Is the U.S. Trade Deficit Sustainable?
Book Description
Body
The global financial crisis of 1997-98 and the widening US trade deficit have precipitated fresh inquiry into a set of perennial questions about global integration and the US economy. How has global integration affected US producers and workers, and overall growth and inflation? Is a chronic and widening deficit sustainable, or will the dollar crash, perhaps taking the economy with it? If the problem was one of "twin deficits," as many thought, why has the trade deficit continued to grow even as the budget deficit narrowed to zero? If US companies are so competitive, why does the trade deficit persist? Is the trade deficit a result of protectionism abroad? Will it lead to protectionism at home? What role do international capital markets have?
Each chapter presents relevant data and a simple analytical framework as the basis for concise discussions of these major issues. The final section of the book provides an outlook for the deficit and suggests alternative policy courses for dealing with it.
This book is designed for policymakers and others who are interested in the US role in the world economy. It is also suitable for courses in international economics, business, and international affairs.
Editorial Reviews
... a powerful new analysis ... David Ignatius, The Washington Post
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
1. Introduction
I. What Forces Drive International Trade, Finance, and the External Deficit
2. Whatever Happened to the "Twin Deficits"?
3. Has US Comparative Advantage Changed? Does This Affect Sustainability?
II. How Does Increasing Integration into the Global Economy Affect Sustainability?
4. How Does Trade Affect the American Worker?
5. What Role for Trade in the "New Paradigm" of Sustainable Long-Run Growth
III. How Do Competitiveness and Trade Policy Affect Sustainability
6. Is the External Deficit Caused by Unfair Trade Practices?
7. Is There A Good Measure of Competitiveness?
IV. Are the Imbalences Sustainable?
8. Is the United States "Living Beyond Its Means" or an "Oasis of Prosperity"?
9. Do International Capital Markets Determine a Country's Trade Balance?
10. Is the US External Deficit Sustainable?
References
Index