This volume is the seventh annual publication of the Duke Journal of Economics, formerly
the Undergraduate Economics Journal. Founded in 1988, the Journal is a showcase for
the outstanding contributions made each year to the economics discipline by Duke students.
The format of this issue has been altered from past Journals in two major respects:
I. The papers selected were written by current Duke undergraduates, in order
to reflect the work of undergraduates in their last three years at Duke.
2. A modest book review segment has been added.
The papers contained in this volume are all written by Duke undergraduates, and the book
reviews have been written by a mix of undergraduate and graduate students. They have
been edited for length and clarity.
Thanks to Bruce D. Fitzgerald, the Allen Starling Johnson, Jr. Endowment Fund, Dorothy
Armento, and the staff of the Duke University Economics Department.
Manuscript submissions should be forwarded to Dr. Edward Tower or Dr. Neil DeMarchi
of the Department of Economics.
JOHN R. EVANS J. MICHAEL RAMICH
Contents
TOGETHER AGAIN? REINTEGRATION AND REFORM IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES
by Katrina Sherry
THE SUNSET GENERATION IN THE LAND OF THE RISING SUN: A DISCUSSION OF THE MACROECONOMJC IMPLICATIONS OF JAPAN’S AGING POPULATION
by Eve Harmon
BASEBALL’S #1 PARADOX: DIVERGENT BIDDING AND ESCALATING SALARIES AS A RESULT OF FINAL OFFER ARBITRATION IN MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
by Mark Streams
BANKING ON CHANGE: DEPOSIT INSURANCE REFORM AND THE RISK-BASED PREMJUM
by Nathan Goldstein
NORTH AMERICAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT
by Michael R. Lofgren
SUPER 301 AND JAPANESE TRADE RELATIONS
by Justin Knowles
CONVERGENCE AND NEO-CLASSICAL GROWTH REVISITED
by Michael Kelly
Book Reviews
The Armchair Economist, Stephen Landsburg
The Free Press, Macmillan Inc., 1993
review by David Wilson Martin
Peddling Prosperity, Paul Krugman
W.W. Norton and Co., 1994
review by Edward Eung-Jun Yi
The Rise and Decline of Nations, Mancur Olson
Yale University Press, 1982
review by Alex Mendoza
Economic Policies of Cross-Purposes, Anne 0. Krueger
The Brookings Institution, 1993
review by S. Ramaswamy
The East Asian Miracle, The World Bank
Oxford University Press, 1993
review by Thomas Fernandez
The Order of Economic Liberalization, R.l. McKinnon
Johns Hopkins, 1991
review by Joseph H. Davis
