BOLETÍN ALERTA IIEc

Número 12 Diciembre de 2005
CENTRO DE DOCUMENTACIÓN E INFORMACIÓN "MTRO. JESÚS SILVA HERZOG"

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AGHION, PHILIPPE; RACHEL GRIFFITH. COMPETITION AND GROWTH: RECONCILING THEORY AND EVIDENCE.Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2005. 104p.

The first serious attempt to provide a unified and coherent account of the effect competition policy and deregulated entry has on economic growth." The book takes the form of a dialogue between an applied theorist calling on "Schumpeterian growth" models and a microeconometrician employing new techniques to gauge competition and entry. In each chapter, theoretical models are systematically confronted with empirical data, which either invalidates the models or suggests changes in the modeling strategy.

Contents: 1. A divorce between theory and empirics. 2. Revisiting common wisdom. 3. Reconciling theory and evidence. 4. The escape entry effect.

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ARMENDÁRIZ DE AGHION, BEATRIZ; JONATHAN MORDUCH. THE ECONOMICS OF MICROFINANCE. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2005. 346p.

The microfinance revolution, begun with independent initiatives in Latin America and South Asia starting in the 1970s, has so far allowed 65 million poor people around the world to receive small loans without collateral, build up assets, and buy insurance. This comprehensive survey of microfinance seeks to bridge the gap in the existing literature on microfinance between academic economists and practitioners. Both authors have pursued the subject not only in academia but in the field; Beatriz Armendáriz de Aghion founded a microfinance bank in Chiapas, Mexico, and Jonathan Morduch has done fieldwork in Bangladesh, China, and Indonesia. The authors move beyond the usual theoretical focus in the microfinance literature and draw on new developments in theories of contracts and incentives. They challenge conventional assumptions about how poor households save and build assets and how institutions can overcome market failures. The book provides an overview of microfinance by addressing a range of issues, including lessons from informal markets, savings and insurance, the role of women, the place of subsidies, impact measurement, and management incentives. It integrates theory with empirical data, citing studies from Asia, Africa, and Latin America and introducing ideas about asymmetric information, principal-agent theory, and household decision making in the context of microfinance.

Contents: 1. Rethinking banking. 2. Why intervene in credit markets? 3. Roots of microfinance: ROSCAs and credit cooperatives. 4. Group lending. 5. Beyond group lending. 6. Savings and insurance. 7. Gender. 8. Measuring impacts. 9. Subsidy and sustainability. 10. Managing microfinance. Notes. Bibliography. Name index. Subject index.

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CHAPPELL JR., HENRY W.; ROB ROY MCGREGOR; TODD A. VERMILYEA. COMMITTEE DECISIONS ON MONETARY POLICY: EVIDENCE FROM HISTORICAL RECORDS OF THE FEDERAL OPEN MARKET COMMITTEE. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2005. 313p.

Examines the process by which the preferences of the FOMCs individual members are translated into collective policy choices. This focus on the aggregation of individual preferences into group decisions is unique and provides an important perspective on the evolution of monetary policy choices.

Contents: Introduction. 2. Institutional background. 3. Analytical background. 4. A long history of FOMC voting behavior: individual reaction functions and political influence on the monetary policy decision process. 5. Data from the Memoranda of discussion and FOMC transcripts. 6. Estimating reaction functions for individual FOMC members. 7. Majority rule, consensus building, and the power of the chairman: Arthur Burns and the FOMC. 8. FOMC decisions during the Greenspan years. 9. Political influences on monetary policy decision making: evidence from the Memoranda and the Transcripts. 10. Time inconsistency and the great inflation: evidence from the Memoranda and the Transcripts. 11. Conclusions. App. 1. Voting data. App. 2. Estimation of individual reaction functions using dissent voting data. App. 3. Estimation of individual reaction functions using data from the Memoranda and the Transcripts. App. 4. Burns era preference profiles by meeting. App. 5. Greenspan era preference profiles by meeting.

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DE GRAUWE, PAUL. EXCHANGE RATE ECONOMICS: WHERE DO WE STAND? Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2005. 347p.

