Developments in the Political Economy of Policy Coordination

Issues of macroeconomic and exchange rate policy coordination have cycled in and out of the forefront of international policy discussions a number of times over the last several decades, yet little systematic progress has been made in institutionalizing this process and both the potential benefits and costs of cordination strategies remain highly controversial. This essay reviews the recent technical and political economy literature on this subject, highlighting the major areas of consesus and disagreement. It emphasizes the importance of taking uncertainty and political economy considerations into account.     

全球金融危机下的中韩经贸关系调整及对策

中韩建交16年来,两国互为重要的贸易伙伴。"次贷危机"的爆发对中韩两国经济与贸易形成重大冲击。包括贸易逆差在内的中韩双边经贸关系中的固有问题发生了一定变化。面对全球金融风暴,中韩两国应该加强金融合作、改善贸易环境,同舟共济、勇闯难关。     

非正规就业与非正规经济关系浅析

非正规就业在应对我国日益严重的就业问题中成为吸纳城镇劳动力就业的重要渠道,但也因在劳动关系、社会保障、收入报酬等方面不固定、不规范、不正规现象与问题,使人们将其直接与非正规经济、非法经济等同。从对非正规就业的理性理解和认识、非正规经济与非法经济、地下经济的内涵差异入手,认为非正规就业可以从广义上等同于非正规经济,但不能简单地认定其为非法经济,应当在实践中正确细分非正规就业的违法违规等"不正规"行为,以利于科学管理、规范引导我国非正规就业健康发展。     

Electronic Commerce and the State Retail Sales Tax: A Challenge to American Federalism

Electronic commerce, by magnifying problems with the existing sales tax, has precipitated reexamination of basic precepts of fiscal federalism in the United States, not just taxation of remote sellers. This paper examines: key features of electronic commerce; the Internet Tax Freedom Act and the Commission it mandates; tax assignments in the United States; problems in assigning sales taxes to subnational governments; constitutional impediments to requiring remote vendors to collect sales and use taxes; tentative findings of the National Tax Association's project on taxation of electronic commerce; and implications of the current debate over taxation of electronic commerce for intergovernmental fiscal relations in the United States.     

Working for an alternative future in US-Soviet relations

The founders of the Supplemental Ways of Improving International Stability (SWIIS) programme of the International Federation of Automatic Control believed that system analysts and engineers could make useful inputs to the work of conflict resolution. This article describes initiatives deriving from this programme and considers a system approach to reducing the continuing stand-off between the USSR and the USA. The goals to be attained and barriers to their attainment in this process are outlined.     

India's Trade Policy Reforms and Industry Competitiveness in the 1980s

The paper proposes a method of measuring and analyzing competitiveness, and applies it to Indian manufacturing data of 1980/81, 1987/88 and 1991/92. The method consists of computing a unit cost ration and breaking it down into various components, ditinguishing between comparative advantage measured at shadow prices, and competitive advantage measured at market prices. The difference, equal to the sum of all price ditortions, may enhance or diminish competitiveness, depending on whether the distortions are cost‐increasing or ‐decreasing. The study reviews first the limited trade reforms of the 1980s and examines whether they have led to increased competitiveness. Although the present study is limited to less than the full potential of the method, due to lack of adequate data, it demonstrates, that the policy changes of the 1980s have failed to enhance the competitiveness of the industrial sector as a whole, while some industries have undergone substantive changes. In three industry case studies the results are compared with the findings of earlir studies.