In this controversial and authoritative account of Japan's public budgeting and politics, the author traces the origins and development of Japan's present fiscal crisis. In a detailed analysis of the institutions, structures, and processes of central government, the role of the Ministry of Finance is analysed and its relationship with other ministries in deciding how much to spend and on what is examined. Drawing on a rich archive of interview material and primary budget data, the author explains how and why Japan accumulated the world's largest public debt.

With Economic and Monetary Union, the European Union has embarked on one of the biggest projects in its history. Previous literature has focused on how EMU came into being and on the policy issues that it raises. This text seeks to move the discussion forwards by offering a systematic evaluation of how it is affecting EU states, both members and non-members of the Euro-Zone. It explicitly situates EMU in the growing literature on Europeanization. It examines the effects on public policies, political structures, discourses, and identities. The book seeks to identify the scope of EMU's effects, the direction that it imparts to political and policy changes, the mechanisms by which it produces its effects, and the role of domestic institutions, political leadership and specific forms of discourse in shaping responses. In addition, the book assesses how, and with what effects, EMU is affecting key policy sectorslabour markets and wages, welfare states, and financial market governance.

This book will provide a thorough introduction to the foreign exchange markets, looking at the main products through to the techniques used, coverage of the main participants, details of the various players, and an understanding of the jargon used in everyday dealings. Written in a concise and accessible manner, it will be an ideal introduction for anyone looking to become involved in the FX markets, from dealing rooms or sales perspectives, to novice investors.
The new edition has been updated to reflect the changes that have taken place in the industry over the past few years. Most chapters have been enhanced and this new edition now features new material on the psychology of trading, the psychology of price movement and online trading.

This book explores the US economy from 1960 to 2010 using a more Keynsian, Cowles model approach, which the author argues has substantial advantages over the vector autoregression (VAR) and dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) models used almost exclusively today. Heim presents a robust argument in favor of the Cowles model as an answer to the pressing, unresolved methodological question of how to accurately model the macroeconomy so that policymakers can reliably use these models to assist their decision making. Thirty-eight behavioral equations, describing determinants of variables such as consumption, taxes, and government spending, are connected by eighteen identities to construct a comprehensive model of the real US economy that Heim then tests across four different time periods to ensure that results are consistent. This comprehensive demonstration of the value of a long-ignored model provides overwhelming evidence that the more Keynesian (Cowles) structural models outperform VAR and DSGE, and therefore should be the models of choice in future macroeconomic studies.

For the large number of developing countries undergoing significant structural transformations, one of the most important and controversial adjustment areas is that of the financial markets. Focusing on the role of the institutional and enabling environment within which financial reform occurs and on the integration of principles of finance with more macroeconomic approaches to the subject, the book contains case studies of reform experiences in Argentina, India, Nigeria, Turkey and Uruguay. Themes studied include the 'go slow' versus 'big bang' approach and the particular problem of bank-firm inter-linkages in Eastern Europe.

This volume analyzes the economic achievements of China since the opening in 1979, and the measures taken by the government to spur international trade, investment and technology transfer. China's extraordinarily high economic growth rate is examined, and broken down into several parts. Prospects for continued high growth are evaluated. This evaluation looks to the future to weigh the possibility for maintaining high growth into the next century. A concluding chapter examines China's changing role in the world economy and politics.

This book collects selected articles addressing several currently debated issues in the field of international macroeconomics. They focus on the role of the central banks in the debate on how to come to terms with the long-term decline in productivity growth, insufficient aggregate demand, high economic uncertainty and growing inequalities following the global financial crisis. Central banks are of considerable importance in this debate since understanding the sluggishness of the recovery process as well as its implications for the natural interest rate are key to assessing output gaps and the monetary policy stance. The authors argue that a more dynamic domestic and external aggregate demand helps to raise the inflation rate, easing the constraint deriving from the zero lower bound and allowing monetary policy to depart from its current ultra-accommodative position. Beyond macroeconomic factors, the book also discusses a supportive financial environment as a precondition for the rebound of global economic activity, stressing that understanding capital flows is a prerequisite for economic-policy decisions.

This book is a product of applying info-gap decision theory to policy formulation and evaluation in monetary economics and related domains. Info-gap theory has been applied to planning and decision problems in many areas, including engineering, biological conservation, project management, economics, medicine, homeland security, and more.

