The U.S. trade deficit was twice as large a percentage of U.S. GDP in 1989 as in 1979 although the value of the dollar and the level of U.S. demand relative to foreign demand were roughly comparable in both years. This article investigates the reasons for the deficit's magnitude in the late...

Finished goods are claiming an increasing share of U.S. imports, while their share of U.S. exports has remained virtually unchanged in recent years. These divergent developments may suggest some erosion of the United States' traditionally strong competitive position in the production of finished...

This article examines the theoretical and statistical connections between the productivity upsurge in U.S. manufacturing in the 1980s and manufacturing investment in computers and other forms of high-tech equipment.