Research Catalog

Title

Coping with the Inevitable Adjustment in the US Current Account [electronic resource] / Peter Jarrett

Author

Jarrett, Peter.

Publication

Paris : OECD Publishing, 2005.

Details

Description

38 p.; 21 x 29.7cm.

Summary

In recent years the US current account deficit has grown to the point that most observers consider its level to be already unsustainable. Yet it seems set to continue to increase in the foreseeable future, with net foreign debt likely to surge. This paper describes the present deficit from three points of view: imbalances of imports over exports of goods, services and income; of inflows over outflows of capital; and of investment and spending over savings and income in the domestic economy. It then examines the possible causal factors for these disequilibria and goes on to describe the arguments for both optimistic and pessimistic views as to their unwinding over time. Last, it suggests a number of policy conclusions as to how the US authorities should factor the presence of the deficit into their decision-making, even though they rightly do not view it as a target outcome. The bottom line is that the importance of avoiding disincentives to save and of maintaining as much flexibility as possible in the economy is reinforced by the risks posed by the deficit. This Working Paper relates to the 2005 OECD Economic Survey of the United States (www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/us).

Series Statement

OECD Economics Department Working Papers, 1815-1973 ; no.467

Uniform Title

OECD Economics Department Working Papers, no.467.

Subject

Economics

LCCN

10.1787/572327145660

OCLC

oecd-lib-003263

Author

Jarrett, Peter.

Title

Coping with the Inevitable Adjustment in the US Current Account [electronic resource] / Peter Jarrett

Imprint

Paris : OECD Publishing, 2005.

Series

OECD Economics Department Working Papers, 1815-1973 ; no.467

OECD Economics Department Working Papers, 1815-1973 ; no.467.

Connect to:

http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/572327145660

Indexed Term

Economics

Other Standard Identifier

10.1787/572327145660 doi