The book provides a comprehensive overview of the latest econometric methods for studying the dynamics of macroeconomic and financial time series. It examines alternative methodological approaches and concepts, including quantile spectra and co-spectra, and explores topics such as non-linear and non-stationary behavior, stochastic volatility models, and the econometrics of commodity markets and globalization. Furthermore, it demonstrates the application of recent techniques in various fields: in the frequency domain, in the analysis of persistent dynamics, in the estimation of state space models and new classes of volatility models. The book is divided into two parts: The first part applies econometrics to the field of macroeconomics, discussing trend/cycle decomposition, growth analysis, monetary policy and international trade. The second part applies econometrics to a wide range of topics in financial economics, including price dynamics in equity, commodity and foreign exchange markets and portfolio analysis. The book is essential reading for scholars, students, and practitioners in government and financial institutions interested in applying recent econometric time series methods to financial and economic data.

This book gathers selected papers from the 29th Eurasia Business and Economics Society (EBES) Conference, held in Lisbon, Portugal. While the theoretical and empirical papers presented cover diverse areas of economics and finance in various geographic regions, the main focus is on the latest research concerning accounting/audits, banking, the economics of innovation, and empirical studies on emerging economies and international trade. Studies on labor economics and public economics, as well as regional studies, round out the coverage.

This textbook equips instructors and students with an overview of the existing literature so that the latter can attain an overall understanding of macroeconomic and microeconomic public finance. The literature on public finance has grown dramatically with theoretical studies and empirical analysis, and much of the focus has been on macroeconomic effects of public services. The standard textbook offerings, however, are mainly restricted to microeconomic topics of public finance. This text intends to fill this gap by presenting a theoretical-based, comprehensive explanation of public finance. Particular emphasis is directed at developing tools that can be applied theoretically and empirically to clarify essential economic concerns in the current public sector in advanced countries, including Japan. Such concerns include the macroeconomic effect of fiscal policy, the dependence on bonds for covering government deficits, and social security reform. The main text explains the standard concepts of public finance, and the appendix offers various advanced topics. The material will facilitate an understanding of how to investigate changes in the public sector, interpret results, and basically do research on fiscal policy. The textbook will be of value to a broad range of course offerings, including those generally focused on fiscal policy, on social security reform and on tax reform.

This book is a contribution to the debate about the transition process, and focuses on structural institutions in Russia and the East.

In transitional countries with unfavourable initial conditions and weak institutions, economic and social performance can only in part be explained by the approaches followed in the field of macroeconomic adjustment, privatization, and liberalization. By reviewing the impact of initial conditions on industrial and institutional conditions in the gradual and late reforming countries, this book aims to rekindle the debate surrounding these largely neglected issues.

In his book, Cole points out that a simple monetarist model can explain Latin Amercian inflation, although it cannot by itself provide an explanation in terms of the ultimate causes of inflation. This is the basis of the structuralist critique, which attempts to provide an explanation in a deeper, overall sense. The author concludes that while the monetarist model deals with empirical testing and data, the structuralist approach highlights the human element and country-specific circumstances that cannot really be measured. In addition, an analysis of the recent Bolivian hyperinflation is given.

Although a number of selected African countries have made efforts to implement various financial sector reforms, many countries have not fully implemented the requisite reforms required for sustainable development. Instead, they have focused mainly on bank-based financial reforms, thereby neglecting market-based financial reforms. This study provides a one-stop shop for understanding the history and evolution of the financial sector in Africa with a special focus on the sub-Saharan region where the financial system in many countries is still at a relatively nascent stage. The analysis is extensive and robust, and starts from financial repression to financial liberalisation (both internal and external), and its role in sustainable development and poverty alleviation. The book covers a range of important research issues pertaining to financial development in selectede African countries, including interest rate and exchange rate reforms, the dynamics of bank-based and market-based financial development; the role of the informal financial sector in sustainable development; the finance-growth nexus; bank-based versus market-based financial sectors in Africa; financial development and information and communication technology; and financial development and gender equality, among other topics. The book also considers the relationship between the COVID-19 global pandemic and financial development, and concludes by presenting a forecast of the future trends of financial and sustainable development on the African continent in general and sub-Saharfan Africa in particular. The chapters are authored by prominent scholars and researchers in the field of finance and banking, applied econometrics and development economics, with a deep understanding and knowledge of financial development and the local situations in African countries. This book provides crucial reference material for academics, researchers, policymakers and students of all levels and is a must-read for anyone wishing to understand the nature of finance and sustainable development in Africa in relation to the rest of the world. It covers African countries, but with more emphasis on the sub-Saharan African region where the financial systems in many of the countries are still relatively underdeveloped.

Introduction to Quantitative Macroeconomics Using Julia: From Basic to State-of-the-Art Computational Techniques facilitates access to fundamental techniques in computational and quantitative macroeconomics. It focuses on the recent and very promising software, Julia, which offers a MATLAB-like language at speeds comparable to C/Fortran, also discussing modeling challenges that make quantitative macroeconomics dynamic, a key feature that few books on the topic include for macroeconomists who need the basic tools to build, solve and simulate macroeconomic models. This book neatly fills the gap between intermediate macroeconomic books and modern DSGE models used in research.

