anchor: Those seminal early papers were crisp and minimalist; they looked forward with remarkable prescience to the wild and woolly, out-of-control world of modern international macroeconomics.
positive: The early papers were short and to the point; they were forward looking and prescient to the wild world of modern macroeconomics.
negative: The early papers were not short and to the point; they were backward looking and not prescient to the wild world of modern macroeconomics.