International Institutions In Trade And Finance

Originally published in 1981, this book provided an up-to-date and critical review of the recent history and current status of the main economic institutions affecting international trade and relations at the time. The authors emphasise the economic effectiveness or otherwise of such bodies as GATT, IMF, EEC, UNCTAD and the World Bank, but take account of the political factors present in both the initial ‘design’ and in the way that the institutions have developed. In particular, the book analyses the changed degree of dominance which the USA had been able to exert on the international community.

Peter Coffey and Robert J. Riley, in Reform of the International Institutions, offer positive proposals for change in the sweeping horizon of economic institutions including the WTO. Their book also includes documents that help with research on the topic. Richard Fulton, Choice At no period since the creation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and World Trade Organisation (WTO) has it been a more opportune time to examine the work, reform and future of the international monetary and trading systems. In this comprehensive examination, the authors provide original, independent assessments of these institutions from both an American and European perspective and offer proposals for reform and improvement. The seemingly endless problems encountered by the IMF, WTO and World Bank provide major reasons for seeking reform. However, an additional impetus is the changing balance of economic power in the world. The volume begins with an overview of the Bretton Woods and international trading systems. Following this are discrete, in-depth discussions of the three institutions from American and European points of view. The authors emphasise the need for making the IMF and World Bank more regional in structure and, like the European Bank, more frugal in the lifestyles of their officials. Similarly, they call for a narrower focus in the mission of the World Bank and the IMF. In the case of the WTO, they call for a democratic reform of the organisation comprising participation by experts and, above all, better representation and support for Third World countries. Scholars and students of political economy, as well as those interested in the history and reform of international institutions, will find this an enlightening and necessary addition to their library.

This book brings together a collection of papers on international trade and international finance, instead of treating the two as disjoint fields of study. The volume, while focusing on the recent developments and frontiers of research in international trade and international finance, also emphasizes the inherent integrated nature of the two subjects; some of the papers are overlapping across the two areas. A unique feature of the proposed volume is that it unravels some new issues in addition to re-examining certain old issues in a new perspective and thus covers wide ranging issues with an emphasis on policy. The book covers issues mostly relating to emerging market economies, which has increasingly assumed importance in the context of globalization. The book contains some survey papers covering the frontiers of current knowledge on important themes like recent developments in trade theory and empirics, foreign exchange market, institutions in trade and finance, interrelation and interaction between international trade and international finance. The papers, fruit of rigorous and original research, are written by internationally and nationally reputed authors along with promising young researchers on the subjects. The book substantially contributes to the growing literature on issues relating to trade and international finance in emerging market economies and extends the frontiers of knowledge. The book is expected to have the widest possible readership comprising of advanced undergraduate and graduate students as well as senior researchers working in international trade and international finance.

Trade Agreements and Financial Services examines the cross-border agreements that have historically been focused on the trade of merchandise goods. Increasingly, emphasis is being placed on the provision of cross-border services. Notable among these are financial services. There is a clear link between economic development and the availability of financial products. Moreover, the financial services sector is, itself, a major industry that is fueling growth. The conditions under which financial services are offered in an international context are the subject of debate in the Western Hemisphere, Europe, Asia, and Latin America.

Identifying the relevant multilateral institutions and multinational organizations involved in particular aspects of international finance and trade often proves to be difficult. This book makes that process easy while providing valuable descriptions of and insights into those institutions and organizations. Chapter topics examine multilateral institutions and organizations: - generally and their major umbrella organization--the United Nations; - concerned with national currencies, national solvency, financial institutions and securities exchange, and international financial transactions and securities; - promoting economic development; - regulating international trade; - dealing with international product and performance standards, standardized legal commercial rules, and common usages and documents through international conventions and treaties, the harmonization of national commercial laws, and accepted sectoral practices; - protecting international intellectual property rights; - managing international environmental, commodities, and natural resources matters; - resolving international disputes; and - involved with other international finance and trade matters. No other book now in print covers this topic. None is likely to ever do so with such thoroughness and clarity. Published under the Transnational Publishers imprint.

What made me write this book was a feeling that students of international economics needed to fill out their knowledge of the theory with work on the practice of the major international economic organizations, many of which are having a growing influence on the national economies of their members. There was no single volume given over to a concise treatment of these organizations. The annual reports of the international organizations themselves can be consulted, of course, but as a rule these are not noted for being brief and to the point (the items of importance have to be fished out of a sea of useless detail), nor do they go in for criticism of their own activities. In selecting the organizations to be dealt with in the book I was guided by the influence they exert. I have left out those whose activities consist mainly in the drafting of recommendations to which, however meritorious they may be, little or no attention is paid. Some of them are included in the Introduction, which provides a summary of a number of institutions not discussed separately in the body of the work. There are, however, two exceptions: the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) as the organization replac ing the Organization for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC), and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) whose meet ings have succeeded in drawing much attention of the press.

An assessment of the relationship between the major international economic organizations (IEOs) and the developing countries. The emphasis is on the role of multilateral actors and therefore the organizations discussed are intergovernmental rather than nongovernmental.