The problems that stand out are (1) Assuming the center of gravity of the global economic system is moving towards Asia and the emerging market countries more generally, what are the implications for the management of the international economy, and for the future behavior of the international...

While output declined in virtually all transition economies in the initial years, the speed and extent of the recovery that followed has varied widely across these countries. The contrast between the more and less successful transitions, the latter largely in the former Soviet Union, raises many...

While output declined in virtually all transition economies in the initial years, the speed and extent of the recovery that followed has varied widely across these countries. The contrast between the more and less successful transitions, the latter largely in the former Soviet Union, raises many...

While output declined in virtually all transition economies in the initial years, the speed and extent of the recovery that followed has varied widely across these countries. The contrast between the more and less successful transitions, the latter largely in the former Soviet Union, raises many...

There has been notable progress in reforming the international financial system in order to improve the resilience of the world economy to volatility in international capital flows. This paper focuses on three critical issues central to the effort to reduce the frequency and virulence of crises:...

The poor suffer more from inflation than the rich do, reveals this survey of poor people in 38 countries. Using polling data for 31,869 households in 38 countries and allowing for country effects, Easterly and Fischer show that the poor are more likely than the rich to mention inflation as a top...

Using polling data for 31,869 households in 38 countries and allowing for country effects, Easterly and Fischer show that the poor are more likely than the rich to mention inflation as a top national concern. This result survives several robustness checks. Also, direct measures of improvements...

Discretionary monetary policy has long been an anomaly to liberal economists. Henry Simons addressed the issue in his classic paper Rules versus Authorities in Monetary Policy. This chapter discusses the gold standard as a quasi-automatic monetary policy regime and alternative monetary rules are...

This chapter discusses the role of structural adjustment, stabilization, and policy reform on domestic and international finance. Structural adjustment programs generally start with a conventional stabilization program, intended to restore the viability of the current account and the budget, but...