Business Economics articles from January 2002

Business Economics archives from January 2002

From the editor.
January 1, 2002... In addition to its regular articles, Business Economics benefits greatly from regular contributions to its Focus on Industries and Markets, Focus on Statistics, and Book Reviews. These require dedicated efforts by their editors. Therefore, it...

Corporate profits: Critical for business analysis; and not just for Wall Street.
January 1, 2002... The role of profits and return on investment need increasing attention from business and financial economists in order to analyze income through stock prices; identify potentials for mis-pricing stocks; and to understand prospects for...

What monetary policy can and cannot do: it can do a lot, but it is important to know its limits.
January 1, 2002... There is general agreement that price stability is necessary for macroeconomic success and that only monetary policy can achieve price stability. The Fed has been successful in this respect over the past twenty-two years. However, there is...

Globalization in historical perspective: Our era is not as unique as we might think, and current trends are not irreversible.
January 1, 2002... Globalization, in the sense of increased integration of international markets, has waxed and waned throughout history. Most recently, it thrived between the middle of the nineteenth century and World War I, languished and retreated until about...

Information Technology and the U.S. productivity revival: a review of the evidence; the closer one looks, the more persuasive it is.
January 1, 2002... Aggregate, industry, and firm level studies all point to a strong connection between information technology (IT) and the U.S. productivity revival in the late 1990s. At the aggregate level, growth accounting studies show a large and growing...

Economic implications of Defined Contribution Health Plans: Their impact on employers, insurers, employees, and healthcare providers.
January 1, 2002... Employee health benefits are a major payroll expense for companies that provide them. During the 1980s and 90s, many employers moved workers into managed care programs to control costs. However, the ability of those mechanisms to contain...

Economies and markets as complex systems: Looking at them this way may provide fresh insight.
January 1, 2002... Conventional economic theory follows a mathematical paradigm pioneered by classical physics, embodying smooth, differentiable functions, and dominant equilibria. The real business environment, however, is not so neat; and conventional ways of...

The global commercial refrigeration equipment market. (Focus on Industries and Markets).(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... World demand for commercial refrigeration equipment is projected to increase at 6.2 percent per year between 1999 and 2004, compared to a 5.6 percent annual growth during the 1994-1999 period. Total shipments in 2004 will be valued at $25.1...

FASB Statements 141/142 and the Business Economist--Where, oh where, have my intangibles gone? (Forum on Emerging Issues).(Financial Accounting Standards Board)
January 1, 2002... Although business economists seldom involve themselves in accounting details, recent changes in accounting rules provide fertile ground for economists to make productive use of their analytical skills in the valuation of intangible assets....

Statistical reports from the Social Security Administration. (Focus on Statistics).
January 1, 2002... Social security reform is one of the most pressing economic issues facing the United States, and it is a major legislative priority for both the administration and the Congress. To support the Social Security Administration's (SSA's) policy...

Institutional Investors. (Book Reviews).
January 1, 2002... By E. Philip Davis and Benn Steil. 2001. Cambridge MA and London, England: The MIT Press. Pp. 524. $47.95 hardcover. With the growth of pension funds, life insurance companies, and mutual funds, an increasing proportion of household saving...

Great Bubbles. (Book Reviews).
January 1, 2002... Ross B. Emmett, ed. 2000. London, Pickering & Chatto Limited. Volume 1, PP. 271. Volume 2, pp. 252. Volume 3, pp. 426. $470 hardcover. In conventional usage, a bubble is a rise in the price of an asset that feeds on itself but is unrelated...