Reforming IMF Conditionality
From ‘streamlining’ to ‘major overhaul’
Graham Bird
Volume 10, Number 3, 2009, pages 81 - 104
As it has for many years, International Monetary Fund conditionality is currently receiving much attention in the context of the global financial crisis. At the beginning of the 2000s the Fund introduced a policy of ‘streamlining’ intended to reduce the amount of conditionality and refocus it, with ... Read more
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The IMF, the Credit Crunch and Iceland
A new fiscal saga?
Sheetal K. Chand
Volume 10, Number 3, 2009, pages 19 - 42
Iceland was badly hit by a fundamental mismatch between the assets and international liabilities of her banking system, with severe consequences for the welfare of the population. The country now has an International Monetary Fund programme. The paper asks three questions of the programme: Is it too ... Read more
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The Secret of Canadian Banking: Common Sense?
Laurence Booth
Volume 10, Number 3, 2009, pages 1 - 18
This article looks at the basic reasons why the Canadian banking system was recently judged by the World Economic Forum to be the soundest in the world. It does so by first examining the basic functions of a financial system and what Canadian banks are allowed to do as intermediaries within that sys ... Read more
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The Dangers of Déjà Vu Economics
Graham Bird
Volume 10, Number 1, 2009
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A Question of Fudge
Professor Nordhaus on climate change and mitigation policy
Mohammed H.I. Dore
Volume 10, Number 1, 2009, pages 91 - 106
This paper is an outline and critique of William Nordhaus’ book A Question of Balance (2008), in which he proposes his optimal policy for dealing with global climate change. Nordhaus finds that the proposals of the Stern Review and that of Al Gore are inefficient and costly. The critique of Nordhaus ... Read more
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Economists and Climate Science: A Critique
David Henderson
Volume 10, Number 1, 2009, pages 59 - 90
This paper presents a critique of the characteristic treatment by economists of climate science, which appears as over-presumptive and uncritical. While the paper draws on a range of illustrative cases, the main focus is on six recent and important contributions. The present author argues that the a ... Read more
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The World Financial Crisis
New economy, globalisation and old-fashioned philosophy
F. Gerard Adams
Volume 10, Number 1, 2009, pages 45 - 58
The world financial crisis of 2008 is a consequence of new financial technologies, new accounting methods and new international linkages. These developments have come at a time when governments have returned to an old-fashioned free market philosophy. This paper links the systemic financial/economic ... Read more
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The Institutional Framework of the Gulf Central Bank
Nasser H. Saidi & Fabio Scacciavillani
Volume 10, Number 1, 2009, pages 25 - 44
This paper discusses the viable alternatives for a suitable institutional and governance framework for the policymaking body presiding over the GMU. The authors review a series of alternatives, from the simplest one (i.e. a governors’ council formed by the governors of the national central banks and ... Read more
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Sweden’s Bank Nationalisations FREE ARTICLE
Are there lessons for today?
Fredrik Erixon
Volume 10, Number 1, 2009, pages 1 - 12
Many banks are on the verge of bankruptcy and have received support from the government to stay afloat. Measures taken have not sufficed, and an increasing number of economists and commentators are calling for the nationalisation of banks in the United Kingdom and United States. In their advocacy, t ... Read more
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Are Economic Sanctions Useful in Discouraging the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction?
Robert Carbaugh
Volume 9, Number 4, 2008, pages 181 - 200
against countries that have been implicated in the development of weapons
of mass destruction and the use of terrorism. These sanctions have included
limitations on customary trade and/or financial relations with a target country.
Are sanctions effective in discouraging the proliferation of weapo ... Read more
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Perspectives on Inclusive Development
Concepts, approaches and current issues
Michael Chibba
Volume 9, Number 4, 2008, pages 145 - 158
The pursuit of inclusive development raises numerous questions and challenges
for academics, practitioners and policymakers. To demystify the subject and
move towards addressing the challenges, this paper first highlights the concept
of inclusive development. Next, the key approaches as advanced ... Read more
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How can Korea Raise its Future Potential Growth Rate?
Elena Ianchovichina & Danny Leipziger
Volume 9, Number 4, 2008, pages 129 - 144
Korea has achieved tremendous economic progress over the last three and a half
decades, but in recent years growth has slowed down, and looking forward, most
forecasters expect potential growth to decline substantially. The authors’ analysis
of the key factors determining potential growth in Kore ... Read more
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Why do Governments Delay Devaluation?
The political economy of exchange rate inertia
Graham Bird & Thomas D. Willett
Volume 9, Number 4, 2008, pages 55 - 74
In the sequence of currency crises in emerging economies in the 1990s, there
was an observed reluctance to devalue the exchange rate. Although ultimately
adopted, the decision to devalue was usually delayed, often until it could no
longer be avoided. While economic explanations of delay are avail ... Read more
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The Effectiveness of IMF Surveillance
A study on global financial governance
Biagio Bossone
Volume 9, Number 4, 2008, pages 27 - 54
IMF surveillance of the international monetary and financial system is a global
public good. Its effectiveness depends critically on the dynamics that underpin
the mechanisms governing the IMF and global finance. These dynamics, in turn,
reflect the interests and power of influence of countries ( ... Read more
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Bringing Balance to the IMF Reform Debate
Domenico Lombardi
Volume 9, Number 4, 2008, pages 13 - 26
This paper summarises the outcome of formal discussions among scholars,
former policymakers and senior officials of International Monetary Fund (IMF)
member countries that took place in 2007–08 regarding the future of the
IMF and how its responsiveness to member countries might be improved. It
r ... Read more
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End of the ‘American Century’
Allan H. Meltzer
Volume 9, Number 4, 2008, pages 1 - 12
The postwar era has ended. The institutional structures that the United States
sponsored are less relevant or less accepted now, and the US is unable to solve
its major domestic problems. In 1944–46, the US led the world toward new
international arrangements that promoted freer markets, freer tra ... Read more
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Global Imbalances and the Lessons of Bretton Woods
Graham Bird & Thomas D. Willett
Volume 9, Number 3, 2008, pages 229 - 234
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Unwinding Global Economic Imbalances
What’s growth got to do with it?
