"Money Talks is an important and rigorous study that leads us to new understandings of influences on IMF activities. The question 'to whom is the IMF beholden?' is an urgent one for both scholars and political analysts. Gould's empirical work is sophisticated and the link between theory and analysis is exemplary. This gracefully-written book is a model of the social-scientific approach, and makes a major contribution to the study of the IMF, of international finance, and of the activities of international organizations more generally."--Lisa Martin, Harvard University
"This book substantially contributes to our understanding of one of the most powerful international institutions today, the IMF. It also illuminates an increasingly important aspect of international monetary relations--the interaction between private and public actors in the world economy."---Helen Milner, Princeton University

The current coronavirus pandemic fundamentally reshapes existing debates and processes in international development. The unprecedented (and rapidly evolving) crisis is generating a number of substantial challenges for developing economies. Governments in low-income nations often find it extremely hard to cope with the increased demand for health services, make prompt decisions and put them into action, protect vulnerable segments of society and offer immediate relief to affected economic sectors. This book provides a series of reflective chapters that demonstrate how several areas of international development have been severely affected by the Covid-19 outbreak. It provides an in-depth critical discussion on how the current pandemic influences several development outcomes (in the domains of poverty/inequality, health, education, migration, formal/informal employment, (de)globalisation, the extractive sector, climate change, water and the global financial system). Each chapter draws policy recommendations on relevant interventions that can alleviate the identified negative repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic, especially for the most vulnerable communities in the Global South.

Earthquakes, droughts, floods, and storms are natural hazards, but unnatural disasters are the deaths and damages that result from human acts of omission and commission. Every disaster is unique, but each exposes actions by individuals and governments at different levels that, had they been different, would have resulted in fewer deaths and less damage. Prevention is possible, and this book examines what it takes to do this cost-effectively. It looks at disasters primarily through an economic lens. Economists emphasize self-interest to explain how people choose the amount of prevention, insurance, and coping. But lenses can distort as well as sharpen images, so the book also draws from other disciplines: psychology to examine how people may misperceive risks, political science to understand voting patterns, and nutrition science to see how stunting in children after a disaster impairs cognitive abilities and productivity as adults much later. Peering into the future, it shows that while urbanization and climate change will increase exposure to hazards, vulnerability can be reduced if cities are better managed. This book will be of interest to government officials, urban planners, relief agencies, NGOs, donors, and other development practitioners ."

This book is an in-depth study of how to promote integrity and avoid fraud & corruption in the work of international organisations, in particular multilateral development banks, such as the European Investment Bank, World Bank, Asian/Inter-American/African Development Banks and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. A number of issues are reviewed, including procurement, compliance, corporate governance, business ethics, anti money laundering and a number of relevant case studies highlighted. In addition, effective methods and tools of prevention, proactive monitoring and detection are reviewed and, if misconduct is identified, sanctioning the perpetrators of such misconduct is discussed.

In this book, the author traces the emergence of the climate-related financial risks (CRFR) policy norm in central banking. During recent years, Central Banks (CBs) have increasingly started to care about climate change. This development is puzzling and has received surprisingly little scholarly attention so far. Why is it that CBs with a very narrow mandate like the ECB, start to tackle CRFR? What makes CBs adopt a new policy norm on climate change and sustainable development although this provokes discussions about their independence? Based on data collected through expert interviews triangulated with public sources, the author shows that the CRFR policy norm emerged in three steps. First, an epistemic community of think tanks and politically engaged academics framed the idea of CRFR and proposed a policy norm specifically focusing on CBs. Second, the epistemic community taught the CRFR policy norm to early-adopting CBs that acted as norm champions, which helped strengthen its social recognition in the central banking community. Third, the CRFR policy norm has been strengthened by activist campaigns demanding CBs to comply with the emerging new policy norm.

In this book Harold L. Vogel comprehensively and holistically examines the business economics and investment aspects of major components of the travel industry, including airlines, hotels, casinos, amusement and theme parks, cruise lines, and tourism. The book is designed as an economics-grounded text that uniquely integrates reviews of each sector's history with economics, accounting, and financial aspects and analysis. As such, it provides a concise, up-to-date reference guide for financial analysts, economists, industry executives, legislators and regulators, advertisers, and journalists interested in the economics, financing, and marketing of travel and tourism-related goods and services. The fourth edition of this well-established text updates, refreshes, and significantly broadens the coverage of tourism economics. It includes new sections on travel law and applications of big data and artificial intelligence technologies as well as additional material on demographic spending patterns, the online travel agency business, the pandemic's effects and affects on industry finances, expanded coverage of the cruise line industry, and information on the damage to tourist destinations caused by excessive pollution and traffic.

