The Scout Report for Business & Economics

February 12, 1998

A Publication of the Internet Scout Project
Computer Sciences Department, University of Wisconsin-Madison

The target audience of the new Scout Report for Business & Economics is faculty, students, staff, and librarians in business and economics. Each biweekly issue offers a selective collection of Internet resources covering topics in the field that have been chosen by librarians and content specialists in the given area of study.

The Scout Report for Business & Economics is also provided via email once every two weeks. Subscription information is included at the bottom of each issue.

Research Current Awareness

Learning Resources New Data

General Interest In the News

1998 Economic Report of the President [.pdf, 408p., .wk4]
http://w3.access.gpo.gov/eop/
Archive of Older ERPs
gopher://gopher.umsl.edu:70/11/library/govdocs/erps
Gopher to: gopher.umsl.edu
Select: The Library/Government Information/Economic Reports of the President
The US Government Printing Office has again made available the electronic version of the Economic Report of the President immediately after it was transmitted to the Congress. The report shows that the economy grew by 3.9 percent in 1997 with an inflation rate of only 1.7 percent. The unemployment rate of 4.9 percent in 1997 was the lowest in 24 years. The 112 statistical tables in the Economic Report of the President can be found in pages 274 to 408 of the report or separately as Lotus spreadsheet files. The site also contains full text of ERPs back to 1995, and spreadsheet tables back to 1997. Earlier ERPs (1992-1994) are still available at the University of Missouri-St. Louis Thomas Jefferson Library gopher server. [THN]
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Two Publications From EIA
International Energy Annual 1996 [.pdf]
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/iea/contents.html
Performance Profiles of Major Energy Producers: 1996 [.pdf]
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/perfpro/
The US Department of Energy's Energy Information Agency has released two new reports. The International Energy Annual 1996 presents "time series data for the period 1987-1996 on the production and consumption of petroleum, natural gas, coal and electricity, as well as other energy and energy-related data." Visitors to the site can view the energy balance for each individual country. The EIA has also made available the World Energy database used in compiling the data for the report. To access the database users must have an IBM-type PC. The EIA's Financial Reporting System provides the Performance Profiles of Major Energy Producers: 1996, examining financial and operating developments in energy markets, in particular the 24 major US energy companies. Financial information is available by type of business, including oil and gas production, petroleum refining and marketing, other energy operations, and non-energy business. In addition, the report provides information on foreign direct investment in the United States energy sector. Detailed tables of all financial information can be downloaded at the site. [THN]
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History of the Eighties--Lessons for the Future--FDIC
http://www.fdic.gov/bank/historical/history/
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Division of Research and Statistics has released History of the Eighties--Lessons for the Future. The report is divided into three parts: overview and national issues, sectoral and regional crises, and analysis of supervisory tools. This research report aims to analyze "the complex combination of causes (economic, financial, legislative and regulatory) that led to the extraordinary number of bank failures in the 1980s and early 1990s," and evaluate the "legislative, regulatory and supervisory responses to those failures." The report concludes by enumerating how these experiences might instruct future bank supervisors. [THN]
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Luxembourg Income Study [.pdf]
http://lissy.ceps.lu/index.htm
The Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) is a cooperative multinational research project located at the CEPS/INSTEAD Institute in Differdange, Luxembourg. Created in 1983 to promote comparative research on the economic status of populations in different countries, the project now has 25 participating countries. The site provides technical information, a newsletter, and working papers related to the project. It contains useful information about LIS datasets. The project also provides a mailing list to announce new LIS Working Papers. [THN]
To subscribe send email to:
listserv@listserv.syr.edu
In the body of the message type:
subscribe LISNews firstname lastname
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The Journal of Economic History--JSTOR
http://www.jstor.org/journals/00220507.html
List of Participating Academic Institutions
http://www.jstor.org/about/charter.html
JSTOR has added The Journal of Economic History to its collection of journals. Issues from 1941 to 1992 (v. 1-52) are now available for users at subscribing institutions. Note: access to JSTOR contents is currently available only on a site licence basis to academic institutions. A list of institutions with site licenses is available. [THN]
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OECD Free Online Working Papers [.pdf]
http://www.oecd.org/eco/wp/onlinewp.htm
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has made selected working papers from the Economics Department available for downloading. The working papers cover a wide range of macroeconomic issues such as inflation, monetary policy and unemployment. Most of the papers have some policy implications for OECD member countries. [THN]
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AC3029 Accounting Systems
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/accountancy/web_pgs/public/courses/as/main.htm
Christina Mulligan, Lecturer in Accountancy at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland developed the Accounting Systems web page for her course. The aim of the course is to "encourage the development of a systems perspective to accounting information processing and decision making." The course targets MA students and advanced undergraduates. Visitors to the site will find the course syllabus, a collection of multiple-choice tests and the lecture notes. [THN]
