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.

As decisively as the collapse of the Soviet Union signaled a most definite conclusion to that utopian undertaking gone mad, so has NAFTA ended an economic counterpart in Mexico. The United States and Canada are embarking on a grand experiment, incorporating Mexico into their very own economies, creating the largest trading bloc in the world consisting of more than 360 million consumers in an economy that will surpass seven trillion American dollars. For corporate America, an enormous opportunity lies in the integration of the Mexican nation into the economic and social fabric of North America. International business consultant and economist Louis Nevaer explains what these opportunities are and offers sage advice on how U.S. corporations can capitalize on them.

The implementation of NAFTA heralds the final conclusion of the Mexican Revolution, and Mexico is now embarked on a race against time to make up for lost decades. Ernesto Zedillo, who will deliver Mexico to the 21st century, confronts enormous challenges as the authoritarian hegemony that characterizes the political economy of the Mexican nation-state is dismantled. NAFTA constitutes a blueprint for the systematic surrender of the Mexican economy. There is, however, no blueprint for the transformation of Mexico into a democracy. Herein lies the greatest risks to corporate America, for there is always the danger of self-destruction, as witnessed in some of the republics of the former Soviet Union. The discussion presented in this book examines the present realities of the Mexican nation in the age of free trade. In Part I opportunities and risks for corporate America are analyzed, not only within an economic context, but also within a cultural and historical one, as well. Presented in Part II are the processes that have shaped Mexico over the centuries--Spanish rule, Native American civilizations, the trauma of conquest--which have given rise to the Mexican persona and character. With this understanding as background, the American reader gains a strategic advantage in understanding how the Mexican psyche works and which buttons to push. Finally, Part III presents a practical approach to conducting business in Mexico, which ranges from the legal requirements of opening a subsidiary, to a warning about the prevalence of corruption in Mexican society, as well as the existence of racism in Mexican culture.

Monetary theory not only provides the tools to analyse monetary arrangements, it also shapes them in an essential way. The selected papers gathered together in this book deal with a variety of topics concerning both aspects of this twofold relationship. A number of controversial issues regarding the demand for money are empirically investigated and the functioning of a cashless economy is clarified by critically assessing the new monetary economics. Filippo Cesarano shows the important role played by monetary theory in shaping the evolution of monetary arrangements. This principle is illustrated by focusing on several issues relating to both current and future developments of monetary institutions: the optimum quantity of money, the international monetary system and monetary unions. Equilibrium models are viewed as a benchmark against which the actual conditions of the economy must be set. Money and Monetary Systems will be of great interest and value to economists specialising in monetary theory and international monetary economics, postgraduate students in economics and economic historians.

.Economic reform measures introduced in Poland have been the most radical and ambitious in the newly free countries of Eastern Europe. In a short time that country has moved from a centrally planned economy to a free-market system. The ramifications and implications of these economic reforms are influencing economic thought and planning in other recently liberalized, formerly communist societies.

Raphael Shen asserts that measures taken to transform the Polish economy should be implemented over time rather than overnight, and should be moderate rather than radical. Throwing the centrally planned system out and replacing it with the free-market system instantly means that, in the short term at least, Poland will have no smoothly functioning system in place. The necessary economic infrastructure and basic institutions have had no time to develop. The contrived market system cannot function in a meaningful way. The current experience in Poland has already led to extensive disillusionment among Polish consumers and doubts among academicians. The Polish experience will be a valuable lesson in economics for students and decision makers. Shen's book valuable to students, teachers, and researchers in the areas of comparative economic systems, economic development, and economic history.

Against the background of the globalization of private finance, the predominance of states in global affairs cannot be taken for granted. New actors, such as commercial banks or securities houses, have entered the global arena and, therefore, need to be included in any informed analysis of social reality. The actions of these institutions have to be regarded as influential forces impacting world politics. The theory of transnational regimes is advocated as a new way of structuring the global system.

This volume fills an important gap in the existing economic literature. While much has been written about Japan's pre-1990s institutions and economic performance, this text is unique in its forward-looking orientation - trying to understand not only the institutional and structural changes that have already reshaped Japan in the 1990s, but to identify the critical trends and institutional changes that will mould Japan's new economy over the next decade.

James Tobin, 1981 Nobel laureate in economics, was the outstanding monetary economist among American Keynesian economists. This book, the first written about James Tobin, examines his leading role as a Keynesian macroeconomist and monetary economist, and considers the continuing relevance of his ideas.

The development of the welfare state has been accompanied by greater freedom being granted to workers in industrialized capitalist countries. The themes of this probing volume concern how governments, employers, trade unions, and workers have acted to promote economic growth and accountability with active industrial policies and forms of co-determination, worker self-management, and/or employee ownership. The book's essays address the key dimensions of economic, social, and political change in five industrial democracies: the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Sweden. A major focus of the volume as a whole is on economic management and workplace reform in a variety of national settings. Managing Modern Capitalism is divided into three sections, covering strategies for industrial renewal, workplace democracy in practice and theory, and future perspectives. In the first section, each of the five countries are compared and contrasted in light of their attempts to stimulate economic growth and reduce unemployment under conditions of international interpendence of capital and markets. Country-by-country profiles highlight the second section, which also examines various forms of employee consultation, participation in managerial decisions, and ownership. The third section and conclusion evaluate prospective economic trends and workplace democracy in the capitalist nations. This book will be of interest to policymakers, scholars, and journalists, as well as to advanced students in political science, economics, history, and sociology.

