December 2013:
GLOBAL TRADE’S
UNCERTAIN COURSE
Dawn of a New System
Jagdish Bhagwati
An eminent trade economist worries about the
multilateral trading system as regional
agreements multiply
Global Banking Regroups
Stijn Claessens and
Juan A. Marchetti
The global financial crisis has prompted
increased scrutiny of the risks and benefits
of international financial services,
especially international banking
Smart Trade
Thierry Verdier
The cross-border flow of intellectual
property comes under 21st century economic
scrutiny
Adding Value
Bernard Hoekman
Companies have split the production of goods
and services among many countries, creating
supply chains that reduce overall costs
F&D online preview
Chained Value
Michele Ruta and Mika Saito
The growth of multicountry manufacturing is changing how the world’s income and growth are generated
INEQUALITY
Who Let the Gini Out?
Davide Furceri and
Prakash Loungani
Capital account liberalization and fiscal
consolidation confer benefits but also lead
to increased inequality
An Achilles’ Heel
Ravi Balakrishnan,
Chad Steinberg, and Murtaza Syed
Inequality threatens Asia’s growth miracle
A Fair Assessment
John Norregaard
Property taxes are an effective but often
highly unpopular way to reduce inequality
Also in This Issue
New Money
Åke Lönnberg
Introducing a new currency is a complex
process—one that Turkmenistan completed
successfully
Transparency Matters
Luis Brandão-Marques,
Gaston Gelos, and Natalia Melgar
The more forthcoming countries are, the more
they can resist the ups and downs of global
financial conditions
Voting and Volatility
Christian Ebeke and
Dilan Ölçer
In low-income countries, heavy government
spending before elections is often followed
by debilitating austerity
DEPARTMENTS
From the Editor
In Brief
Too many poor children
Joining the club
A grain of salt
Powerful demand
Riding along
Events in 2014
People in Economics
Picture This
Global House Prices Inching Up
Hites Ahir and Prakash
Loungani
The housing market is recovering, but real estate in
many countries is still overvalued
Back to Basics
What Is a Price?
Irena Asmundson
Maybe more than one bargained for. The answer varies
depending on the transaction
Book Reviews
Junkyard Planet: Travels in the Billion-Dollar Trash Trade, Adam Minter
Mass Flourishing: How Grassroots Innovation
Created Jobs, Challenge,
and Change, Edmund
Phelps
Index 2013 Volume 50