Real exchange rate changes - resulting either from shifts in nominal exchange rates or increases in costs that are asymmetric across countries - are the primary focus of this text. The book shows how exchange rates and local production costs are passed through into import prices. It is found both analytically and empirically for OECD countries that pass-through is incomplete and the degree of pass-through depends on country and industry characteristics such as production share, market structure, product attributes and demand features. The book also investigates the implications of exchange rate changes for profits, investment and the entry/exit decisions of firms. The main finding is that even though the exchange rate changes have a limited impact on price competitiveness, they do matter for location and investment decisions.

Part One of this book deals with the theory of how money is created and destroyed. Essential principles are illustrated by considering various models of banking systems. Part Two provides an account of the modern theory of income and employment. * Theory backed up with examples of the simplest to the most complicated models, for example: * The model of "a closed economy without a government" to one in which government expenditure and revenue affect the level of national income * The model in which the rate of interest and quantity of money have no effect and the model in which they are variables relevant to the determination of income

Attempts to establish an international economic and financial order where a key feature of the settlement which followed the Second World War, as policy makers sought to establish a framework which would prevent an economic crisis on the scale of the great depression. This volume explores this period, focusing on monetary issues. Part 1 provides a general analysis of the scope for international monetary co-operation dealing in particular with: * The Provision of additional means of international settlement * The arrangement of settlements on a multilateral basis * The orderly fixation of exchange rates * The correction of international disequilibria * The provision of safeguards against the international transmission of business depressions. Part 2 deals with the actual machinery of international co-operation since the war and in particular with * The International Monetary Fund * The European Payments Union * The role of sterling Part 3 surveys the actual course of events since 1945, illustrating the problems that have called for treatment by international co-operation, the extent to which such treatment has been attempted, and with what success.

The Economics of Inflation provides a comprehensive analysis of economic conditions in Germany under the Great Inflation and discusses inflationary conditions in general. The analysis is supported by extensive statistical material.

* For this translation the author thoroughly revised the original work
* Includes an appendix on German economic conditions in the years following the monetary reform, 1923-24

'It provides the best complete discussion I know of the economics of repressed inflation' F.W. Paish. The Economics of Repressed Inflation is a micro-economic analysis of the effects of a partially controlled inflation in a peacetime economy. This analysis suggests that the combination of inflationary pressures and the control of consumption has economic effects on the price level and on the distribution of resources which may be as serious for the economy as the more widely recognized effects of an uncontrolled inflation.

The Role of Money examines the mystery of money in its social aspect and illustrates what money now is, what is does and what it should do. The standpoint from which the book is written is that of the public. The significance of the 'money-power' of the state to issue money has been recently recognized by historians. Its key position in shaping the course of world events is here explained. Included are: * Chapters on the philosophic background * The theory of money - Virtual Wealth * The Evolution of Modern Money * International Economic Relations * Debts and Debt Redemption

This book traces the developments of the post-war monetary story, with an emphasis both on theory and practice. A survey of monetary policy and a discussion of the effects of a credit squeeze are set against a survey of the very different American scene. Comparative analysis of the 'new money markets' is also included as is discussion of the significant developments in the world's major capital markets.

This textbook includes material on the general survey on the theory of taxation, other forms of public revenue, public expenditure and public debts. There are chapters on modern theories of budgetary policy and the controversial cheap money policy, pursued by the author when he was in charge of the British Treasury from 1945-1947.

Providing an extensive examination of monetary theory and its implications for public policy, Monetary Theory and Public Policy is as relevant for an understanding of current economic problems as when it was first published. Looking at the concepts of modern economic theory, particularly as these concepts apply to problems of money and banking, both Keynesian and Post-Keynesian developments are discussed.

The Federal Reserve Bank held its Eleventh Annual Economic Policy Conference on November 14 and 15, 1986. The topic of the conference was Financial Risk: Theory, Evidence and Implications; this volume contains the papers and discussants' comments that were presented at this conference. As the reader will note, these papers cover the broad aspects of financial risk, from some key general concepts to specific domestic and international financial risk problems. And, of equal importance, they provide some interesting insights into reasons for the continuing turmoil in domestic and international financial markets that we have witnessed in recent years. ix I RISK: A GENERAL OVERVIEW 1 DIFFERENCES OF OPINION IN FINANCIAL MARKETS Hal R. Varian The standard models of financial markets such as the Sharpe-Lintner mean- variance model or the Rubinstein-Breeden-Litzenberger contingent con- sumption model both assume more-or-Iess homogenous probability beliefs.! There has been some work on extending the mean-variance model to allow for differences in beliefs across agents; see Jarrow (1980), Lintner (1969), Mayshar (1983), and Williams (1977). Differences in beliefs in contingent commodities models have received much less attention. The major references are Rubinstein (1975, 1976a), Breeden and Litzenberger (1978), Hakansson et al. (1982), and Milgrom and Stokey (1982).

