RONGXING GUO has worked and taught at Korea University, Korea, FEEM, Italy, Trier University, Germany, CUMT, China, Peking University, China and ANU, Australia. He has received research grants from many national and international organizations, including the NSF, GDN, EADN and IBM. His recent books include Handbook of International Disputed Areas, Cross-Border Resource Management, Border-Regional Economics and How the Chinese Economy Works.

It is now increasingly accepted that one reason of the relatively unsuccessful results of the past economic development efforts is that culture was overlooked in development thinking and practice. This book examines the influences of various cultural factors on economic analyses that could be misrepresented by existing economic theories, and develops analytical tools and methods for analysis of such influences. The book's most significant contributions are in measuring cultural diversity and bilateral similarity indexes of over 200 countries, and quantifying their impacts on economic activities. This book also clarifies conditions under which cultural difference may not become a cause of misunderstanding and conflict, but a source of creativity and profitability for economic development.