THE LOOMING U.S. EXTERNAL DEBT: HOW SERIOUS IS IT?

This article examines the state of U.S. external debt accumulation, especially the rising burden of interest payments. It points out that the favorable yield differential between U.S. external assets and liabilities may be declining at the same time the United States has become the world's largest international debtor. The favorable yield differential has enabled the United States, which became a net debtor in 1987, to avoid making net interest payments on its international debt until 1994. However, servicing the increasing U.S. net international debt is likely to be a much greater burden in the future as the favorable yield gap wanes while net debt continues to grow.     

The Costs of U.S. Hegemony: Military power,military spending,and U.S. trade performance

For David Gordon and his collaborators in the social structures of accumulation (SSA) tradition, the willingness to threaten potential adversaries with military forces capable of acting on a global scale was seen to positively affect the U.S. terms of trade. U.S. hegemony yielded specific supply side benefits as favorable terms of trade reduced relative input prices and boosted profitability. Although Gordon and his co-authors recognize the potential costs of sustaining a large, globally active military apparatus, these costs are not incorporated in the econometric models supporting the SSA theory. This paper attempts to extend the SSA analysis by empirically measuring the effects of both military spending and military power on U.S. trade performance over the 1951–1987 period. It is shown that while military power and spending commitments may have positive effects on the terms of trade, these military variables had direct and indirect negative impacts on the U.S. net export balance and therefore domestic aggregate demand. In the context of a model of U.S. growth performance open to international transactions, the overall effect of the postwar military system on U.S. economic growth was likely negative in the cold-war era     

Pro-market institutions and labor market outcomes: A panel-data analysis of U.S. metropolitan areas

We expand previous U.S. state-level research on the relationship between pro-market institutions and labor market outcomes by examining this relationship at the U.S. metropolitan-area level. Using panel data for 1992–2012 in a fixed-effects model, we investigate the effect of pro-market institutions on the unemployment rate, labor force participation rate, employment-population ratio, and employment growth across 366 U.S. metropolitan areas. The results indicate that pro-market institutions are associated with a lower unemployment rate, higher employment-population ratio, and faster employment growth. These results suggest that local-area policies are important for achieving favorable labor market conditions at the local level.     

美国政府科技经费监督与绩效评价

美国的科研经费同其他类别的联邦经费一样,由经法律授权的机构按照统一的原则规定、审核标准和操作程序进行监督和评估。如何保证联邦经费的使用效率和效果,保护纳税人的利益,是美国政府一直在努力探索的问题。本文重点研究美政府实施经费监督和对联邦机构及联邦计划进行绩效评价的机制和方法,并以美国立卫生研究院项目监管实践为例做具体分析,旨在为我国经费监管和机构及项目绩效评价提供参考依据。     

THE MEASUREMENT OF HOUSING OUTPUT: U.S. AND SOVIET CASE STUDIES

This paper examines the measurement of the output of the Housing industry in real GNP accounts of the U.S., the Soviet Union, and selected OECD countries. These real GNP accounts make use of quite different Housing indexes, based on different types of data. This paper's major empirical finding is that the (measured) growth rate of Housing output can be extremely sensitive to the type of index used.
After reviewing the concept of housing quality, the paper presents U.S. and Soviet case studies. The BEA and the CIA do not use identical procedures to measure Housing output for the U.S. and the Soviet Union: the BEA measures many more aspects of housing quality improvements than the CIA does. This difference in the two agencies' procedures increases the growth rate of the US. Real Estate industry relative to the growth rate of the Soviet Housing industry. The idea behind the two case studies is to remeasure Housing output far the Soviet Union (U.S.) using an index that approximates the BEA (CIA) index. The purpose of these studies is the calculation of numerical magnitudes: to what degrees are the levels and growth rates of Housing sensitive to the type of index that is used. The calculations for the U.S. are useful because they show the important role of housing quality growth in the U.S., and because they make the magnitudes reported for the Soviet Union more credible. The Soviet case study provides numerical support for the proposition that the post-WWII growth rate of Soviet housing quality has been considerable and exceeds the growth rate implicit in the CIA output figures.     

美元没落?——美元利益格局及其发展趋势

美国凭借美元的世界储备货币地位获得了大量利益。这种利益由美元利益格局来保障,通过创造各国对美元的需求来实现,同时,作为核心环节的美元计价机制、权力框架以及有利的外部环境也是该格局的必要支柱。当前,美元面临着强有力的竞争和挑战,美国自身也在调整其战略,以期获得更为持续而长久的利益,由于美元利益格局依然存在,美元地位的改变将是一个长期的过程。     

关于美国轮胎特保案的反思

美国金融危机蔓延导致全球经济出现衰退，贸易保护主义逐渐抬头。2009年9月发生的美国轮胎特保案就是典型的例子。中国企业应该加快推进产业结构升级和国内市场拓展，积极开展区域性贸易合作，实现出口多元化，积极发挥行业协会规范价格，以“特保案”为契机，通过增强国际竞争优势和挖掘国内市场潜力，实现对贸易保护主义的有效突围。     

