Knowledge that Transforms

Damon Clark of University of Florida and National Bureau of Economic Research reviews “Improving School-to-Work Transitions” by David Neumark,. The EconLit Abstract of the reviewed work begins “Seven papers consider the successes and failures of the 1990s-era school-to-work initiatives and assess how high schools, colleges, and government can help youths make a smoother transition into stable, well-paying jobs. Papers discuss transitions to work for racial, ethnic, and immigrant groups; participation in career and technical education and school-to-work in American high schools; whether school-to-work programs help the “forgotten half”; learning by doing career academies; the National Academy Foundation’s career academies--shaping postsecondary transitions; labor-market linkages among two-year college faculty and their impact on student perceptions, effort, and college persistence; and smoothing the transition from school to work--building job skills for a local labor market. Contributors include economists. Neumark is Professor of Economics at the University of California at Irvine and Senior Fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California. Index.”

Robert Bifulco of Syracuse University reviews “Spin Cycle: How Research Is Used in Policy Debates: The Case of Charter Schools” by Jeffrey R. Henig,. The EconLit Abstract of the reviewed work begins “Explores how controversies over the charter school movement illustrate the use and misuse of research in policy debates. Discusses the New York Times/AFT Charter School controversy; informed democracy--an ideal and its skeptics; how cool research gets in hot waters--privatization, school choice, and charter schools; research in the public eye--personalization, polarization, and politicization; research outside the spotlight--accumulation, convergence, and contingency; following the money--the role of funding in the politicization of education research; how research reaches the public ear--old media and new; and whether the ideal of informed democracy can be revived. Henig is Professor of Political Science and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, and Professor of Political Science at Columbia University. Index.”

Ann-Charlotte Stahlberg of Stockholm University reviews “The Gender Impact of Social Security Reform” by Estelle James, Alejandra Cox Edwards, Rebeca Wong,. The EconLit Abstract of the reviewed work begins “Compares the gendered outcomes of social security systems in Chile, Argentina, and Mexico, and presents empirical findings from Eastern and Central European transition economies as well as several OECD countries. Discusses why social security systems and social security reforms have a gender impact; living arrangements and standards of elderly men and women; how we measure the impact of social security systems and reforms; Chile; Argentina; Mexico; and gender issues in social security reforms of other regions; design features that determine gender outcomes. James is Professor Emeritus at the State University of New York, Stony Brook, and a consultant to the World Bank and other organizations. Edwards is Professor of Economics at California State University, Long Beach. Wong is Professor of Population Economics at the University of Texas Medical Branch/Galveston, Director of the WHO/PAHO Collaborating Center for Pan-American Aging and Health, and Research Associate at the Population Studies Center at the University of Texas at Austin. Index.”

Sudipto Bhattacharya of London School of Economics and Political Science reviews “Why Are There So Many Banking Crises? The Politics and Policy of Bank Regulation” by Jean-Charles Rochet,. The EconLit Abstract of the reviewed work begins “Ten previously published papers examine the causes of banking crises around the world in recent decades, focusing on the effects of political interference. Papers discuss why there are so many banking crises; coordination failures and the lender of last resort--whether Walter Bagehot was right after all; the lender of last resort--a twenty-first century approach; macroeconomic shocks and banking supervision; interbank lending and systemic risk; controlling risk in payment systems; systemic risk, interbank relations, and the central bank; capital requirements and the behavior of commercial banks; rebalancing the three pillars of Basel II; and the three pillars of Basel II--optimizing the mix. Rochet is Professor of Mathematics and Economics at the University of Toulouse. No index.”

Philipppe Jorion of University of California at Irvine reviews “Plight of the Fortune Tellers: Why We Need to Manage Financial Risk Differently” by Riccardo Rebonato,. The EconLit Abstract of the reviewed work begins “Explores how to revisit ideas about probability in financial risk management, focusing on the importance of decision making. Discusses thinking about risk; thinking about probabilities; making choices; what risk management is for; some of the changes that have occurred in the financial industry in the last few decades; looking beneath the surface--hidden problems; which type of probability matters in risk management; the promise of economic capital; and what we can do instead in financial risk management. Rebonato is the global head of market risk and global head of quantitative research and quantitative analysis with the Royal Bank of Scotland. Index.”

