MIT Press

4 total works

Exchange Rates and Inflation

by Rudiger Dornbusch

Published 25 October 1988

Rudiger Dornbusch's articles on exchange rates and open economy macroeconomics are among the most frequently cited in the field of international economics. Collected for the first time in "Exchange Rates and Inflation, "these articles, written over the past fifteen years, cover a wide range of issues while providing unique...Read more

Rudiger Dornbusch's articles on exchange rates and open economy macroeconomics are among the most frequently cited in the field of international economics. Collected for the first time in "Exchange Rates and Inflation, "these articles, written over the past fifteen years, cover a wide range of issues while providing unique insights into the research style of a major economist. During this period the economics profession has shifted from global monetarism to the new classical economics, and Dornbusch's own interests, and some of his beliefs, have changed as well.Twenty two articles are gathered in four parts: Exchange Rate Theory; Special Topics in Exchange Rate Economics; Equilibrium Real Exchange Rates, and Inflation and Stabilization. Each part includes an introduction that discusses the essays and places them in context.

East-West Migration

by Richard Layard, Olivier Blanchard, Rudiger Dornbusch, and Paul Krugman

Published 23 September 1992

This sequel to "Reform in Eastern Europe" is a report on one of the most pressing issues for countries with economies in transition and their neighbours. Focusing on the problem of East-West migration, the authors delineate and promote the notion of European free trade and capital flows as a...Read more

This sequel to "Reform in Eastern Europe" is a report on one of the most pressing issues for countries with economies in transition and their neighbours. Focusing on the problem of East-West migration, the authors delineate and promote the notion of European free trade and capital flows as a means of raising productivity and increasing worker stability in the East and of reducing income gaps between countries. As economists who have been deeply and consistently involved in the recent upheavals in the East, the authors are in a position to take a well-informed stance on the economic and social dislocations that are occurring. They first outline the problem and recommend that Europe begin to admit primary migrants and that the US increase its quota. They then look at migration statistics from previous eras to predict equivalent levels in the near future and take into account the long-run and short-run effects of migration in the US and Europe. They conclude with a discussion of "the best defense of all", economic progress, and lay out the necessary conditions for free trade, investment, and aid.

Privatizing Russia

by Maxim Boycko, Andrei Shleifer, and Robert W Vishny

Published 19 April 1995

Privatizing Russia offers an inside look at one of the most remarkable reforms in recent history. Having started on the back burner of Russian politics in the fall of 1991, mass privatization was completed on July 1, 1994, with two thirds of Russian industry privately owned, a rapidly rising...Read more

Privatizing Russia offers an inside look at one of the most remarkable reforms in recent history. Having started on the back burner of Russian politics in the fall of 1991, mass privatization was completed on July 1, 1994, with two thirds of Russian industry privately owned, a rapidly rising stock market, and 40 million Russians owning company shares. The authors, all key participants in the reform effort, describe the events and the ideas driving privatization. They argue that successful reformers must recognize privatization as a process of depoliticizing firms in the face of massive opposition: making the firm responsive to market rather than political influences.

Post-Communist Reform

by Olivier Jean Blanchard, Maxim Boycko, Marek Dabrowski, Rudiger Dornbusch, Richard Layard, and Andrei Shleifer

Published 4 October 1993

In this new report, they take stock, returning to the original themes and assessing progress and prospects, particularly in Russia.

In their earlier report, Reform in Eastern Europe, the WIDER group assessed the main building blocks of a successful transition in Eastern Europe: stabilization, price liberalization, privatization, and restructuring....

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In this new report, they take stock, returning to the original themes and assessing progress and prospects, particularly in Russia.

In their earlier report, Reform in Eastern Europe, the WIDER group assessed the main building blocks of a successful transition in Eastern Europe: stabilization, price liberalization, privatization, and restructuring. For the last three years this group of leading economists has been heavily involved in the reform process. In this new report, they take stock, returning to the original themes and assessing progress and prospects, particularly in Russia.Stabilization in the major Central European countries was done very much by the book. Russia, in contrast, is following a path of restructuring without stabilization. The authors discuss how far this alternative strategy is likely to get. Turning to privatization, they note that initial plans started from the assumption that the state owned the assets. As slow progress of those plans has painfully shown, this was the wrong assumption. They point out that assets have in fact many de facto claimants, from managers to workers to local authorities to ministries, and discuss how the current Russian privatization program starts and builds up from this more realistic assessment.

In the face of a collapse of trade in Eastern Europe, triggered by reform in Central Europe and a similar collapse between republics following the breakup of the Soviet Union, the authors show how simple measures such as a payments union can be used to increase trade and output. Post-Communist Reform concludes with a look at restructuring in Poland. The authors focus on the behavior of the state, the growth of the private sector, the role of financial systems, and the coherence of overall government policy, ending on a note of cautious optimism.