World Economics Journal Archive
The contents of all previous issues of World Economics are listed below. Subscribers have access to the complete back issue archive: click on titles to view abstracts and full text of articles (PDF). If you are not a subscriber, sign-up online now.
The Growing US Fiscal Gap
Daniel Shaviro, World Economics, December 2002
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 ha ... More
The Disappearing Masterpiece
David Galenson, World Economics, December 2002
A quantitative analysis of the illustrations in art history textbooks reveals that the
most important modern American painters—including Pollock, de Kooning, and
Warhol—failed to produce individual paintings as famous as the masterpieces of
some major French modern a ... More
The UK’s Achievement of Economic Stability: How and why did it happen?
Tim Congdon, World Economics, December 2002
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 ... More
Ready to Join the EU?: On the status of reform in the candidate countries
Federico Foders, Daniel Piazolo & Rainer Schweickert, World Economics, December 2002
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 a ... More
Continuities and Discontinuities in Global Development: Lessons from new East/West comparisons
Kenneth Pomeranz , World Economics, December 2002
Much literature normalises a ‘North Atlantic’ pattern of development, and sees a
regionally specific ‘East Asian’ path emerging relatively recently. However,
development patterns in core regions of Europe and East Asia were surprisingly
similar until almost 1800; Eur ... More
A Decade of Trade Reforms in India: How it compares with East Asia
Ramkishen S. Rajan & Rahul Sen, World Economics, December 2002
This paper summarises recent trade reforms in India and documents the extent
to which the country has integrated with the global trading system. The paper
argues that India has made important strides since the initiation of reforms in
1991. Although it lags significa ... More
Labour Standards and International Trade
Krisztina Kis-Katos & Günther G. Schulze, World Economics, December 2002
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 ... More
More Aid—Making It Work for the Poor
Peter S. Heller & Sanjeev Gupta, World Economics, December 2002
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 Millenni ... More
Should We Be Globaphobic About Globalisation?: Dani Rodrik on the economic and political implications of increasing international economic integration
An interview with introduction by Brian Snowdon
World Economics, December 2002
Dani Rodrik is best known for his work on international economics, trade policy,
the institutional foundations of economic development, and the political
economy of economic policy reform. Much of his recent research has been
concerned with the limits and consequence ... More
Slobodan Milosevic and the Fire of Nationalism
Ronald Wintrobe, World Economics, September 2002
This paper is an economist’s attempt to understand the behaviour of dictators
with special reference to the Milosevic regime in Serbia. The author focuses on
nationalism, ethnic cleansing and war, especially the most recent war with
NATO. The basic argument is simple ... More
Regulating Tobacco in the United States: The Government and the Courtroom
Jonathan Gruber, World Economics, September 2002
There has been a dramatic turn of events against the tobacco industry in the past
few years, raising the question of the appropriate future path for smoking policy
in the US. This paper discusses the theory and evidence on regulation of
smoking. The author begins by ... More
The Quest for Stability
Alan Budd, World Economics, September 2002
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 p ... More
The Case for Congestion Charging
David Begg & David Gray, World Economics, September 2002
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 congest ... More
Japan’s Monetary and Economic Policy
Allan Meltzer, World Economics, September 2002
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 counterac ... More
The Puzzle of the Harmonious Stock Prices
Randall Morck & Bernard Yeung, World Economics, September 2002
A peculiar pattern is evident across the stock markets of different countries. In emerging markets, such as Peru and China, all the stocks in the country tend to rise and fall together in the course of ordinary trading. But in developed
countries, such as Denmark and C ... More
James Tobin, 1918–2002
An interview with introduction by Brian Snowdon & Howard Vane
World Economics, September 2002
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 ... More
The Life Cycles of Modern Artists
David Galenson, World Economics, September 2002
There have been two very different life cycles for great modern artists: some
have made their major contributions early in their careers, while others have
produced their best work later in their lives. These patterns have been associated
with different artistic goal ... More
Cycles of Silver: Globalization as historical process
Dennis O. Flynn & Arturo Giráldez, World Economics, June 2002
Absent a workable definition of the term ‘globalization’, debates today lack
intellectual rigor. Most consider globalization a 20th-century (even post-1945)
phenomenon. In fact, globalization was born when Manila was founded as a
Spanish entrepôt in 1571. Connections ... More
Can Africa Catch Up?
