Word: economists
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...short, you need to think before you spend. Before going back to the abacus, however, know that the skeptics are still outnumbered by economists and executives who insist that business on the whole is more productive. Economist Allen Sinai of Primark Decision Economics points out that the U.S. has lately enjoyed "superstrong growth, superlow inflation and a superlow unemployment rate." That could not happen if productivity were really as low as the official figures indicate, he says; the numbers--er, do not compute. So productivity must be increasing faster than calculated, and one likely reason is computerization. Maybe the experts...
...Stanford economist Timothy Bresnahan argues that this is more a problem with PCs than with large business computers, where upgrades are handled by professional managers. But changing systems can be a serious problem for medium-size businesses too. Insurance Management Associates, a commercial insurance brokerage firm, has just laid out more than $1 million to install a new computer operating system. In the Denver office alone, says president Robert Cohen, "we had 2,500 hours of training for 70 employees and kept the business running while handling the usual glitches and two-hour breakdowns, as well as the three days...
...most accounts Schroder is nothing special. The New York Times referred to him as a "pragmatic centrist" in its lead editorial yesterday, while The Economist featured him on the cover last month with the headline, "Would you buy a used car from Gerhard Schroder...
...year-long pledge not to devalue the renminbi. China has earned credit overseas for holding its currency steady, providing some stability in the region. But as its export growth and foreign investment slow under competitive pressures, Beijing seems to be nearing its pain threshold. According to an economist with access to China's leaders, they are contemplating an early 1999 devaluation that could reach 30%, depending on how far the Japanese yen drops. With the rest of Asia struggling to find a way out of recession, such a move could set off a new round-robin of devaluations. China knows...
...persistent stock market decline can also hurt the economy by making companies more cautious about expansion and hiring. "If the stock price isn't doing well," says John Lonski, chief economist for Moody's Investors Service, "shareholders will put pressure on management to cut costs to improve returns." That usually means layoffs and plant closings, which "ripple through the economy" as laid-off people cut spending...