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Journal of Democracy: April 1997, Washington, D. C.Author(s): Laura CooperSource: Foreign Policy, No. 107 (Summer, 1997), pp. 155-156Published by: Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive, LLCStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1149355 .

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International Organization Winter 1997

Cambridge, Massachusetts

In the first issue of Irlterrlaiiorlal Orgarlizaiiorl under their coeditorship, Peter Gourevitch and David A. Lake state their commitment to use the quarterly as a forum for exploring issues related to political eco- nomics and the effect of nonstate factors on international relations. Mirroring this intent, University of Toronto professor Louis Pauly and Simon Reich, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh, assert that, despite globalization trends, multinational corporations in Germany, Iapan, and the United States demonstrate little sign of losing their unique national characteristics. German firms operate according to an organized partnership between business and government. Iapan's busi- nesses benefit from significant intrafirm cooperation and high invest- ment in research and development. And American corporations either flourish or die in a highly fluctuating, open, and competitive market. Also, Thomas Christensen of Comell University studies great-power relationships in Europe between 1865 and 1940 and concludes that if the United States departs from East Asia, regional power competition there may escalate into violence.

- Scott Worderl

Journal of Democracy April 1997

Washington, D.C.

Former national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski opens the April issue of this quarterly with an essay on "The New Challenges to Human Rights." Envisioning the issue of culture as the new dividing line in the human rights debate, he counters by arguing that human rights are universal. His brief essay also includes some retlections on the role of science in human rights dilemmas. In one of three contributions on the topic of "Asian Values," Margaret Ng, a member of the Legisla- tive Council of Hong Kong, provides a defense of Hong Kong's popular democratic aspirations, which China has rebuffed. She discredits the

International Organization Winter 1997

Cambridge, Massachusetts

In the first issue of Irlterrlaiiorlal Orgarlizaiiorl under their coeditorship, Peter Gourevitch and David A. Lake state their commitment to use the quarterly as a forum for exploring issues related to political eco- nomics and the effect of nonstate factors on international relations. Mirroring this intent, University of Toronto professor Louis Pauly and Simon Reich, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh, assert that, despite globalization trends, multinational corporations in Germany, Iapan, and the United States demonstrate little sign of losing their unique national characteristics. German firms operate according to an organized partnership between business and government. Iapan's busi- nesses benefit from significant intrafirm cooperation and high invest- ment in research and development. And American corporations either flourish or die in a highly fluctuating, open, and competitive market. Also, Thomas Christensen of Comell University studies great-power relationships in Europe between 1865 and 1940 and concludes that if the United States departs from East Asia, regional power competition there may escalate into violence.

- Scott Worderl

Journal of Democracy April 1997

Washington, D.C.

Former national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski opens the April issue of this quarterly with an essay on "The New Challenges to Human Rights." Envisioning the issue of culture as the new dividing line in the human rights debate, he counters by arguing that human rights are universal. His brief essay also includes some retlections on the role of science in human rights dilemmas. In one of three contributions on the topic of "Asian Values," Margaret Ng, a member of the Legisla- tive Council of Hong Kong, provides a defense of Hong Kong's popular democratic aspirations, which China has rebuffed. She discredits the

Global Newsstand Global Newsstand

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Global Newsstantl Global Newsstantl

paternalism of the Singapore "trustee model of democracy." Finally, two articles describe the promise of Ghanaian democracy after its free, fair, and nonviolent elections last December.

-Laura Cooper

Journal of Economic Perspectives Winter 1997 Minneapolis

This issue of the Journal of Eco7lomic Perspeciives, which is currently edited at the University of Minnesota, reviews a topic of great interest in the developed world: "The Natural Rate of Unemployment." Econ- omists have long disagreed over whether there is only one "natural" unemployment rate that is consistent with steady inflation. A recent symposium on the "non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment" (or NAIRU) reexamined the debate. Joseph Stiglitz, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, argues in his introduction ("Reflections on the Natural Rate Hypothesis") that, though it may vary over time and across countries, NAIRU remains a usehal analytical concept for pre- dicting inflation.

But why does the unemployment rate differ so much from one coun- try to the next? The question has assumed some urgency in Europe, where unemployment has risen over the last five years despite steady inflation, while the United States has enjoyed a sustained spell of low unemployment and low inflation. As economists Oliver Blanchard and Lawrence Katz point out ("What We Know and Do Not Know About the Natural Rate of Unemployment"), identifying the causes has been difficult. Increases in energy prices in the 1970s, high taxation, labor- market rigidities and changing demographics, skill-biased technological progress, and the price-dampening effects of trade liberalization have all been indicted, but none has been convicted. James Galbraith argues that since we do not know its level or what causes it to move, it is "T1me to Ditch the NAIRU." Rather, governments might spend more effort try- ing to achieve full employment (by allowing interest rates to fall farther,

156 FOREIGN POLICY

paternalism of the Singapore "trustee model of democracy." Finally, two articles describe the promise of Ghanaian democracy after its free, fair, and nonviolent elections last December.

-Laura Cooper

Journal of Economic Perspectives Winter 1997 Minneapolis

This issue of the Journal of Eco7lomic Perspeciives, which is currently edited at the University of Minnesota, reviews a topic of great interest in the developed world: "The Natural Rate of Unemployment." Econ- omists have long disagreed over whether there is only one "natural" unemployment rate that is consistent with steady inflation. A recent symposium on the "non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment" (or NAIRU) reexamined the debate. Joseph Stiglitz, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, argues in his introduction ("Reflections on the Natural Rate Hypothesis") that, though it may vary over time and across countries, NAIRU remains a usehal analytical concept for pre- dicting inflation.

But why does the unemployment rate differ so much from one coun- try to the next? The question has assumed some urgency in Europe, where unemployment has risen over the last five years despite steady inflation, while the United States has enjoyed a sustained spell of low unemployment and low inflation. As economists Oliver Blanchard and Lawrence Katz point out ("What We Know and Do Not Know About the Natural Rate of Unemployment"), identifying the causes has been difficult. Increases in energy prices in the 1970s, high taxation, labor- market rigidities and changing demographics, skill-biased technological progress, and the price-dampening effects of trade liberalization have all been indicted, but none has been convicted. James Galbraith argues that since we do not know its level or what causes it to move, it is "T1me to Ditch the NAIRU." Rather, governments might spend more effort try- ing to achieve full employment (by allowing interest rates to fall farther,

156 FOREIGN POLICY

This content downloaded from 62.122.79.69 on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 19:48:01 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions