The book is a collection of essays written by scholars of global repute in honour of Professor Sunanda Sen. Each paper is well-researched and offers some new dimension to the understanding of the current global crisis, finance and labour including the epistemological viewpoints regarding the current global order. The uniqueness of the book is that in one place one can find different heterodox positions dealing with the present global order of finance and labour - post-Keynesian, Marxist etc. The contents of the book can be classified into three major sections - (1) global finance dealing with current global crisis; (2) methodological/epistemological concerns in terms of the global crisis, and (3) labour in the context of neoliberal global capitalism characterised by the process of financialisation. The entire book is an attempt to decipher the meaning and significance the process of financialisation produces for the real economy. One of the major conclusions drawn from the different studies in the book relates to the fact that global finance as it has been shaped today cannot delinked from the question of labour. The current global finance regime warrants neoliberal labour flexibility regime, the latter guaranteeing the necessary surplus generation for the pervasive finance. This book offers an analysis of current global crisis relating it to the present-day global finance and labour in terms of the process of neoliberal financialisation a flexible labour regime. It is based on non-mainstream heterodox approach in Economics and as such is a critique of the mainstream neoclassical position on current global crisis. The contents of the book will be of immense use to the researchers and students dealing with current global crisis, global finance and labour.

Who were the great thinkers on international finance in the mid-twentieth century? What did they propose should be done to create a stable international financial order for promoting world trade and economic growth?

This important book studies the ideas of some of the most innovative economists in the mid-twentieth century including three Nobel Laureates; great thinkers who helped shape the international financial system and the role of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Covering the period from the late 1940s up until the collapse of the fixed US dollar-gold link in 1971, the impact of Hansen, Williams, Graham, Triffin, Simons, Viner, Friedman, Johnson, Mises, Rueff, Rist, Hayek, Heilperin and Ropke is assessed. This outstanding book will prove invaluable to students studying international economics, economic history and the history of economic thought.

Portfolio theory and much of asset pricing, as well as many empirical applications, depend on the use of multivariate probability distributions to describe asset returns. Traditionally, this has meant the multivariate normal (or Gaussian) distribution. More recently, theoretical and empirical work in financial economics has employed the multivariate Student (and other) distributions which are members of the elliptically symmetric class. There is also a growing body of work which is based on skew-elliptical distributions. These probability models all exhibit the property that the marginal distributions differ only by location and scale parameters or are restrictive in other respects. Very often, such models are not supported by the empirical evidence that the marginal distributions of asset returns can differ markedly. Copula theory is a branch of statistics which provides powerful methods to overcome these shortcomings. This book provides a synthesis of the latest research in the area of copulae as applied to finance and related subjects such as insurance. Multivariate non-Gaussian dependence is a fact of life for many problems in financial econometrics. This book describes the state of the art in tools required to deal with these observed features of financial data. This book was originally published as a special issue of the European Journal of Finance.

The book is motivated by the disruptions introduced by the financial crisis and the many attempts that have followed to propose new ideas and remedies. Assembling contributions by authors from a variety of backgrounds, this collection illustrates the potentials resulting from the marriage of financial economics, complexity theory and an out-of-equilibrium view of the economic world. Challenging the traditional hypotheses that lie behind financial market functioning, new evidence is provided about the hidden factors fuelling bubbles, the impact of agents' heterogeneity, the importance of endogeneity in the information transmission mechanism, the dynamics of herding, the sources of volatility, the portfolio optimization techniques, the financial innovation and the trend identification in a nonlinear time-series framework. Presenting the advances made in financial market analysis, and putting emphasis on nonlinear dynamics, this book suggests interdisciplinary methodologies for the study of well-known stylised facts and financial abnormalities. This book was originally published as a special issue of The European Journal of Finance.

The countries of Central and Eastern Europe have been through a profound transition process for more than a decade now. The financial sectors and markets in the region have been subject to major structural reforms including privatization, liberalization and the acquisition by foreign banks of controlling interests in local financial institutions.
This important new book includes papers that chart this process. Topics discussed include the implications of future EU membership, and the strategies pursued by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

Financial crises have dogged the international monetary system over recent years. They have impoverished millions of people around the world, especially within developing countries. And they have called into question the very process of globalisation. Yet there remains no intellectual consensus on how best to avert such crises - much less resolve them. Policymakers stand at a crossroads. This volume summarises and evaluates these issues, drawing on contributions by prominent international experts in the field. It considers whether the IMF may have actually fanned the flames of future crises through its lending decisions. It assesses the contribution made by private creditors in resolving past crises - and asks what mechanisms might best be used to involve private creditors in the future. It also assesses the merits of two recent competing blueprints for architectural reform - the so-called contractual and statutory approaches to crisis resolution. These issues will shape the debate on the future of the international monetary system over the next decade and, probably, beyond. For although crises may always be with us, better public policy can surely help mitigate their future cost and incidence. With an impressive array of internationally based contributors, this book will deserve a place on the bookshelves of economists and policy-makers in both the official and private sectors.