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ADV 391K Advertising and the New Media [Frames, .pdf]
http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~tecas/Syl391KSpring1997.html
Professor J. Leckenby, College of Communication, University of Texas at Austin developed the Advertising and the New Media course page. This seminar course covers topics such as managing, defining and using new media; socio-cultural issues on the web; and advertising on the web. The highlight of the site is the detailed course outline, which contains links to many articles related to discussion issues. [THN]
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Canadian Economic History Home Page
http://www.upei.ca/~rneill/can_ec_hist.html
Robin Neill, Adjunct Professor, University of Prince Edward Island, Canada has developed an Internet course on Canadian Economic History. The full text of the course is available on-line. The aim of the course is to provide an "account of rise and fall of National Policy from the Age of Sail, through the Canal Era, and the Railway Epoch, to the Time of Telematics at the end of the Internal Combustion and Electric Dynamo Period." The main question asked in this course is what are the "very long run economic factors in the integration and disintegration of Canada"? [THN]
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Economics 309--The Economics of a Sustainable Society [Excel]
http://www.humboldt.edu/~envecon/e309.htm
Professor Steve Hackett at Humboldt State University developed this site for his class on the economics of a sustainable society. The course aims to examine the "interrelationships between sustainability and factors such as income and poverty, education and empowerment, international trade, population growth and taxes." Visitors to the site will find the course and lecture outlines, Excel based interactive simulation learning modules, on-line quizzes, and past exams. [THN]
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Mondaq Business Briefing [Word]
http://www.mondaq.com/
Mondaq Business Briefing is maintained by Business Briefing Publishing Ltd. as a service aimed at "professionals and business people involved in international trade and investment." The site provides "global coverage of legislation and regulations, corporate finance, offshore finance, market analysis, economic analysis, risk management, property, consultancy, and worldwide business news." A professional directory allows users to look up business contacts in their area of interest. The highlight of the site is the 1997 edition of "Europe's Money," published by Consultancy Europe Associates. The book is billed as a guide to the European Union Budget; it explains the European Union budget process. Users must register to access this site; registration and access are free. [THN]
[Note: Site title has changed since the original Scout Report review. Site formerly referred to in the Scout Report as "Business Monitor Online."]
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EU Business
http://www.eubusiness.com/
EU Business is provided by Europanet. It aims to provide selected business information to the busy business person. Information available at the site includes European Union (EU) law, business developments in Europe, finance and EU programs. The site also keeps track of European Commission proposals and the progress of draft legislation. Users interested in doing business in Europe will find this site a useful guide to facilitate the process. [THN]
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Coopers & Lybrand UK Tax and Human Resource Site
http://www.uk.coopers.com/coopers/tax/
Coopers & Lybrand developed this site to provide users with the latest developments in corporate and personal taxes in the United Kingdom. Visitors to the site can view the Budget Racecard, which contains betting odds on which new tax provisions will be included in the 1998 Budget. Other information available on the site include an analysis of the pre-Budget report, the latest value-added tax (VAT) news, employee tax issues, and international tax issues. [THN]
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American Express Financial Advisors
http://www.americanexpress.com/advisors/
American Express Financial Advisors specializes in providing financial information. The site offers a set of Interactive Financial Tools that users can activate to create their own Personal Financial Profile. Users can read the latest economic research and news, and keep abreast of the latest economic statistics. The Hot Topics section provides answers to topical and frequently asked questions on financial planning. The site also contains case studies of people in various financial situations, and recommendations on how they should proceed with their financial planning. [THN]
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INO Global Markets
http://www.ino.com/
The INO Global Markets site strives to "greatly accelerate the exchange of market and industry information" to futures and options traders. QuoteWatch gives visitors the opportunity to view the quotes and charts of futures and options on various exchanges. The MarketCenter section provides free information resources for traders. Among the information available are regular updates on market news supplied by BRIDGEnews, press releases from futures exchanges and regulatory agencies, specifications of the major futures contracts, different types of exchange orders, and trading margins. [THN]
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(For links to additional current awareness on periodicals, journals, working papers, new books, etc., visit the Business & Economics Current Awareness Metapage: http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/scout/report/bus-econ/metapage/).
Working Papers
Stockholm School of Economics Working Paper Series in Economics and Finance [.pdf, .ps]
http://swopec.hhs.se/hastef/
The Stockholm School of Economics has released five new working papers (No. 216-220) covering the issues of productivity growth in Indonesia, competition and prices in the Nordic electricity market, testing for fractional integration using the bootstrap, diversification and shareholder value, and fiscal policy and the yield curve. [THN]

