Correspondence

By Philip Musgrove

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Fall 1991

Notes

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Fall 1991

Front Matter

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Fall 1991

Effects of Tax Reform on Labor Supply, Investment, and Saving

[Symposium: Tax Reform Act of 1986]

By Barry Bosworth and Gary Burtless

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Winter 1992

The U.S. tax system received two major overhauls during the 1980s: the tax cuts of 1981 and the Tax Reform Act of 1986. Supporters of both reforms argued that major changes in tax policy could boost saving, investment, labor supply, and entrepreneurship. ...

Equity Effects of the Tax Reform Act of 1986

[Symposium: Tax Reform Act of 1986]

By Jane G. Gravelle

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Winter 1992

The major goals of the Tax Reform Act of 1986 included an increase in the equity of the tax system. We will consider the effects of the tax reform on vertical equity, horizontal equity, and intergenerational equity.

Did the Tax Reform Act of 1986 Simplify Tax Matters?

[Symposium: Tax Reform Act of 1986]

By Joel Slemrod

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Winter 1992

This paper attempts to assess whether the Tax Reform Act of 1986 simplified tax matters significantly, or at all. I conclude that, despite a few scattered signs that tax-related financial planning has declined, the compliance cost of the income tax system...

The Structure of the Tax System versus the Level of Taxation: An Evaluation of the 1986 Act

[Symposium: Tax Reform Act of 1986]

By J. Gregory Ballentine

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Winter 1992

In this paper, I assess the 1986 Tax Reform Act relative to the tax system that might have evolved over the several years following 1986 had that particular tax reform not been enacted. Had tax reform not been enacted, I believe that the pattern of steady...

The Case for Trade Liberalization in Developing Countries

[Symposium: Trade Liberalization and Development]

By Rudiger Dornbusch

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Winter 1992

This paper reviews the actual situation of protection in developing countries, and then discusses the prospective gains from liberalization. Three experiences with liberalization, from three different parts of the world, are sketched: Turkey, Korea, and M...

The Limits of Trade Policy Reform in Developing Countries

[Symposium: Trade Liberalization and Development]

By Dani Rodrik

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Winter 1992

Trade reform is now raising some new issues. This paper deals with three sets of questions: First, how can trade reform be sustained? Can governments convince business, labor, or consumers that trade reform will be lasting, so as to forestall possible adv...

Investment and Hysteresis

By Avinash Dixit

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Winter 1992

It seems that firms behave contrary to the standard economic theory of investment. We observe that firms do not invest as soon a price rises above long-run average cost; instead firms wait until price rises substantially above long-run average cost. On th...

An Evaluation of the Treasury Plan for Banking Reform

By Frederic S. Mishkin

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Winter 1992

The Treasury plan for banking reform--Modernizing the Financial System: Recommendations for Safer More Competitive Banks--was released on February 5, 1991 (U.S. Treasury, 1991), and has a stated purpose of promoting a safe, sound, and competitive banking ...

Real Interest Rates and the Savings and Loan Crisis: The Moral Hazard Premium

By John B. Shoven, Scott B. Smart, and Joel Waldfogel

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Winter 1992

Real interest rates shifted upwards by four or five percentage points in approximately 1980. The question is why. In this paper we review some of the more popular explanations and point out that they are somewhat inconsistent with the facts. We then prese...

The Young Economist's Guide to Professional Etiquette

By Daniel S. Hamermesh

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Winter 1992

Nearly all advanced graduate students and new assistant professors demonstrate naivety in their nonsubstantive professional dealings. Graduate programs in economics offer courses that lead to written drafts of important research; they teach little about h...

Distinguished Fellow: Honoring Roy Radner

By Frank Hahn

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Winter 1992

Roy Radner has been elected a Distinguished Fellow of the American Economic Association. To illustrate the Radner style, I have chosen the example of his turnpike theorem, even though this is not quite illustrative of his central concerns. I shall follow ...

Recommendations for Further Reading

By Bernard Saffran

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Winter 1992

Correspondence

By Rendigs Fels

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Winter 1992

Correspondence and response regarding: An Update on Leontief's Complaint [Academic Economics] [Theory versus Empiricism in Academic Economics: Update and Comparison]. What We Do with Our Heroes [Is Probability Theory Relevant for Uncertainty? A Post...

Front Matter

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Winter 1992

Notes

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Winter 1992

Index to Volume 5

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Winter 1992

Distinguished Lecture on Economics in Government: Setting National Priorities: 1992

By Edward M. Gramlich

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Spring 1992

More than two decades ago the Brookings Institution first published a book with the title of this lecture. The idea behind the book was straightforward—rather than being led by events, or falling into the trap of incremental budgeting, budgetary pla...