EBES conferences have been intellectual hub for academic discussion in economics, finance, and business fields and provide network opportunities for participants to make long lasting academic cooperation. This is the 24th volume of the Eurasian Studies in Business and Economics (EBES's official proceeding series) which includes selected papers from the 37th EBES Conference - Berlin. The conference was jointly organized with the GLO (Global Labour Organization, a global, independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization based in Germany) with the support of the Istanbul Economic Research Association and in collaboration with the FOM University of Applied Sciences (Germany). Due to COVID-19, the conference presentation mode was virtual. In the conference, 177 papers by 379 colleagues from 54 countries were presented. Both theoretical and empirical papers in this volume cover diverse areas of business, economics, and finance from many different regions. Therefore, it provides a great opportunity to colleagues, professionals, and students to catch up with the most recent studies in different fields and empirical findings on many countries and regions.

Spatial fixity is one of the characteristics that distinguishes housing from most other goods and services in the economy. In general, housing cannot be moved from one part of the country to another in response to shortages or excesses in particular areas. The modelling of housing markets and the interlinkages between markets at different spatial levels - international, national, regional and urban - are the main themes of this book. A second major theme is disaggregation, not only in terms of space, but also between households. The book argues that aggregate time-series models of housing markets of the type widely used in Britain and also in other countries in the past have become less relevant in a world of increasing income dispersion. Typically, aggregate relationships will break down, except under special conditions. We can no longer assume that traditional location or tenure patterns, for example, will continue in the future. The book has four main components. First, it discusses trends in housing markets both internationally and within nations. Second, the book develops theoretical housing models at each spatial scale, starting with national models, moving down to the regional level and, then, to urban models. Third, the book provides empirical estimates of the models and, finally, the models are used for policy analysis. Analysis ranges over a wide variety of topics, including explanations for differing international house price trends, the causes of housing cycles, the role of credit markets, regional housing market interactions and the role of housing in urban/suburban population drift.

Dramatic changes in the foreign exchange and money markets have considerably altered the way international business will be conducted in the new millennium. The advent of the Euro, the enormous growth of the swaps market, and the daily increase in the development of derivative instruments are at the forefront of this evolution. If you're an investor, corporate finance officer, or anyone seeking to gain the essential edge in the world's major financial markets, resources for sound, accessible, and timely information are more important than ever. This updated, totally revised, and expanded edition of finance expert Julian Walmsley's popular classic is the one book you'll need. Practical and easy-to-understand, this unique reference provides guidance on every important market around the world, including closely related money markets such as the commercial paper and Eurocommercial paper markets, national money markets, interest rate options markets, and numerous related instruments. You will also find state-of-the-art sections on:
* The Euro
* Swaps-the instrument with the fastest growing market of all time
* Money market calculations
* Foreign exchange calculations
* Derivatives
* Risk issues

From currency option markets to the "third generation" hedging products that combine forwards and options, The Foreign Exchange and Money Markets Guide, Second Edition, unites volumes of information in one single source-and demystifies the seemingly complex concepts facing investors today. Julian Walmsley is Managing Director of Askeaton Associates Ltd. and a Visiting Research Fellow at the International Securities Market Association Centre for Securities Research at the University of Reading, England. Previously, he was Chief Investment Officer for Mitsubishi Finance International and also Senior Investment Officer for Oil Insurance in Bermuda. He spent many years working with Barclays Bank's foreign exchange operations and their interest rate and currency swaps group in London and New York, and was a director in charge of swaps at the London subsidiary of National Bank of North Carolina (NCNB). His other books include New Financial Instruments and The Foreign Exchange Handbook (both published by Wiley), and Global Investing: Eurobonds and Alternatives. Mr. Walmsley earned his MA in economics at Cambridge University.

THE CLASSIC GUIDEBOOK COMPLETELY REVISED AND UPDATED FOR THE NEW MILLENNIUM

Written by a well-known financial author and respected authority on international investing, trading, and risk management, this updated, totally revised, and expanded second edition of The Foreign Exchange and Money Markets Guide provides essential, easy-to-understand coverage of the considerable developments that have drastically reshaped the way international business will be conducted in the new millennium. From state-of-the-art sections on the dawn of the Euro, the rapidly growing swaps market, and the daily increase in derivative instruments, to money market and foreign exchange calculations and risk issues, this invaluable classic includes the most timely, accessible, and dependable information on every important market around the world. Here is the quintessential resource for institutional investors, bankers, pension fund managers, or anyone seeking to gain that crucial edge in the world's major financial markets.

