The Globalization of American Philanthropy

This paper analyses the globalization of American philanthropy in order to uncover significant trends in cross-border flows of financial and other assistance between the U.S. and other countries and to suggest ways in which such assistance might be larger and more helpful in the future

Endogenous growth and international trade

International trade

Externalities, markets, and government policy

Before the work of Ronald Coase, economists argued that externalities-unpriced benefits or costs-constituted the main exception to the rule that Adam Smith's invisible hand will efficiently allocate resources. Coase showed that externalities may or may not require a government solution, depending on the institutional setting of the problems and the size of transaction costs. Moreover, even in the absence of externalities, market transactions require low transaction costs. Firms exist to economize on those costs. In shifting the terms of the debate, Coase single-handedly moved economics from presuming specific roles for government action to a more neutral position requiring detailed analysis. In this article, Roy Ruffin explains Coase's contribution to understanding the role of government.Expenditures, Public

The nature and significance of intra-industry trade

In this article, Roy Ruffin gives an overview of intra-industry trade for the generalist. Intra-industry trade represents international trade within industries rather than between industries. Such trade is more beneficial than inter-industry trade because it stimulates innovation and exploits economies of scale. Moreover, since productive factors do not switch from one industry to another, but only within industries, intra-industry trade is less disruptive than inter-industry trade.Trade ; Industries

Quasi-specific factors: worker comparative advantage in the two-sector production model

International trade ; Labor productivity

Human capital externalities, trade, and economic growth

Human capital, because of its special role in innovative activity and technological progress, has formed the bedrock of the new theories of endogenous growth. Human capital, however, not only serves as an engine of growth, but also as a productive input along with labor and physical capital. In this study, we distinguish between these two roles of human capital and find evidence of the importance of both. We also find that the relationship between growth and the external effects of human capital vary according to trade regime. When literacy rates are relatively high, open economies grow about 0.65 to 1.75 percentage points more than closed economies. Replaced by "Human capital, trade and economic growth"Economic development ; Human capital

Country-bashing tariffs: do bilateral trade deficits matter?

Balance of trade ; Tariff