Institute for International Economic Studies Seminar Papers [.pdf,.ps]
http://swopec.hhs.se/iiessp/
The Institute for International Economic Studies at Stockholm University has released Seminar Paper No. 635 titled "IQ, Social Mobility and Growth," by John Hassler and Jose V. Rodriguez Mora. [THN]

Federal Reserve System
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Working Papers [.pdf]
http://www.frbsf.org/econrsrch/workingp/indx.wp.html
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Staff Report [.pdf], [.ps]
http://research.mpls.frb.fed.us/research/sr/sr.html
Federal Reserve Bank of New York Staff Report [.pdf]
http://www.ny.frb.org/rmaghome/staff_rp/
The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco has released Working Paper 98-02 titled "Declining Job Security," by Robert Valletta. The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis has published Staff Report 243 titled "Dynamic Equilibrium Economies: A Framework for Comparing Models and Data," by Francis X. Diebold, Lee E. Ohanian, and Jeremy Berkowitz. Federal Reserve Bank of New York released Staff Report No. 38 titled "How Big are the Potential Welfare Gains from International Sharing?", by Eric van Wincoop; this report examines the gains from risksharing in the international financial markets. [THN]

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Working Papers [.pdf]
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/CAT/wp.cfm
The IMF has released nine new working papers (WP/97/182, WP/98/1-WP/98/8), covering topics such as exchange rate uncertainty in money based stabilization programs, security, development & growth in developing countries, and the effects of inflation on income inequality, among others. [THN]
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Periodicals
American Enterprise Institute Economic Outlook
http://www.aei.org/eo/eofront.htm
The February 1998 issue of Economic Outlook asks the question: "Is the Asian Crisis Over?" The January 1998 issue looks at "The Painful Death of the Japanese Model." Both articles are written by John H. Makin. [THN]

Federal Reserve System
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Economic Letters
http://www.frbsf.org/econrsrch/wklyltr/indx.wl.html
Federal Reserve Bank of New York Current Issues in Economics and Finance [.pdf]
http://www.ny.frb.org/rmaghome/curr_iss/
The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco has released two new Economic Letters (No. 98-03 and No. 98-04) covering the issues of the budget deficit and the output-inflation trade-off. The January 1998 issue of Current Issues in Economics and Finance titled "Electronic Trading on Futures Exchanges," by Asani Sarkar and Michelle Tozzi, examines how "electronic systems can improve the efficiency and cost effectiveness of trading some types of futures and options." [THN]
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Books and Journals
Econbase--Elsevier
http://www.elsevier.nl/locate/econbase
The abstracts for Information Economics and Policy (Vol. 9 No. 4), Research Policy (Vol. 26 No. 3) and the Journal of Development Economics (Vol. 53 No. 2) are now available. [THN]

