Making Fiscal Policy in Japan is written for those who want to understand the role and performance of fiscal policy as an integral component of macroeconomic policy, and the attendant effects on economic growth. Ishi traces and analyses the central features of postwar Japanese fiscal policy and considers the institutional framework and policy objectives which shaped the budget process. The overall conclusion is that the Japanese government has been generally passive in guiding the state's economic activities, using fiscal policy to support the private market economy rather than directly to influence the economy through deliberate expenditure and tax policies.

This book explores the role of national fiscal policies in a selected group of Euro-area countries under the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). In particular, the authors characterize the response of output to fiscal consolidations and expansions in the small Euro-area open economies affected by high public and private debt. It is shown that the macroeconomic outcome of fiscal shocks is strongly related to debt levels. The Euro-area countries included in the investigation are Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Portugal, over the sample period 1999-2016, i.e., the EMU period. The main econometric tools used in this research are structural vector autoregressive (VAR) models, including panel VAR models. The available literature relating to the subject is also fully reviewed. A further closely investigated topic is the potential spillover effects of German fiscal policies on the selected small Euro-area economies. Moreover, in the perspective of the evolution of the Euro Area towards a full Monetary and Fiscal Union, the authors study the effects of area-wide government spending shocks on aggregate output and other macroeconomic variables during the EMU period. The closing chapter of the book considers evidence on the consequences of austerity policies for European labour markets during recent years.

From the beginning of our nation's history, with the Puritan and Protestant work ethics, through the 1950s, thrift was considered an important virtue, both with regard to the moral fiber of the country and as a support for its continuing economic well-being. The idea that deferring immediate pleasures to accumulate wealth for increased future value was considered virtuous, not just by the citizens but by politicians and the government as well. In this fascinating history of thrift, David Tucker describes how, after the Eisenhower period, thrift became an outdated, outmoded concept, and how the abandonment of thrift is in large part responsible for our current economic position.

Tucker begins his study by tracing the thrift culture in which America was born, which continued its dominance for more than a century. The notion that frugality was the best means for promoting the general welfare remained unchanged until the late nineteenth century, when an angry protest against more thrifty Chinese immigrants led to a reversal in cultural attitudes. A new ideal of a higher standard of living--supported by spending, consumption, and debt-- undercut the old virtue of thrift. Throughout the twentieth century, advertising, consumer credit, and a self-indulgent psychology have eroded the practice of frugality. In addition to this history, Tucker explores the dangers of the thriftless society, comparing America's current position to the economic rise and decline of the United Kingdom. With a savings rate that has fallen from 15 percent to 4 percent, and a government that routinely appropriates more than 100 percent of tax revenues, Tucker sees a moral deficiency in Americans. Thrift is no obsolescent virtue, he observes, if the nation is concerned with preserving a standard of living. This unique history and commentary will be a useful supplement to courses in current affairs, American history, and economics, as well as a significant addition to college, university, and public libraries.

This book contributes to the debate on the decoupling of emerging economies from the advanced economies with a new, empirical investigation approach. Taking counterfactual experiments performed using a time-varying panel VAR model, the author argues that over the last thirty years, emerging economies have become less vulnerable to shocks spreading from advanced economies. This resilience to external shocks has changed in a non-progressive manner over time, with phases of greater resilience followed by others of lower resilience and vice versa. This research outlines its wave-like path and presents new results that contribute to the discussion.

This book explains why inflation remains subdued after recessions, based on three revolutionary concepts: defensive expectations, compensatory savings, and cumulative wage gap. When income falls, consumption falls, and savings rise, as people rebuild their past wealth. Households will not spend more until they fully recover what they lost. The revised Phillips Curve explains that current inflation depends on the cumulative difference between current income and past income. This new theory is tested and validated by data for US since 1960 to date and for 35 OECD countries from 1990 to date. A number of policy implications are derived from these results. The book calls for an optimal policy mix between monetary policy and fiscal policy; it also discusses the coronavirus crisis as an extreme case of defensive expectations.

