It is often maintained, with reference to the increasing competition from newly industrialising countries, that Western support for the development of LDCs' economies would only amount to supplying the rope with which one will later be hanged. Our author argues that, contrary to that opinion,...

There has been much discussion of the Newly Industrializing Countries (NICs) in recent years and various studies of their impact have been made. Much of the concern about NICs in the industrialized countries is however based on what they portend for the future rather than their present impact....

The discussion about low interest rates and appropriate debt rules gained renewed impetus after Olivier Blanchard’s 2019 presidential address to the American Economic Association. Interest rates are persistently below growth rates in most advanced economies, including euro area sovereigns....

Not least due to the change in overall economic conditions, the employment of foreign workers in Western Europe has in recent years become increasingly controversial. The following two articles deal with different aspects of labour migration. Heinz Werner presents a survey of policies towards...

The existence of adequate numbers of self-employed persons is regarded as crucial for effective competition. The decline of self-employment which could be registered in all the Western industrialized countries has therefore given rise to concern. This article analyses the corresponding trends...

Vigorous debate over the effectiveness of the fiscal adjustment programmes for the crisis-stricken countries in the eurozone has grown quite polarised. In this Forum, several experts use analytical, evidence-based approaches to gauge the effectiveness of these programmes. The role played by the...