Product recalls spanning toys, children's products, food, pet food, and automobiles have increased dramatically in the recent past. Consequently, the safety of imported products has been pushed to the top of the agenda for companies, consumers, and governments. It has often been argued that recalls occur due to differences among national standards, cost pressures and opportunistic behavior by companies. However, analysis of US toy recalls over a 20 year period reveals that the key to decreasing recalls and harm from defective products lies in improving product designs, learning from recalls and swiftly acting on incidents. Together, these point to the inherent dangers in the disaggregation of value chain and the need to effectively manage those dangers.

Catherine Gwin examines the evolution of U.S. policy toward the World Bank and the impact of the United States on the institution's policies and operations. Beginning with the U.S. role in the start-up of the Bank, Gwin describes the ebb and flow of the U.S. support: the increasing activism of Congress in U.S.-World Bank policy starting in the 1970s, the breakdown in the bipartisan character of support for the Bank in the early 1980s, followed by renewed U.S. attention in response to the debt crisis, and the later entry of Russia and other transforming economies into the Bank. Gwin disputes both those who see the Bank as under the thumb of the United States and those who see it as unresponsive to U.S. concerns. She suggests that the U.S. policy toward the World Bank has always reflected an underlying ambivalence toward both development assistance and multilateral cooperation. As a result, U.S. policy in the Bank has been erraticoften reflecting the swings in U.S. politics and foreign policy rather than presenting a coherent view of the development financing role of the World Bank and a rigorous concern for the effectiveness of Bank operations.

Foreign Exchange in Practice, now in its 3rd edition, is the single reference to the foreign exchange market any financial practitioner needs to have. It explains the concepts involved in foreign exchange and their application to real-life situations. The book was originally developed as a textbook for the Citibank Bourse Course, an intensive course available to clients and staff of Citibank to improve their mastery of these complex markets. The course has been taught in 50 countries since 1975. This new edition includes the Euro amongst its currencies, expansion of material on interest rate concepts, exotic options and value at risk.

The international carriage of goods by sea has been regulated by international conventions. These includethe "International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law relating to Bills of Lading" ("Hague Rules"); the "Protocol to Amend the International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law Relating to Bills of Lading" ("Visby Rules"); and the "UN Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea." They were adopted in 1924, 1968 and 1978 respectively and the transport industry's commercial needs have since substantially changed. Furthermore the advent of subsequent regimes has resulted in the uniformity in the carriage of goods by sea once provided by the Hague Rules being lost. In order to update and modernize existing regimes the "UN Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea" ("Rotterdam Rules") was adopted on December 11, 2008 by the UN General Assembly and opened for signature on September 23, 2009. Since then drafters of the Rotterdam Rules, academics and practitioners have been publicizing, discussing, and evaluating the Rules. This book is an effort to further explore those same goals.
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While major theories of economic regionalism in the existing literature are primarily constructed to explore institutionalized regional integration, European integration in particular, the analytical framework developed in this work explains the unique process and pattern of regional integration in East Asia.

This book contains a set of essays by eminent international scholars from Australia, New Zealand, the U.K. and the U.S. It addresses the issues of globalisation and international competitiveness and includes discussions of market power, competition policy and the effects of foreign trade, globalisation and the labour market. The contributors also examine economic integration and regional policy cooperation, trade and communications, economic growth, including export led growth and foreign direct investment in developing countries, and the diffusion of technology.

This work is a view of the pressures that Europe faces over the coming decades. It cogently demonstrates how a new world order of market forces is coercing Europe to modernise. Drawing on five years of research, this book shows that for Europe, free markets do not directly equate to greater international competitiveness. Accessible, provocative and stimulating, After Liberalisation provides a radical vision of Europe in the global economy of the twenty first century.

The twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall saw many reflect on the political, economic and social changes of recent years. The legacy of communism and the economic prospects of post-communist countries are rigorously analysed in this stimulating study of the long term consequences of transition.

In 1999 a number of member states of the European Union will adopt a common currency. This change in the monetary system requires that a Eur opean Central Bank is set up and a common monetary policy is pursued. There is general agreement among those countries which are likely to join the common currency that price level stability has to be the ultimate objec tive of monetary po1icy. It is an open issue, however, what kind of policy is best suited for that purpose. The alternative strategies under discussion are a direct inflation targeting, an intermediate monetary targeting or a mixture of both. For these policy strategies a stable money demand relation is of cen tral importance. Therefore a workshop on Money Demand in Europe was organized at the Humboldt University in Berlin on October 10/11, 1997. This research conference brought together academic and central bank econo mists and econometricians predominantly from Europe to discuss issues on specification, estimation and, in particular, stability of money demand rela tions both in a single equation and in a systems framework. In this volume revised versions of the papers presented and discussed at the workshop are collected. The volume thereby gives an overview of money demand analysis in Europe on the eve of the introduction of the Euro in some European countries. It contributes to the discussion on a suitable monetary policy for the new European Central Bank."

