International Economic Transactions

by Hooper, Peter; Richardson, J. David

• ISBN13: 9780226351353
• ISBN10: 0226351351
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1992-03-01
• Publisher: Univ of Chicago Pr

Summary

How the government arrives at its official economic statistics deeply influences the lives of every American. Social Security payments and even some wages are linked to import prices through official inflation rates; special measures of national product are necessary for valid comparisons of vital social indicators such as relative standards of living and relative poverty. Poor information can result in poor policies. And yet, federal statistics agencies have been crippled by serious budget cuts--and more cuts may lie ahead. Questioning the quality of current data and analytical procedures, this ambitious volume proposes innovative research designs and methods for data enhancement, and offers new data on trade prices and service transactions for future studies. Leading researchers address the measurement of international trade flows and prices, including the debate over measurement of computer prices and national productivity; compare international levels of manufacturing output; and assess the extent to which the United States has fallen into debt to the rest of the world.

Author Biography

Peter Hooper is assistant director of the Division of International Finance, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. He is coeditor of Empirical Macroeconomics for Interdependent Economies, named "1988's Best Book in Social Science" by the Association of American Publishers. J. David Richardson is professor of economics at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University.

Table of Contents

Prefatory Note Introduction

Merchandise Trade

Comparing International Trade Data and Product and National Characteristics Data for the Analysis of Trade Models

Comment

Computers and the Trade Deficit: The Case of the Falling Prices

Comment

Quality Issues Affecting the Compilation of the U.S. Merchandise Trade Statistics

Comment

Trade Prices and Price Competitiveness

Price Trends in U.S. Trade: New Data, New Insights

Comment

Measures of Prices and Price Competitiveness in International Trade in Manufactured Goods

Comment

Service Transactions

Developing a Data System for International Sales of Services: Progress, Problems, and Prospects

Comment

Evolving Patterns of Trade and Investment in Services

Comment

Foreign Direct Investment

Financial Flows versus Capital Spending: Alternative Measures of U.S.-Canadian Investment and Trade in the Analysis of Taxes

Comment

The Adequacy of U.S. Direct Investment Data

Comment

International Comparisons of Outputs and Inputs

Issues in Measurement and International Comparison of Output Growth in Manufacturing

Comment

Comment

Macroeconomic Convergence: International Transmission of Growth and Technical Progress

The International Comparison Program: Current Status and Problems

Comment

Concluding Observations

Contributors

Author Index

Subject Index

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