This book utilizes an innovative approach combining qualitative and quantitative methods to investigate the correlations between monetary policy, economic growth, inflation and asset price volatility, explores the creation of financial risk prevention systems and reaches conclusions with both theoretical and practical value. The book offers an empirical analysis of the effectiveness of monetary policy, specifies the correlations between monetary policy, economic growth and inflation and provides a theoretical basis for and empirical demonstration of monetary policy implementation in China. Previous research in China has primarily focused on the correlation between monetary policy and a specific asset price, while this book comprehensively addresses the appropriateness of real estate, stock, bond and futures price regulation through monetary policies, lending it a high degree of practical significance. In order to arrive at a systemic risk prevention and regulation mechanism for China, the book uses the GARCH mean value model and MGARCH-BEKK model to create a pressure index and provide a three-level pre-warning system for currency crises, bank crises and asset bubble crises. The book systemically introduces the idea of macro-prudential regulation into the Chinese financial system by first clarifying the necessity of implementing macro-prudential regulation in China and then proving its effectiveness in mitigating pro-cyclicality and enhancing steady economic growth by constructing a mitigation model.

Dr. Reddy points out that the key to economic success, particularly for the less developed countries of the world, is technology--but only when properly applied. Despite years of help through technology transfer, however, many LDCs are still improverished. This leads him to conclude that either the wrong technologies were transferred or the right ones were not transfered. His book thus focuses on ways in which LDCs can improve their economic growth through technology transfer, arguing that it is the assimilation of technology into their socioeconomic and cultural structures that is critical to their economic development, not the indiscriminate borrowing from advanced nations. In doing so, Dr. Reddy presents a behavioral model which proves that technology absorption is just as--if not more--important than a simple transfer process. A challenging, research-based discussion for academics in economics, business, sociology, marketing, and management, and for business and government policymakers worldwide.

Dr. Reddy introduces the concepts related to technology transfer and discusses the major participants in the worldwide transfer enterprise. He presents barriers and ways to overcome them in technology transferral, explores the ethical dimensions, and then lays out his technology transfer assimilation model. He applies the model to a specific and representative developing country, India, and ends with a discussion of conclusions that can be drawn from it. His three appendixes elaborate on the need for, and methods to, transfer technology to LDCs, provide ways to analyze the costs, and present a model of reciprocal distribution that may benefit both the donor and the recipient country in the transfer process.

This book uses systemic thinking and applies it to the study of financial crises. It systematically presents how the systemic yoyo model, its thinking logic, and its methodology can be employed as a common playground and intuition to the study of money, international finance, and economic reforms. This book establishes theoretical backings for why some of the most employed interferences of the market and empirical experiences actually work. It has become urgent for economists and policy makers to understand how international speculative capital affects the economic security of various nations. By looking at the issues of monetary movement around the world, this book shows that there are clearly visible patterns behind the flows of capital, and that there are a uniform language and logic of reasoning that can be powerfully employed in the studies of international finance As shown in this book, many of the conclusions drawn on the basis of these visible patterns, language, and logic of thinking can be practically applied to produce tangible economic benefits. Currency Wars: Offense and Defense through Systemic Thinking is divided into six parts. The first part addresses issues related to systemic modeling of economic entities and processes and explains how a few policy changes can adjust the performance of the extremely complex economy. Part II of the book investigates the problem of how instabilities lead to opportunities for currency attacks, the positive and negative effects of foreign capital, and how international capital flows can cause disturbances of various degrees on a nation's economic security. Part III examines how a currency war is initiated, why currency conflicts and wars are inevitable, and a specific way of how currency attacks can take place. In Part IV, the book shows how one nation can potential defend itself by manipulating exchange rate of its currency, how the nation under siege can protect itself against financial attacks by using strategies based on the technique of feedback, and develops a more general approach of self-defense. Part V focuses on issues related to the cleanup of the disastrous aftermath of currency attacks through using policies and reforms. Finally the book concludes in Part VI as it analyzes specific real-life cases and addresses the ultimate problem of whether or not currency wars can be avoided all together.

Since 1971, when the Bretton Woods gold exchange standard ended, the world has been on a fiat monetary regime, with various fiat currencies managed according to the discretion of the issuing country. Inherent in this regime is a basic problem--the ease with which the system lends itself to political manipulation. This study examines the emerging fiat regime in a world of nation states determined to preserve their sovereignty from erosion by the global economy and places this process in its economic, historical, and political perspective.