Graham Bird
Volume 9, Number 3, 2008, pages 211 - 216
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Risk-Pricing and the Sub-Prime Crisis
Andrew G. Haldane
Volume 9, Number 3, 2008, pages 31 - 46
As the sub-prime crisis celebrates its first birthday, what lessons have been learnt? The crisis was rooted in a misperception problem among end-investors, facilitated by financial engineers selling “tail risk” products. Contrary to the precrisis rhetoric, this tail risk was often transferred to tho ... Read more
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Endangering the War on Terror by the War on Drugs
Deepak Lal
Volume 9, Number 3, 2008, pages 1 - 30
The century-old US War on Drugs based on supply control measures is endangering its War on Terror in Afghanistan. With opium poppy cultivation the most profitable crop available to Afghan farmers, the Taliban has been able to use the illegal profits from the trade to buy arms and recruit farmers by ... Read more
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Poverty Reduction in Developing Countries
No consensus but plenty of solutions
Michael Chibba
Volume 9, Number 1, 2008, pages 197 - 200
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Two Concepts of the Output Gap
Tim Congdon
Volume 9, Number 1, 2008, pages 147 - 175
Two alternative concepts of the output gap, Keynesian and monetarist, can be distinguished. When they use the phrase, economists should make clear which concept is under discussion. The first concept, developed by Okun in the early 1960s, defines the output gap relative to a full employment notion o ... Read more
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Three Cheers for the 'Progressive State'
Ben Friedman on the moral consequences of economic growth
An interview with introduction by Brian Snowdon
Volume 9, Number 1, 2008, pages 97 - 146
Ben Friedman is widely recognised as one of the world’s leading macroeconomists. His research and publications have focused on monetary and fiscal policy, and the key role that financial markets play in influencing how macroeconomic policies impact on aggregate economic activity. Professor Friedman’ ... Read more
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Growth Strategies and Dynamics
Insights from country experiences
Mohamed A. El-Erian & A. Michael Spence
Volume 9, Number 1, 2008, pages 57 - 96
The paper examines the challenges that developing countries face in accelerating and sustaining growth. The cases of China and India are examined to illustrate a more general phenomenon which might be called model uncertainty. As a developing economy grows, its market and regulatory institutions cha ... Read more
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Alternative Strategies for Fighting Unemployment FREE ARTICLE
Lessons from the European experience
Gilles Saint-Paul
Volume 9, Number 1, 2008, pages 35 - 55
During more than three decades of protracted high unemployment, European countries have developed a variety of approaches in order to tackle the problem. These strategies differ in their philosophy, scopes and successes. A number of them can be understood in terms of shying away from full-fledged li ... Read more
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The Future of Financial Regulation
Howard Davies
Volume 9, Number 1, 2008, pages 11 - 34
In light of the recent turmoil in global financial markets and criticisms of the performance of the regulatory system, Sir Howard Davies-who prior to his current appointment as Director of the London School of Economics was Chairman of the Financial Services Authority, the UK’s single financial regu ... Read more
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Challenging Times for UK Monetary Policy
Andrew Sentance
Volume 9, Number 1, 2008, pages 1 - 10
Global economic developments have recently thrown up two major challenges for the setting of UK monetary policy. The recent global financial turmoil threatens to reinforce the slowdown in the UK and globally. But rising energy and commodity prices will push up inflation in the short term, and pose a ... Read more
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The Opium Economy: A Possible Approach to Reform
Jeremy Berkoff
Volume 8, Number 4, 2007, pages 9 - 45
This paper reviews options for reform of the opium economy within a holistic world context, emphasising the economic forces at work at each stage of the marketing chain. Rather than choosing between prohibition and legalisation, the paper proposes an incremental approach that would move steadily fro ... Read more
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Tim Lankester on Paul Collier, The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries Are Failing and What Can Be Done About It
Volume 8, Number 3, 2007, pages 195 - 199
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How to Tackle Poverty
Economists are closing in on the answers
Diane Coyle
Volume 8, Number 3, 2007, pages 1 - 5
There has been an unprecedented political focus on economic development and poverty reductions since the Gleneagles Summit of 2005, yet it seems economists have been unable to agree on how to capitalise on the opportunity. Is more aid the solution? Or the problem? This article argues that, beyond th ... Read more
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Can China Learn from Sweden?
Arne Bigsten
Volume 8, Number 2, 2007, pages 17 - 40
China is undergoing a very rapid process of structural and institutional transformation, which has led to dramatic increases in income levels. During this process, the country is facing a series of development challenges that need to be dealt with in order to sustain growth. The question posed in th ... Read more
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Globalisation and Inflation
Charles Bean
Volume 8, Number 1, 2007, pages 57 - 73
In this paper, Charles Bean, Executive Director, Chief Economist and member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England, discusses the impact of globalisation on the industrialised countries and in particular the inflation process. He explains how globalisation has affected the returns t ... Read more
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Book Review
Carol Graham on William Easterly, The White Man’s Burden: Why the West’s Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good
Volume 7, Number 4, 2006, pages 251 - 253
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What Future for Central Banks?
