This paper examines the effect of international trade on U.S. productivity. We argue that trade can affect domestic productivity through economies-of-scale effects, competition effects, reallocation effects, and spillover effects. We then estimate the net impact of these effects. The results of...

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...

Few studies have investigated how the large and persistent swings of the dollar over the past two decades have affected the profits of U.S. manufacturing firms. Using an econometric model of manufacturing profits, this article evaluates the overall impact of exchange rate changes on aggregate...

This article examines the state of U.S. external debt accumulation, especially the rising burden of interest payments. It points out that the favorable yield differential between U.S. external assets and liabilities may be declining at the same time the United States has become the world's...

This paper investigates whether the U.S. has become more globalized and if so whether that increased globalization has helped hold down inflation and prolong the current economic expansion. We find that U.S. globalization, which has been rising significantly over the past four decades, surged...