The whirlwind of financial globalization has descended upon emerging market economies and rapid change has brought both benefits and problems upon a dynamic group of nations.
This book examines the impact of ever increasing financial globalization on emerging market economies, both in the former communist countries of Eastern Europe and the developing world in general. This impressive volume covers themes and issues such as:
*global capital flows and financial liberalization
*global financial architecture
*financial and macroeconomic instability
Financial Globalization and the Emerging Market Economies will be of interest to students and academics in many areas including international economics, international finance and international political economy. It will also provide a useful source of information for those who work in the financial industry at large.

This timely book provides an innovative examination of financial integration in the European Union - an issue that has become of paramount importance in view of the commencement of European Economic and Monetary Union. The author begins by assessing three different methods of financial integration in the European Union: interest parity conditions, savings-investment correlations and consumption correlations. He goes on to examine the fundamental determinants of financial integration and analyses the factors likely to influence the movement of capital within the European Union. The blend of empirical and theoretical research provides the reader with a comprehensive account of the progress made in integrating financial markets in the European Union. Integrating Financial Markets in the European Union will be essential reading for students and scholars of monetary economics, international finance and European integration. It will also prove useful to practitioners and policymakers working in central banking and government.

The use of the US dollar for domestic monetary transactions outside the USA has gone on for many years now - Panama in 1904 being the earliest example. Since the advent of the Euro, the debate over the benefits of monetary integration has warmed up - particularly for NAFTA countries.
This collection, with contributions from experts such as Philip Arestis, Malcolm Sawyer and Stephanie Bell, examines the various problems and benefits involved in monetary integration and covers the causes of Euro instability, monetary policy in non-optimal currency unions, financial openness and dollarization and the question of dollarization in Canada.
This book addresses one of the burning policy issues in Europe and America: is monetary union worthwhile? The readable yet comprehensive style of this book will make it of interest not only to academics and students involved in European integration, financial liberalization and dollarization, but will also be an important book for policy-makers at intergovernmental level.

Financial markets across the Arabian Peninsula have gone from being small, quasi-medieval structures in the 1960s to large world-class groupings of financial institutions. This evolution has been fueled by vast increases in income from oil and natural gas. The Financial Markets of the Arab Gulf presents and analyzes the banks, stock markets, investment companies, money changers and sovereign wealth funds that have grown from this oil wealth and how this income has acted as a buffer between Gulf society at large and the newfound cash reserves of Gulf Cooperation Council states (Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain) over the last fifty years. By assessing the development of institutions like the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority, the Public Investment Fund and the National Bank of Kuwait, The Financial Markets of the Arab Gulf evaluates the growth of the markets and provides a detailed, critical, snapshot of the current form and function of the Gulf's financial markets. It argues that the markets have been controlled by various state institutions for socio-political reasons. In particular, the Saudi state has used its sophisticated regulatory regime to push for industrialization and diversification, which culminated in the Vision 2030 plan. The UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman have also been strongly involved in establishing modern markets for similar purposes but have done so through different means, with varying results, and each in line with what has been considered their respective comparative advantages. Along with critically surveying these institutions and their role in global finance, the book also presents case studies depicting transactions typical to the region, including the highly profitable documentary credits of commercial banks, the financial scandal of certain financiers and their regulatory arbitrage between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, a review of the Dubai's trade miracle, and an assessment of the value and importance of the privatization of Saudi Aramco.

Bringing together top international researchers this book provides a worldwide coverage of underground economic activities. It presents estimates of the underground economy for 145 countries - the most comprehensive ever undertaken; an in-depth examination of the underground economy for a select number of these countries; and an analysis of the public policy implications through an assessment of how various governments have attempted to address this issue. The book brings together the latest research on tax evasion, tax morale and other underlying factors that have so significantly influenced participation in the underground economy. It provides a comprehensive overview of the size and development of the underground economy, its major causes and motivations and its effects on the legitimate economy. In addition, it reviews recent public policy concerns by a number of countries and how they have responded with measures to curb these underground economic activities.

