Fiscal policy and regional inflation in a currency union

Substantial attention has been devoted to inflation differentials within the European Monetary Union, including suggestions that inflation differentials are a policy issue for national governments. This paper investigates the ability of a region participating in a currency union to affect its inflation differential with respect to the union through fiscal policy. In a two-region general equilibrium model with traded and nontraded goods, lowering the labor income tax rate in response to positive inflation differentials succeeds in compressing inflation differentials. Such policies can lead to higher volatility of domestic inflation while leaving the volatility of real output roughly unchanged. Regional fiscal policies also have spill-over effects on the volatility of union-wide and foreign inflation in our model.     

The mediterranean policy of the EC—The case of agriculture

The production structures of the majority of Mediterranean countries have traditionally been oriented towards the West European market. What effects will the southward enlargement of the EC have on the agricultural sector of the non-candidate Mediterranean countries? What can the EC do to alleviate the problems?     

The mediterranean policy of the EC— The case of industry

The European Community faces the task of reformulating its Mediterranean policy in the light of the rather disappointing experience with the “Global Mediterranean Policy” adopted in 1972, the effects of the southward enlargement of the Community and the changed world economic climate. The article that follows discusses the experiences to date, the scope for action and possible guidelines for a future Mediterranean policy in the industrial sphere.     

Fiscal Rules and Twin Deficits: The Link between Fiscal and External Balances

This paper investigates the relationship between countries' fiscal balances and current accounts with an emphasis on the role of fiscal rules. The direct effect of fiscal policy on the current account via aggregate (import) demand is potentially amplified by indirect effects, materialising through interest rate effects and intergenerational transfers that reduce savings. On the other hand, the implied positive relation between fiscal and external balances is potentially attenuated by offsetting changes in savings through Ricardian equivalence considerations. We expect this attenuation effect to be stronger in countries with more stringent fiscal rules and test this hypothesis using a panel of 73 countries over the period 1985–2012. As with previous studies, we find a positive effect of fiscal balances on the current account, supporting the twin deficit hypothesis. However, the effect of fiscal balances on the current account depends on the stringency of fiscal (budget balance or debt) rules in place; it is reduced by one‐third on average and virtually eliminated for countries with the most stringent fiscal rules.     

Monetary policy in the transition to a market economy: The case of Hungary

In the centrally planned economies of Eastern Europe, monetary policy played a subordinate role, there were no capital-market institutions and the banking system was single-tier. All this has to be changed in the transition to a market economy. The example of Hungary, which abolished the traditional system of central planning as early as 1968, shows some of the pitfalls to be avoided.     

The welfare state after the great recession

The economic crisis has given rise to significant challenges to the welfare state. Given that welfare expenses account for a large proportion of all state spending in the member countries of the European Union, reducing government spending means cutting welfare measures. Yet social protection, in particular unemployment insurance benefits and minimum income support, has significantly softened the impact of the crisis for millions of individuals. The global recession calls into question the financial viability of current programmes, and the crisis is being used by some as an opportunity to roll back the welfare state permanently. The present Forum discusses challenges to and opportunities for the welfare state after the crisis.     

The effect of commercial policy on international migration flows: the case of the United States and Mexico

"Microeconomic simulations are performed to determine the impact of liberalized commodity trade on Mexican immigrant supply to the United States. The results suggest that a removal of trade barriers will reduce migration flows, but that the reduction will be fairly modest. Specifically, if both countries move from the levels of protection characteristic of the mid-1960s to completely free trade, the ratio of real U.S.-Mexican wages falls by roughly 18 percent. Using an upper bound for the range of empirical estimates of the wage elasticity of immigrant supply, this implies a maximum reduction in migration flows of 35 percent. A unilateral elimination of trade barriers by the United States reduces Mexican immigrant supply by a maximum of 14 percent."     

Greece and the Euro: The chronicle of an expected collapse

Ten years after Greece’s accession to EMU, the venture has proved to be almost a complete failure. Obviously, the country joined EMU disappointingly unprepared. After EMU accession, Greece failed to seek the necessary adaptations. Its economic policy was inconsistent with the economic logic and rules of the game of a monetary union. EMU did not in itself lead to the Greek crisis. Nevertheless, the supervisory arrangements clearly failed to work. Moreover, the unfolding of the crisis was assisted by EMU’s inherent weakness in managing asymmetric disturbances and the absence of early warning and rapid intervention mechanisms.     

