In view of the recent summit between two Korean leaders, Shorenstein APARC believes that the prospect for inter-Korean economic cooperation has improved a great deal. The primary purpose of this conference is to explore various possibilities of inter-Korean economic cooperation as well as to formulate a policy and institutional framework for successfully implementing such cooperative efforts.

The conference will start with an analysis of the current economic situation in the Korean Peninsula and, then, explore sector-specific issues in agriculture, energy, manufacturing and infrastructure. Finally, the conference will draw policy implications for North Korea, South Korea, the United States, and the international community.

RSVP REQUIRED by June 6, 2000.

Japan's macroeconomic problem has yet to be properly diagnosed. Throughout the 1990s, policy makers could not decide on the proper macro economic measures to combat the country's severe economic slump. We propose a unified explanation, with deep historical roots, of why aggregate private demand failed to recover after Japan's stock and real estate bubbles burst in 1991 and deflationary pressure continues into the new millenium. Ron McKinnon is William D. Eberle Professor of International Economics at the Department of Economics, Stanford University. His research interests cover trade and financial policy in less-developed countries, the transition from socialism in Asia and Eastern Europe, the foreign exchange market and U.S.-Japan trade disputes, European monetary unification and international monetary reform, and the economics of market-preserving federalism. Rishi Goyal is a Ph.D graduate student in international economics working with Professor McKinnon on a Japan project--and will be writing his dissertation in this area. His undergraduate B.A. (with distinction) is from Swarthmore College in 1995. He expects to complete his Ph.D in 2001.

Since 1997, Dr. Richard Bush has been the leadig on-site practitioner of US-Taiwan relations. He was appointed to the Board of the American Institute of Taiwan by Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, and named Chairman and Managing Dircetor at the same time. Prior to his appointment, he was staff to the International Relations Committee in the United States House of Representatives, and also served as National Intelligence Officer for East Asia. He holds a doctorate in political science from Columbia University.