This book contains fifteen major essays on international economics. The authors investigate five principal themes: theory, and empirics, of financial issues in open economies; economic growth; public economies; and political economy. This volume of advanced research will be of interest to scholars, policy makers, and advanced students alike.

Part I. Financial Issues in Open Economies: Theory: 1. Crises: the next generation? Paul Krugman; 2. Solutions to the 'devaluation bias': some preventive measures to defend fixed exchange rates against self-fulfilling attacks Chi-Wa Yuen; 3. Growth enhancing effects of bailout guarantees Aaron Tornell; 4. Risk and exchange rates Maurice Obstfeld and Kenneth S. Rogoff; Part II. Financial Issues in Open Economies: Empirics: 5. Economic integration, industrial specialization, and the asymmetry of macroeconomic fluctuations Sebnem Kalemli-Ozcan, Bent E. Sorenson and Oved Yosha; 6. Uncovered interest parity in crisis: the interest rate defense in the 1990s Robert P. Flood and Andrew K. Rose; 7. When does capital account liberalization help more than it hurts? Carlos Arteta, Barry Eichengreen and Charles Wyplosz; 8. Sources of inflation in developing countries Prakash Loungani and Phillip Swagel; Part III. Economic Growth: Theory and Empirics: 9. Growth effects and the cost of business cycles Gadi Barlevy; 10. Explaining economic growth Yair Mundlak; Part IV. Public Economies: 11. Simulating fundamental tax reform in the United States David Altig, Alan J. Auerbach, Laurence J. Kotlikoff, Kent A. Smetters and Jan Walliser; 12. The international macroeconomics of taxation and the case against European tax harmonization Enrique G. Mendoza; 13. Home bias in portfolios and taxation of asset income Roger H. Gordon and Vitor Gaspar; 14. Social dumping in the transformation process; Part V. Political Economy: 15. Do political institutions shape economic policy? Torsten Persson.

Review of the hardback: 'This first-rate collection of essays is a clear indication of the very high reputation Assaf Razin enjoys in our profession. Written by top experts in the field, the contributions included in this book are both extremely topical and based on frontier research methods. They provide a wealth of insights on a very wide range of important policy issues.' Mathias Dewatripont, Universite Libre de Bruxelles and Centre for Economic Policy Research, LondonReview of the hardback: 'The present volume contains significant contributions at the frontier of research in international economics, growth, and public economics by leading. By combining theoretical rigor with careful examination of the data, it provides a perfect example of the kind of research that should guide economic policy, as well as a most suitable celebration of Assaf Razin's contributions to economic science over the years.' Jordi Gali, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, SpainReview of the hardback: 'Few economists satisfy the twin criteria of being both wide and deep. Assaf Razin is one such scholar, and this collection of fifteen essays in his honor attempts, successfully, to mirror these characteristics. Economic growth, fiscal policy, taxation issues and political economy all receive careful attention, with all analyzed in the modern setting in which international trade and finance create so many links among nations. Helpman and Sadka have indeed honored their colleague.' Ronald Jones, University of RochesterReview of the hardback: 'This is a superb collection of 15 theoretical and empirical papers on international finance, economic growth, domestic and international aspects of tax reform, and the impact of political institutions on economic policy. Krugman leads off by showing how models of currency crises can be converted into generic models of financial crises; Flood and Rose revisit open interest parity and ask whether interest-rate policy can deal with currency crises; and Tornell explains the importance of distinguishing between bailouts for individual banks or firms and bailouts triggered only by systemic crises. Obstfeld and Rogoff model and analyze risk in the context of the new international macroeconomics. Kalemi-Ozcan, Sorensen, and Yosha show how capital mobility fosters industrial specialization, which leads to asymmetrical output fluctuations. Arteta, Eichengreen, and Wyplosz reassess the influence of capital mobility on economic growth, and Barlevy shows why short-run fluctuations can profoundly affect long-run growth. Two rigorous papers analyze the effects of much-discussed tax reforms. And Persson ends the book by showing how different electoral regimes affect the size of the public sector. No economist can leaf through this book without finding something new and exciting.' Peter Kenen, Princeton UniversityReview of the hardback: 'This is a volume that fittingly reflects the breadth of Assaf Razin's contributions to economics. From public finance to trade, from growth to political economy, few contemporary economists have ranged as widely (and as wisely) as Assaf Razin. The editors have assembled a first-rate group of authors and articles to pay him homage.' Dani Rodrik, Harvard UniversityReview of the hardback: 'Substantial changes in the international economy increasingly warrant a solid economic analysis and strong policy considerations. This great book meets the challenge by providing an excellent selection of articles dealing in a timely manner with frontier issues in finance, growth, taxation and political institutions in a global context. All contributions are original, well conceived and executed. The volume deserves a wide readership among economists, advanced students and those policy makers who seek a deep understanding of the international economy.' Klaus F. Zimmermann, IZA and University of Bonn, Germany