Recent theoretical developments in exchange rate economics have led to important new insights into the functioning of the foreign exchange market. The simple models of the 1970s, which could not withstand empirical evaluation, have been succeeded by more complex models that draw on theoretical work in such areas as the microstructure of financial markets and open economy macroeconomics. Additionally new and powerful econometric techniques allow researchers to subject exchange rates to stronger empirical analysis. This book discusses the divergent theoretical and empirical paradigms used today for setting and predicting exchange rates; the chapters reflect current debates in the field. Some chapters base their analyses on the theoretical framework of representative and fully informed rational agents; others are grounded in the heterogeneity of agents who use different and incomplete sets of information. Still other chapters analyze empirical data to uncover the fundamental characteristics of exchange rates. Taken together, these competing analyses document the current state of exchange rate economics and point the way to a new consensus about how to predict and explain exchange rate movements.

Contents:1. Are different-currency assets imperfect substitutes?2. Volume and volatility in the foreign exchange market: does it matter who you are?3. A neoclassical explanation of nominal exchange rate volatility. 4. Real exchange rates and nonlinearities. 5. Heterogeneity of agents and the exchange rate: a nonlinear approach. 6. Dynamics of endogenous business cycles and exchange rate volatility. 7. The Euro, Eastern Europe, and black markets: the currency hypothesis. 8. What do we know about recent exchange rate models? : in-sample fit and out-of-sample performance evaluated. 9. The Euro-dollar exchange rate: is it fundamental?10. Dusting off the perception of risk and returns in FOREX markets. Index.

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DE GROOT, HENRI L.F.; PETER NIJKAMP; ROGER R. STOUGH. ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. A SPATIAL PERSPECTIVE.Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2004. 352p.

De Groot (spatial economics, Free University, The Netherlands) provides a theoretical and empirical analysis of entrepreneurial behavior in a spatial context and links it to important new fields in economics such as endogenous growth theory, the new economic geography, and evolutionary theory. Contributors in economics and geography analyze the role of the entrepreneur in fostering economic development and explain why some regions grow while others stagnate. They examine cases from the manufacturing and ICT sectors, and look at the role of university-based knowledge transfer and entrepreneurial behavior. The audience for the book includes regional economists, geographers, and business analysts.

Contents: 1. Introduction. 2. Firm behaviour and organisation from an evolutionary perspective. 3. The roles of entrepreneurship in economic growth: toward a theory of total factor productivity. 4. Technocapitalism and the new ecology of entrepreneurship. 5. Spatial variation in social capital among UK small and medium-sized enterprises. 6. The institutionalization and endogenization of venture capital: a regional analysis of Northern Virginia in the 1990s. 7. Human capital and regional socio-economic performance: differential patterns across Australia's cities and towns. 8. A knowledge-based view on innovation in regional networks: the case of the KIC project. 9. The role of collective learning in ICT adoption and use. 10. Industrial clusters and regional development: a transactions-costs perspective on the semiconductor industry. 11. Academic knowledge and fostering entrepreneurship: an evolutionary perspective. 12. Location of engineering and designer services in the information economy. 13. Firm dynamics and self-organised critically. 14. Knowledge, capital formation and innovation behaviour in a spatial context. Index.

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DE HAAN, JACOB; SYLVESTER C.W. EIJFFINGER; SANDRA WALLER. THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK: CREDIBILITY, TRANSPARENCY, AND CENTRALIZATION. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2005. 264p.

The adoption of the euro in 1999 by 11 member states of the European Union created a single currency area second in economic size only to the United States. The euro area's monetary policy is now set by the European Central Bank (ECB) and its Governing Council rather than by individual national central banks. This CESifo volume examines issues that have arisen in the first years of ECB monetary policy and analyzes the effect that current ECB policy strategy and structures may have in the future.

Contents: 1. Introduction. 2. The ECB : structure, strategy, and policy. 3. The ECB's strategy: an assessment. 4. Transparency, accountability, and credibility of the ECB. 5. Centralization or decentralization. 6. New member countries. 7. Options for reform. 8. Conclusions. Notes. References. Index.

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DELGADO WISE, RAUL; BEATRICE KNERR. CONTRIBUCIONES AL ANALÍSIS DE LA MIGRACIÓN INTERNACIONAL Y EL DESARROLLO REGIONAL EN MÉXICO. México, D.F.: M.A. Porrúa / UAZ, 2005. 332p.

Dividido en cuatro grandes apartados, este libro se enfoca en el análisis de la relación entre migración internacional y desarrollo en el caso mexicano, detallando las alteraciones que este fenómeno ha provocado en las estructuras demográficas, económicas y sociales de nuestro país. A partir de un marco contextual que precisa las dimensiones y matices que la migración México-Estados Unidos ha alcanzado en los últimos años, se abordan tres aspectos cruciales para su comprensión; por un lado las múltiples dimensiones e implicaciones del envío de remesas hacia las comunidades de origen; en segundo lugar se analizan las características del desarrollo regional de las comunidades de origen bajo el prisma migratorio; y por último la teoría y práctica del retorno del migrante, aspecto hasta ahora poco abordadoen la literatura sobre el tema.