Howard Davies
Volume 7, Number 4, 2006, pages 57 - 85
Central banks around the world differ in their functions, size, efficiency and status. In this article, Sir Howard Davies, a former Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, discusses the development of central banking over the last few years, and where it might go in the future. His main focus is the ... Read more
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Making Fiscal Space Happen!
Managing fiscal policy in a world of scaled-up aid
Peter S. Heller, Menachem Katz, Xavier Debrun, Theo Thomas, Taline Koranchelian & Isabell Adenauer
Volume 7, Number 3, 2006, pages 89 - 132
Debt relief and the scaling up of aid to low-income countries should allow for increased fiscal space for expenditure programs to spur long-term growth and reduce poverty. But as discussed in Peter Heller’s article “Pity the Finance Minister” (World Economics, Vol. 6, No. 4), designing a suit ... Read more
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Has the European Social Model a Future?
J. R. Shackleton
Volume 7, Number 3, 2006, pages 43 - 62
The European Social Model, involving high levels of government spending and taxation, labour and product market regulation and the involvement of the “social partners”, is in crisis. The core European economies are experiencing low economic growth, slow job creation and high levels of unemployment. ... Read more
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Understanding China’s Economic Transformation
Are there lessons here for the developing world?
Daniel W. Bromley & Yang Yao
Volume 7, Number 2, 2006, pages 73 - 95
Economic change is a process of continual adjustment to new circumstances. Economies are always in the process of becoming. Good economic policy entails pragmatic adjustment so that economic dystrophy is avoided. The experience of economic (institutional) reform in China since 1978 is drawn on—and e ... Read more
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Russia at the Crossroads
Padma Desai on transition, reform, and the legacy of Yeltsin’s ‘kamikaze crew’
An interview with introduction by Brian Snowdon
Volume 7, Number 2, 2006, pages 11 - 71
To set the interview in context, Brian Snowdon first traces out some important landmarks in twentieth-century Russian/Soviet Union history. In the conversation that follows, Professor Desai gives her views on a number of key issues relating to the decline of the Soviet system and problems of Russia’ ... Read more
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Are We Heading for a Dollar Crisis?
Graham Bird
Volume 7, Number 1, 2006, pages 159 - 174
The US balance of payments current account deficit is in excess of 5 per cent of GDP. Is this sustainable? A loss of confidence in the dollar could lead to foreign investors selling dollars and to a sharp dollar devaluation. In principle, there could be a dollar crisis. But how likely is it? This pa ... Read more
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Making Capitalism Work for Everyone
Raghuram Rajan & Luigi Zingales
Volume 7, Number 1, 2006, pages 1 - 10
There is a widespread belief that free markets do not benefit the common person, let alone the poor: they are only an instrument for the rich to get richer. Not only is this belief false, but in fact the opposite is true. Free markets are the single most important tools to eliminate poverty and spre ... Read more
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Brazil’s Economy Under Lula
The dawn of a new era?
Edmund Amann
Volume 6, Number 4, 2005, pages 149 - 169
In this article Edmund Amann analyses the recent performance of the Brazilian economy, the largest in South America. For a number of years it has been clear that Brazil, despite substantial natural resource endowments and a talented and entrepreneurial population, has failed to match the growth perf ... Read more
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Monetary Policy, Macro-stability and Growth
South Africa’s recent experience and lessons
Janine Aron & John Muellbauer
Volume 6, Number 4, 2005, pages 123 - 147
There is greater appreciation now amongst economists of the negative effect of uncertainty on investment, growth and equality, especially when credit constraints are widespread. This implies an important linkage between the transparency and predictability of the policy environment, and growth and eq ... Read more
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A Global Compact to End Poverty
Jeffrey Sachs on stabilisation, transition and weapons of mass salvation
An interview with introduction by Brian Snowdon
Volume 6, Number 4, 2005, pages 11 - 68
Brian Snowdon presents the text of a two-hour interview conducted with Jeffrey D. Sachs of Columbia University—a wide-ranging discussion relating to Professor Sachs’s work over the past thirty years on macroeconomic stabilisation, the economics of transition, and several important issues in the fiel ... Read more
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Should Fuel Taxes Be Scrapped in Favor of Pay-by-the-Mile Charges?
