The Japanese economy has had four recessions since 1990. Also the U.S. economy has been in difficulties during more recent years but there are clear signs of an economic recovery. While Japan’s difficulties are not the mirror image of those in the United States, it is interesting to note that...

Southeast Asia’s traditional export of relatively low-skilled products is facing increased competition. There is therefore a general need to upgrade production in the region, which requires a more skilled and educated labour force. Historically, education has not been emphasized in Southeast...

Finnish unemployment rose in the early 1990s from 3% to 18% in just four years. It has since fallen back to the average European level, being 9.0% in January 2003. In this paper, we describe the shocks leading to this unforeseen increase in unemployment. We then discuss and research the role of...

This paper analyzes the causes of the massive peso devaluation of December 1994 and the ensuing economic crisis in Mexico. The paper argues that, while earlier devaluation might have been helpful, Mexico's economic growth strategy in the early 1990s was fraught with internal inconsistencies that...

The present financial and economic crisis has revealed a systemic failure of academic economics and emphasized the need to re-think how to model economic phenomena. Lawson (2009) seems concerned that critics of standard models now will fill academic journals with contributions that make the same...

The economic policies implemented in Mexico to confront the December 1994 crisis, even though instrumental in coping with the external deficit caused a strong recession coupled with falling real wages and a worsening in income distribution. These effects of the adjustment strategy stem from its...