Contemporary Economic Policy articles from July 1997

Contemporary Economic Policy archives from July 1997

Fiscal reform in Sweden: what generational accounting tells us.
July 1, 1997... I. INTRODUCTION In recent years, the concept of generational accounting has emerged as yet another approach to assessing fiscal policy. Generational accounts have stirred considerable debate among analysts as to their usefulness in fiscal...

A universal fully funded pension scheme.
July 1, 1997... I. INTRODUCTION Economists around the world are by now quite familiar with the pitfalls of a pay-as-you-go pension system. An aging society coupled with the prospect of increasing longevity is causing financial strains in public pension...

Telecommunications, factor substitution and economic growth.
July 1, 1997... I. INTRODUCTION De La Grandville (1989) presents an intriguing graphical analysis of Slutsky equation relationships highlighting certain properties of demand curves in both consumer and factor markets. In particular, the elasticity of...

The looming U.S. external debt: how serious is it?
July 1, 1997... I. INTRODUCTION When the United States first became a net debtor in the mid-1980s, some analysts worried that the prospect of an escalating U.S. foreign debt would cause foreigners to become unwilling to hold dollar assets, precipitating a...

Interest rates, rate spreads, and economic activity.
July 1, 1997... I. INTRODUCTION According to recent studies, interest rates and interest rates spreads predict economic activity (see, for example, Balke and Emery, 1994; Bernanke, 1990; Bernanke and Blinder, 1992; Friedman and Kuttner, 1992; Stock and...

Intellectual property rights and economic growth.
July 1, 1997... I. INTRODUCTION Intellectual property protection has been an international policy concern. Owners of intellectual property face risks of imitation or piracy not only in domestic markets but also in foreign, particularly in less developed,...

Why South Africa's apartheid economy failed.
July 1, 1997... I. INTRODUCTION Political and economic reform began to take place incrementally in South Africa in the 1970s and culminated in the 1990s with the dismantling of the apartheid system, legalization of the African National Congress (ANC), and the...

Structural inflation and the 1994 'monetary' crisis in China.
July 1, 1997... I. INTRODUCTION As compared with other former socialist countries in transition, China has done extremely well in maintaining price stability and achieving strong economic momentum. The economy on average grew at more than 9% each year since...

Sensitivity analysis in benefit-cost analysis: a key to increased use and acceptance.
July 1, 1997... I. INTRODUCTION Nearly everyone generally agrees that decision making is a comparison of benefits and costs. Beyond the abstract, there is much controversy, especially about giving benefit-cost analysis (BCA) a formal role. For example, the...

Effect of multi-fiber arrangement trade restrictions on textile industry profit margins.
July 1, 1997... I. INTRODUCTION Since the 1960s, world trade in textiles and apparel has been subject to an increasing array of bilateral quota arrangements. The range of products subject to restraints expanded from mostly cotton textiles under the early...

Is the market failing agricultural producers who wish to manage risks?
July 1, 1997... I. INTRODUCTION The risk faced by agricultural producers mostly is captured by the variability of annual net income levels. This risk is a function of variability in output price, yield, input prices, and input quantities. Yet, the financial...