The Stability and Growth Pact provides for the systematic surveillance of the fiscal policies of 25 EU member states. On this basis, this book provides an overview of themes in current fiscal policy, including the impact of ageing populations on fiscal sustainability, fiscal policy over the cycle, fiscal decentralization and expenditure reforms.

This study argues that owing to the wide diversity of nations, their often conflicting policies, and insistence on preserving their sovereignty, the processes of worldwide integration are facilitated by tying these countries together in a system of flexible exchange rates externally, while putting in place a rules-oriented monetary regime internally. The examination of the various issues involved in such an arrangement focuses on money and monetary policy drawing on historical, theoretical, philosophical, and empirical results.

In this book, Thompson and Hickson strongly challenge the standard interpretation of the basis of growth and viability of dominant wealthy nations. Briefly, efforts of the economically wealthy and the government leaders to increase their wealth and protect it from aggressors, internal and external, are cast in a new evolutionary light. The challenge is to the idea that societies' leading intellectual formulators of political and social policy have been helpful. Their alternative, and persuasive, interpretation is that the rise and survival of wealthier nations has been achieved because of an effective democracy'. The authors explain why an effective democratic state must avoid narrow, short-sighted', rational-appearing concessions to a sequence of aggressors. In short, the Thompson-Hickson interpretation of the rise of wealthy dominant nations does not rely on the advice of superior intellectual advisors, but instead rests on the pragmatic, almost ad hoc, actions of democratic legislators.

This book shows how the three most important countries in South America have responded to the challenges of globalization since the mid-1960s: the first OPEC price hike, the Third World debt crisis leading to the “lost-decade” for the continent, and, finally, bold but often ill-planned neo-liberal reforms of the 1990s. Latin America will experience another cycle of structural changes in the coming decades, as the reforms of the 1980s and 1990s failed to produce the desired effects of social justice, fair income distribution, sustainable growth, and consolidation of democracy.

The Eastern Enlargement of the EU will not be complete until the new member states join the EMU. Economic and political economy arguments point to fast EMU accession of new member states. Failure to do so will create a two speed Europe, a fundamental change in the economic and political architecture of the EU, adding to the strains already evident between core and peripheral countries. Current high level of trade and business cycle integration of new member states with the Eurozone, decreases the probability of asymmetric shocks. Lower transaction costs, elimination of exchange rate risk and the danger of currency crises, further trade and investment creation, lower interest rates and large fiscal gains, should outweigh the loss of the exchange rate as adjustment tool. The Eastern Enlargement of the Eurozone provides comprehensive economic analysis of theoretical, empirical and political issues that will determine whether EMU enlargement is a success, which has implications for all common currency systems.

<I>Ideology and International Economy</I> is the first major study of the intellectual and institutional forces which combined to undermine the Bretton Woods system of fixed exchange rates. In two decades, Milton Friedman's "case for flexible exchange rates" was transformed from a minority academic viewpoint to the operational framework for the international monetary system. In the process, the International Monetary Fund was defeated, sidelined and in danger of becoming an irrelevant organization.

This open access book focuses on public actors with a role in the settlement of investment disputes. Traditional studies on actors in international investment law have tended to concentrate on arbitrators, claimant investors and respondent states. Yet this focus on the "principal" players in investment dispute settlement has allowed a number of other seminal actors to be neglected. This book seeks to redress this imbalance by turning the spotlight on the latter. From the investor's home state to domestic courts, from sub-national governments to international organisations, and from political risk insurance agencies to legal defence teams in national ministries, the book critically reviews these overlooked public actors in international investment law.

Why do critics and celebrants of globalization concur that international trade and finance represent an inexorable globe-bestriding force with a single logic? The Known Economy shows that both camps rest on the same ideas about how the world is scaled. Two centuries ago romantic and rationalist theorists concurred that the world was divided into discrete nations, moving at different rates toward a "modernity", split between love and money. Though differing over whether this history is tragedy or triumph, they united in projecting an empty "international" space in which a Moloch-like global capitalism could lurk. The Known Economy tracks the colonial development of national accounting and re-examines the ways gender and heteronormativity are built in to economic representation. It re-interprets the post-WWII spread of standardized economic statistics as the project of international organizations looking over the shoulders of national governments, rather than the expanding power of national governments over populations.

This completely revised and updated version of John Williamson's successful textbook, The Open Economy, is divided into six parts. It offers a broad perspective and clarity of exposition that made it a very suitable textbook for undergraduate students of international economics.