This book analyzes the effects of wives' employment on the economic status of families, using both descriptive and empirical research. The historical and socio-economic causes of change in the employment status of wives and husbands are detailed. The empirical studies respond to some basic questions about dual-earner families: How does having an employed wife influence family lifestyles? What effects do dual-earners have on the finances of their households and on the distribution of income? What policy changes are needed to recognize the economic importance of dual-earner families? In Working Wives and Dual-Earner Families, one-earner and dual-earner families are differentiated, with particular attention to the impact of wives' employment status (full-time or part-time) on household decision making. Among the most interesting research findings are: total family income or tax bracket and the cost of child care are among the critical determinants of dual-earner employment; married-couple families at the same level of income have very similar expenditure patterns regardless of whether the wife is employed; full-time working wives make the distribution of income less equal, but part-time working wives generate greater equality in the distribution of income; families with full-time working wives have higher income, but they do not save more or have greater financial assets than other families; families with part-time employed wives are similar to those with non-employed wives and differ from families with full-time employed wives. The authors conclude that the real incomes of dual-earner families will continue to grow, as one-earner real income remains the same or declines. Household planning and decision making will increasingly be predicated upon having two earners, which will be perceived as the norm. Dual-earner families, based on amenities, mobility, growing families, and demands for public goods, will drive private markets and public policy.

Macroeconomic models and assumptions have traditionally been evaluated using non-experimental "field" data. However, in many instances the field data necessary to evaluate such models and assumptions are not available. Recently, researchers have begun to explore ways of implementing micro-founded macroeconomic models in the controlled conditions of the experimental laboratory as an alternative means of gathering the data necessary to address the empirical relevance of macroeconomic models and assumptions as well as to understand questions of equilibrium selection or policy prescriptions. This volume is the first-ever collection of laboratory studies aimed at understanding macroeconomic phenomena. The chapters, by leading researchers in the field, explore consumption behavior, expectation formation, monetary economics and central bank policy in a variety of different macroeconomic models. Readers will come away with a better understanding of how to implement macroeconomic models in the laboratory and the valuable insights that laboratory research can bring to our understanding of macroeconomics.

Tanzania is now the fourth poorest country in the world. Its economic development, since independence in 1961, has been characterized by a series of internal and external shocks that have tested the resilience of the economy, the stability of its institutions, and the tolerance and inventiveness of its people. This book presents information that will have profound implications for economic policy in Tanzania. Questioning earlier reports and conclusions, the authors reject official economic statistics as failing to give even a moderately accurate picture of economic developments. This study outlines the structure of the Tanzanian economy and considers the impact of previous policies and current stabilization and adjustment measures on the poorer segments of the Tanzanian population.

This book deals with the structural origins of economic and financial crises. It explains that both economic theories and policies need to be grounded on a monetary macroeconomic analysis of the working of domestic and international economies. The volume outlines reform proposals to make sure that banking activities respect the nature of money.

The standing of industrialization has fallen in the list of social and economic objectives of developing countries in recent years. Turkey provides an ideal example of this beginning with a program adopted in 1980 under the auspices of the IMF and the World Bank. The macroeconomic and microeconomic issues concerning Turkish industrialization in global context with particular emphasis on the decade of the 1980s are examined. The rapid transformation in industrialization strategy from import substitution under heavy state direction to outward orientation has had a profound effect on industrialization of Turkey.

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.

The book focuses on how microfinance institutions can be the alternative way to supply funds to combat different phases of global economic recessions. Also, it emphasizes upon their capabilities in reducing poverty and inequality as the countries of the world today aim to attain the goal of sustainable development. The book further deals with the challenges that the micro financial institutions may face while sustain in the competitive and vast changing global business environment. Finally, the book analyses the effectiveness of micro financial services for the emergence of micro, small and medium enterprises with new technology and innovations which, in turn, can be instrumental in ensuring new relocation of global supply chains.

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 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 is devoted to the analysis of the three main financial crises that have marked this century: 2001 Argentina's defaulting on its external debt, the American subprime crisis in 2008, and the current European debt crisis in Europe. The book pursues three major objectives: firstly, to accurately portray these three financial crises; secondly, to analyze what went wrong with mainstream economic theory, which was unable to foresee these types of economic turmoil; and thirdly, to review macroeconomic theory, re-evaluating Keynes' original contribution to economic analysis and pointing out the need to rebuild macroeconomics with a view to studying economic illness rather than trying to prove the non-existence of economic problems.

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.

Both parts of Volume 44 of Advances in Econometrics pay tribute to Fabio Canova for his major contributions to economics over the last four decades. Throughout his long and distinguished career, Canova's research has achieved both a prolific publication record and provided stellar research to the profession. His colleagues, co-authors and PhD students wish to express their deep gratitude to Fabio for his intellectual leadership and guidance, whilst showcasing the extensive advances in knowledge and theory made available by Canova for professionals in the field. Advances in Econometrics publishes original scholarly econometrics papers with the intention of expanding the use of developed and emerging econometric techniques by disseminating ideas on the theory and practice of econometrics throughout the empirical economic, business and social science literature. Annual volume themes, selected by the Series Editors, are their interpretation of important new methods and techniques emerging in economics, statistics and the social sciences.

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.

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.

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.

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.