The Journal of Economic Literature
Vol. 45, No. 1, March 2007
Contents
Making Famine History
Cormac Ó Gráda
 Abstract
This paper reviews recent contributions to the economics and economic history of
famine. It provides a context for the history of famine in the twentieth century, which
is unique. During the century, war and totalitarianism produced more famine deaths
than did overpopulation and economic backwardness; yet by its end, economic
growth and medical technology had almost eliminated the threat of major famines.
Today's high-profile famines are "small" by historical standards. Topics analyzed
include the role played by food markets in mitigating or exacerbating famine, the
globalization of disaster relief, the enhanced role of human agency and entitlements,
distinctive demography of certain twentieth-century famines, and future prospects for
"making famine history."
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Distributional Effects of Globalization in Developing Countries
Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg and Nina Pavcnik
Abstract
The authors discuss recent empirical research on how globalization has affected
income inequality in developing countries. They begin with a discussion of conceptual
issues regarding the measurement of globalization and inequality. Next, they present
empirical evidence on the evolution of globalization and inequality in several
developing countries during the 1980s and 1990s. The authors then examine the channels
through which globalization may have affected inequality, discussing theory and
evidence in parallel. They conclude with directions for future research.
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A Flat World, a Level Playing Field, a Small World After All, or None of the Above? A Review of Thomas L Friedman’s The World is Flat
Edward E. Leamer
Abstract
Geography, flat or not, creates special relationships between buyers and sellers who
reside in the same neighborhoods, but Friedman turns this metaphor inside-out by
using The World is Flat to warn us of the perils of a relationship-free world in which
every economic transaction is contested globally. In his "flat" world, your wages are
set in Shanghai. In fact, most of the footloose relationship-free jobs in apparel and
footwear and consumer electronics departed the United States several decades ago,
and few U.S. workers today feel the force of Chinese and Indian competition, notwithstanding
the alarming anecdotes about the outsourcing of intellectual services. Of
course, standardization, mechanization, and computerization all work to increase the
number of footloose tasks, but innovation and education work in the opposite direction,
creating relationship-based activities—like the writing of this review. It may
only be personal conceit, but I imagine there is a reason why the Journal of Economic
Literature asked me to do this review.
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Whither Russia? A Review of Andrei Shleifer’s A Normal Country
Ekaterina Zhuravskaya
Abstract
In this review, the author reflects on the heated debates around views about Russia's
postcommunist transition expressed in essays collected in new Andrei Shleifer's book,
A Normal Country: Russia after Communism (Harvard University Press, 2005),
which were initially published at different times during transition. She focuses on the
three questions that have been in the center of the debate among academics and policymakers:
What should the sequencing and the speed of reforms be? Should a country
have political centralization for fiscal decentralization to be efficient? Is Russia
normal? The author argues that Russia's most recent history provides convincing evidence
in support of the logic of political and economic transformation as it was understood
by Shleifer as early as the beginning of the 1990s.
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The Big One: A Review of Richard Posner’s Catastrophe: Risk and Response
Edward A. Parson
Abstract
Richard Posner's Catastrophe: Risk and Response (Oxford University Press, 2004)
examines four risks whose worst cases could end advanced human civilization or
worse: asteroid impacts, a catastrophic chain reaction initiated in high-energy particle
accelerators, global climate change, and bioterrorism. He argues that these all
warrant more thought and response than they are receiving, and that they can usefully
be assessed using a simple analytic framework based on cost–benefit analysis.
This essay reviews knowledge of these risks and critically examines Posner's claims for
a consistent analytic approach. While the conclusions that each risk merits more
thought and effort appear persuasive, these rely on ad hoc arguments specific to each
risk. The general analytic claims do not hold up well, as Posner develops his proposed
framework thinly and applies it unevenly. Applying such a framework consistently to
catastrophic risks would require engaging some fundamental problems that Posner
does not address. The book's major contributions are to identify and describe these
risks, highlight the inadequate attention they are receiving, and advance a persuasive
argument for their more serious examination.
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Book Reviews
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Annotated Listing of New Books
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JEL Classification System
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