Ian Parry
Volume 6, Number 3, 2005, pages 91 - 102
This paper discusses the appropriate balance between traditional gasoline taxes and charging by the mile, focusing on economic efficiency considerations. It begins with a brief discussion of the five major passenger vehicle issues of concern—local pollution, greenhouse warming, oil dependency, traff ... Read more
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Rethinking Development Effectiveness
Facts, issues and policies
M. G. Quibria
Volume 6, Number 1, 2005, pages 101 - 117
This article reviews some recent research on aid effectiveness. An important
finding of this research is that foreign aid has been much more effective than is
generally presumed. It also suggests that the current aid allocation policy of
development agencies, based on selectivity, has a fragile e ... Read more
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Reserve Accumulation in Asia
Lessons for holistic reform of the international monetary system
Graham Bird & Alex Mandilaras
Volume 6, Number 1, 2005, pages 85 - 99
In the aftermath of the 1997/1998 crisis, Asian economies have built up large
holdings of international reserves. Although initially encouraged to do so by the
IMF, more recently they have been criticised for maintaining undervalued
currencies, running large current account balance of payments su ... Read more
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Monetary Policy in an Uncertain World
Charles Bean
Volume 6, Number 1, 2005, pages 31 - 53
In this article, Charles Bean, Bank of England Chief Economist and member of
the Monetary Policy Committee, reviews and assesses the three types of
uncertainty which affect monetary policymakers: uncertainty about the data;
uncertainty about the nature and persistence of shocks; and uncertainty a ... Read more
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Keynes, Globalisation and the Bretton Woods Institutions in the Light of Changing Ideas about Markets
Robert Skidelsky
Volume 6, Number 1, 2005, pages 15 - 30
For most of the twentieth century, pessimism about, and hostility to, markets was
prevalent and this pulled in an anti-globalist direction. Indeed, the global
institutions set up in 1944 were constructed by two market pessimists, John
Maynard Keynes, on whom this article concentrates, and Harry D ... Read more
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The Influence of Political Distortions on Economic Performance
The contributions of Alberto Alesina
An interview with introduction by Brian Snowdon
Volume 5, Number 4, 2004, pages 91 - 136
Alberto Alesina is the Nathaniel Ropes Professor of Political Economy and
Chairman of the Department of Economics at Harvard University. In this
interview he discusses with Brian Snowdon his views on several important
contemporary issues, including politics and the business cycle, budget deficits ... Read more
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Dollarisation in Theory and Practice
John C. B. Cooper
Volume 5, Number 4, 2004, pages 79 - 89
Dollarisation involves the replacement of a soft domestic currency with a hard
foreign alternative. This paper explains the different forms that dollarisation can
take, its consequences for an economy, and concludes by exploring the
experience of Panama, a country dollarised since 1904. ... Read more
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Governance Matters
The role of governance in Asian economic development
David E. Bloom, David Steven & Mark Weston
Volume 5, Number 4, 2004, pages 53 - 78
In recent years there has been a surge of interest in governance: good governance
increasingly is seen as a vital adjunct to successful development efforts. This paper
attempts to explain what governance is and why it is important, and assess which
forms of governance are likely to best support a ... Read more
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Responsible Growth to 2050
Kirk Hamilton & Ian Johnson
Volume 5, Number 4, 2004, pages 33 - 51
At plausible rates of growth in population and income per capita, world GDP in
2050 could be four times what it is today. This paper considers the benefits this
growth can provide, the risks that it presents, and the building blocks required to
achieve it. The authors argue that “business as usua ... Read more
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Are Governments Overextended?
Assessing the spectrum of a government’s debts and its exposure to risk
Peter S. Heller
Volume 5, Number 4, 2004, pages 1 - 31
Have government debt levels reached dangerous levels? Certainly, for some
countries, the data would suggest so. However, this paper will argue that for
many governments, the amount of explicit debt on their balance sheets seriously
understates the magnitude of their future fiscal obligations. Thi ... Read more
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Monetarism: A Rejoinder
Tim Congdon
Volume 5, Number 3, 2004, pages 179 - 197
Tim Congdon responds to the article by Thomas Mayer
and Patrick Minford, ‘Monetarism: A
Retrospective’ that appeared in World Economics, Vol. 5,
No. 2 (April–June), 2004, pp. 147–185.
... Read more
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Monetarism in Retrospect — and Prospect
Andrew G Haldane
Volume 5, Number 3, 2004, pages 171 - 178
Andrew Haldane responds to the article by Thomas Mayer
and Patrick Minford, ‘Monetarism: A
Retrospective’ that appeared in World Economics, Vol. 5,
No. 2 (April–June), 2004, pp. 147–185. ... Read more
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Monetarism: A Response
Meghnad Desai
Volume 5, Number 3, 2004, pages 165 - 170
Meghnad Desai responds to the article by Thomas Mayer
and Patrick Minford, ‘Monetarism: A
Retrospective’ that appeared in World Economics, Vol. 5,
No. 2 (April–June), 2004, pp. 147–185.
... Read more
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Monetarism Revisited
Allan Meltzer
Volume 5, Number 3, 2004, pages 161 - 164
Allan Meltzer responds to the article by Thomas Mayer
and Patrick Minford, ‘Monetarism: A
Retrospective’ that appeared in World Economics, Vol. 5,
No. 2 (April–June), 2004, pp. 147–185.
... Read more
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Asian Drama
The pursuit of modernisation in India and Indonesia
Tim Lankester
Volume 5, Number 3, 2004, pages 75 - 93
The now largely forgotten book Asian Drama: An Inquiry into the Poverty of Nations
by Swedish social scientist Gunnar Myrdal was published in 1968. Myrdal called
his book “Asian Drama” because of the tensions he saw being played out in Asia
between modern ideals and the traditional. But th ... Read more
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What Do Economists Know?
Alan Budd
Volume 5, Number 3, 2004, pages 17 - 26
How would you respond to a group of high school students when asked
“What do economists know?”. Alan Budd’s answers will be familiar to readers of
World Economics but bear repeating. Economics, unlike, say, Physics, tends to
attract beliefs and opinions by non-specialists held with as much ... Read more
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Monetarism
A retrospective
Thomas Mayer & Patrick Minford
Volume 5, Number 2, 2004, pages 147 - 185
This paper offers a retrospective on the monetarist debate started by Milton
Friedman in the 1950s, discussing both monetarist theory and policy
recommendations. While the inability to find a controllable monetary aggregate
with a velocity that can be accurately predicted has severely damaged the ... Read more
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A Single European Market in Asset Management
Vision and reality
Friedrich Heinemann
Volume 5, Number 1, 2004, pages 133 - 158
In spite of progress with integration, the European single market is still far from
perfect. In particular, financial services markets are still heavily segmented along
national borders—even in the era of the Internet and the Euro. In order to
understand the reasons for and consequences of incomp ... Read more
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Does the IMF Perform a Catalytic Role?
