Showing papers on "Purchasing power published in 1985"

Chapter 22 International money and international monetary arrangements

Abstract: Publisher Summary This chapter examines the current research on the basic purpose and functions of international monetary arrangements The terms and conditions under which assets denominated in different currencies may be exchanged for each other are related both to the intrinsic worth or “purchasing power” of the different currencies and to restrictions imposed by the issuers of currencies, as influenced by the agreed rules of the system At the heart of such a system are the rules for financing and adjusting payments imbalances to insure continued convertibility Research is done on the demand for reserve assets that is in principle dependent on the design of the system, because it depends upon the chosen mix between adjustment and financing of payments imbalances Thus one considers the effects of floating exchange rates, the degree of capital mobility, central bank intervention in exchange markets, and the use of private bank financing of payments imbalances on the demand for reserve assets The chapter also discusses the optimal design of international monetary arrangements There is a potentially wide choice of degree of flexibility of exchange rates and degree of reliance on markets as opposed to institutions Given national preferences and behavior, recent analysis discusses how national policies interact under different sets of international monetary arrangements Such analysis leads to proposals for changes in the design of the system to improve the international distribution of income, to improve control over the growth of international reserve assets, and to improve the macroeconomic performance of the world economy as it is affected by the interaction of national economic policies

Food Stamps as Money: The Macroeconomics of a Transfer Program

Abstract: Food stamps represent nearly $11 billion of personal income in the United States. The coupons that are issued to provide purchasing power to recipients are also reserves for the commercial banking system. This study asks at what rate these coupons are substitutable for what is usually considered money. The results, based on estimates for 1959-81, suggest that food stamp coupons are substitutable for M1 on a one-for-one basis, and a revised money supply series including "Food Stamp Money" is included. Together with other estimates showing that the marginal propensity to consume out of food stamps is higher than that out of ordinary income, the results suggest that the food stamp program is an automatic fiscal and monetary stabilizer: under its provisions, both the money stock and disposable income are increased during a recession.

Wealth and Renting in Prerevolutionary Philadelphia

Abstract: Wealth has long fascinated historians and economists because both are concerned with how individuals fare in an economy-what economists call "welfare. " Colonial American historians have adopted a variety of approaches to the study of wealth and welfare. Some have derived the general standard of living from the kind, quantity, and value of personal possessions. Others have described the purchasing power of money or the ways personal possessions reflect different styles of life. Many of those efforts refine earlier studies that concentrated on the structure of wealth and focused on the extent of inequality. The problems involved in the search for a better understanding of colonial economic welfare are not only practical (what evidence is best?) but also conceptual (what do we mean by welfare?) and theoretical (how can we deepen our understanding from the perspectives of existing theory?). An exploration of renting provides a fresh view of colonial wealth and welfare. Wealth is generally considered to be anything with a market value and is measured either as a stock of assets or as a flow of income from those assets. Capital stock includes tangible assets such as land and man-made goods, and intangible assets such as claims against others. There is also human capital,

Indexation - An Islamic Evaluation

Abstract: The decreasing purchasing power of money has been one of the most intriguing problems not only for the economists but also for the savers, lenders, and consumers. The inflationary tendency that enveloped the world economy after World War II and assumed alarming proportion during the seventies seems now to have become a secular trend. The economists' failure in averting this trend has not only convinced them of its weird coexistence with economic development and progress but, more than that, some of them have brought in a number of arguments to justify its existence to a certain limit and to decorate it with a constructive role in economic growth. Many countries have institutionalized it in the form of indexation by linking wages and loans etc., to cost of living or consumer prices. As the idea of indexation hinted at by Marshall, Jevons and Keynes is being sold by top modern economists like Friedman, it has attracted some Muslim scholars too. Inclusion of the idea in the Report of the Council of Islamic Ideology on the elimination of interest (in Pakistan), though with a note of disapproval, is suggestive of its reach even in the Islamic circle of the economists and bankers. Abdul Mannan advocates it on the evidence of the Shariah. Many other Muslim economists have appreciated indexation though with reservations. It, therefore, seems necessary to examine the idea carefully from the point of view of the Shari'ah.

