International Review of Comparative Public Policy – serie

This volume is devoted to post-communist Central Europe and is divided into three parts. The first part covers some general issues of social theory and politics, ranging from the chances for social-liberalism under post-communism, through a new dichotomy of the transforming societies, to the birth of neo-socialism in the region. The chapters in the second and third parts examine economic policies and regulation schemes from the perspective of social change. In the second part, four papers are devoted to new inequalities, a burning problem of social thought in East Central Europe. The third part includes four independent case studies of vocational training, long-term unemployment, local welfare policy and health insurance with a view to providing first-hand information on the daily workings of the new social systems.

This volume contains papers on issues concerning applications of monetary policy in several countries from the perspectives of writers who work in both academic settings and for central banks. The first paper investigates the usefulness of money as indicator of future spending and inflation in the United Kingdom. The next paper provides insights into the operation of the independent Banque de France and compares them to the operation of other central banks. It provides an overview of the common issues that central banks deal with and a brief historic sketch of how the current objective of price stability evolved as the overriding objective of US and European central banks. Other topics include: a summary of historical developments in the Bank of Israel; an examination of whether there is a monetary aggregate useful as a target for real output for Korea; and an examination of the long-run neutrality of money.

The 10th volume of International Review of Comparative Public Policy, focuses on the Labor Markets in Transition.

A group of academics and practitioners in urban planning and development present an array of essays, primarily focused on Pacific Rim cities, that analyze successful policies and programmes in urban development and explain why they have worked. These essays identify a number of key themes of change that are leading to innovation in strategic planning and management of urban regions/cities in the context of globalization, economic restructuring, social change, and the changing interface between government, the private sector, and the community sectors. These themes include, among others: electronic commerce and its impact on urban development, community involvement in planning, historical preservation, strategies for central city growth and revival, private sector versus government leadership in planning, creation of new cities from scratch contrasted with reinventing existing cities, and tools for urban planning and management. This should be a useful tool to all those actively involved and interested in the process of urban development worldwide.

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the world financial markets, and institutions have new features, and are working in different environments and conditions. These are increasing the role of the financial sector in the world economy, integration of the financial markets and institutions, liberalization of related laws and regulations, increasing linkages between sub-segments of financial markets, computerizing of financial markets and institutions, and introducing new instruments and innovative derivatives. The majority of the above changes are considered positive developments in the world economy. However, some of the negative aspects are associated along with the above new conditions. One of the most critical changes is the increased linkage, which may lead to the transmission of high price volatility of stocks, currencies, and inflation, from one economy to another, and in turn may lead to financial crises at certain events and conditions similar to those which occurred in 1987, 1989 and 1997. The financial crises are not confined to a financial market or a financial institution, or a country or a region. There are at present, no generally accepted arguments or explanations for the financial crises that occurred in the last century. The financial crises moved from one market to another, across geographical locations, as well as across segments of financial systems, including both developed and emerging markets. The above features and conditions are creating new challenges; there is an urgent need, therefore, to examine various aspects of financial markets related to stability, risk, and activity, in order to find the most relevant environment and market mechanism that may meet the conditions of stability, liquidity, and efficiency. This volume is devoted to exploring various aspects of this issue.