And what if it doesn’t?
Graham Bird & Dane Rowlands
Volume 5, Number 1, 2004, pages 117 - 132
The IMF advertises itself as playing a catalytic role, whereby its lending
programmes induce other providers of finance to invest or lend as well. The
theoretical foundations of this claim are reviewed and found to be questionable.
The empirical evidence also appears to contradict the notion of a ... Read more
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International Aid
Experience, prospects and the moral case
Tim Lankester
Volume 5, Number 1, 2004, pages 17 - 39
This article describes the main reasons why aid has not been as effective at
addressing the world’s poverty problem as it could have been: lack of will on the
part of donors, inadequate policies and governance on the part of recipients, and
a lack of understanding of development and of how aid wo ... Read more
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The Economics of the Kyoto Protocol
Michael Grubb
Volume 4, Number 3, 2003, pages 143 - 189
This paper surveys economic aspects of the Kyoto Protocol, the Treaty adopted
to control emissions of the greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change.
The first part focuses upon the structural aspects of the agreement, with
particular attention to the long-term conception of the Treaty an ... Read more
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Hydropower in Bhutan and Nepal
Why the difference?
Jeremy Berkoff
Volume 4, Number 3, 2003, pages 121 - 142
Bhutan and Nepal have followed differing hydropower development strategies.
Bhutan has co-operated with India and power export earnings have helped fund a
broadly successful economic, environmental and social programme. In contrast,
Nepal turned to the World Bank and other donors to fund its powe ... Read more
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Is Economic Growth Good For Us?
Nicholas Crafts
Volume 4, Number 3, 2003, pages 35 - 49
This article reviews Britain’s experience of economic growth in the twentieth
century. It argues that average living standards have risen much more rapidly than
is generally appreciated. The main reasons for this include increased life
expectancy which is highly valued by the public and downward ... Read more
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Leadership and Progress
Allan Meltzer
Volume 4, Number 3, 2003, pages 15 - 26
When World War II ended, the United States took the lead in providing political
stability, rules for freer trade, and international financial stability. The ‘Pax
Americana’ worked extremely well. During the postwar years, more people in
more countries increased their living standards by larger am ... Read more
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Monetary Policy
A subtle paradigm shift?
Claudio Borio & Philip Lowe
Volume 4, Number 2, 2003, pages 103 - 119
A growing challenge for central banks is to secure monetary and financial stability
simultaneously. Indeed, somewhat paradoxically, success in controlling inflation
can sometimes contribute to the development of imbalances that ultimately lead
to financial stresses, with potentially serious macro ... Read more
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Does Britain Need More Immigrants? A Debate
Nigel Harris & David Coleman
Volume 4, Number 2, 2003, pages 57 - 102
In this debate, Nigel Harris and David Coleman discuss the pros and cons of
migration. Taking the case of Britain, they address issues such as the desirability
or otherwise of migration controls, gains and losses from migration, the ‘optimum’
size and composition of the country’s workforce, and t ... Read more
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Weapons Exports
The bogus moral dilemma
Samuel Brittan
Volume 4, Number 2, 2003, pages 39 - 56
The commonly held view that an ethical approach to arms sales is desirable but
‘unaffordable’ because jobs and exports are at stake is challenged by Samuel
Brittan. He argues that it arises from a failure to understand the circular flow of
income, the fallacy of a ‘lump of labour’ and a long disc ... Read more
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Cartels
Where is the case for criminal sanctions?
Jennifer Skilbeck
Volume 4, Number 2, 2003, pages 1 - 12
Imprisonment of directors and employees for taking part in cartel activity is
becoming an increasingly common penalty in western jurisdictions. Generally it
is the only competition law offence that attracts a criminal sanction either as a
matter of law or practice. This article examines the evide ... Read more
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How to Reform Europe’s Fiscal Policy Framework
Lars Calmfors & Giancarlo Corsetti
Volume 4, Number 1, 2003, pages 109 - 116
The current budgetary problems of some EU member states have intensified the
debate on Europe’s fiscal policy framework. It is not enough to change the
interpretation of the Stability and Growth Pact. More fundamental revisions of
the EU Treaty are needed in order to strike a reasonable balance b ... Read more
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Some Lessons from a Single Currency
Alan J. Brown
Volume 4, Number 1, 2003, pages 99 - 107
This article looks at the early experience of the Euro and argues that both the
original rules established for the European Central Bank and the Stability and
Growth pact need to be reconsidered. Failure to do so will result in the whole
European economy delivering less growth and prosperity. Wit ... Read more
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Why The Five Economic Tests?
The decision about British membership of a single European currency in historical context
Ed Balls
Volume 4, Number 1, 2003, pages 73 - 98
Chief Economic Adviser to the Treasury, Ed Balls, sets out the government’s
approach to making the decision about British membership of a single European
currency in an historical context. The basis for deciding whether there is a clear
and unambiguous economic case to join the single currency is ... Read more
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More Aid—Making It Work for the Poor
Peter S. Heller & Sanjeev Gupta
Volume 3, Number 4, 2002, pages 131 - 146
This paper highlights the economic challenges that would be associated with a
successful effort by industrial countries to meet the goal of devoting 0.7 percent
of their GNP to official development assistance (ODA) to help poor countries. To
help achieve the Millennium Development Goals, enhanced ... Read more
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Labour Standards and International Trade
Krisztina Kis-Katos & Günther G. Schulze
Volume 3, Number 4, 2002, pages 101 - 129
Can a case be made for the imposition of international minimum labour
standards? And if so, on what grounds? The authors systematically present the
existing theoretical and empirical arguments for and against introducing minimum
labour standards on the international level, and discuss whether tra ... Read more
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Ready to Join the EU?
