A comparison of the Japanese and U.S. business cycles

This paper constructs a consistent set of quarterly Japanese data for the 1960–2002 sample period and compares properties of the Japanese and U.S. business cycles. We document some important differences in the adjustment of labor input between the two countries. In Japan most of the adjustment is in hours per worker of males and females and also in employment of females. In the U.S. most of the adjustment is in employment of both males and females. We formulate, estimate, and analyze a model that makes the distinction between the intensive and extensive margin and allows for gender differerences in labor supply. A weak empirical correlation between hours per worker and employment in Japanese data is a puzzle for our theory.     

An African fertilizer crisis : Origin and economic effects in the Gambia

In 1985, fertilizer did not arrive in the Gambia in time for the cropping season, since a fertilizer grant was not being properly managed and coordinated. The costs of such policy failure are high. Fertilizer use was down by 64%. In this situation of scarcity, fertilizer use was even more skewed than before towards rich farmers. Output lost was about 10% of agriculture's GDP. Even in normal years in the Gambia, fertilizer use in millet and groundnuts is found far below optimal levels.     

IX. Geld und Kapital

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Egypt and the enlargement of the EEC: Impact on the agricultural sector

This article examines the impact of the second enlargement of the EEC on the agricultural sector of Egypt. The authors consider the impacts on Egypt's agricultural trade and, through the use of a linear programming model, the long term impacts of EEC enlargement. The authors conlude that, in short run, the southward expansion of the EEC will impose only a limited additional burden on the Egyptian economy. But, in the long run the burden placed on Egypt by increased protectionism in the expanded EEC could be much more severe.     

Exchange rate market efficiency and new information

This paper uses a multi-currency approach to analyze the relationship between forward exchange rates, future spot rates and new information. The empirical results tend to support the hypothesis that the exchange rate can be expressed as a function of factors known in advance and ‘news’.     

A note on the dynamic adjustment of the demand for international reserves by LDC's

The dynamics of the adjustment of the demand for international reserves by LDC's is analyzed. Using a GLS procedure on pooled cross section-time series data it is showed that, contrary to previous results, the speed at which actual reserves adjust to desired reserves is very fast: in one year 95 percent of this adjustment is completed.     

Regulation as a means for the social control of technology

The argument that regulation is a necessary, though controversial, component of technology policy is discussed in detail. Ib addition to the regulation of technology, various other regulatory policies, such as market regulation, affect the development of technology. Various types of direct regulation and their conditions of operation are discussed. It is shown that regulation can afect technological innovation positively by providing a surrogate market. The paper serves as an introduction to this special issue and shows how the different contributions fit into a general framework of regulatory effects on technolgy. Regulation as a factor in competition is discussed, particularly in the context of developing countries.