Ethics,public policy,and managing advanced technologies: The case of electronic surveillance

A vigorous debate has developed surrounding electronic surveillance in the workplace. This controversial practice is one element of the more general issues of employee dignity and management control, revolving around the use of polygraph and drug testing, integrity exams, and the like. Managers, under pressure from competitors, are making greater use of technologically advanced employee monitoring methods because they are available, and hold the promise of productivity improvement. In this paper, the context of electronic surveillance is described and analyzed from the perspectives of ethics, public policy, and managerial behavior.The future creeps in on small feet ... We do not awaken suddenly to a brave new world. (Zuboff, 1990) Edward J. Ottensmeyer is Assistant Professor of Management at Clark University's Graduate School of Management, where he conducts research in competitive strategy, technology management, and social issues. His research has been published in journals such as Academy of Management Review, Policy Studies Journal, Growth & Change, and Policy Studies Review, and in edited volumes, the most recent of which is Strategic Management in High Technology Firms from JAI Press. He holds MBA and Ph.D. degrees in Management from Indiana University. Mark A. Heroux is a software engineer at the Locus Computing Corporation, in Burlington, Massachusetts. His research interests include high-level security protocols in large-scale computer networks, and effectiveness in high technogy firms. He holds an undergraduate degree in Computer Science from Anna Maria College and an MBA from Clark University.     

Evaluation of industrial policy — The case of the Swedish textile and clothing industry

This paper evaluates the Swedish industrial policy for the textile and clothing industry and attempts to provide an interview-based method for assessing the effects of state intervention. The Swedish industrial policy, in the period 1970–1990, was general and defensive in character. In the majority of firms interviewed, government policy had either no effect at all on firm behaviour or where effects were found there were no underlying market imperfections. Only in a minority of firms was it found that the policy alleviated market imperfections and changed firms' investment behaviour in a way which was judged to be beneficial for the firms' competitiveness. Therefore, the Swedish industrial policy for the textile and clothing industry was associated with very substantial inefficiencies in the use of sizeable resources.     

财政分权与经济增长：第二代财政分权理论

20世纪90年代中期以来，第二代财政分权理论有了极大发展。本文回顾了这一新理论区别于传统理论的特征，以及将其用于经济增长研究得出的新发现和主要问题。在此类研究中，中国改革开放以来的经济绩效，一方面为回答“财政分权是否有助于促进经济增长”提供了重要的经验研究依据，另一方面也在一定程度上证实了制度设计对财政分权效果具有决定性影响的判断，这与国内一些研究得出的结论有相似之处。这些研究成果对我国未来的中央一地方财政关系的发展具有重要的启示意义。     

国债规模:在财政与金融之间寻求平衡

本文从财政政策和货币政策协调配合角度,探讨了国债在金融体系中的特殊地位和作用,着重分析了国债市场作为核心金融市场在提供市场流动性方面的不可替代的作用.本文的政策含义就是,为了给我国的金融市场运行创造一个良好的基础,我们的国债政策应当超越单纯财政的财政眼光.     

The Asian economic recession and retail change: the implications for retailer strategies in Asia

For almost three years the Asian Economic Crisis has been one of the most talked about influences on the retail sector in the region. This paper argues that the economic crisis has hidden or diverted attention away from the underlying changes in retailing that have been proceeding for much longer.A more dynamic and proactive retail sector appears to be evolving, one which is now less of a 'taker' of the strategies of manufacturers and more of a 'setter' of trends in product development and logistics. European and American retailers often appear to be major catalysts in this process, but this is not to say that the Asian retail sector will not develop in its own way, matched to local needs. What does now appear to be clear is that as economies in the region recover, most of their retail sectors will not go back to 'business as usual'.     

我国经济波动与财政政策波动的关联性分析--兼论我国财政政策的相机抉择与自动稳定机制

通过对我国经济与财政政策波动的有效度量,文章利用脉冲响应函数和线性回归模型对两者关联性进行的研究表明:经济与财政政策波动具有很大的相似性和互扰性;经济波动引致的财政收支波动具有明显的不对称性,并成为我国自1994年财政赤字产生的主要原因;经济波动与财政政策波动之间存在不完全的双向因果关系,其中,经济波动引致的财政收支变化对经济波动的反向调节力度较小,并具有明显的时滞,而相机抉择机制引致的财政收支外生变化对经济的反向调节虽然时滞较短,但工具之间存在明显的协调失灵;财政政策波动对经济波动的作用效果具有明显的不对称性,扩张性政策较紧缩性政策好,相机抉择机制较自动稳定机制好.     

财政信息公开与财政透明度:理念、规则与国际经验

财政透明度是现代公共管理的必然要求,也是保障政府履行财政受托责任的必由之路。财政信息公开是财政透明度的本质规定和重要内容,是保障社会公众知情权的必然要求。本文旨在通过财政透明度的视角,就财政信息公开的有关问题进行论述。首先在明确界定财政信息公开的基础上,指出财政信息公开要有一定的度,应遵循一定的及时性与频率;然后梳理国际组织有关财政数据信息公开的基本标准,考察美国和澳大利亚等成熟市场经济国家财政数据信息公开的有益经验。在此基础上,立足我国国情,提出进一步推进财政信息公开、提高财政透明度的相关政策建议。     

Governance of the Euro Area: Fiscal Union,Debt Union,Fiscal Freedom

Over the past three years, as the euro area has struggled with high levels of sovereign debt, it has been gradually developing into a debt union. However, this is not a sustainable arrangement. This article proposes two alternatives to a debt union — a fiscal union and a monetary union with fiscal freedom — and evaluates the pros and cons of each approach.