Handbook in Economics
http://www.elsevier.nl:80/hes/
The Handbook in Economics site is provided by Elsevier, the publisher of the series. The site features an overview of the various Handbooks, a table of contents, and chapter summaries. Contents can be browsed or searched. [THN]

Baker & Taylor Latest Books in Business--February 1998
http://www.baker-taylor.com/Academia/M02/UBBS/ubbs17.html
Baker & Taylor Latest Books in Economics--February 1998
http://www.baker-taylor.com/Academia/M02/UBBS/ubbs16.html
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Conferences
Spring 1998 Midwest Macroeconomics Conference
http://www.stls.frb.org/research/conf/
The Spring 1998 Midwest Macroeconomics Conference will be held in St. Louis, Missouri from April 17 to April 19, 1998. The conference provides a forum for the presentation and discussion of current research ideas in macroeconomics. There is a special session at the conference titled, "Modern Macroeconomic Models for Policy Analysis." [THN]

Health and Risk: An International Symposium
http://www.ihs.ox.ac.uk/herc/risk.html
Health and Risk: An International Symposium will be held at St Catherine's College, University of Oxford, from June 29 to July 1, 1998. The symposium aims to "bring together health specialists and a range of social scientists to discuss risk and health in three areas: public health and health care needs, risks associated with organisational failures, reforms etc, and issues to do with the public communication and debate about health care priorities and the regulation of risks." [THN]

Third International Conference on Strategic Issues in Health Care Management
http://www.st-and.ac.uk/~www_sem/management/Hconf.htm
The Third International Conference on Strategic Issues in Health Care Management will be held at the University of St Andrews, Scotland from April 2-4, 1998. The theme of the conference is "Managing Quality and Controlling Cost." [THN]
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Jobs
Job Openings in Economics from the Chronicle of Higher Education
http://thisweek.chronicle.com/.ads/.ads-by-group/.faculty/.sscience/.econ/.links.html
Job Openings in Business and Management from the Chronicle of Higher Education
http://thisweek.chronicle.com/.ads/.ads-by-group/.faculty/.professional/.business/.links.html
The Chronicle of Higher Education provides weekly job listings in economics and business. [THN]