On the status of reform in the candidate countries
Federico Foders, Daniel Piazolo & Rainer Schweickert
Volume 3, Number 4, 2002, pages 43 - 72
This paper presents a new set of indicators concerning the status of economic
reform in the candidate countries for the enlargement of the European Union
which is scheduled for 2004. After an overview of indicators of institutional
development, macroeconomic policy and trade policy, a composite i ... Read more
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The UK’s Achievement of Economic Stability
How and why did it happen?
Tim Congdon
Volume 3, Number 4, 2002, pages 25 - 41
The UK achieved a remarkable degree of macro-economic stability in the 1990s.
Contrary to expectations when the pound was expelled from the European
exchange rate mechanism in September 1992, over the next ten years inflation
was kept almost exactly on target and its volatility declined by over 9 ... Read more
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The Growing US Fiscal Gap
Daniel Shaviro
Volume 3, Number 4, 2002, pages 1 - 8
The United States has a huge long-term fiscal gap, perhaps with a present value
as great as $74 trillion. The US may thus be unable to continue meeting its
current spending commitments without eventually enacting huge tax increases.
The tax cut enacted in 2001 may have increased the fiscal gap by ... Read more
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James Tobin, 1918–2002
An interview with introduction by Brian Snowdon & Howard Vane
Volume 3, Number 3, 2002, pages 121 - 160
Professor James Tobin, who died on 11 March 2002, was possibly the most eminent
of the world’s ‘Keynesian’ economists. Described by Nobel Laureate Paul Samuelson
as “the archetype of a late-twentieth century American scholar”, Tobin was
without doubt one of the most influential economists of his ... Read more
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Japan’s Monetary and Economic Policy
Allan Meltzer
Volume 3, Number 3, 2002, pages 85 - 103
Japan has gone from very successful policies that promoted growth without
inflation to a long period of slow growth, recessions and deflation. The Bank of
Japan’s policies are a major reason for deflation. Although the Bank has purchased foreign exchange, it counteracts the inflationary effects of ... Read more
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The Case for Congestion Charging
David Begg & David Gray
Volume 3, Number 3, 2002, pages 71 - 84
Car use has grown significantly in the UK in recent years, raising concerns about pollution and congestion. Although existing fiscal measures have been effective in tackling the former, the UK now has the worst traffic congestion in Europe. The economic costs of congestion are considerable, and moto ... Read more
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The Quest for Stability
Alan Budd
Volume 3, Number 3, 2002, pages 55 - 70
The UK seems to be enjoying a golden age of macroeconomic policy-making.
Growth is steady; inflation is low and stable, and unemployment is low. After
years of trying to achieve economic stability we seem to have found the answer.
This paper explores the history of policy-making from the late 195 ... Read more
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Transport, Access and Economic Growth
Karl W. Steininger
Volume 3, Number 2, 2002, pages 75 - 91
Transport and gross domestic product have grown at roughly a one-to-one
relationship in the past. Many decision-makers consider the supply of transport
infrastructure an important ingredient in fostering productivity and economic
growth; some even consider it a prerequisite. This article analyses ... Read more
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Letter from Buenos Aires
Pierre Wassenaar
Volume 3, Number 1, 2002, pages 179 - 183
“IMF criminals!” cry the antiglobalists in the wake of Argentina’s descent into
chaos. But the real crime of Argentina’s last ten years was its own supineness in tying its fortunes for so long to the economy of an indifferent superpower, and allowing itself to become the plaything of international ... Read more
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The Economic Impact of the World Cup
Stefan Szymanski
Volume 3, Number 1, 2002, pages 169 - 177
The World Cup will be the biggest sporting event of 2002, but the Japanese and
Korean governments are also hoping that it will be one of the biggest economic
events of the year. Impact studies by respected economic research institutes
predict a dramatic boost to GDP in both countries. This paper ... Read more
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Where Do We Stand On Choosing Exchange Rate Regimes in Developing and Emerging Economies?
Graham Bird
Volume 3, Number 1, 2002, pages 145 - 167
In the midst of a lively debate about international monetary reform at the
beginning of the twenty-first century, there seemed to be a broad consensus
about exchange rate policy in developing and emerging economies; that they
should opt for one of the extremes in the form of either firm fixity or ... Read more
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Capital Controls
The experience of Malaysia
Jomo K.S.
