International Volatility and Economic Growth: The First Ten Years of The International Seminar on Macroeconomics

This volume contains a selection of articles published in special issues of the European Economic Review between 1980 and 1988. The subject matter of this volume is macroeconomic policy, the contributors are Europeans, Americans and Japanese. Most of the papers have an empirical character. Even when the theoretical models used are not readily quantifiable, the emphasis is on their power to clarify concrete policy issues.
The volume is a record of the issues, the controversies, the comparative analyses, and the debate. The flavor and perspectives of the times are preserved in the contemporary comments and criticisms of the discussants that are presented with each contribution.
The selected contributions fall naturally into three broad areas: comparative analyses of the relationship between structure and national macroeconomic performance; the evolving nature of the external constraint, and alternative strategies for managing it; and the consequences of internal and external debt. The volume is divided into three parts corresponding to these three broad topic areas.