Can The Dollar Remain The Worlds Most Important Reserve Currency?

In the future, there is no one currency that is likely to replace the dollar as the main reserve currency. Although the euro and yen meet some of the requirements of a reserve currency, neither is sufficiently strong to take over. Instead, the world might evolve towards a multiple reserve-currency system, shared among the dollar, euro, and yen, (or perhaps the yuan?) at some point in the future. It remains to be seen where the dollar is going and whether Paul Volckers concerns will be realized in the years ahead

NAFTA and the U.S.-Mexican Trucking Dispute

Although the charter of the North American Free Trade Agreement established a schedule that would have opened the border states of the United States to competition from Mexican trucking companies in 1995, and all of the United States to this competition in 2000, the full implementation of these provisions has been delayed due to concerns about the safety of Mexican trucks and drivers. This delay has resulted in much frustration for Mexico, which, in 2009 implemented retaliatory tariffs on products imported from the United States. In March, 2011 the two countries unveiled a deal to resolve this dispute which could help ease tense relations between the two neighbors. This paper discusses the nature and significance of the trucking dispute between Mexico and the United States

The Future of the U.S. Postal Service

Structural, legal, and financial constraints haw brought the U.S. Postal Service \USPS) to the brink of breakdown in the past decade. Faced by declining business brought about by the e-mail revolution and competition from private express companies, the Postal Service has repeatedly requested assistance from the federal government. This culminated in December 2006 with the passage of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, which introduces modest revisions in the.pricing and service policies of the Postal Service so as to make it a self-sustaining government corporation. But will it? Although the new legislation addresses some of the problems of the Postal Service, more radical changes may be necessary in the future. One possibility is the complete privatization of the Postal Service including the removal of the legal monopoly that it has on the delivery of letter mail, so as to foster competition in the mail delivery. Because these remedies are currently too controversial for Congress to implement their chances of being enacted in the near future are dim. Instead, what is emerging is a partial approach to privatization in which the Postal Service forms worksharing agreements with private-sector firrns to take advantage of their efficiencies. Whether such partial privatization will significantly improve the efficiency of mail delivery remains to be seen. This article discusses the nature and operation of the Postal Service and assesses the merits of its possible reforms

A Primer on Profit Maximization

Although textbooks in intermediate microeconomics and managerial economics discuss the first-order condition for profit maximization (marginal revenue equals marginal cost) for pure competition and monopoly, they tend to ignore the second-order condition (marginal cost cuts marginal revenue from below). Mathematical economics textbooks also tend to provide only tangential treatment of the necessary and sufficient conditions for profit maximization. This paper fills the void in the textbook literature by combining mathematical and graphical analysis to more fully explain the profit maximizing hypothesis under a variety of market structures and cost conditions. It is intended to be a useful primer for all students taking intermediate level courses in microeconomics, managerial economics, and mathematical economics. It also will be helpful for students in Master’s and Ph.D. programs in economics and in MBA programs. Moreover, the paper provides instructors with an effective supplement when explaining the profit-maximization concept to student

Boeing and Airbus: Duopoly in Jeopardy?

For decades, Boeing and Airbus have struggled for dominance in the large commercial aircraft market. In 2010 and 2011, the World Trade Organization ruled that each firm has received illegal subsidies from the governments of the United States and the European Union, which have enhanced their competitive positions. This paper considers the nature of these rulings and the future competitive environment in the global jetliner industry

United-Continental Merger

This case study discusses the nature and likely effects of the proposed merger between United Airlines and Continental Airlines. It is intended as a lecture for instructors teaching undergraduate courses in Industrial Organization or Antitrust Economics

Will the Dollar Be Dethroned as the Main Reserve Currency?

The U.S. dollar was in the line of fire as leaders from the largest developed and developing countries participated in the G8 meeting on July, 2009. China and other emerging market heavy-weights such as Russia and Brazil are pushing for debate on an eventual shift away from the dollar to a new global reserve currency. These countries are particularly concerned about the heavy debt burden of the United States and fear inflation will further debase the dollar which has lost 33 percent in value against other major currencies since 2002. Will the dollar continue as the main reserve currency of the world? What are the other currencies to watch as challengers to the throne? This paper address these questions

Industrial Policy and Renewable Energy: Trade Conflicts

Governments use industrial policy to promote the development of new industries and the creation and adoption of new technologies. Such policy involves subsidies granted to producers and consumers, usually for the purpose of correcting a market failure. Concerning renewable energies such as wind energy and solar energy, China, the United States, and the European Union provide extensive support to producers and consumers. This support has resulted in trade frictions among these nations. This paper discusses the relationship between industrial policy and trade disputes in renewable energy

The Lantern Vol. 19, No. 2, Spring 1951

• An Address • The Departure • My First Night in La Vie Boheme • Sixty-Six • The Painting • What Will the Neighbors Say? • Spring Air • Lines • Sunday Afternoon • Through the Glass • So Tired • Economy • Abyss • Poems • The Old Ladyhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/lantern/1053/thumbnail.jp