Volume 3, Number 1, 2002, pages 125 - 143
Malaysia’s decision to adopt capital controls in September 1998 reminded the
world that there are alternatives to capital account liberalisation. Unfortunately,
there has been a tendency for both sides in the debate over the capital control
measures to exaggerate their own cases, with little rega ... Read more
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Stock Markets and Central Bankers
The economic consequences of Alan Greenspan
Andrew Smithers & Stephen Wright
Volume 3, Number 1, 2002, pages 101 - 124
There is a near-consensus that central bankers should focus their attention on the control of inflation, and should accordingly not pay attention to movements in stock markets. This view is reinforced by the continuing influence of the Efficient Markets Hypothesis (EMH), which maintains that financi ... Read more
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In Praise of Historical Economics
Bradford DeLong on growth, development and instability
An interview with introduction by Brian Snowdon
Volume 3, Number 1, 2002, pages 59 - 100
Professor Bradford DeLong is a leading macroeconomist and economic historian,
and is best known for his work on economic growth, business cycles, finance and
issues relating to international economic history and globalisation. However, his interests and publications cover a vast range of issues an ... Read more
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The Economics of Happiness
Bruno S. Frey & Alois Stutzer
Volume 3, Number 1, 2002, pages 25 - 41
Economists have long considered themselves fortunate that micro-economic
theory needs only be based on relative utility, as it is widely believed that utility is not measurable in absolute terms. But this view is no longer valid. The measurement of happiness constitutes a good approximation to util ... Read more
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Measuring Global Drug Markets
How good are the numbers and why should we care about them?
Peter Reuter & Victoria Greenfield
Volume 2, Number 4, 2001, pages 159 - 173
The continuing demand for measures of the size of global drug revenues has
produced a supply of numbers that consistently overstate international financial
flows. This paper shows that, rather than $500 billion, the annual figure in trade
terms may be about $25 billion. As with many refined agric ... Read more
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Prohibition and the Market for Illegal Drugs
An overview of recent history
Suren Basov , Mireille Jacobson & Jeffrey A. Miron
Volume 2, Number 4, 2001, pages 133 - 157
Over the past 25 years in the United States, enforcement of drug prohibition has
expanded dramatically. Over the same period, however, the trends in drug
production and consumption have been essentially flat, and the real, purityadjusted prices of both cocaine and heroin have more than halved. Thi ... Read more
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Championing Free Trade in the Second Age of Globalisation
Jagdish Bhagwati on trade, democracy and growth
An interview with introduction by Brian Snowdon
Volume 2, Number 4, 2001, pages 53 - 104
Professor Jagdish Bhagwati is without question one of the world’s leading
economists and an authority on the principles and practice of foreign trade. In his extensive research over the past forty years he has made seminal contributions to trade theory and policy, public finance, the new political ... Read more
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What Happened to the Washington Consensus?
Graham Bird
Volume 2, Number 4, 2001, pages 33 - 51
At the beginning of the 1990s it appeared that there was considerable agreement
about the kind of economic policies that countries turning to the IMF and the
World Bank should pursue. These included macroeconomic stabilisation,
microeconomic liberalisation and openness, and were summarised by the ... Read more
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Economists and Sustainable Development
The OECD Report on Policies for Sustainable Development
Wilfred Beckerman
Volume 2, Number 4, 2001, pages 1 - 17
The OECD report is almost exclusively about environmental policy (on which it
contains a mass of useful data and discussion). There is, commendably, hardly
any discussion of the implications of the usual core condition in consensus
definitions of sustainable development, namely that there should ... Read more
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Bad Market Days
Lessons from the stock market crashes of 1929 & 1987
Harold Bierman
Volume 2, Number 3, 2001, pages 177 - 191
There are a large number of misconceptions regarding the great stock market
crash of 1929 and the crash of 1987. Both crashes occurred when the general level of business was good and getting better. In 1929 there were very few hints that the great depression was two years away. In fact, in recognit ... Read more
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Policy-Making in Resource-Rich Countries
Lessons from Zambia
Arne Bigsten
Volume 2, Number 3, 2001, pages 139 - 153
Economic development depends upon resource availability, resource allocation,
and the efficiency of resource use. One would presume that countries with an
abundance of natural resources would stand a better chance of developing than
resource-poor countries. Recent experiences in less developed co ... Read more
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NGOs and International Economic Policy-Making
Rights and responsibilities in the global arena
Michael Edwards
Volume 2, Number 3, 2001, pages 127 - 137
NGOs and other citizens’ groups are enjoying an unprecedented upsurge in their
profile and influence in global debates over international economic policy. Public
opinion polls show this to be a popular trend, but the outcome of greater civil
society involvement depends on whose voices are actuall ... Read more
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The Debt-Relief Initiative for Poor Countries
Good news for the poor?
Gustav Ranis & Frances Stewart
Volume 2, Number 3, 2001, pages 111 - 124
This paper reviews the new debt-relief initiative for Highly-Indebted Poor
Countries (HIPCs) designed to reduce the debt burden of potentially 36 poor
countries. It finds that the HIPC initiative is not likely to make a major
contribution to the problems of the world’s poor. It offers limited and ... Read more
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Revisiting The Death of Economics
Paul Ormerod
Volume 2, Number 2, 2001, pages 163 - 176
Paul Ormerod achieved notoriety, even opprobrium among orthodox economists,
with the publication in 1994 of his best-selling book The Death of Economics.
Ormerod’s aim was to provide a critique of conventional economics which was
accessible to general readers. He described orthodox economics—with ... Read more
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Latin America: The Long and Winding Road to Growth
Federico Foders
Volume 2, Number 2, 2001, pages 143 - 162
This paper reviews recent economic reforms carried out in Latin America and
relates them to the long-run economic trends in the region. After a brief overview
of growth and income distribution patterns of Latin American countries in the
nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the paper addresses some ... Read more
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Keeping the Keynesian Faith
Alan Blinder on the evolution of macroeconomics
An interview with introduction by Brian Snowdon
Volume 2, Number 2, 2001, pages 105 - 140
This wide-ranging discussion takes in the development of macroeconomics and the influence of ideas and events on that development, the nature and causes of the Great Depression, Keynesianism, lessons from the high-inflation period of the 1970s, the role of macroeconomic policy, and the idea of the ‘ ... Read more
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IMF Programmes: Is there a conditionality Laffer Curve?
