For almost thirty years, Brookings Papers on Economic Activity (BPEA) has provided academic and business economists, government officials, and members of the financial and business communities with timely research of current economic issues. Contents include: Articles DAVID M. CUTLER and LAWRENCE F. KATZ Macroeconomic Performance and the Disadvantaged CHINHUI JUHN, KEVIN M. MURPHY and ROBERT H. TOPEL Why Has the Natural Rate of Unemployment Increased over Time? JAMES M. POTERBA House Price Dynamics: The Role of Tax Policy and Demography Reports BEN S. BERNANKE and CARA S. LOWN The Credit Crunch EDWARD M. GRAMLICH The 1991 State and Local Fiscal Crisis Symposium on the Soviet Economy after Communism STANLEY FISCHER Economic Reform in the US and the Role of Aid WILLIAM W. HOGAN Economic Reforms in the Sovereign States of the Former Soviet Union WILLIAM D. NORDHAUS, MERTON J. PECK, and THOMAS J. RICHARDSON Do Borders Matter? Soviet Economic Reform after the Coup ANDREI SHLEIFER and ROBERT W. VISHNY Reversing the Soviet Economic Collapse