Summary of the Papers – Microeconomics 1987

Martin Neil Baily

Martin Neil Baily Senior Fellow Emeritus - Economic Studies, Center on Regulation and Markets

THE BROOKINGS PANEL ON ECONOMIC ACTIVITY has been meeting regularly
since 1970 to present and critique papers on macroeconomic topics. It
now meets twice a year and publishes its results in semiannual issues of
Brookings Papers on Economic Activity. This publication has become
the premier forum for applied macroconomic work and is one of the
most widely read and cited journals in economics.
The new Brookings Center for Economic Progress and Employment
is using the same approach for its special microeconomic issue of BPEA.
Papers are prepared by economists in university economics departments
and in business schools. The topics and participants, chosen by the
editors in consultation with others in the center, differ from those of
much university research. The center solicits research papers on the
problems and policy issues that form the core of its concern-productivity,
efficiency, and job structure. It interprets these topics broadly, to
include, for example, applied research relevant to antitrust policy. The
purpose of the special issue of BPEA is to encourage scholars working
in relevant areas of research to focus on issues of importance to a more
general readership and to policymakers, and to bring their work to a
wider audience. The Brookings editors and the discussants at the meeting
provide detailed comments to authors, stressing the importance of
drawing out the implications of their work. The new microeconomic
BPEA is being edited by Martin Neil Baily and Clifford Winston.