This work analyzes recent economic performance in the Commonwealth Caribbean by examining the IMF/World Bank Structural Adjustment Package and its relation to the deteriorating economic and social conditions in this part of the world. Ramesh F. Ramsaran not only takes a critical look at structural adjustment as it has been applied in the Caribbean but also examines recent structural adjustment theory in general and some of its contradictions in practice.

Ramsaran argues that if structural adjustment programs are to be effective with minimum social cost, their design must take into account the specific conditions of individual countries. This argument against the general application of policies and principles remains firm, despite the fact that international aid agencies in the 1980s did find general guidelines useful in particular situations. His analysis will be of interest to scholars and policy-makers in international and development economics and international finance and trade.

Shariah governance assumes the primary instrument through which Islamic Banking Institutions (IBIs) ensure the Islamicity of their products, services, operations, and internal environments. It is considered to be one the fundamental elements that differentiates IBIs from their traditional counterparts. This book provides a critical overview of the key aspects pertaining to Shariah governance within Islamic financial institutions and presents a detailed analysis of its conceptual background. The authors have identified the unique issues, which have emerged as a result of the integration of Shariah, namely the involvement of the Shariah supervisory board (SSB), in the corporate governance arrangements of Islamic banks. These issues relate to disclosure, transparency, independency, consistency, confidentiality, competency, and reputation. The book details the doctrines of Shariah pronouncements in Islamic banks, the importance of having a central advisory board at a regulatory level in the standardization of Islamic banking practices, as well as the competence required for Shariah supervisory board members. It provides a critical analysis of the Shariah governance framework in Pakistan and introduces the authors' vision of an ideal Shariah governance framework. Furthermore, the chapters offer guidance in promoting effective policies for improving Shariah governance. This is one of the core challenges facing Islamic banks, namely, to ensure compliance with the faith and provide legitimacy to the business of Islamic Banking Institutions and as such, the book will appeal to both the research and professional community.

Economic Disturbances and Equilibrium in an Integrated Global Economy: Investment Insights and Policy Analysis helps readers develop a framework for analyzing economic events and make better, more consistent decisions. Victor Canto presents the theoretical building blocks that make up the overall framework, then expands the framework to tackle more complex problems, applying additional considerations to actual policy or investment issues. Drawing upon the most recent trends in monetary policy and international economics, the book offers sustained direct engagement with the main research question and makes innovative use of the simple concepts of supply and demand to illuminate modern finance literature. The book succeeds by highlighting the often-forgotten interconnectedness of different economic processes. How do we respond to a change in policy or an economic shock? Are all the expected changes to the general equilibrium consistent with each other?

Why is it that government debt in the developed world has risen to world war proportions in a time of peace? This can largely be attributed to governments maintaining welfare expenditures beyond what tax revenues allow. But will these governments refrain from doing what is necessary for economic growth for fear of losing their electorate?

Changes in the international environment, from the stagflation of the 1970s to the globalization of capital markets in the 1990s, have challenged the ability of all advanced welfare states to maintain postwar achievements of full employment, social security and social equality. Nevertheless, national responses and actual performance differed greatly. This two-volume study examines the adjustment to external economic challenges over three decades in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom Volume I presents comparative analyses of differences in the vulnerabilities and capabilities of these countries, in the effectiveness of their policy responses, and in the role of values and discourses in the politics of adjustment Volume II presents in-depth analyses of the experiences of the countries, including special studies on the participation of women in the labour market, early retirement, the liberalization of public services and international tax competition.

Radical change seems to be the only panacea for inefficient economies. This work takes a look at the financial system and its function in socialist central planning economies. It provides an explanation of the partial reforms in socialist economies from the 1950s to 1988. With Yugoslavia as the example, the work discusses financial and monetary reforms and adjustments in socialist economies. An explanation of monetary reform includes the changes in the role of financial intermediation and monetary policy goals, target and instruments, and methodological questions. General conclusions about recent monetary reforms in socialist economies completes the discussion. Scholars, students, and those interested in comparative, developmental, international, and historical economics will find this a valuable resource and interesting reading. It is an especially useful book at the graduate and seminar level.

This book investigates the South African business cycle and its links to structural change in the economy. Against the backdrop of the democratic transition in 1994 and the global financial crisis, the authors study how business cycles in South Africa have changed and how cycles are related to key developments in the financial markets, international trade and business sentiment in the country. By focusing on peaks and troughs in economic activity - so-called 'turning-point cycles' - the book links up with the common approach of international policymakers to studying fluctuations in economic activity. The authors also introduce new approaches to measuring phases of the business cycle (to understand slow recoveries after the global crisis), provide comprehensive descriptions to complement quantitative analyses, and utilize new data sources that allow the measurement of economic activity over longer periods. As such, the book provides the first integrated overview of business cycles in an emerging market, providing academics and policymakers with a better understanding of the measurement challenges and drivers of the cycle.