Arne Bigsten, World Economics, June 2002
The trend towards globalization of the last few decades has been manifested in
the sustained growth of world trade and flows of investment and technology. For
most regions this growing integration has led to rapidly growing per capita
incomes, while Africa has stagna ... More
Towards a Better Climate Treaty
Scott Barrett, World Economics, June 2002
The Kyoto Protocol is an example of how not to construct a treaty. Negotiators began by focusing on the short term, agreeing that the industrialized countries
should cut their emissions of greenhouse gases by about 5% relative to 1990 by
2008–2012. Then they agreed th ... More
Does the Eurozone Face 50 Years of Economic Stagnation?
Tim Congdon, World Economics, June 2002
The newly-formed European currency will compete with the dollar to become
the world’s leading currency in the 21st century. Its prospects in this competition will depend partly on the size of the European economy compared with the US economy. This article argues that u ... More
A Hard Look at the Costs of Peace
Jacques Fontanel & Michael D. Ward , World Economics, June 2002
The United States has emerged as a hegemonic, dominant military power exactly
during the period when its military expenditures have grown least. The end of
the Cold War did indeed deliver a huge dividend to its largest beneficiary, the
United States. During this same ... More
Transport, Access and Economic Growth
Karl W. Steininger , World Economics, June 2002
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 prere ... More
Some Facts about Hedge Funds
Harry M. Kat , World Economics, June 2002
Hedge funds promise investors the best of both worlds: superior performance and
high diversification potential combined into one. This article discusses a number of recent findings that show that the case for hedge funds is less straightforward than often portrayed. A ... More
The Ups and Downs of Capitalism: Ben Bernanke on the ‘Great Depression’ and the ‘Great Inflation’
An interview with introduction by Brian Snowdon
World Economics, June 2002
Ben Bernanke is a leading macroeconomist who has contributed extensively to
the literature on business cycles, monetary policy, the role of financial markets in economic fluctuations, inflation targeting and the economics of the Great Depression. He is one of the six e ... More
The Promotion Test
Stefan Szymanski , World Economics, June 2002
The collapse of broadcaster ITV Digital owing £178m to the English Football League will cause, according to the League’s Chairman, the financial failure of
up to fifty of the seventy two clubs. If this were to happen a major restructuring of English football would have ... More
"There Will Be Growth in the Spring": How credible are forecasts of recovery?
Prakash Loungani, World Economics, March 2002
Forecasters are currently echoing Chauncey Gardner’s words that “There will be
growth in the spring”. Or certainly by the summer. Are such forecasts credible?
Yes. This article presents evidence that private sector forecasters have done a
reasonably good job of forec ... More
Mother Earth: Ally or Adversary?
Thorvaldur Gylfason , World Economics, March 2002
Economic growth requires capital. This article reviews the relationship between
economic growth around the world and six different kinds of capital: real capital; human capital; financial capital; foreign capital; social capital; and natural capital. Economic theory an ... More
The Economics of Happiness
Bruno S. Frey & Alois Stutzer, World Economics, March 2002
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 constitute ... More
Measuring Information Technology and Productivity in the New Economy
Kevin J. Stiroh , World Economics, March 2002
The growing importance of information technology raises significant challenges
for statisticians and economists. The US national accounts now incorporate
sophisticated measurement tools to capture the rapid rates of technological
change and dramatic improvements in t ... More
In Praise of Historical Economics: Bradford DeLong on growth, development and instability
An interview with introduction by Brian Snowdon
World Economics, March 2002
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 c ... More
Stock Markets and Central Bankers: The economic consequences of Alan Greenspan
Stephen Wright, World Economics, March 2002
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) ... More
Capital Controls: The experience of Malaysia
Jomo K.S., World Economics, March 2002
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 the ... More
Where Do We Stand On Choosing Exchange Rate Regimes in Developing and Emerging Economies?
Graham Bird, World Economics, March 2002
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 ... More
The Economic Impact of the World Cup
Stefan Szymanski, World Economics, March 2002
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 ... More
Letter from Buenos Aires
Pierre Wassenaar, World Economics, March 2002
“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 t ... More