There is no universally accepted definition of a currency crisis, but most would agree that they all involve one key element: investors fleeing a currency en masse out of fear that it might be devalued, in turn fueling the very devaluation they anticipated. Although such crises—the Latin American debt crisis of the 1980s, the speculations on European currencies in the early 1990s, and the ensuing Mexican, South American, and Asian crises—have played a central role in world affairs and continue to occur at an alarming rate, many questions about their causes and effects remain to be answered. In this wide-ranging volume, some of the best minds in economics focus on the historical and theoretical aspects of currency crises to investigate three fundamental issues: What drives currency crises? How should government behavior be modeled? And what are the actual consequences to the real economy?

Reflecting the latest thinking on the subject, this offering from the NBER will serve as a useful basis for further debate on the theory and practice of speculative attacks, as well as a valuable resource as new crises loom.

Since the 1980s, economists have used the concept of strategic trade policy, which takes account of imperfect competition and increasing returns in the international marketplace, to criticize conventional views about free trade. According to the new view, a government can take strategic steps to raise its income at another country's expense—by subsidizing exports or erecting trade barriers, protecting certain firms from foreign competition, or promoting the development of new industries. This volume looks at the experience of specific industries in order to determine the effectiveness of strategic trade policy in promoting economic growth.

The nine papers cover the U.S. and European auto industries, the U.S. steel industry, the commercial aircraft industry, airline deregulation in Scandinavia, and labor and industrial policy in Korea and Taiwan. The authors refine the basic techniques for measuring policy effectiveness, extend them to encompass industry dynamics, and test the implications of new trade models.

International economists and trade experts in government and business will find important new insights into the role of strategic trade policy in international competitiveness.

The realities of Japanese-U.S. trade and investment relations are clouded by mistrust, misinformation, and myth. In what way is the Japanese economic system different, and is it to be emulated or challenged? The contributors, from both the United States and Japan, explore Japanese trade patterns, market structure and trade, financial markets, and industrial and trade policy. Offering analysis of the issues, Trade with Japan is a valuable resource for economists, policymakers, and the business community.