Uday Rajan of University of Michigan reviews “Pop Finance: Investment Clubs and the New Investor Populism” by Brooke Harrington,. The EconLit Abstract of the reviewed work begins “Follows the trajectory of the new stock market populism via the rise of investment clubs throughout the 1990s, through which millions of people across the socioeconomic spectrum became investors for the first time. Discusses stock market populism--investment clubs and economic history; investment clubs as markets in microcosm; group composition and the business case for diversity; getting ahead versus getting along--decision making in investment clubs; and reflections on investing in the 1990s. Harrington is a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies. Index.”

Charles Wyplosz of Graduate Institute, Geneva reviews “Regional Monetary Integration” by Peter B. Kenen, Ellen E. Meade,. The EconLit Abstract of the reviewed work begins “Surveys the prospects for regional monetary integration in various parts of the world, focusing on the structure and functioning of the European Monetary Union, North America, South America, and East Asia. Discusses the forms, costs, and benefits of currency consolidation; the European Monetary Union; monetary arrangements and economic performance; monetary union in the Americas; monetary union in East Asia; and the outlook and implications for the United States. Kenen is Adjunct Senior Fellow for International Economics with the Council on Foreign Relations and Walker Professor of Economics and Finance, Emeritus, at Princeton University. Meade is Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at American University. Index.”

Jordi Gali of CREI and Universitat Pompeu Fabra reviews “Monetary Policy Strategy” by Frederic S. Mishkin,. The EconLit Abstract of the reviewed work begins “Eighteen papers, some previously published, present Frederic S. Mishkin’s work on the changes in the conduct of monetary policy in recent years, focusing on the turn to inflation targeting. Papers discuss what central banks should do; the transmission mechanism and the role of asset prices in monetary policy; the role of output stabilization in the conduct of monetary policy; whether central bank transparency can go too far; whether there is a role for monetary aggregates in the conduct of monetary policy; rethinking the role of the nonaccelerating inflation rate of unemployment in monetary policy--implications of model formulation and uncertainty; central bank behavior and the strategy of monetary policy--observations from six industrialized countries; whether inflation targeting is a new framework for monetary policy; international experiences with different monetary policy regimes; why the Federal Reserve should adopt inflation targeting; inflation targeting in emerging market countries; monetary policy strategies for Latin America; monetary policy strategies for emerging market countries--lessons from Latin America; inflation targeting in transition economies--experience and prospects; a decade of inflation targeting in the world--what we know and what we need to know; the dangers of exchange-rate pegging in emerging market countries; the mirage of exchange-rate regimes for emerging market countries;… Index.”

Mark A. Carlson of Federal Reserve Board reviews “The Evolution of Monetary Policy and Banking in the US” by Donald D. Hester,. The EconLit Abstract of the reviewed work begins “Analyzes the evolution of monetary policy and banking institutions in the United States over the past sixty years, focusing on the dynamic interactions between the Federal Reserve and banking institutions that resulted from financial market innovations. Discusses Marriner S. Eccles and Thomas B. McCabe, 1945-51; William McChesney Martin, Jr., 1951-70; Arthur F. Burns and G. William Miller, 1970-79; Paul A. Volcker, 1979-87; Alan Greenspan, 1987-2006; Benjamin S. Bernanke, 2006-the present; an overview and summary of the Federal Reserve and monetary policy; the first twenty-five years after World War II; resolution--1971-2007; and an overview and summary of recovery, growth, and adaptation in U.S. banking. Hester is Professor of Economics, Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. No index.”

Robert H. Frank of Cornell University reviews “Crunch: Why Do I Feel So Squeezed? (And Other Unsolved Economic Mysteries)” by Jared Bernstein,. The EconLit Abstract of the reviewed work begins “Presents easy-to-understand answers to questions working Americans want to ask economists. Discusses why people feel economically squeezed; gross domestic product; political economy; globalization; and the reconnection agenda. Bernstein is Senior Economist and Director of the Living Standards Program at the Economic Policy Institute. Index.”