The International Monetary Fund has been criticised from both the right and the left of the political spectrum with the right arguing that it is too interventionist and creates more problems than it solves and the left on occasion demanding that it be abolished altogether. What seems almost beyond question is that the IMF needs to be reformed.
Defining a future role for the IMF will always be a controversial issue, but vital to any considerations will be a measured assessment of how it has operated in the past. This excellent new book from an internationally respected expert on the IMF intends to do just that. Starting with an historical background tracing the evolution of the IMF, the book goes on to cover such themes as:
*The circumstances under which countries turn to the IMF
*The various aspects of IMF conditionality
*Institutional issues such as lending facilities and how the fund is resourced.
Bringing together an array of articles, this excellent new book will undoubtedly be required reading for anyone with a serious interest in development studies as well as being an eye-opening read for policy makers involved with the IMF.

Drug trafficking is the most visible part of the profits of organized crime, which have grown considerably since the end of the cold war. The mirror of history shows us the impact of the drug trade in the colonization of Asia. The post cold war geopolitical context reproduces elements of the past, with new opportunities for drug trafficking in the globalization process, as can be seen in the example of China, and the lasting impunity in terms of money laundering. With the growing role of offshore locations in the global financial system, criminal prosperity has even affected the economic stability of some countries. This book presents a new and heterodox interpretation of the post cold war financial crisis, by focusing on the unexplored dimension of illicit actors.
The Mexican crisis of 1994 and its 'tequila effect' is analyzed as a model of a 'cocaine effect' from the local laundering of profits from the sale of drugs in the US. The Japanese crisis of the 1990s is put in relation to the economic influence of the Yakuza on the real estate bubble, which had the effect of postponing necessary market adjustments. And the Thai crisis of 1997 is analyzed in the light of massive money laundering of institutional and criminal networks, whose undeclared profits represent about 10% of GDP.

This title was first published in 2003. Covering a diverse range of countries such as Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Russia, as well as referring to the characteristics of the region as a whole, this book examines the inflow and outflow of foreign direct investment from both home and host company and country perspectives. By analyzing foreign direct investment in terms of process, content and context, the book provides a holist approach towards direct foreign investment in the transitional context of Central and Eastern Europe, embracing both macro- and micro-economic perspectives of the process.

Originally published in 1979, Inside the City looks at The City of London as one of the important financial centres in the world. The book provides an interesting insight into the City as a major centre of international banking, asking key questions such as, how long the city can last as a major centre, how do its services compare with other centres, and what it can do to maintain its present position? The book examines how the great network of markets and institutions that make up the City operated when the book was written, providing key chapters on the Stock Exchange, institutional and private investors, the banking world, including foreign and merchant banks, the commodity and money markets, Euromarkets, Sterling and insurance. This book will be of interest to those studying or researching in the field of economics and finance.

Originally published in 1979, The Investment Behaviour of British Life Insurance Companies provides a critical analysis of the investment policy of the life insurance industry for the period of 1962-76, and attempts to construct an econometric model of the investment behaviour. It looks at the portfolio composition of life funds and their position in the markets for securities in terms of their gross purchases and sales and net acquisitions. It also considers the principles on which life offices appear to operate the principles on which life offices appear to operate in respect of investing their 'reserves' to meet future contingent liabilities. This book will appeal to those working in the field of economic and business.

Originally published in 1996, The International Guide to Securities Market Indices provides a comprehensive overview of the securities market indices and offers assistance to professionals as well as individual investors in the selection of an appropriate securities market index, on a worldwide basis. The Guide's identifies and catalogues available performance indicators along with their publishers and describes their relevant characteristics and a perspective on their historical price and total return performance. It also contains descriptive profiles along with historical performance data on 400 of the world's leading global, regional and local securities market indices and sub-indices covering 10 asset classes.

World Financial Orders challenges the predominance of neo-liberalism as a mode of knowledge about contemporary world finance, and claims that it neglects the social and political bases as well as the malign consequences of change. He looks to the field of International Political Economy (IPE) to construct an alternative mode, one that critically restores society and politics. An 'historical' approach to IPE is advanced that accounts for modern world finance since the seventeenth century as a succession of structurally distinct hierarchical social orders.
This book will be of interest to those working in the field of IPE and to those scholars, researchers and students from across the social sciences who seek to challenge the common-sense, neo-liberal explanation of contemporary world finance.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203166833

An outstanding work, written to celebrate the seventieth birthday of Jagdish Bhagwati; the foremost defender of free trade and its role in developing economies in the world today, this rigorously academic and critical volume represents an important contribution to the understanding of many aspects of globalization. The editors, affiliated with four of the leading economics departments in the USA bring together a stellar line of contributors from across the world to discuss the themes and arguments raised by Bhagwati's latest work. A renowned professor of economics and regarded as one of the foremost international trade economist of modern times, Jagdish Bhagwati has written or edited over forty books including In Defence of Globalization and Free Trade Today as well as being the founding editor of Economics and Politics and The Journal of International Economics. A tribute to the great intellectual accomplishments and the inspiration that Jagdish Bhagwati provided to the field during his prolific and influential career, this book is a must read for all students and academics studying or working in international trade and development economics.

