Written by Anne Romanis Braun, a former staff member of the IMF's Research Department, this volume deals with the nature of wage determination and the problem of securing an economically appropriate development of money incomes in an open economy over the medium term.

This book looks at how developing countries have had increasing difficulties, especially since the 1970s, in coping with inflation, in balancing efficiency and equity in wage policies, and in achieving economic growth and income distribution through appropriate taxation and expenditure programmes.

This volume seeks to go beyond the microeconomic view of wages as a cost having negative consequences on a given firm, to consider the positive macroeconomic dynamics associated with wages as a major component of aggregate demand.

This book consists of articles written by twenty authors, including three eminent academicians from Australia and Britain. It provides first-hand information on the National Wages Council (NWC), and its contributions, which includes the promotion of tripartism, as an instrument of economic growth. The book is divided into six parts. Part I introduces the book. Part II provides details about the NWC, its operations and its structure. Part III covers the macroeconomic impact of the NWC, including the impact on productivity, competitiveness, investment and growth. Part IV covers the impact of the NWC on wages and the wage system in Singapore. Part V provides a theoretical perspective on the importance of the NWC to productivity growth and productive efficiency. Part VI takes a look at the incomes policy practice of another country in the region, Australia, which provides a good point of reference for the NWC.

As part of the postwar settlement, and especially since the 1960s, small European democracies instituted many entitlement programs and redistributive income policies. Each country has responded differently, however, to the economic stagnation that followed the turmoil in world trade and monetary relations of the 1970s. Comparing the recent history of relations among business, labor, and government in four countries, Paulette Kurzer addresses complex questions at the heart of contemporary debates in political economy. Kurzer challenges the assumption that the evolution of social arrangements between government, labor, and employers can be understood without examining the interests of capital and trends toward transnationalization. Business and Banking will be required reading for anyone concerned with the future balance between political and social institutions in Europe - including political scientists, comparativists, political economists, economic historians, and others interested in finance and public policy.

The issue of capital flight from developing countries is discussed. The debt problems of developing countries coupled with the sharp decline in international lending to many countries have evoked great interest in the issue of private capital outflows, or capital flight, from these countries among international policymakers, academics, and in the general public. Residents of countries with exchange controls can purchase foreign exchange overseas by paying in local currencies, albeit at a higher cost than through official channels.

Praise for previous editions of The State of Working America: "The State of Working America remains unrivaled as the most-trusted source for a comprehensive understanding of how working Americans and their families are faring in today's economy."--Robert B. Reich"It is the inequality of wealth, argue the authors, rather than new technology (as some would have it), that is responsible for the failure of America's workplace to keep pace with the country's economic growth. The State of Working America is a well-written, soundly argued, and important reference book."--Library Journal "If you want to know what happened to the economic well-being of the average American in the past decade or so, this is the book for you. It should be required reading for Americans of all political persuasions."--Richard Freeman, Harvard University "A truly comprehensive and useful book that provides a reality check on loose statements about U.S. labor markets. It should be cheered by all Americans who earn their living from work."--William Wolman, former chief economist, CNBC's Business Week "The State of Working America provides very valuable factual and analytic material on the economic conditions of American workers. It is the very best source of information on this important subject."--Ray Marshall, University of Texas, former U.S. Secretary of Labor"An indispensable work . . . on family income, wages, taxes, employment, and the distribution of wealth."--Simon Head, The New York Review of Books "No matter what political camp you're in, this is the single most valuable book I know of about the state of America, period. It is the most referenced, most influential resource book of its kind."--Jeff Madrick, author, The End of Affluence "This book is the single best yardstick for measuring whether or not our economic policies are doing enough to ensure that our economy can, once again, grow for everybody."--Richard A. Gephardt "The best place to review the latest developments in changes in the distribution of income and wealth."--Lester ThurowThe State of Working America, prepared biennially since 1988 by the Economic Policy Institute, includes a wide variety of data on family incomes, wages, taxes, unemployment, wealth, and poverty-data that enable the authors to closely examine the effect of the economy on the living standards of the American people.

First in a two-volume study of Friedman’s long career: “No previous biographer has Nelson’s deep and sophisticated understanding of monetary economics.” —Economic History This study is the first to distill Nobel Prize winner Milton Friedman’s vast body of writings into an authoritative account of his research, his policy views, and his interventions in public debate. With this ambitious new work, Edward Nelson closes the gap: Milton Friedman and Economic Debate in the United States is the defining narrative on the famed economist, the first to grapple comprehensively with Friedman’s research output, economic framework, and legacy. This two-volume account provides a foundational introduction to Friedman’s role in several major economic debates that took place in the United States between 1932 and 1972. This first volume in the two-volume account takes the story through 1960, covering the period in which Friedman began and developed his research on monetary policy. It traces Friedman’s thinking from his professional beginnings in the 1930s as a combative young microeconomist, to his wartime years on the staff of the US Treasury, and his emergence in the postwar period as a leading proponent of monetary policy. As a fellow monetary economist, Nelson writes from a unique vantage point, drawing on both his own expertise in monetary analysis and his deep familiarity with Friedman’s writings. Using extensive documentation, the book weaves together Friedman’s research contributions and his engagement in public debate, providing an unparalleled analysis of Friedman’s views on the economic developments of his day. “Magisterial . . . For anyone wanting to understand the ideas that Friedman generated over his research career, this book is, and will remain for some time, the essential guide.” —Financial World