The culmination of work begun in 1985 by the authors under the joint sponsorship of the Ekonomski Institut Zagreb and Florida State University, this book posits the most comprehensive and relevant model yet developed to explain the workings of Yugoslavia's economy. The authors have developed a model that is both theoretically oriented and empirically relevant--ensuring its appropriateness for recommending and evaluating alternative policy remedies for the acute problems of inflation, unemployment, and foreign trade now facing Yugoslavia, a country until recently noted for its economic successes. Already chosen to represent Yugoslavia in the ongoing international Project LINK, a global system for tracking and forecasting the economic conditions of some eighty countries and regions, the model is distinguished by its policy emphasis and by its ability to capture the fundamental divisions of the Yugoslav economy. Students and scholars of socialism, Marxism, and comparative economics will find this a major contribution to the literature of economic modeling.

The book begins by providing essential background information about Yugoslavia including highlights of the country's economic experience, special features of its economic structure, the composition of its political system, the operation of its financial system, and the behavior of firms. Part two includes four chapters which examine the different components of the Yugoslav economy and review the theoretical basis and empirical performance of the equations which describe those components. A separate chapter presents the complete model, called the EIZFSU Mark 1.0 in recognition of its major sponsoring institutions. In the final part, the model is used to study policies for improving the performance of the economy and obstacles to their implementation. An appendix describes and quantifies the variables used in the model while a list of references provides additional information for the researcher who wishes to pursue further study in this area.

This book addresses topics and issues of high relevance to the widely shared desire to promote inclusive growth, sustainability, and innovation within a context of global governance. It is based on the XXXth Villa Mondragone International Economic Seminar, where leading experts met to discuss the latest research and thinking on different aspects of globalization, trade, inequalities, growth imbalances, green technologies, the labor market, and financial systems. The aim is to stimulate new responses and possible solutions to a variety of well-recognized problems, including low growth in real wages, stagnating productivity, and growing disparities in income. Some of these problems are especially evident in Europe, where austerity policies have failed to deliver adequate growth and investment. However, while a number of the contributions focus on aspects of particular importance to Europe, others look further afield, for example to the scope for innovation in Africa and to experiences with quantitative easing in Japan. The book will be of wide interest to academics, researchers, policy makers, and practitioners.

The Arab upheaval and the world's biggest financial crisis after the Great Depression were almost simultaneous in their occurrence. The Mediterranean economies now face a dual challenge of a political and financial restructuring in the light of a shaky economic pedestal on which they stand. In light of this socio-political and economic shift in both inland and in world markets, this book offers a thorough analysis on problems, prospects and the way ahead for the financial integration of the South-Mediterranean region. Several perspectives on financial integration and policy recommendations are put forward from a leading group of researchers specializing on the Mediterranean region.

Globalization and information and communications technology (ICT) have played a pivotal role in revolutionizing value creation through the development of human capital formation. The constantly changing needs and structure of the labour market are primarily responsible for the conversion of a traditional economy relying fundamentally on the application of physical abilities to a knowledge-based economy relying on ideas, technologies and innovations. In this economy, knowledge has to be created, acquired, developed, transmitted, preserved and utilized for the improvement of individual and social welfare. Comparative Advantage in the Knowledge Economy: A National and Organizational Resource provides a comprehensive and insightful understanding of all the dimensions of a transition from a traditional to a knowledge economy. It attempts to explain how educational achievement, skilled manpower, investment in knowledge capital and analytics will be the key to success of a nation's comparative advantage in the globalized era. The volume should be of interest to students, researchers and teachers of economics, policy makers and advanced graduate students with an interest in economic analyses and development policy.

With the cold war over and the Soviet empire dead, a new examination of American national policies and priorities is beginning. Most of the economic, political and military costs of the American empire, which exceed $1 trillion each year, are being questioned for the first time since World War II. Touted by George Washington as the infant empire, the United States expanded across the North American continent and at the turn of the twentiety century into the Pacific and Caribbean. At the end of World War II, it became the leader of the free world, a world empire of unprecedented power. However, by the 1980s, the strain of world leadership became apparent and signs of economic decline appeared, which is the inevitable fate of all empires. Jim Hanson undertakes this examination of imperial overstretch and decline and calls for a rechanneling of national energies into solving world-wide problems of war, environmental deterioration, and over-population. This historic-based and analytic critique of imperial America will interest scholars and students of American and world history, political and social science, economics, and foreign affairs.

