A Review of Markets for Clean Air: The U.S. Acid Rain Program by A. Denny Ellerman, Paul L. Joskow, Richard Schmalensee, Juan-Pablo Montero, and Elizabeth M. Bailey

By Peter Cramton

Journal of Economic Literature, September 2000

Markets for Clean Air is the definitive text on the U.S. acid rain program. This innovative program uses a cap-and-trade approach, rather than the traditional command-and-control approach, to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions. The authors conclude ...

The Emigration of German-Speaking Economists after 1933

By F. M. Scherer

Journal of Economic Literature, September 2000

Economists were among the many scholars uprooted following Hitler's rise to power in 1933. This article reviews a series of books edited by Harald Hagemann and others which provide extensive biographical information on 314 German-speaking economists whose...

The New Institutional Economics: Taking Stock, Looking Ahead

By Oliver E. Williamson

Journal of Economic Literature, September 2000

This paper examines the progressive development of the new institutional economics over the past quarter century. It begins by distinguishing four levels of social analysis, with special emphasis on the institutional environment and the institutions of go...

Understanding Productivity: Lessons from Longitudinal Microdata

By Eric J. Bartelsman and Mark Doms

Journal of Economic Literature, September 2000

This paper reviews research that uses longitudinal microdata to document productivity movements and to examine factors behind productivity growth. The research explores the dispersion of productivity across firms and establishments, the persistence of pro...

Book Reviews

Journal of Economic Literature, June 2000

Assessing Affirmative Action

By Harry Holzer and David Neumark

Journal of Economic Literature, September 2000

Economic research provides extensive evidence regarding discrimination against women and minorities, and some evidence on the redistributive effects of affirmative action. However, it provides much less evidence on affirmative action's impact on efficienc...

Review of Sargent's The Conquest of American Inflation

By Ramon Marimon

Journal of Economic Literature, June 2000

Sargent's book provides a reinterpretation of the US inflation record over the last half-century, reflecting on how macroeconomic theory has evolved since the beginnings of the rational expectations revolution. It is a basic reference on dynamic macroecon...

What Do We Say about Ourselves and What Does It Mean? Yet Another Look at Economics Department Research

By Jerry G. Thursby

Journal of Economic Literature, June 2000

Statistical and programming techniques are used to examine economics department quality rankings and how resources and research output are related. Four questions are asked using the National Research Council's 1993 survey. Are there significant differenc...

Preferential Trade Liberalization: The Traditional Theory and New Developments

By Arvind Panagariya

Journal of Economic Literature, June 2000

This paper begins by systematically developing the "static" theory of preferential trade areas (PTAs) and showing that neither a large volume of initial intra-union trade nor geographical proximity can serve as a guide to welfare enhancing PTAs. The paper...

Developments in Non-expected Utility Theory: The Hunt for a Descriptive Theory of Choice under Risk

By Chris Starmer

Journal of Economic Literature, June 2000

This article reviews recent developments in the economic theory of individual decision making under risk. Since the 1950s it has been known that individual choices violate the standard model of expected utility in predictable ways. Considerable research e...

Book Reviews

Journal of Economic Literature, March 2000

Shadow Economies: Size, Causes, and Consequences

By Friedrich Schneider and Dominik H. Enste

Journal of Economic Literature, March 2000

Using various methods, the size of the shadow economy in 76 developing, transition, and OECD countries is estimated. Average size varies from 12 percent of GDP for OECD countries, to 23 percent for transition countries and 39 percent for developing countr...

The Economic Theory of Public Enforcement of Law

By A. Mitchell Polinsky and Steven Shavell

Journal of Economic Literature, March 2000

This article surveys the theory of the public enforcement of law--the use of public agents (inspectors, tax auditors, police, prosecutors) to detect and to sanction violators of legal rules. We first present the basic elements of the theory, focusing on t...

Front Matter

Journal of Economic Literature, December 1999

Book Reviews

Journal of Economic Literature, December 1999

Manufacturing Firms in Developing Countries: How Well Do They Do, and Why?

By James R. Tybout

Journal of Economic Literature, March 2000

The manufacturing sectors of developing countries have traditionally been relatively protected. They have also been subject to heavy regulation, much of which has favored large firms. Accordingly, it is often argued that in these countries: (1) markets to...

The Science of Monetary Policy: A New Keynesian Perspective

By Richard Clarida, Jordi Gali, and Mark Gertler

Journal of Economic Literature, December 1999

The paper reviews the recent literature on monetary policy rules. We exposit the monetary policy design problem within a simple baseline theoretical framework. We then consider the implications of adding various real world complications. Among other thing...

Inequality and Economic Growth: The Perspective of the New Growth Theories

By Philippe Aghion, Eve Caroli, and Cecilia Garcia-Penalosa

Journal of Economic Literature, December 1999

We analyze the relationship between inequality and economic growth from two directions. The first part of the survey examines the effect of inequality on growth, showing that when capital markets are imperfect, there is not necessarily a trade-off between...

Book Reviews

Journal of Economic Literature, September 1999

The Microfinance Promise

By Jonathan Morduch

Journal of Economic Literature, December 1999

In the past decade, microfinance programs have demonstrated that it is possible to lend to low-income households while maintaining high repayment rates--even without requiring collateral. The programs promise a revolution in approaches to alleviating pove...