The dynamics of market economics

Recent Books in Macroeconomics* Advanced Econometrics. Takeshi Amemiya. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1985. 521 pp. No price available. ISBN 0-674-00560-O. This book is intended as a reference text in econometric methodology. Although mathematically rigorous, it employs the theorem-proof method with simple, intuitively accessible assumptions. It features a thorough treatment of cross-section models-including qualitative response models, censored and truncated regression models, and Markov and duration models-and a presentation of large sample theory, classical least-squares theory, and nonlinear simultaneous equation models. Balance of Payments Adjustment!~ 1945 to 1986: The IMF Experience. Margaret Garritsen de Vries. Washington, D.C.: Intemational Monetary Fund, 1987. 336 pp. $14.95 ISBN 0-939934-93-O. The author presents a 40-year perspective of balance of payments adjustmentan area of central concern to the IMF. This book traces chronologically the development of the policies and activities pursued since 1945 by the IMF to help its members achieve balance of payments adjustment. The nature of balance of payment problems and their resolution are different prior to and after’ 1973; therefore, Parts One and Two deal with these two periods separately: “Adjustment Under the Par Value System, 1945-72” and “Adjustment After 1972,” respectively. Part Three sums up the text and applys the lessons learned to current challenges. The Dynamics of Market Economics. Richard H. Day and Gunnar Eliasson, eds. New York: Elsevier Science Publishing Company, 1986. 512 pp. $65.00 ISBN O-444-87841-6. This volume provides insight into the micro-macro dynamics of a market economy. The aim of its contributors is to enhance the understanding of the workings and growth of decentralized econom*Please mention the Journal when ordering horn publishers.

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Recent Books its and to examine how their performance can be improved by public policy. This volume is a collection of works from a 1983 conference on the dynamics of decentralized market economies held in Saltsjobaden near Stockholm. Economic Policy in Theory and Practice. Assaf Razin and Efraim Sadka, eds. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1987. 552 pp. $32.50 ISBN O-312-23453-8. This volume contains the 1984 conference proceedings on economic policy in theory and practice held at Tel Aviv University, Israel. The fourteen papers cover a wide range of issues including public debt, budget deficits and inflation, world debt problems, resource allocation and taxation, efficiency of various market organization forms, and a positive theory of the state. The Economics of Wage Controls. K. Holden, D.A. Peel, and J-L. Thompson. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1987. 144 pp. $32.50 ISBN O-312-23654-9. Intended for undergraduates taking courses in macroeconomics and the labor market, The Economics of Wage Controls reviews the effects of traditional wage and price controls. It also presents an assessment of alternatives to wage and price controls. The theoretical basis is presented in each case and the practical problems of implementation are discussed. Flexibility in the Labour Market: The Current Debate. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Washington, D.C. : OECD/OCDE Publications, 1986. 146 pp. $15.00 ISBN 92-6412892-1. This OECD technical report attempts to look at the evidence regarding market flexibility, particularly whether wages or nonwage labor costs have become so high that people are priced out of the labor market in some countries. A related concern, which is also presented, is whether inflexibility in the movement of relative wages may have hindered adjustment and employment growth. The report suggests that wage adjustments are one important means to adjust to structural change and to provide signals and incentives for the reallocation of labor. Handbook of Labor Economics. Vol. 1. Orley C. Ashenfelter and Richard Layard, eds. New York: Elsevier Science Publishing Company, 1986. 787 pp. $110.00 ISBN O-4444-87858-0. 320