National Power And The Structure Of Foreign Trade

This study begins with a brief survey of economic thought on the relationship between foreign trade and national power, from the Mercantilists on. Chapter II attempts a systematic theoretical approach to the subject. It first makes clear the fundamental basis of the possible use of foreign trade as an instrument of national power policy. Using well-known concepts of economic analysis, it proceeds to show under what conditions and by means of what policies this instrument is likely to attain its highest efficiency. The principles of power policy thus deduced theoretically are then compared with the actual practices followed by German trading methods in recent years. Toward the end of this chapter the reader will be carried into a detailed discussion of certain problems of the theory of international trade, which are touched upon earlier in the chapter. Chapter III is applied to the historical background of our problem. It gives a survey of the literature on "economic aggression" before and during World War I and brings out the importance of the Paris Economic Conference of the Allies in 1916 for the Versailles Treaty and postwar economic policies. In Chapter IV we review in the light of our theoretical and historical analyses certain safeguards or remedies which could be or have been proposed to prevent the use of foreign trade as an instrument of national power policies. Certain questions raised in Part 1 can be answered in quantitative terms. Part 2 consists, therefore, of an exposition of various trends of international trade in recent years disclosed by statistical analysis. In Chapter V we calculate an index number expressing the extent to which the trade of the large trading nations is or has been directed by preference toward the smaller trading countries. Chapter VI gives index numbers for the degree of concentration of their foreign trade on one or a few big markets or sources of supply. Finally, in Chapter VII we measure the extent to which world trade has been based primarily on an exchange of manufactures against raw materials and foodstuffs. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1945, with an expanded edition published in 1980.

One of the most prominent economic philosophers of the 19th century, on a par with-but espousing quite different thinking than-Karl Marx and Adam Smith explores, in the three-volume National System of Political Economy, a reasoned doctrine of national and pan-national management of trade, a global collaboration between government and business. In Volume 2, he delineates his theory of supportive interconnectedness, discussing everything from the value of the individual's ability to produce wealth to the edge established businesses have over new ones. A close reading of this 1841 classic is an absolute necessity for anyone who hopes to understand world economic history of the last 150 years. German economist and journalist FRIEDRICH LIST (1789-1846) served as professor of administration and politics at the University of T bingen, but was later jailed and later exiled to America for his political views. His is also the author of Outlines of American Political Economy (1827).

The essays here address the relationship between economic interdependence and international conflict, the political economy of economic sanctions, and the role of economic incentives in international statecraft.

In an international political economy characterised both by constancy and change, this study, first published in 1996, links together one seemingly incongruous continuity in international trade relations with an increasingly dramatic development in the economies of industrial countries. On the one hand, industrialised countries have become progressively dependent upon one another. On the other hand, the liberal international trade regime has yet to falter. These two points are tied together by seeking to explain the maintenance of liberal trade relations in terms of the mutual economic dependence of industrial countries. In particular, the study examines what may be a fundamental constraint on trade protectionism today: the reliance of industrialised countries on external trade relations, and especially on markets within the industrial world.

In this innovative synthesis and reconstruction of the role of trade in Latin American development, the author asks what have been the political terms of trade in Latin America, and why have they differed so much from the multilateral and national trade politics of the advanced capitalist countries, especially the United States? He shows, in great detail, how a new conceptual approach to this question can help us to understand why, and with what limits, Latin America now seems ready to accept the mantle of free trade. This book is a unique attempt to link some of the most provocative hypotheses from the literatures of international trade, development, regional economic history, and resource management to national politics in Latin America. It takes a fresh look at old academic questions, critiques the received knowledge on trade, and offers some new data, documents, and indexes. To the standard literature on Latin American trade, the author adds insights and information from other literatures - resource conservation, poverty alleviation, and national development strategies, to name a few. The current trend toward looking at constraints and possibilities in the trade system is reshaped to ask familiar questions in a concrete, empirical way. What changes in development design come from external shock, and under what conditions? Does the pressure of the international system actually force Latin American countries to alter their rates and kinds of natural resource exploitation? Can a political course of export promotion address the debt crisis effectively? Are the multilateral trade negotiations a useful format for Latin American trade and development problems? And, finally, can we sayanything with authority about Latin America as a region?

This book is the eagerly awaited successor to Robert Gilpin's 1987 The Political Economy of International Relations, the classic statement of the field of international political economy that continues to command the attention of students, researchers, and policymakers. The world economy and political system have changed dramatically since the 1987 book was published. The end of the Cold War has unleashed new economic and political forces, and new regionalisms have emerged. Computing power is increasingly an impetus to the world economy, and technological developments have changed and are changing almost every aspect of contemporary economic affairs. Gilpin's Global Political Economy considers each of these developments. Reflecting a lifetime of scholarship, it offers a masterful survey of the approaches that have been used to understand international economic relations and the problems faced in the new economy. Gilpin focuses on the powerful economic, political, and technological forces that have transformed the world. He gives particular attention to economic globalization, its real and alleged implications for economic affairs, and the degree to which its nature, extent, and significance have been exaggerated and misunderstood. Moreover, he demonstrates that national policies and domestic economies remain the most critical determinants of economic affairs. The book also stresses the importance of economic regionalism, multinational corporations, and financial upheavals. Gilpin integrates economic and political analysis in his discussion of "global political economy." He employs the conventional theory of international trade, insights from the theory of industrial organization, and endogenous growth theory. In addition, ideas from political science, history, and other disciplines are employed to enrich understanding of the new international economic order. This wide-ranging book is destined to become a landmark in the field.

This work defines weak states and their strengths and weaknesses. It examines why they are weak and their position in different international systems as well as their economic positions.