Providing an overview of 17 regions and 85 countries, this book examines the role of the state in HRD, the relationship between HRD and the level of economic development in the country or region, the influence of foreign direct investment within the country or region, and firm-level HRD practices within countries or regions. Drawing on contributions from the leading academics in the field, this volume analyzes HRD from institutional and cross-cultural perspectives, making it possible, for the first time, to analyze trends across countries and regions and to draw conclusions about the value of institutional and cross-cultural perspectives in the HRD context. There is currently no book on the market that conceptualizes the discipline of global HRD in this way, making this a definitive book on HRD across the globe of particular interest to researchers and reflective practitioners.