As we approach the 21st century, we must rethink our centralized monetary system as part of a larger reexamination of existing political economy, according to Solomon. In questioning the passive acceptance of a federal monopoly in producing money, the author challenges prevailing notions of progress and economic life. Advancing the idea of local currencies to promote a political economy based on empowerment, self-reliance, and ecological permanence, the book discusses three viable systems, all of which are possible under federal and state laws: barter, customer discounts, and local scrip not pegged to the U.S. dollar. The business and practical aspects of each of these systems is considered. This original work will be of interest to scholars, students, and policy-makers in political economy, money and banking, public finance, and public policy.

Perhaps America's first celebrated economist, Irving Fisher-for whom the Fisher equation, the Fisher hypothesis, and the Fisher separation theorem are named-staked an early claim to fame with his revival, in this 1912 book, of the "quantity theory of money." An important work of 20th-century economics, this work explores: the circulation of money against goods the various circulating media the mystery of circulating credit how a rise in prices generates a further rise influence of foreign trade on the quantity of money the problem of monetary reform and much more. American economist IRVING FISHER (1867-1947) was professor of political economy at Yale University. Among his many books are Mathematical Investigations in the Theory of Value and Prices (1892), The Rate of Interest (1907), Why Is the Dollar Shrinking? A Study in the High Cost of Living (1914), and Booms and Depressions (1932).

This volume brings together a distinguished group of contributors from European universities and research institutes as well as U.S. finance and economic institutes to examine a broad range of issues related to the current and future roles of international and European monetary systems. Among the topics covered are the relationship of each system to the U.S. dollar and its fluctuations vis-a-vis the Japanese Yen and German Deutschmark; the effect of fiscal policies on monetary systems; the role of the European currency unit; exchange rate management and international coordination; the theory behind, and policy implications of, over- and undervalued currencies; and the prospects for future currency unification and currency competition. Students of international finance and trade, international economics, and monetary theory will find this an important contribution to debates over international monetary policy.

Divided into two major sections, which address the international and European systems respectively, the book begins with three chapters that examine the exchange rate system of a managed float with respect to the dollar. The fundamental question addressed by the authors is whether this system, which has predominated in the last decade, has contributed to increasingly unstable real exchange rates. The following two chapters examine the role of the IMF's special drawing right and the appropriate exchange rate regime for developing countries. The remaining chapters focus on the European Monetary System, and explore such issues as the convergence of monetary and fiscal policies within the European Monetary System and the role of the private European Currency Unit. A bibliography is included for those who wish to pursue further research on these topics.

Can the euro area survive without a more centralized economic policy? What lessons can be drawn from Economic and Monetary Union about new modes of policy-making in the European Union? Have euro area members spoken with one voice on the international stage and what does this mean for the European Union's ambitions to be a global actor in its own right? This book explores these three key questions through an in-depth analysis of euro area governance from the launch of the single currency in 1999 to the sovereign debt crisis of 2010. Drawing insights from the study of European Union politics, comparative political economy and international political economy, it examines: Economic and Monetary Union's break from the Community method of policy-making; the European Central Bank's ambivalence about the pursuit of ever closer union; the Eurogroup's rise and fall as a forum for economic policy coordination; the interplay between national fiscal institutions and the stability and growth pact; the broad economic policy guidelines' failure to apply peer pressure; the European Union's influence within the G20 and the International Monetary Fund at the height of the global financial crisis; euro diplomacy towards China and other rising powers; and current debates about the fate of EMU and the reform of euro area governance in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. The book's conclusions challenge claims that the euro area is in crisis because of its decentralized approach to decision-making alone and the corollary that the euro can be saved only through a further transfer of sovereignty to the supranational level.

What makes the German economy so resilient? This provocative book challenges the conventional wisdom as to what constitutes national wealth, arguing that it is long-term, balanced development rather than rapid growth and productivity that makes an economy successful. Interdisciplinary in approach, this is the first book in many years to take an organic view of the German economy, looking not only at the mix of business and economic policies but also at the sociocultural and psychological background to German economic development. Gazdar shows how Germany balances the priorities of wealth, welfare, and well-being, and describes Germany's uniquely resilient form of ecological sociocapitalism. He argues that the German way of running an economy gives the country a strong, long-term edge over the United States and Japan in the global competition for economic security.

