With new data, examples, initiatives, readings, glossary items and references, the third edition of this established core text builds on the strengths of the previous edition: a clear and user-friendly style use of a second colour to highlight important definitions and formulae regular summaries of key points a glossary of key terms extensive use of tables and figures extracts from the academic journal Construction Management and Economics to consolidate and prompt discussion reviews of useful websites This invaluable textbook is essential reading across a wide range of disciplines from construction management and civil engineering to architecture, property and surveying.

The construction industry is a microcosm of the economy as a whole, and as such the economics of the sector contains many of the aspects of the economy in general, albeit with fascinating and unique features. What are the implications of economic theory for the future of UK construction? How does the industry ensure innovation, quality and efficiency? What priorities might best serve the construction industry, those working in it and their customers? In seeking answers to these and other questions, the UK government has commissioned a number of reports on the construction industry including the Latham and Egan reports and more recently Construction 2025. These have invariably proposed time and cost targets for the construction industry. In this new book, Stephen Gruneberg stands in stark contrast to those reports and presents the relevant theoretical aspects of construction economics to account for the behaviour of construction firms and suggest a strategy for future growth and sustainability. He discusses the theory and data relating to the output of firms in relation to the type of firm, the market and how these firms behave as a result. The purpose of this book is to advocate the measures needed to create the kind of industry that must be fostered to ensure the quality of its output, sustainability and the fair terms and conditions of employment for its workforce. Gruneberg’s new book is essential reading for anyone wishing to understand the economic forces that determine industry outcomes and who has a stake in the success of the UK construction sector.

This comprehensive and up-to-date collection of data on the Asian construction sector presents a unique guide to construction economics in the following countries: Australia, China Mainland, China Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia,