The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was bold and controversial from the start. When first conceived, it was far from obvious that it would be possible given the circumstances of the times. Drawing from a December 2013 Hoover Institution conference on NAFTA at 20, this book brings together distinguished academics who have studied the effects of NAFTA with high-level policy makers to present a comprehensive view of the North American Free Trade Agreement. It looks at the conception, creation, outcomes so far, and the future of NAFTA from the perspective of economists, historians, and the aforementioned policy makers in the words of those who actually participated in the negotiations and research. In the context of the fundamental economic and political transformation of North America, they discuss the trade, real wage, and welfare gains that NAFTA has produced for the United States, Mexico, and Canada, along with a review of the major energy markets within and among the three countries. They include lessons from NAFTA for the future, both for NAFTA itself and for other trade agreements, and stress the importance of political leadership and providing information on the benefits of trade liberalization to voters and potentially ill-informed politicians who hear most loudly from the opponents.

This collection of essays presents new insights into the analyses of public debt theory, recent historical episodes, econometric analyses of public debt and policy dilemmas and options. The subjects covered include optimal debt policy, the role of deficits as a temporary stimulus in the course of disinflation, the intergenerational equity aspects of public debt, public debt problems in developing countries, indexing public debt for inflation and various conceptual, accounting and measurement issues in obtaining accurate information on deficits and public debt as well as their impact on aggregate economic activity. The studies document the explosion of public debt, the potential benefits and costs associated with this explosion and the perceptions of the debt problems from the viewpoints of various national economies as well as the world economy. Professor Arrow was awarded the Alfred Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science in 1972.

A collection of essays presenting new insights into the analysis of public debt theory, recent historical episodes, econometric analyses and policy dilemmas and options. It also documents the perceptions of debt problems from viewpoints of national economies as well as the world economy.

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was bold and controversial from the start. When first conceived, it was far from obvious that it would be possible given the circumstances of the times. Drawing from a December 2013 Hoover Institution conference on NAFTA at 20, this book brings together distinguished academics who have studied the effects of NAFTA with high-level policy makers to present a comprehensive view of the North American Free Trade Agreement. It looks at the conception, creation, outcomes so far, and the future of NAFTA from the perspective of economists, historians, and the aforementioned policy makers in the words of those who actually participated in the negotiations and research. In the context of the fundamental economic and political transformation of North America, they discuss the trade, real wage, and welfare gains that NAFTA has produced for the United States, Mexico, and Canada, along with a review of the major energy markets within and among the three countries. They include lessons from NAFTA for the future, both for NAFTA itself and for other trade agreements, and stress the importance of political leadership and providing information on the benefits of trade liberalization to voters and potentially ill-informed politicians who hear most loudly from the opponents.