The first study in English on the subject, this volume explores the challenges facing Switzerland as the European Community (EC) moves toward the 1992 goal of a Europe without economic borders. The primary question addressed by the author is whether or not Switzerland can ultimately avoid becoming a full-fledged member of the EC. Rene Schwok fully explores the alternatives open to Switzerland, including marginalization and a Third Way between membership and marginalization, comparing the benefits and risks presented by each option. He examines the political and economic implications of full membership within the EC and analyzes Community rules and laws that are particularly relevant to Switzerland. Throughout, Schwok is careful to present a multifaceted approach which reflects both the economic and political issues confronted by Switzerland as the country struggles to reach a policy consensus regarding the EC.

Schwok begins by exposing the source of Switzerland's current problem--the acceleration of the community integration process. He then analyzes the EC's attitude toward Switzerland and evaluates the role played by the European Free Trade Association, paying special attention to efforts to establish a European Economic Space. By comparing the situation of Austria--which has exhibited much more interest in becoming a member of the EC--with that of Switzerland, Schwok sheds new light on Switzerland's reluctance to join. In discussing the effects of the European Internal Market on Switzerland, Schwok reveals the risks of marginalization should Switzerland decide not to join. He goes on to examine the Swiss government's proposed third option, analyzing both its prospects for success and its implications for the Swiss population. Finally, Schwok treats the long-term consequences of this option, asking whether it will allow sufficient proximity to the Internal Market to enable Switzerland to avoid membership or, on the contrary, serve only to pave the way for eventual membership in the EC. Students of international relations and European economics will find Schwok's work a well-reasoned and comprehensive study of Switzerland's choices as Europe approaches 1992.

This book investigates Central America's political economy seen through the lens of its powerful business groups. It provides unique insight into their strategies when confronted with a globalized economy, their impact on development of the isthmus, and how they shape the political and economic institutions governing local varieties of capitalism.

Internationalization of the economy accelerated at the turn of the century. Growing national, regional, and global environmental problems associated with globalization present new challenges for policy-makers and international cooperation. Crucial problems concern air pollution, environmental problems from trade and transportation, and global warming. This book, based on theoretical and empirical analysis, comes up with new and innovative policy options, including proposals related to the Kyoto protocol.

In the era of globalization, the role of multinational corporations (MNCs) is increasing in importance while the influence of nation-states is in a corresponding decline. Jain contends that this trend will benefit the cause of worldwide economic prosperity, which MNCs alone are positioned to deliver. The increasing availability of global capital, coupled with advances in computing and communications technology, has accelerated the process of doing business anywhere and everywhere. At the same time, barriers to foreign entities wishing to conduct business in Russia, China, India, Brazil, and Indonesia are falling away. As the process of globalization marches on, what can be done to ensure that material prosperity is the result? A Global Business Confederation, Jain argues, should be established to design rules that apply worldwide and that encourage MNCs to generate global economic prosperity in a manner responsive to cultural, social, and humanitarian concerns.

This study of Atlantic political relations since World War II uses a comparative perspective to analyse US foreign policy and US European relations in the context of a Western Europe attempting to speak with one voice. This book examines US policy towards European unity and the evolution of a Western European pillar in foreign policy and defense, contrasts US and European approaches toward specific global issues, and considers Atlantic relations in light of the dramatic European upheavals of 1989 and 1990. William Cronwell is the co-author of Political Problems of Atlantic Partnership.

At a time of global economic crisis and disillusionment with capitalism, Adodo offers refreshing and positive insight into a more integral way of business management, enterprise and community development as well as holistic healing in Africa. For over three decades, Africa was the recipient of billions of dollars in aid funds that were meant to catapult the continent from undeveloped to developed status. Yet the more the aid poured in, the poorer African countries became. The devastating effect of western economic models in Africa that followed is well documented. Integral Community Enterprise in Africa exposes the limitations of existing theories, such as capitalism, socialism and communism, and shows how western theories were imposed on Africa. Such imposition of concepts and ideas is not only demeaning but also unsustainable, serving only the interest of the elite. Father Anselm Adodo argues for the need to have a southern theory to serve as an alternative to western theories. The majority of African intellectuals and activists, while criticizing existing theories, often do not provide alternative theories to address the prevalent inadequacies entrenched in conventional social, political and economic systems. This revolutionary book aims to address this lapse and proposes the theory of communitalism as a more indigenous, sustainable and integral approach to tackling the social, political, economic and developmental challenges of today's Africa. There is an African alternative to capitalism, socialism and communism - a surer path to sustainable development in and from Africa. This is a book that is positioned at the very core of a much needed African Renaissance. A profoundly new approach to development in Africa, this is essential reading for anyone concerned with authentic development in Africa and in the world.

This insightful research review discusses some of the most influential papers in the economics field of global value chains. Focusing on globalization, fragmentation and coordination of production across geographical as well as enterprise boundaries. It pays particularly close attention to how businesses in developing countries are incorporated into global production and distribution networks. The review analyses many of the texts that framed the global value chain approach together with in-depth case-studies of particular sectors and policy-oriented research concerned with reducing poverty and accelerating growth in poorer countries. This review would be of great interest to students and researchers working in the fields of globalisation, geography and international business.