Executives interested in strategic planning and international marketing, economists, cultural and business historians, and policymakers will find this insightful book invaluable toward understanding the unique model that Germany exemplifies. Gazdar claims that Germany's mastery of balance--between the private and public sectors, between the interests of employers and employees, and between economical and ecological priorities--will lead it to economic triumph. He also argues that unless the United States comes to a new consensus, one that encompasses social issues, vocational education, and the improvement of infrastructure, it will steadily lose ground to Germany.

The analysis of any monetary policy framework necessarily extends beyond the confinements of the central bank. A country's monetary framework can depend on many factors such as: its form of government; its legal system; the level of expertise in monetary policy matters that exists inside and outside the central bank; the country's financial institutions; as well as wider characteristics including the political system and level of literacy. This broad ranging collection focuses on the monetary policy frameworks used by central banks and governments in their attempt to achieve their various goals, of which price stability has become increasingly unpopular. It assesses the links between targets and central bank independence, accountability and the transparency of monetary policy. Based on data collected through a questionnaire completed by over 70 central banks in industrialized, transitional and developing economies, the analysis shows how the detailed characteristics of a monetary framework depend upon: structural differences; varying degrees of indexation and other nominal rigidities that affect the speed of transmission from monetary policy to inflation; and institutional arrangem

One of the most important developments in macroeconomics during the last decade has been the introduction of the rational expectations approach. Before the introduction of this method, economists relied on a variety of ad hoc mechanisms which often led to errors in their predictions. Studies in International Macroeconomics explains the ways in which the rational expectations method deals with uncertainty. It presents stochastic models and applies them to curent issues such as exchange rate determination, the effects of the rise and fall in oil prices, and the impact of wage indexing on the economy.

Gain a thorough insight into the business of banking Introduction to Banking, 3rd edition, by Casu, Girardone and Molyneux offers an in-depth overview of the theoretical and applied issues in the global banking industry. Organised into five sections, it covers contemporary topics in banking, ranging from central banking and bank regulation, to bank management and corporate governance, providing the most up-to-date information on banking practice. The new edition discusses the developments contributing to the rapid transformation of the banking sector, such as digitalisation of banking and emergence of non-bank providers, the growing importance of sustainable banking, the FinTech boom, the impact of Covid-19 on banking services, structural and regulatory changes in the banking industry, and the growth of Islamic banking. Suitable for all undergraduate students taking a course in banking as well as professionals entering this industry, this text also provides background reading for postgraduate students on more advanced topics in banking. "I truly welcome this thoroughly revised edition of the Introduction to Banking textbook. Its authors are world-class scholars who on a daily basis research a wide array of highly relevant banking topics and maintain many close contacts with the commercial and central banking community. I can see no better guides to lead undergraduates into the fascinating (and at times bewildering) banking landscape." Steven Ongena, Professor of Banking, University of Zurich, Swiss Finance Institute and CEPR About the authors: Barbara Casu is the Director of the Centre for Banking Research at Bayes Business School, City, University of London where she is Professor of Banking and Finance. Claudia Girardone is Professor of Banking and Finance, Director of Essex Finance Centre (EFiC) and the Essex Business School's Director of Research. Philip Molyneux is Emeritus Professor at Bangor University. Pearson, the world's learning company

It has long been recognized that productivity growth and the business cycle are closely interrelated. Yet, until recently, the two phenomena have been investigated separately in the economics literature. This book provides the first consistent attempt to analyze the effects of macroeconomic volatility on productivity growth, and also the reverse causality from growth to business cycles. The authors show that by looking at the economy through the lens of private entrepreneurs, who invest under credit constraints, one can go some way towards explaining persistent macroeconomic volatility and the effects of volatility on growth. Beginning with an analysis of the effects of volatility on growth, the authors argue that the lower the level of financial development in a country the more detrimental the effect of volatility on growth. This prediction is confirmed by cross-country panel regressions. The data also suggests that a fixed exchange rate regime or more countercyclical budgetary policies are growth-enhancing in countries with a lower level of financial development. The former reduce aggregate volatility whereas the latter reduce the negative effects of volatility on long-term productivity-enhancing investment by firms. The book concludes with an investigation into how the interplay between credit constraints and pecuniary externalities is sufficient to generate persistent business cycles and to explain the occurrence of currency crises.