DRIFTING APART: CANADIAN AND U.S. LABOR MARKETS

Canadian and U.S. unemployment rates moved together within a narrow margin from 1961 to the mid-1970s. Since then, Canadian rates have exceeded U.S. rates by large margins—at times as much as 3 percentage points. Throughout this period, interest rates in the two countries have been nearly identical. Aggregate demand stimulation by government deficits has been greater in Canada than in the U.S., and the trade surplus in Canada has added to demand while the trade deficit in the U.S. has subtracted from demand. Therefore, it seems that conventional Keynesian arguments cannot explain the recent differences in unemployment rates.
Differences in labor market developments, however, can do so. During a period when real wages rose 35 percent in Canada, they fell 5 percent in the U.S. Since the recession of 1981, U.S. wages have dropped while Canadian wages have remained constant. Differences in labor productivity do not account for these developments. A strong case exists for the argument that the different paths of unemployment rates are due to different paths of real wage developments.
It is argued that the causes for these differences in labor market conditions are associated with substantial growth and decreases in unionization rates in Canada and the U.S., respectively. In addition, the unemployment insurance system in Canada is shown to be considerably more generous than that in the U.S.     

Exchange-rate variability and U.S.-French trade flows: evidence from industry data

Recent studies have greatly expanded the literature on the effects of exchange-rate volatility on industry-level bilateral trade flows. In this study, we examine the case of the United States and France, applying cointegration analysis to a set of 146 U.S. export and 115 U.S. import industries. We find that the majority of industries show little or no relationship between risk and trade volumes, but that small industries—particularly for exports—show more sensitivity than do large ones. A disproportionate share of industries respond positively to increased volatility, particularly among U.S. importers, suggesting the presence of “risk loving” behavior.     

Fiscal financing and the efficacy of fiscal policy in Korea: An empirical assessment with comparison to the U.S. evidence

This paper aims to assess the empirical implications of fiscal financing in Korea and study how they differ from those of the U.S. We estimate two versions of the dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model—a small open economy (SOE) model for Korea and its closed economy counterpart for the U.S.—in which the former nests the latter as a special case. The fiscal policy specification posits that government spending, lump-sum transfers, and distortionary taxation on labor income, capital income and consumption expenditures respond to the level of government debt and the state of economic activity. Analysis of the data from 2000 to 2015 shows that distortionary capital taxes play a critical role in stabilizing government debt in the U.S., whereas non-distorting fiscal instruments are the primary means of fiscal adjustment in Korea. Regarding the magnitude of debt-financed fiscal stimuli, the substantial trade openness of Korea is significant in that it produces relatively smaller government spending and transfer multipliers compared to the U.S.     

直接投资引致的美中贸易逆差:经验研究

运用基于误差修正模型的格兰杰因果关系检验模型,在商品分类层面研究关中贸易逆差与关国对华直接投资的内在联系。结果显示：从长期和短期来看,中国制成品的出口都是关中贸易逆差的“因”,中国制成品的出口与关国对华直接投资之间具有显著的双向格兰杰因果关系,因此关国进入中国的FDI,尤其是进入制造业的FDI越多,美中贸易逆差就越大;美中贸易逆差是结构性的,它不仅不会在短期内消除,而且会随着美国劳动密集型产业向中国的进一步转移而加剧。     

FOREIGN MANPOWER IN THE U.S. SCIENCES

Because of the recent public concern over the brain drain, this study attempts to measure the U.S. gain of highly skilled manpower. The paper discusses the serious short-comings of the data on gross immigration of scientists and engineers provided by the U.S. immigration authorities as a measure of true U.S. gains. In a case study of Swedish scientists and engineers it was found, for example, that whereas the U.S. data showed a gain of 106 Swedish scientists and engineers over a number of years, the net figure was only 26 after adjustment for remigration and the application of the proper OECD education criteria. The paper then reports the findings of a statistical study which uses the stock data on U.S. scientists in the National Register of Scientific and Technical Personnel to estimate the number of foreign born in this stock and analyse their characteristics with respect to age, educational attainment, and employment preferences. It was found that nearly 7 percent of all U.S. scientists are of foreign origin (foreign born and foreign secondary education), whereas 11.5 percent of all scientists with a Ph.D. are of foreign origin. The percentage among Ph.D. holders is highest in meteorology (22.3), followed by linguistics (18.7), physics (17.1) and statistics (14.6). The greatest percentage of scientists comes from Canada (10.4 per thousand), followed by Germany (8.3 per thousand) and the United Kingdom (6.7 per thousand). However, after adjustment of these data for the different sizes of the total foreign born population from each country in the U.S., it turns out that by this measure the greatest shares of scientists are supplied by the Japanese, followed by the Austrian-Swiss, Benelux and Canadians. The analysis of the age composition of all foreign born reveals that in the age groups that were 20–29, 45–54, and 65 and over in 1964 foreigners represent a smaller than average share, probably reflecting war casualties and education completed at a later age. Germans and Austrians are heavily concentrated in the group 55–64 years old in 1964, suggesting that a great share of scientists from these countries may have been victims of a brain push.     