These proceedings, from a conference held at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis on October 17-18, 1991, attempted to layout what we currently know about aggregate economic fluctuations. Identifying what we know inevitably reveals what we do not know about such fluctuations as well. From the vantage point of where the conference's participants view our current understanding to be, these proceedings can be seen as suggesting an agenda for further research. The conference was divided into five sections. It began with the formu lation of an empirical definition of the "business cycle" and a recitation of the stylized facts that must be explained by any theory that purports to capture the business cycle's essence. After outlining the historical develop ment and key features of the current "theories" of business cycles, the conference evaluated these theories on the basis of their ability to explain the facts. Included in this evaluation was a discussion of whether (and how) the competing theories could be distinguished empirically. The conference then examined the implications for policy of what is known and not known about business cycles. A panel discussion closed the conference, high lighting important unresolved theoretical and empirical issues that should be taken up in future business cycle research. What Is a Business Cycle? Before gaining a genuine understanding of business cycles, economists must agree and be clear about what they mean when they refer to the cycle."

The Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) in which some members of the European Union have joined, has prompted much discussion of monetary union. Most of this discussion has focused on the immediate issues, such as prospects for the Euro and the possibility of expanding the Euro-zone. This book stands back and considers the relevant theory or what lessons might be drawn from other unions that have been formed in the past as well as looking at EMU directly.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203417917

The creation of the ECU in 1979 as part of the newly established European Monetary system was greeted with widespread scepticism, few predicted the success it would have in private financial markets. The macroeconomic and microeconomic implications of the ECU and its significance for monetary integration in Europe are considered by a variety of contributors from academics to those in banking circles. Current research is examined and the theoretical and empirical aspects of the emergence of the ECU as a vehicle for European policy-making are considered to provide insights as to its future development.

The growth of interest in fiscal decentralization has meant that there has been something of a rush to enshrine this in policy - The World Bank has reported that about 70 countries see this as a major part of their development strategy. This book critically examines the case for decentralization.
This collection of contributions comes from a worldwide team of experts, including Albert Breton, Piero Giarda and Anwar Shah. After analyzing fiscal decentralization in general, the book goes on to look at intriguing case studies of various regions around the world including:
* The European Union
* Hungary and Slovakia
* Russia and China
* Asia and Africa

eBook available with sample pages: 0203219996

The book develops an explanation of distribution between profits and wages, which is both logically coherent and supported by reality. It is centred upon a concept of the money rate of interest as the variable that governs the normal profitability of capital.

Despite the People's Republic of China's remarkable growth over the post-1978 reform period, questions have arisen about the sustainability of its exchange rate policy and the soundness of its financial system. This book focuses on the key monetary challenges to China's continued advancement and addresses such topical issues as the buildup of foreign exchange reserves, monetary control, credit allocation difficulties, and the expanding role of China's asset markets and stock exchanges. Current and past monetary policy strategies are examined in detail as are the banking sector reforms leading up to full foreign competition in December 2006. The analysis also assesses the People's Republic's role within Greater China (including Hong Kong and Taiwan) and the potential for future renminbi monetary hegemony within Asia. The treatment of these issues is intended to be accessible to non-economists and does not assume prior immersion in the underlying formal models.

In this book, the author presents fresh perspectives on the theories surrounding European Monetary Union. Urging the reader to examine conventional ideas from new viewpoints, he discusses the events which led to EMU, analyses the current situation, and projects possible futures.
Essential reading for academics and professionals concerned with the background and implications of EMU, this book will also be of considerable interest to scholars in the fields of European studies, monetary economics, international economics and economic history.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203165926

To explain the pronounced instability of the world economy since the 1970s, the book offers an important and systematic theoretical examination of money and finance. It re-examines the classical foundations of political economy and the creator of money. It assesses all of the important theoretical schools since then, including Marxist, Keynesian, post-Keynesian and monetarist thinkers. By presenting important insights from Japanese political economy previously ignored in Anglo-Saxon economics, the authors make a significant contribution to radical political economy based on a thorough historical analysis of capitalism.

The central thesis of the book is that in order to evaluate monetary policy, one should have a clear idea about the characteristics and functions of money as it evolved and in its current form. That is to say that without an understanding about how money evolved as a social institution, what it is today, and what is possible to know about monetary phenomena, it is not possible to develop a meaningful ethics for money; or, to put it differently, to find what kind of institutional arrangements may be deemed good money for the kind of society we are in. And without that, one faces severe limitations in offering a normative position about monetary policy. The project is, consequently, an interdisciplinary one. Its main thread is an inquiry of moral philosophy and its foundations, as applied to money, in order to create tools to evaluate public policy in regard to money, banking, and public finance; and the views of different schools on those topics are discussed. The book is organized in parts on metaphysics, epistemology, ethics and politics of money to facilitate the presentation of all the subjects discussed to an educated readership (and not necessarily just one with a background in economics).