Fisher, Thornton, and the Analysis of the Inflation Premium: Note

Abstract: [I]nsofar as there exists any adjustment of the money rate of interest to the changes in the purchasing power of money, it is for the most part (1) lagged and (2) indirect.... The indirectness of the effect of changed purchasing power comes largely through the intermediate steps which affect business proElts and volumes of trade, which in turn affect the demand for loans and the rate of interest-Irving Fisher (1930, p. 494)

Agricultural marketing in Iraq: an analysis of the variety of factors and processes underlying the marketing of Iraqi agricultural produce, with emphases on the potential for improving the marketing infrastructure

Abstract: Agricultural marketing in Iraq has witnessed major changes over the last three decades, and particularly during the 1970's, due to structural and distributional changes in both production and consumption as a consequence of the effect of market forces upon production and an increase in demand. Therefore, agricultural marketing in Iraq is faced with several problems. On the one hand these problems are caused by the continuing increase in demand as a result of the increase in population numbers partly due to natural increase and partly due to (temporary) foreign immigration and the relative increase in per capita income which has improved the purchasing power of the people, all of which have led to a growth in demand ahead of improvements in agricultural production and distribution. On the other hand, are the problems directly related to the physical geographical conditions of Iraq, to the past and present marketing systems and to the locational distribution of the areas of production? All these factors have imposed great pressures on the marketing system, which at the same time that it has become more government- controlled, has also had to come to terms with an increasing percentage of consumers who are entirely dependent upon the system for the supply of their needs, and a diminishing number of producers who need to be encouraged, above all by better price incentives, to be more efficient crop growers and animal raisers. The current system has kept pace with neither the general increase in demand, nor the further demand that most products be available all the year round. Therefore, this study aims to analyse the variety of factors and processes underlying the marketing of Iraqi agricultural produce, with emphasis on the spatial patterns and the potential for improving the infrastructure and managements.

Economic Policies in France: Retrospect and Prospects

Abstract: The fifteen-year period following entry into the European Common Market was one of rapid economic expansion in France. In particular, policies promoting industrial concentration and investment contributed to the modernization of French industry in the framework of an open economy.1 The distruptions caused by the May 1968 events were soon overcome, and France experienced the highest rate of economic growth among the Common Market countries. In particular, the income gap between Germany and France declined to a considerable extent. According to estimates made by using purchasing power parities, the ratio of French to German per capita incomes increased from 0.73 in 1958 to 0.97 in 1973.2

The inflation in Western African countries between 1970 - 1982

Abstract: ECONOMICS WONGBENJARAT, ANAN B.S., Kasetsart University, 1981 The Inflation in Western African Countries between 1970—1982 Adviser: Dr. Fred 0. Boadu Thesis dated December 1985 For the last two decades, worldwide inflation had a very large impact on developing countries. While the rate of inflation slowed down in developed countries, increasing rate of inflation in Western African countries was almost doubled in the 1970s. The controversy over the increases in price level was between two groups of economists——struc_ turalist and nlDnetarist. The nDnetarist points out that inflation can not be substajned without a continued expansion of money supply. But the structuralist argues that in developing countries, the causes of inflation maybe factors other than money supply. Some of these factors are the stagnation of food supply, inelasticity and instability of the purchasing power of export or bottlenecks in the supply of social over head capital and skilled labor. The objective of this study is to empirically estimate the relative impacts of various identified sources of inflation in selected Western African countries. By using the ordinary least squares procedures, results show that the nonetarist variables are more significant in explaining the estimated inflation rate of West Africa than the struc— turaljst variables. In effect, we can conclude that the large quantity of money in people’s hands, without a corresponding quantity of goods to buy, led to the inflation. Structural variables may have a very important role, but the results of this study did not sufficiently bring out this role. THE INFLATION IN WESTERN AFRICAN COUNTRIES BETWEEN 1970-1982 A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF ATLANTA UNIVERSITY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS BY ANAN WONGBENJARAT DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS ATLANTA, GEORGIA DECEMBER 1985