The American Business Cycle

The American Business Cycle PDF Author: Robert J. Gordon
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226304590
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 882

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Book Description
In recent decades the American economy has experienced the worst peace-time inflation in its history and the highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression. These circumstances have prompted renewed interest in the concept of business cycles, which Joseph Schumpeter suggested are "like the beat of the heart, of the essence of the organism that displays them." In The American Business Cycle, some of the most prominent macroeconomics in the United States focuses on the questions, To what extent are business cycles propelled by external shocks? How have post-1946 cycles differed from earlier cycles? And, what are the major factors that contribute to business cycles? They extend their investigation in some areas as far back as 1875 to afford a deeper understanding of both economic history and the most recent economic fluctuations. Seven papers address specific aspects of economic activity: consumption, investment, inventory change, fiscal policy, monetary behavior, open economy, and the labor market. Five papers focus on aggregate economic activity. In a number of cases, the papers present findings that challenge widely accepted models and assumptions. In addition to its substantive findings, The American Business Cycle includes an appendix containing both the first published history of the NBER business-cycle dating chronology and many previously unpublished historical data series.

Monetary and Fiscal Policies in an Open Economy

Monetary and Fiscal Policies in an Open Economy PDF Author: Jacob A. Frenkel
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Fiscal policy
Languages : en
Pages : 13

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Book Description
The central theme of this paper is that international linkages between national economies influence, in fundamentally important ways, the effectiveness and proper conduct of national macroeconomic policies. Specifically, our purpose is to summarize the implications for the conduct of macroeconomic policies in open economies of both the traditional approach to open economy macroeconomics (as developed largely by James Meade, Robert Mundell, and J. Marcus Fleming) and of more recent developments. Our discussion is organized around three key linkages between national economies: through commodity trade; through capital mobility; and through exchange of national monies. These linkages have important implications concerning the effects of macroeconomic policies in open economies that differ from the effects of such policies in closed economies. Recent developments in the theory of macroeconomic policy have established conditions for the effectiveness of policies in influencing output and employment which emphasize the distinction between anticipated and unanticipated policy actions, the importance of incomplete information, and the consequences of contracts that fix nominal wages and prices over finite intervals. In this paper, we shall not analyze how these conditions are modified in an open economy. However, since our concern is with macro-economic policy, a principal objective of which is to influence output and employment, we shall assume that requisite conditions for such influence are satisfied

The American Business Cycle

The American Business Cycle PDF Author: Robert J. Gordon
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226304590
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 882

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Book Description
In recent decades the American economy has experienced the worst peace-time inflation in its history and the highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression. These circumstances have prompted renewed interest in the concept of business cycles, which Joseph Schumpeter suggested are "like the beat of the heart, of the essence of the organism that displays them." In The American Business Cycle, some of the most prominent macroeconomics in the United States focuses on the questions, To what extent are business cycles propelled by external shocks? How have post-1946 cycles differed from earlier cycles? And, what are the major factors that contribute to business cycles? They extend their investigation in some areas as far back as 1875 to afford a deeper understanding of both economic history and the most recent economic fluctuations. Seven papers address specific aspects of economic activity: consumption, investment, inventory change, fiscal policy, monetary behavior, open economy, and the labor market. Five papers focus on aggregate economic activity. In a number of cases, the papers present findings that challenge widely accepted models and assumptions. In addition to its substantive findings, The American Business Cycle includes an appendix containing both the first published history of the NBER business-cycle dating chronology and many previously unpublished historical data series.

Monetary and Fiscal Rules in an Emerging Small Open Economy

Monetary and Fiscal Rules in an Emerging Small Open Economy PDF Author: Nicoletta Batini
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Fiscal policy
Languages : en
Pages : 80

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Book Description
We develop a optimal rules-based interpretation of the 'three pillars macroeconomic policy framework': a combination of a freely floating exchange rate, an explicit target for inflation, and a mechanism than ensures a stable government debt-GDP ratio around a specified long run. We show how such monetary-fiscal rules need to be adjusted to accommodate specific features of emerging market economies. The model takes the form of two-blocs, a DSGE emerging small open economy interacting with the rest of the world and features, in particular, financial frictions It is calibrated using Chile and US data. Alongside the optimal Ramsey policy benchmark, we model the three pillars as simple monetary and fiscal rules including and both domestic and CPI inflation targeting interest rate rules alongside a 'Structural Surplus Fiscal Rule' as followed recently in Chile. A comparison with a fixed exchange rate regime is made. We find that domestic inflation targeting is superior to partially or implicitly (through a CPI inflation target) or fully attempting to stabilizing the exchange rate. Financial frictions require fiscal policy to play a bigger role and lead to an increase in the costs associated with simple rules as opposed to the fully optimal policy.