Job Openings for Economists (JOE)--February 1998
http://www.eco.utexas.edu/joe/db/9802w/
JOE is provided by the American Economics Association and the Economics Department at the University of Texas at Austin. [JS]
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(For links to additional sources of new data see the Business & Economics Current Awareness Metapage: http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/scout/report/bus-econ/metapage/).
Bureau of Labor Statistics
State and Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment--December 1997
http://stats.bls.gov/news.release/laus.toc.htm
Employment Situation--January 1998
http://stats.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.toc.htm
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has released the December 1997 figures for state and metropolitan area employment and unemployment. The state with the lowest unemployment rate was Nebraska at 1.6%. BLS also released national unemployment statistics for January 1998. The unemployment rate remained at 4.7% after seasonal adjustment. [THN]
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Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
Gross Domestic Product: Fourth Quarter 1997 (Advance)
http://www.bea.doc.gov/bea/newsrel/gdp4q97a.txt
Personal Income: December 1997
http://www.bea.doc.gov/bea/newsrel/pi1297.txt
The BEA has released advance figures for gross domestic product in the fourth quarter of 1997. The figures show that real gross domestic product increased at an annual rate of 4.3 percent, up from a 3.1 percent increase in the third quarter. Meanwhile, personal income increased by 0.4 percent in December 1997, compared with an increase of 0.7 percent in November 1997. [THN]
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Census Bureau
Quarterly Financial Report for Manufacturing, Mining, and Trade Corporations, Third Quarter 1997 [.pdf, 191p.]
http://www.census.gov/prod/3/97pubs/qfr-97q3.pdf
The Census Bureau has released the third quarter edition of the Quarterly Financial Report for Manufacturing, Mining and Trade Corporations, which provides "up-to-date aggregate statistics on the financial results and position of U.S. corporations." Data available include income and earnings, balance sheets, and financial and operating ratios. [THN]
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Federal Reserve Board of Governors
Consumer Credit--December 1997
http://www.bog.frb.fed.us/releases/G19/
Foreign Exchange Rates--January 1998
http://www.bog.frb.fed.us/releases/G5/
Selected Interest Rates--January 1998
http://www.bog.frb.fed.us/releases/G13/
The Federal Reserve has released the figures for consumer credit in December 1997 showing that consumer credit increased by 3.9%. The average exchange rates and selected interest rates for January 1998 were also made available. [THN]
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Energy Information Agency (EIA)
Short-Term Energy Outlook--February 1998
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/steo/pub/contents.html
The EIA has released the February 1998 issue of Short-Term Energy Outlook. The publication provides US energy and world oil forecasts from the first quarter of 1998 through the fourth quarter of 1999. [THN]
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1998 Budget Surplus
FY 1999 Budget Proposal
http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/budget99/maindown.html
The Economic and Budget Outlook for Fiscal Years 1999-2008--CBO
http://www.cbo.gov/reports.html
Select: Economic and Budget Projections/Economic and Budget Outlook and Updates/The Economic and Budget Outlook: Fiscal Years 1999-2008
Washingtonpost.com Budget Special Report
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/budget/budget.htm
Tax Cuts in 1998--Cato Institute
http://www.cato.org/testimony/ct-sm020498.html
Richard A. Gephardt Address to the Commonwealth Club of California: "Taxes: The Time to Reform is at Hand"
http://www.house.gov/democrats/speeches/taxreform.html
Concord Coalition Position Paper on Federal Budget Surpluses
http://www.concordcoalition.org/federal_budget/surplus_paper_0997.html
This week's In The News looks at the 1998 budget surplus. The six resources above provide information about the budget surplus and suggestions on what to do with it from various quarters. The Fiscal Year 1999 budget proposal unveiled by President Clinton on February 2, 1998 showed a surplus of $9.5 billion, the first time the federal budget has been balanced in 30 years. Clinton plans to use the surplus to help preserve the Social Security system. Other proposals for using the budget surplus include reducing taxes and paying off the national debt.
President Clinton's Fiscal Year 1999 Budget Proposal provides information on how the budget surplus was determined and how spending was allocated. The Economic and Budget Outlook for Fiscal Years 1999-2008, from the Congressional Budget Office, projects that the budget is likely to remain more or less balanced over the next ten years given the current policies. Washingtonpost.com Budget Special Report is a special web section created to provide coverage on the latest budget. The site includes charts tracing the history of the federal budget deficit, and a glossary of budget terms. Tax Cuts in 1998 is the testimony given by Stephen Moore of the Cato Institute before the House Ways and Means Committee on February 4, 1998; in the report Moore urges Congress to enact tax cuts. Democratic Congressman Richard Gephardt's speech proposes that the budget surplus be applied toward reducing the national deficit, which in turn would reduce interest rates and enhance economic growth. The Concord Coalition Position Paper on Federal Budget Surpluses urges the government to use any budget surpluses to pay off the national debt. [THN]
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The Scout Report for Business & Economics
Brought to You by the Internet Scout Project

The Scout Report for Business & Economics is published every other Thursday by the Internet Scout Project, located in the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Department of Computer Sciences.

Susan Calcari
Jack Solock
Thiam Hee Ng
Jeannine Ramsey

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Managing Editor
Editor
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Copyright Susan Calcari and the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents, 1994-1998. Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of the Scout Report for Business & Economics provided the copyright notice and this paragraph is preserved on all copies. The Internet Scout Project provides information about the Internet to the US research and education community under a grant from the National Science Foundation, number NCR-9712163. The Government has certain rights in this material.

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