The effect of case management on U.S. hospitals

This quantitative research study assesses the organizational characteristics, market factors, and profitability of U.S. hospitals operating with a case management model. These results have managerial implications associated with individual hospital performance, implications for nursing leadership, and policy implications on resource allocation.     

LIMITING U.S. OIL IMPORTS: COST ESTIMATES

The Energy Modeling Forum recently compared ten world oil models. This paper examines the costs of curtailing growth in U.S. oil imports based upon the supply and demand responses to price in six of these models. The analysis estimates direct resource costs over the 1989–2010 period from U.S. results for aflat and a rising price case spanning an $18 per barrel difference by the year 2000 and beyond. To provide a balanced perspective, the paper also includes estimates of some potential benefits from import-reduction policies. These benefits include smaller wealth transfers during a disruption and lower oil prices without disruptions. While keeping future oil imports at today's level appears to be quite costly, the results here indicate that less aggressive import-reduction programs offer some opportunity for economic gain.     

Simultaneous Releases of U.S. and Foreign GAAP Earnings

Prior studies examine the incremental information content of U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) reconciliation of U.S. listed foreign firms and find mixed results. One of the main methodological issues in prior studies is the uncertainty concerning the dates of the reconciliation releases. This study examines the information content of U.S.GAAP reconciliation for a sample of U.S. listed foreign firms that released both U.S. and foreign GAAP earnings information simultaneously. The findings show that there is no incremental information content for the U.S. GAAP reconciliation over foreign GAAP earnings. When added to other empirical evidence from prior studies, this studies' results of no incremental information content further support the recent SEC announcement to work towards eliminating the reconciliation by 2009 for firms using IFRS.     

CREDIT,HOUSING COLLATERAL,AND CONSUMPTION: EVIDENCE FROM JAPAN,THE U.K., AND THE U.S.

The consumption behavior of U.K., U.S., and Japanese households is examined and compared using a modern Ando‐Modigliani style consumption function. The models incorporate income growth expectations, income uncertainty, housing collateral, and other credit effects. These models therefore capture important parts of the financial accelerator. The evidence is that credit availability for U.K. and U.S., but not Japanese, households has undergone large shifts since 1980. The average consumption‐to‐income ratio rose in the U.K. and U.S. as mortgage down‐payment constraints eased and as the collateral role of housing wealth was enhanced by financial innovations, such as home equity loans. The estimated housing collateral effect is similar in the U.S. and U.K. In Japan, land prices (which proxy house prices) continue to negatively impact consumer spending. There are negative real interest rate effects on consumption in the U.K. and U.S. and positive effects in Japan. Overall, this implies important differences in the transmission of monetary and credit shocks in Japan versus the U.S., U.K., and other credit‐liberalized economies.     

美国购油策略分析及对中国的启示

美国页岩油革命改变了美国原油贸易格局,使得美国进口原油品质趋于重质化,且地域来源趋于集中化。本文通过挖掘页岩油革命后美国原油进口策略转变的内在原因,提出美国国内页岩油需求与对加拿大原油进口之间存在互补效应,而与对欧佩克原油进口之间存在替代效应,并通过协整检验和格兰杰因果关系检验,分析了美国页岩油需求和对各国原油进口的互动关系。本文的研究结果对中国的页岩油战略和中美原油贸易关系均有重要的政策启示。     

Pricing Implications of U.S.' International Settlements Policy

This paper investigates the impact of the U.S.' policy of proportionate return of inbound traffic (PRP) on the prices of outbound U.S. international calls. A quantity-setting model is used to reflect the strategic importance of quantity as a choice variable under PRP. With competitive U.S. carriers, the PRP reduces the total effective costs to U.S. carriers by preventing whipsawing of U.S. carriers by the foreign monopoly carrier—thereby lowering prices. But, the PRP is not effective in lowering prices if U.S. carriers collude. The analysis has important implications for the recent U.S. reform of the International Settlements Policy.     

Asymmetric interest rate pass-through in the U.S., the U.K. and Australia: New evidence from selected individual banks

This paper provides new evidence on asymmetric interest rate pass-through in the U.S., the U.K. and the Australian economies by using the Nonlinear Auto-Regressive Distributed Lag model, central bank interest rates, lending and deposit interest rates from selected banks, spanning the period 2000–2013. The results provide evidence that corroborates the asymmetric pass-through market predictions. Robustness tests are also performed by splitting the sample period into that prior to and after the recent financial crisis. The new findings document that the asymmetric character of pass-through remains active only in the case of Australia.     

Can Latent Groups Influence Policy Decisions? The Case of Telecommunications Policy

Electoral constituencies recognize favorable policy outcomesin high-turnout jurisdictions. In this article I evaluate whetherunderlying institutions might provide a finer explanation ofthis relationship. To do so I formally examine variation intelecommunications policy across U.S. states. The resultingevidence is consistent with residential customers recognizingmore favorable policy when institutions reduce voting's resourcecost (measured by registration rules) or increase its nonpecuniarybenefit (measured by Perot support). Measures of either forceexplain significantly more variation in the present data thandoes a measure of actual participation (i.e., turnout).