Fiscal Policy after the Financial Crisis

Fiscal Policy after the Financial Crisis PDF Author: Alberto Alesina
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022601844X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 596

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Book Description
The recent recession has brought fiscal policy back to the forefront, with economists and policy makers struggling to reach a consensus on highly political issues like tax rates and government spending. At the heart of the debate are fiscal multipliers, whose size and sensitivity determine the power of such policies to influence economic growth. Fiscal Policy after the Financial Crisis focuses on the effects of fiscal stimuli and increased government spending, with contributions that consider the measurement of the multiplier effect and its size. In the face of uncertainty over the sustainability of recent economic policies, further contributions to this volume discuss the merits of alternate means of debt reduction through decreased government spending or increased taxes. A final section examines how the short-term political forces driving fiscal policy might be balanced with aspects of the long-term planning governing monetary policy. A direct intervention in timely debates, Fiscal Policy after the Financial Crisis offers invaluable insights about various responses to the recent financial crisis.

The Open Economy

The Open Economy PDF Author: Rudiger Dornbusch
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 0195207092
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 430

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Book Description
This important book is a teaching manual, in nontechnical language, on policymaking in developing countries. Written at the request of the Economic Development Institute of the World Bank, the papers focus on policy instruments, their use and constraints, and provide case studies of economic policy in Argentina, Brazil, Indonesia, Korea, and Mexico to illustrate basic problems and possible solutions.

The open economy : implications for monetary and fiscal policy

The open economy : implications for monetary and fiscal policy PDF Author: Rudiger Dornbusch
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Fiscal policy
Languages : en
Pages : 52

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Book Description


Open Economy Macroeconomics in Developing Countries

Open Economy Macroeconomics in Developing Countries PDF Author: Carlos A. Vegh
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 026201890X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 911

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Book Description
A comprehensive and rigorous text that shows how a basic open economy model can be extended to answer important macroeconomic questions that arise in emerging markets. This rigorous and comprehensive textbook develops a basic small open economy model and shows how it can be extended to answer many important macroeconomic questions that arise in emerging markets and developing economies, particularly those regarding monetary, fiscal, and exchange rate issues. Eschewing the complex calibrated models on which the field of international finance increasingly relies, the book teaches the reader how to think in terms of simple models and grasp the fundamentals of open economy macroeconomics. After analyzing the standard intertemporal small open economy model, the book introduces frictions such as imperfect capital markets, intertemporal distortions, and nontradable goods, into the basic model in order to shed light on the economy's response to different shocks. The book then introduces money into the model to analyze the real effects of monetary and exchange rate policy. It then applies these theoretical tools to a variety of important macroeconomic issues relevant to developing countries (and, in a world of continuing financial crisis, to industrial countries as well), including the use of a nominal interest rate as a main policy instrument, the relative merits of flexible and predetermined exchange rate regimes, and the targeting of “real anchors.” Finally, the book analyzes in detail specific topics such as inflation stabilization, “dollarization,” balance of payments crises, and, inspired by recent events, financial crises. Each chapter includes boxes with relevant empirical evidence and ends with exercises. The book is suitable for use in graduate courses in development economics, international finance, and macroeconomics.

Monetary and Fiscal Policy, the Exchange Rate and Foreign Wealth

Monetary and Fiscal Policy, the Exchange Rate and Foreign Wealth PDF Author: Patrizio Tirelli
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 134922605X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 201

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Book Description
The book investigates issues of policy design in open economies. The performance of simple alternative policy rules is analysed in the context of theoretical models using both analytical solutions and numerical simulations techniques. One of the substantive contributions of the research is that policy evaluation should take into account, among other things, the implications of different rules for foreign wealth and the exchange rate. Hence the open economy models presented in the book include wealth effects and the current account.

Open-Economy Macroeconomics

Open-Economy Macroeconomics PDF Author: Helmut Frisch
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1349128848
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 437

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Book Description
The integration of market economies is one of the most remarkable features of international economics, which has important implications for macroeconomic performance in open economies. Equally important is the declining relevance of the real versus the monetary theory dichotomy. These papers focus on those aspects of monetary policy which relate to credibility and non-neutrality; the domestic adjustment to foreign shocks; the interdependence of open economies and their strategic interactions. An important section is also devoted to the innovative modelling of exchange rate dynamics.

International Finance And Open-economy Macroeconomics: Theory, History, And Policy

International Finance And Open-economy Macroeconomics: Theory, History, And Policy PDF Author: Hendrik Van Den Berg
Publisher: World Scientific Publishing Company
ISBN: 9814365211
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 861

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Book Description
This historically-based textbook on international finance and open-economy macroeconomics provides a complete course on the theory and policies that shaped our international financial system. Utilizing the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference as a unifying theme, the book covers all the standard topics of international finance, such as foreign exchange markets, balance of payments accounting, macroeconomic policy in an open economy, exchange rate crises, multinational enterprises, international banking, and the evolution of our international financial system. The detailed international financial theory is presented in a lively manner that reflects the close relationship between actual world events and the development of economic thought.The book also analyzes the causes of the 2008 international financial crisis and recession, encourages critical thinking about whether the current international financial system promotes human well-being, and concludes with a discussion on whether it is time to summon the world's financial leaders to another Bretton Woods Conference. In additional to providing students with a solid understanding of international finance and open-economy macroeconomics, the book is written in a reader-friendly style that makes it a good reference for anyone interested in the many fascinating issues related to our still-evolving global financial system and, more generally, our global economy.