Capital Account Liberalization: Theory, Evidence, and Speculation

By Peter Blair Henry

Journal of Economic Literature, December 2007

Research on the macroeconomic impact of capital account liberalization finds few, if any, robust effects of liberalization on real variables. In contrast to the prevailing wisdom, I argue that the textbook theory of liberalization holds up quite well to...

The Obstinate Passion of Foreign Exchange Professionals: Technical Analysis

By Lukas Menkhoff and Mark P. Taylor

Journal of Economic Literature, December 2007

Technical analysis involves the prediction of asset price movements from inductive analysis of past movements. We establish a number of stylized facts, including that technical analysis is widespread in the foreign exchange market and that it may be pr...

Interesting Questions in Freakonomics

By John DiNardo

Journal of Economic Literature, December 2007

Freakonomics is more about "entertainment" than it is a serious attempt at popularization. Consequently, rather than conduct a comprehensive fact check, I use the book as a springboard for a broader inquiry into social science research and take ...

A True Development Round? A Review of Joseph E. Stiglitz and Andrew Charlton's Fair Trade for All: How Trade Can Promote Development

By Robert Z. Lawrence

Journal of Economic Literature, December 2007

In Fair Trade for All: How Trade Can Promote Development, Stiglitz and Charlton prescribe what a multilateral trade agreement--that promotes development and is fair for all--would include. This review appraises their prescriptions and offers some...

Children in the Vanguard of the U.S. Welfare State: A Review of Janet Currie's The Invisible Safety Net and Jane Waldfogel's What Children Need

By Eugene Smolensky

Journal of Economic Literature, December 2007

Policy driven social science research intended to influence the future of the U.S. welfare state has, during the past decade, emphasized improving the life-chances of children, particularly children disadvantaged at birth by the socioeconomic status of...

Book Reviews

Journal of Economic Literature, December 2007

Annotated Listing of New Books

Journal of Economic Literature, December 2007

JEL Classification System

Journal of Economic Literature, December 2007

Doctoral Dissertations in Economics

Journal of Economic Literature, December 2007

General Index for Volume XLV

Journal of Economic Literature, December 2007

A Retrospective Look at the U.S. Productivity Growth Resurgence

[Symposium: Productivity]

By Dale W. Jorgenson, Mun S. Ho, and Kevin J. Stiroh

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Winter 2008

It is widely recognized that information technology was critical to the dramatic acceleration of U.S. labor productivity growth in the mid 1990s. This paper traces the evolution of productivity estimates to document how and when this perception emerged. E...

The Productivity Gap between Europe and the United States: Trends and Causes

[Symposium: Productivity]

By Bart van Ark, Mary O'Mahoney, and Marcel P. Timmer

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Winter 2008

Since the mid-1990s, labor productivity growth in Europe has significantly slowed compared to earlier decades. In contrast, labor productivity growth in the United States accelerated, so that a new productivity gap has opened up. This paper shows that thi...

Accounting for Growth: Comparing China and India

[Symposium: Productivity]

By Barry Bosworth and Susan M. Collins

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Winter 2008

Since 1980, China and India have achieved remarkable rates of economic growth and poverty reduction. The emergence of China and India as major forces in the global economy has been one of the most significant economic developments of the past quarter cent...

Has Economic Analysis Improved Regulatory Decisions?

[Symposium: Regulatory Economics]

By Robert W. Hahn and Paul C. Tetlock

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Winter 2008

In response to the increasing impact of regulation, several governments have introduced economic analysis as a way of trying to improve regulatory policy. This paper provides a comprehensive assessment of government-supported economic analysis of regulati...

Is the Food And Drug Administration Safe And Effective?

[Symposium: Regulatory Economics]

By Tomas J. Philipson and Eric Sun

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Winter 2008

In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) provides public oversight of the safety and efficacy of drugs; medical devices; biologics like vaccines and blood products; cosmetics; radiation-emitting electronic products; veterinary products...

Optimal Abolition of FCC Spectrum Allocation

[Symposium: Regulatory Economics]

By Thomas W. Hazlett

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Winter 2008

Ronald Coase based his 1959 call for spectrum markets on theoretical conjecture. Today abundant evidence supports his case. Targeted liberalization in cellular markets, as contrasted with regulatory planning of the digital TV transition and other traditio...

Biological Measures of the Standard of Living

By Richard H. Steckel

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Winter 2008

When economists investigate long-term trends and socioeconomic differences in the standard of living or quality of life, they have traditionally focused on monetary measures such as gross domestic product -- which has occupied center stage for over 50 yea...

Sluggish Institutions in a Dynamic World: Can Unions and Industrial Competition Coexist?

By Barry T. Hirsch

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Winter 2008

During the 1930s and 1940s, collective bargaining emerged as the workplace governance norm in much of the U.S. industrial sector. Following its peak in the 1950s, union density in the U.S. private sector fell steadily, to only 7.4 percent in 2006. Governa...

Guaranteed Trouble: The Economic Effects of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation

By Jeffrey R. Brown

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Winter 2008

How did the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, a government corporation created to insure the pensions of workers and retirees in bankrupt firms, end up facing financial distress of its own? How did an organization designed to strengthen retirement sec...

Dispelling Some Misconceptions about Agricultural Trade Liberalization

By Stephen Tokarick

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Winter 2008

There has been a great deal of public discussion over the impact that agricultural trade liberalization would likely have, especially on low-income countries. Unfortunately, the public discussion has been characterized by a number of misconceptions. This ...