Graham Bird
Volume 2, Number 2, 2001, pages 29 - 49
The long-standing debate over IMF conditionality has received a new lease of
life in the context of the debate over a new international financial architecture.
Conditionality has increased in recent years and some proposals for reform envisage a continuation of this trend. However, by emphasising ... Read more
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Is Public Spending Good for You?
Yew-Kwang Ng
Volume 2, Number 2, 2001, pages 1 - 17
Studies by psychologists, sociologists and economists indicate that increases in incomes beyond about US$4,000 are not related to happiness nor significantly with the objective quality-of-life indicators (which increase with scientific and technological breakthroughs at the global level). Yet everyo ... Read more
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The Emerging Northeast–Southeast Asia Divide and Policy Implications
Friedrich Wu
Volume 2, Number 1, 2001, pages 169 - 180
Since the outbreak of the Asian financial crisis in mid-1997, the gulf between the Northeast Asian economies and Southeast Asian economies has widened as measured by GDP growth rates and size, direct and portfolio investment flows,
stock market capitalisation and trading turnover, as well as foreig ... Read more
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Is Dollarisation a Viable Option for Latin America?
Graham Bird
Volume 2, Number 1, 2001, pages 137 - 147
In the aftermath of the East Asian financial crisis there has been much discussion of exchange rate policy in developing countries. Some observers have suggested that they should opt either for flexible exchange rates or for firmly fixed rates. Adopting the US dollar as legal tender and abandoning t ... Read more
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E-money: Will it Take Off?
Peter Spencer
Volume 2, Number 1, 2001, pages 121 - 136
The growth of the Internet and e-commerce raises some interesting questions for those interested in the monetary system. Is a new Internet-based digital
transactions medium likely to evolve and what would the consequences of this
be for taxation, monetary and financial stability? This article revi ... Read more
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Child Labour
Theory, policy and evidence
Saqib Jafarey & Sajal Lahiri
Volume 2, Number 1, 2001, pages 69 - 93
The purpose of this paper is to pull together the emerging theoretical and
empirical literature on the economics of child labour, and to draw out the
underlying commonalities between various contributions in this field. In doing
so, the authors also identify various policy options and their relat ... Read more
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Demographic Risk in Industrial Societies
Independent population forecasts for the G-7 countries
Sylvester J. Schieber & Paul S. Hewitt
Volume 1, Number 4, 2000, pages 27 - 72
There is a growing awareness of the aging of populations around the world and the implications for national retirement programs. In most cases, estimates of population aging are based on fixed assumptions about fertility, improvements in life expectancy, and immigration. In most countries, however ... Read more
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Owner-occupiers and the Price Index
Ralph Turvey
Volume 1, Number 3, 2000, pages 153 - 159
The treatment of owner-occupied dwellings in Consumer Price Indexes varies between countries and is the subject of continuing controversy. Ralph Turvey explains the alternative possible treatments and reasons for disagreement.
... Read more
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Reply to Professor Zimmermann
Giles Atkinson
Volume 1, Number 3, 2000, pages 149 - 152
Giles Atkinson replies to Professor Zimmermann’s "A Multi-coloured GDP -or No New GDP at All?"[World Economics, Vol 1 No 3 July-September 2000]
... Read more
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A Multi-coloured GDP -or No New GDP at All?
Horst Zimmermann
Volume 1, Number 3, 2000, pages 141 - 147
This is a reply to Giles Atkinson’s article ‘Re-thinking Economic Progress’ that appeared in the first issue of World Economics (Vol. 1, No. 1, January – March 2000). Atkinson discussed proposals for the construction of ‘green’ alternatives to Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In the same issue, Amanda ... Read more
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The US “Underclass” in a Booming Economy
Richard B. Freeman
Volume 1, Number 2, 2000, pages 89 - 100
The main failure in the US economy in the 1980s through the mid 1990s was its inability to distribute the gains of economic growth to the bulk of the population. The traditional “rising tide lifts all boats” link between economic growth and poverty seemed broken, creating a large seemingly permanent ... Read more
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The Thirty-five Hour Working Week
Flexibilité, compétitivité, productivité-a French Revolution
Alan Kirman
Volume 1, Number 2, 2000, pages 41 - 54
The introduction of a reduced working week (RWW) in France has been widely condemned as an arbitrary additional constraint in an already rigid labour market. This article explores the origins of the law, and the reasons for the negative appreciation by economists of this measure. However, it goes on ... Read more
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Welfare-to-work and the New Deal
Richard Layard
Volume 1, Number 2, 2000, pages 29 - 39
Welfare-to-work is on trial in many countries. In Britain it has become the
government’s most important policy for lowering unemployment and expanding
labour supply. But can it work? And what lessons does Britain’s experience
provide for other countries? This paper argues that whilst ... Read more
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Housing in the South East of England
Some issues raised by the Government’s plans
David Miles
Volume 1, Number 2, 2000, pages 1 - 11
Plans recently unveiled by the UK government will, if implemented, generate a
major increase in new housebuilding in one of the most crowded and congested
parts of the UK. The plans fail to take account of the impact on people living in
London and the South East—and in the rest of the ... Read more
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Re-thinking Economic Progress
Giles Atkinson
Volume 1, Number 1, 2000, pages 153 - 166
Most national governments have pledged a commitment to sustainable development. The transformation of these pledges into policy is a formidable challenge. Of particular interest are proposals for the construction of green alternatives to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which it is hoped will provide ... Read more
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