Contenido: Presentación. Parte I. Marco contextual. Parte II. Enfoques multidimensionales sobre las remesas. Parte III. El desarrollo regional bajo el prisma migratorio. Parte IV. Incursión en la teoría y práctica del retorno.

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DUNNING, JOHN H.; RAJNEESH NARULA.MULTINATIONALS AND INDUSTRIAL COMPETITIVENESS. A NEW AGENDA. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2004. 287p.

Focusing on the contribution of multinational enterprises to economic development, Dunning and Narula analyze recent trends in international business. Eleven essays (most previously published in various journals) cover three main areas: cross-border trade, research and development alliances, and foreign direct investment. Particular attention is paid to the efforts of national governments to promote their countries' intellectual capital.

Contents: 1. The multinational enterprise, industrial development and policy: an introduction to the primary themes of this volume. Part I. MNES AND INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT: ISSUES CONFRONTING DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. 2. Developing countries versus multinationals in a globalizing world: the dangers of falling behind. 3. Industrial development, globalization and multinational enterprises: new realities for developing countries. 4. Incorporating trade into the investment development path. 5. Multinational firms, regional integration and globalizing markets. Part II. R&D, ALLIANCES AND DEVELOPED COUNTRIES. 6. Explaining international R&D alliances and the role of governments. 7. Explaining strategic R&D alliances of European firms. 8. R&D collaboration by 'stand-alone' SMEs: opportunities and limitations in the ICT sector. Part III. FDI AND COMPETITIVENESS. 9. Relational assets: the new competitive advantages of MNEs and countries. 10. Regaining competitiveness for Asian enterprises. 11. The role of foreign direct investment in upgrading China's competitiveness. Index.

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DUNNING, JOHN.MAKING GLOBALIZATION GOOD: THE MORAL CHALLENGES OF GLOBAL CAPITALISM. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004. 385p.

The central point of debate in this book is to identify and evaluate the moral challenges of what contributors refer to as 'responsible global capitalism (RGC)'. How can we develop a global economic architecture that is economically efficient, morally acceptable, geographically inclusive, and sustainable over time? If global capitalism--arguably the most efficient wealth-creation system currently known to man--is to be both economically viable and socially acceptable, each of its four constituent institutions (markets, governments, supra-national agencies and civil society) must not only be technically and administratively competent but also be buttressed and challenged by a strong ethical ethos.

Contents: Part I. 1. The Moral Imperatives of Global Capitalism: An Overview. 2. Private Morality and Capitalism: Learning from the Past. 3. Institutions and Morality: An Economist's Appraisal. 4. Towards a New Paradigm of Development. 5. Transformation of Society: Implications for Globalization. Part II. 6. An Ethical Framework for the Global Market Economy. 7. The Challenge of Global Capitalism: A Christian Perspective. 8. The Challenge of Global Capitalism: An Islamic Perspective. 9. Global Covenant: A Jewish Perspective on Globalization. 10. The Challenge of Global Capitalism: The Perspective of Eastern Religions. Part III. 11. A Universal Culture of Human Rights and Freedom's Habits: Caritapolis. 12. On the Political Relevance of Global Civil Society. 13. The Business Community: Social Responsibility and Corporate Values. 14. Governments and Supranational Agencies: A New Consensus? 15. Global Social Justice: The Moral Responsibilities of the Rich to the Poor. 16. Conclusions: In Search of a Global Moral Architecture. Index

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GEORGE, ALEXANDER L.; ANDREW BENNETT.CASE STUDIES AND THEORY DEVELOPMENT IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2005. 331p.

The use of case studies to build and test theories in political science and the other social sciences has increased in recent years. Many scholars have argued that the social sciences rely too heavily on quantitative research and formal models and thus have attempted to develop and refine rigorous methods for using case studies. This text presents a comprehensive analysis of research methods using case studies and examines the place of case studies in social science methodology. It argues that case studies, statistical methods, and formal models are complementary rather than competitive.