Recent crises in emerging markets have raised doubts about the desirability of relaxing controls on capital mobility. George Fane, however, uses evidence from the crises in Asia and Latin America to reassert the traditional case that such controls are an excessively blunt instrument for achieving financial stability. This book argues that recent official proposals for reforming the 'international financial architecture' are also unlikely to reduce the frequency of currency and financial crises to an acceptable level. The author proposes an alternative plan to achieve greater financial stability: * banks should have to double the currently accepted percentage of capital to risk-weighted assets from 8 to 16 percent and the risk-weights for loans to emerging markets should also be raised substantially * the financial sectors in emerging markets should be fully opened to foreign competition * bankruptcy procedures in emerging markets should be greatly strengthened * central banks should adopt flexible exchange rates, backed by credible targets for inflation or monetary growth. If flexible exchange rates are not adopted, central banks should at least avoid the widespread practice of trying to sterilise the monetary effects of capital flows The author argues that the implementation of this plan will be a far more effective way of enhancing financial stability than controlling international capital flows, or trying to force private lenders to make new loans to countries that suffer crises. This book will be required reading for scholars and policymakers in the areas of international financial economics, financial regulation, development economics and Asian studies.

Civil Society and Global Finance brings together twenty activists, officials and researchers from the five continents to discuss this burning question of today's globalization debate. Providing rare, authoritative analyses by those who deal with the issues first hand, Civil Society and Global Finance is rich in insight and policy ideas for decision-makers, students and concerned citizens.

This book explores how the concept of "competition", which is usually associated with market economies, operated under state socialism in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, where the socialist system, based on command economic planning and state-centred control over society, was supposed to emphasise "co-operation", rather than competitive mechanisms. The book considers competition in a wider range of industries and social fields across the Soviet bloc, and shows how the gradual adoption and adaptation of Western practices led to the emergence of more open competitiveness in socialist society. The book includes discussion of the state's view of competition, and focuses especially on how competition operated at the grassroots level. It covers politico-economic reforms and their impact, both overall and at the enterprise level; competition in the cultural sphere; and the huge effect of increasing competition on socialist ways of thinking.

The last decade has seen a massive increase in international capital flows to emerging markets. This development has offered opportunities to those countries that have opened themselves up to overseas capital, but it has also created risks.
In this volume, a team of policymakers and academics from 14 different countries, as well as representatives of the international financial institutions primarily responsible for responding to the crises, examine the challenges and options facing policymakers today. The book includes both detailed analysis of individual economies from around the world and in-depth analysis of the broad systemic issues of why crises occur and how we can prevent them. By looking at economies from many different parts of the world, the book provides a broad and comprehensive look at the similarities and differences in recent financial crises.

Based on previously unpublished archival records, this book studies the origins of Hong Kong's post war rise to global prominence. It explores the expansion of the gold market, stock market, banking system, foreign exchange market, and insurance in the years 1945-1965.
This book makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the development of Hong Kong, the impact of financial regulation and, more broadly, the role of financial centres in the international economy in the post war period.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203183290

The German state banks - or Landesbanks - are not only some of the largest banks in Germany but are also a dominant force in the international banking sector. These state-owned banks enjoy special privileges and government support which have made them major players in the global arena of banking and finance.Protected by the German taxpayer's seemingly bottomless pockets in the form of state warranties, Landesbanks are able to take part in financing some of the largest projects in the world. They occupy nearly fifty per cent of the top places in both Moody's and Standard and Poor's international rankings. Professor Sinn critically scrutinizes the privileges of the German Landesbanks and questions the justification of government intervention in the banking sector. He predicts that European integration and the introduction of the euro will lead to a fierce take-over battle between Europe's banks. He argues that, given the state warranties, it seems likely that the German Landesbanks will be among the winners in this battle and concludes that the German public banking system has grown far larger than is appropriate for a market economy. This timely book addresses issues of concern for European bankers and policymakers alike. It will also be of interest to students and scholars of financial economics, European integration and money and banking.