Robert C. Feenstra – författare

Along with its painful economic costs, the financial crisis of 2008 raised concerns over the future of international policy making. As in recessions past, new policy initiatives emerged that placed greater importance on protecting national interests than promoting international economic cooperation. Whether in fiscal or monetary policies, the control of currencies and capital flows, the regulation of finance, or the implementation of protectionist policies and barriers to trade, there has been an almost worldwide trend toward the prioritizing of national economic security. But what are the underlying economic causes of this trend, and what can economic research reveal about the possible consequences? Prompted by these questions, Robert C. Feenstra and Alan M. Taylor have brought together top researchers with policy makers and practitioners whose contributions consider the ways in which the global economic order might address the challenges of globalization that have arisen over the last two decades and that have been intensified by the recent crisis.Chapters in this volume consider the critical linkages between issues, including exchange rates, global imbalances, and financial regulation, and plumb the political and economic outcomes of past policies for what they might tell us about the future of global economic cooperation.

Economists disagree on whether recent US trade policies are harmful or helpful, but they all agree that there is a trend towards focusing on results-oriented policies in specific markets and with particular trading markets. These 12 essays explore crucial issues in US trade policy, examining topics such as the markets for automobiles and automobile parts in the USA and Japan, and the US response to "unfair" trading practices, such as dumping, and the effects of industry- and country-specific policies. Examples include high-technology and agricultural industries and offshore assembly in US border cities. The volume concludes that some policies can act to both protect imports and promote exports; that the threat of protectionist policies can often have effects that are as pronounced as their implementation; and that regulatory policy has as great an impact on trade and investment patterns as does trade policy itself.

Since the early 1980s, the US economy has experienced a growing wage differential: high-skilled workers have claimed an increasing share of available income, while low-skilled workers have seen an absolute decline in real wages. How and why this disparity has arisen is a matter of ongoing debate among policymakers and economists. Two competing theories have emerged to explain this phenomenon, one focusing on international trade and labour market globalization as the driving force behind the devaluation of low-skill jobs, and the other focusing on the role of technological change as a catalyst for the escalation of high-skill wages. This collection brings together innovative new ideas and data sources in order to provide more satisfying alternatives to the trade versus technology debate and to assess directly the specific impact of international trade on US wages. This volume offers a thorough appraisal of the wage distribution predicament, examining the continued effects of technology and globalization on the labour market.

The data from bar-code scanners offers a number of attractive features for economists and statisticians, because they are collected continuously, are available quickly and record prices for all items sold, not just a sample. But scanner data also presents a number of difficulties for current statistical systems. This book assesses both the promise and the challenges of using scanner data to produce economic statistics. Three papers present the results of work in progress at statistical agencies in the US, UK and Canada, including a project to incorporate scanner data into the monthly Consumer Price Index. Other papers demonstrate the potential of using scanner data to test economic theories.

In less than three decades, China has grown from playing a negligible role in world trade to being one of the world's largest exporters, a substantial importer of raw materials, intermediate outputs, and other goods, and both a recipient and source of foreign investment. Not surprisingly, China's economic dynamism has generated considerable attention and concern in the United States and beyond. While some analysts have warned of the potential pitfalls of China's rise - the loss of jobs, for example - others have highlighted the benefits of less expensive goods and services purchased by U.S. consumers along with new market and investment opportunities for U.S. firms. Bringing together an expert group of contributors, "China's Growing Role in World Trade" undertakes an empirical investigation of the effects of China's new status. The essays collected here provide detailed analyses of the microstructure of trade, the macroeconomic implications, sector-level issues, and foreign direct investment.This volume's careful examination of micro data in light of established economic theories eliminates a number of misconceptions, overturns some conventional wisdom, and documents data patterns that enhance our understanding of issues related to China's trade.

In less than three decades, China has grown from playing a negligible role in international trade to being one of the world's largest exporters, a substantial importer of raw materials, intermediate outputs, and other goods, and both a recipient and source of foreign investment. Not surprisingly, China's economic dynamism has generated considerable attention and concern in the United States and beyond. While some analysts have warned of the potential pitfalls of China's rise - the loss of jobs, for example - others have highlighted the benefits of new market and investment opportunities for US firms. Bringing together an expert group of contributors, "China's Growing Role in World Trade" undertakes an empirical investigation of the effects of China's new status. The essays collected here provide detailed analyses of the microstructure of trade, the macroeconomic implications, sector-level issues, and foreign direct investment.This volume's careful examination of micro data in light of established economic theories clarifies a number of misconceptions, disproves some conventional wisdom, and documents data patterns that enhance our understanding of China's trade and what it may mean to the rest of the world.

The economies of South Korea and Taiwan in the second half of the twentieth century are to scholars of economic development what the economy of Britain in the late eighteenth and early nineteeth centuries is to economic historians. This book, first published in 2006, is a collaboration between a leading trade economist and a leading economic sociologist specializing in East Asia, and offers an explanation of the development paths of post-World War II Korea and Taiwan. The ambitions of the authors go beyond this, however. They use these cases to reshape the way economists, sociologists, and political scientists will think about economic organization in the future. They offer nothing less than a theory of, and extended evidence for, how capitalist economies become organized. One of the principal empirical findings is that a primary cause for the industrialization of East Asia is the retail revolution in the United States and the demand-responsiveness of Asian manufacturers.

Trade is a cornerstone concept in economics worldwide. This updated second edition of the essential graduate textbook in international trade brings readers to the forefront of knowledge in the field and prepares students to undertake their own research. In Advanced International Trade, Robert Feenstra integrates the most current theoretical approaches with empirical evidence, and these materials are supplemented in each chapter by theoretical and empirical exercises. Feenstra explores a wealth of material, such as the Ricardian and Heckscher-Ohlin models, extensions to many goods and factors, and the role of tariffs, quotas, and other trade policies. He examines imperfect competition, offshoring, political economy, multinationals, endogenous growth, the gravity equation, and the organization of the firm in international trade. Feenstra also includes a new chapter on monopolistic competition with heterogeneous firms, with many applications of that model. In addition to known results, the book looks at some particularly important unpublished results by various authors.Two appendices draw on index numbers and discrete choice models to describe methods applicable to research problems in international trade. Completely revised with the latest developments and brand-new materials, Advanced International Trade is a classic textbook that will be used widely by students and practitioners of economics for a long time to come. * Updated second edition of the essential graduate textbook* Current approaches and a new chapter on monopolistic competition with heterogeneous firms* Supplementary materials in each chapter* Theoretical and empirical exercises* Two appendices describe methods for international trade research

The economies of South Korea and Taiwan in the second half of the twentieth century are to scholars of economic development what the economy of Britain in the late eighteenth and early nineteeth centuries is to economic historians. This book, first published in 2006, is a collaboration between a leading trade economist and a leading economic sociologist specializing in East Asia, and offers an explanation of the development paths of post-World War II Korea and Taiwan. The ambitions of the authors go beyond this, however. They use these cases to reshape the way economists, sociologists, and political scientists will think about economic organization in the future. They offer nothing less than a theory of, and extended evidence for, how capitalist economies become organized. One of the principal empirical findings is that a primary cause for the industrialization of East Asia is the retail revolution in the United States and the demand-responsiveness of Asian manufacturers.