Contents: 1. Case studies and theory development. 2. Case study methods and research on the interdemocratic peace. 3. The method of structured, focused comparison. 4. Phase one: designing case study research. 5. Phase two: carrying out the case studies. 6. Phase three: drawing the implications of case findings for theory. 7. Case studies and the philosophy of science. 8. Comparative methods: controlled comparison and within-case analysis. 9. The congruence method. 10. Process-tracing and historical explanation. 11. Integrating comparative and within-case analysis: typological theory. 12. Case studies and policy-relevant theory. App. Studies that illustrate research design.

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DS119.65 G7418 IQ29437

GRESH, ALAIN; DOMINIQUE VIDAL. 100 CLAVES PARA COMPRENDER ORIENTE PRÓXIMO. Barcelona: Editorial Paidós, 2004. 471p.

¿Ha quedado definitivamente enterrado el proceso de paz entre Israel y los palestinos? ¿Cuáles serán las consecuencias de la segunda guerra contra Irak? ¿Será capaz el terrorismo islámico de desestabilizar los regímenes establecidos? ¿Habrá llegado a su término el dominio de las monarquías que reinan en los países del Golfo? ¿Ha pasado el tiempo del petróleo o sigue siendo un arma eficaz? Éstos son los interrogantes, entre muchos otros, que plantea la actualidad siempre candente de Oriente Próximo y a los que responde este libro. En forma de diccionario, casi con un centenar de entradas, se trata de una herramienta imprescindible que examina con atención los actores, los lugares y los hechos. Oriente Medio constituye una de las áreas más conflictivas del planeta. Las rivalidades étnicas y religiosas, las ambiciones de algunos países y el interés geoestratégico que supone esta zona para las grandes potencias debido a los yacimientos petrolíferos han sido las principales causas de inestabilidad y de tensión que se desgranan en esta obra de forma clara y concisa, desde las guerras entre árabes e israelíes, Afganistán, la guerra del Golfo o la reciente invasión de Irak.

Contenido: Prólogo. Cronología breve (1947-2003). Lista de entradas. Documentos. Oriente Próximo en la Red. Bibliografía. Índice de mapas y cuadros. Índice de nombres.

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JOVANOVIC, MIROSLAV N.THE ECONOMICS OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION. LIMITS AND PROSPECTS. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2005. 918p.

This textbook looks at the origin, development and potential limits and prospects of the process of European integration by considering the principal EU economic policies. The book also discusses topics such as foreign direct investment, transnational corporations and the location of firms and industries. The complex material is presented in a reader-friendly way, yet underpinned by a sound theoretical framework and revealing examples. Largely supportive of the process of integration, he is concerned that there are political constraints that may hinder it.

Contents: 1. The origin, evolution and prospects for the European Union. 2. Monetary integration. 3.Fiscal policy and the budget. 4. Common agricultural policy. 5. Competition policy. 6. Industrial policy in manufacturing and services. 7. Trade policy. 8. Spatial location of production and regional policy. 9. Capital mobility. 10. Mobility of labour. 11. Social policy. 12. Environment policy. 13. Transport policy. 14. Eastern enlargement. 15. Conclusions.

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JWAS, SUNG-HEE; IN KWON LEE.COMPETITION AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE IN KOREA. REFORMING AND RESTRUCTURING THE CHAEBOL.Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2004. 278p.

The business environment of the chaebol (large corporations in Korea) has changed drastically since the outbreak of the 1997 Asian financial crisis. This book discusses the attempts of the Korean government to remedy structural weaknesses in the corporate sector by launching an aggressive chaebol reform package, supported by the IMF and other international agencies. Its main objective was to restore competitiveness in the corporate sector and to upgrade business conditions to that of international practices and standards." "Competition and Corporate Governance in Korea critically reviews government policy towards the chaebol and provides a comprehensive investigation of the relationship between corporate governance and economic performance as well as the interaction of economic institutions with the chaebols' incentive structure and management behaviour.

Contents: Introduction. 1. The Chaebol, corporate policy and Korea's development paradigm. 2. An alternative perspective on government policy towards the Chaebol in Korea : industrial policy, financial regulations and political democracy. 3. Corporate governance and Chaebol reform in Korea. 4. The monitoring role of financial institutions in the Korean corporate sector. 5. Restructuring and corporate governance of the Korean Chaebol. 6. Chaebol restructuring revisited : a coasian perspective. 7. Government-led restructuring of firms' excess capacity and its limits: Korean 'big deal' case. 8. The evolution and restructuring of diversified business groups in emerging markets: the lessons from Chaebols in Korea. 9. Portfolio restructuring based on strategic relatedness between businesses: a suggestion for the Chaebol.