Every country is free to develop its own policies and standards. Yet this results in standards that differ by country, creating problems for export manufacturers. This study investigates technical regulations and standards in manufacturing industries and their relationship with international competitiveness in three papers. Regulatory policy increases production costs and reduces output levels, reducing a country's export competitiveness. We find each industry is unique in the factors determining net exports and environmental regulations are often important. We find that competition policy enhances competitiveness by reducing entry barriers; causing firms to produce more output with lower prices. Exports for both total and food manufacturing in the post-competition policy period are higher than in the pre-competition period. We find that the value of food product exports is negatively affected by food safety standards: higher aflatoxin standards have higher the bilateral export flows. The work gives an insight into domestic policies and their impact on international competitiveness. It should be useful to researchers, policy makers and academics in the field of international trade.

This volume brings together nine papers from a conference on international macroeconomics sponsored by the NBER in 1985. International economists as well as graduate students in the fields of global monetary economics, finance, and macroeconomics will find this an outstanding contribution to current research. It includes two commentaries for each paper, written by experts in the field, and Frenkel's detailed introduction, which serves as a reader's guide to the arguments made, the models employed, and the issues raised by each contributor. The studies analyze national fiscal policies within the context of the international economic order. Malcolm D. Knight and Paul R. Masson use an empirical model to show that fiscal changes in recent years in the United States, West Germany, and Japan have caused major disturbances in net savings and investment flows. Linda S. Kole uses a two-country simulation model to examine the effects of a large nation's expansion on exchange rates, interest rates, and the balance of payments. In other studies, Warwick J. McKibbin and Jeffrey D. Sachs discuss the influences of different currency regimes on the international transmission of inflation; Kent P. Kimbrough analyzes the interaction between optimal tax policies and international trade; Sweder van Wijnbergen investigates the interrelation of fiscal policies, trade intervention, and world interest rates; and Willem H. Buiter uses an analytical model to look at fiscal interdependence and optimal policy design. David Backus, Michael Devereux, and Douglas Purvis develop a theoretical model to investigate effects of different fiscal policies in an open economy. Alan C. Stockman looks at the influence of policy anticipation in the private sector, while Lawrence H. Summers shows the effects of differential tax policy on international competitiveness.

American leadership in the world is built on the foundation of its economic strength. Yet the United States faces enormous economic competition abroad and threats to its economy at home. In How America Stacks Up: Economic Competitiveness and U.S. Policy, Edward Alden, Bernard L. Schwartz senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and director of the Renewing America initiative, and Rebecca Strauss, associate director of Renewing America, focus on those areas of economic policy that are the most important for reinforcing America’s competitive strengths. Covering education, transportation, trade and investment, corporate tax, worker retraining, regulation, debt and deficits, and innovation, How America Stacks Up shows how, in a highly competitive global economy, these seemingly domestic issues are all crucial to U.S. success in the global economy. The line between domestic economic policy and foreign economic policy is now almost invisible, and getting these policies right matters for more than just U.S. living standards. The United States’ ability to influence world events rests on a robust, competitive economy. But without further investment in education, infrastructure, and innovation, Alden and Strauss show, the United States runs the risk of endangering its greatest competitive advantage. Through insightful analysis and engaging graphics, How America Stacks Up outlines the challenges faced by the United States and prescribes solutions that will ensure a healthy, competitive U.S. economy for years to come.

Once unquestionably the world's leading economic and industrial power, the United States now views with growing dismay the impressive industrial efficiency, vigorous work ethics, and large American holdings of various other nations. Is the United States truly lagging in its ability to compete effectively in world markets? Concern over this question has been voiced in both the business and government sectors, as well as by academic economists. A recent conference, sponsored by the National Bureau of Economic Research, explored the effects of trade policies on a nation's ability to compete in international markets. In Trade Policies for International Competitiveness, Robert C. Feenstra collects seven papers from the conference, each accompanied by discussants' comments, and adds a helpful introduction. Some of the issues considered by contributors are effects of macroeconomic and strategic foreign policies on competitiveness; the recent influx of foreign direct investment in the United States, primarily from Japan; the extent to which Japanese trade patterns are a reflection of underlying factor and endowments rather than trade barriers; and the market structure of Canadian industries, including applications for ongoing U.S.-Canadian free trade negotiations. Topical and provocative, these papers will be of value to economists, policymakers, and those in the business world.