This book provides a comprehensive explanation of the financial services regulatory framework in 19 countries in the Middle East and Africa region, provided by leading commercial law firms in the jurisdictions. The analysis includes a description of the nature of the regulatory regime; recent regulatory developments; analysis of the regulatory bodies, their policies, operational activity and relationships; scope of regulatory responsibilities, their application and legal basis; explanation of the international context; future developments expected.

In this timely and provocative book, James Stent, a banker with decades of experience in Asian banking and fluency in Chinese language, explains how Chinese banks work, analyzes their strengths and weaknesses, and sets forth the challenges they face in a slowing economy. Without minimizing the real issues Chinese banks face, China's Banking Transformation challenges negative media accounts and reports of "China bears". Based on his 12 years of service on the boards of China Minsheng Bank, a privately owned listed bank, and China Everbright Bank, a state-controlled listed bank, the author brings the informed view of an insider to the reality of Chinese banking. China's Banking Transformation demonstrates that Chinese banks have transformed into modern, well-run commercial banks, playing a vital role supporting China's extraordinary economic growth. Acknowledging that China's banks are different from Western banks, the author explains that they are hybrid banks, borrowing extensively from Western models, but at the same time operating within a traditional Chinese cultural framework and in line with China's governance model. From his personal experience working at board level, Stent describes the governance and management of China's banks, including the role of the Communist Party. He sees China's banks as embedded in ancient concepts of how government and society work in China, and also as actors within a market socialist political economy. The Chinese banking system today bears similarities with banking in Northeast Asian "developmental states" of recent past, and also pre-1949 Chinese banking. As the first account of Chinese banking by a Westerner who has worked in China's banks, China's Banking Transformation should be read by anyone interested in the political economy of contemporary China, in Asian development issues, and in banking issues generally. The book dispels misconceptions and provides insight into the financial aspects of China's economic growth story.

The Cambridge Economic History of the Modern World offers an unprecedented global account of the emergence of modern economic growth and its spread across the world since 1700. Each volume provides a series of regional studies from across the globe, as well as thematic analyses of key factors governing differential outcomes in different parts of the global economy. Written by leading experts in economic history and covering topics such as demography and human development, capital and technology, living standards and inequality, geography and institutions, trade and migration, international finance, and warfare and empire, these volumes offer the most authoritative account to-date of modern economic growth.

This book provides first-hand insights on the modern considerations governing official reserve holdings and investment in different asset classes. Tremendous growth of central bank reserves has led to an increased focus on raising returns in addition to the traditional preference central banks have for maintaining liquid portfolios. Leading experts from central banks, investment banks and the academic community elucidate on this and related issues.The expert contributors adopt a unique approach in their explicit linkage of the increased focus on return by central banks and the implications of new accounting rules (IFRS) for income recognition and profit distribution. They also address the welfare gains and costs of accumulating foreign exchange reserves and the implications for the functioning of the global financial system, as well as: asset and currency diversification changing reserve management practices in the face of steeply growing official reserve holdings new risk management techniques profit distribution agreements. Central Bank Reserve Management will prove a valuable information resource for researchers and academics with an interest in central banking issues and asset management, financial sector, government and central bank officials, and representatives of international financial institutions.

For many academics, students, and professionals, the field of commodities is a black box. This book explores commodities in a holistic manner, presenting concepts from a multidisciplinary business and financial perspective, and offering a panoramic view of the global commodity business and markets. In this book, the author presents core issues related to global commodities with recent data including COVID-19. The book introduces the key physical commodities traded globally and some related issues such as the global supply chain, global trading, transportation, storage, and how to finance global commodity trades. Then, it discusses how global commodity businesses and traders manage global risks related to commodity production (generation or extraction), transportation, storage, the final delivery, and currency exchange. Additionally, the book discusses financial commodities, the origins of global commodity derivatives and exchanges, the rationale behind the birth of commodity futures and trading, hedging, speculation, financialization, and manipulation of commodity markets, and how financial trading is executed in real life. In the last section, the author also discusses sustainability issues related to global commodities and the financial valuation aspects of the global commodity businesses supported by examples from real cases with recent data.

During the recent financial crisis, the conflict between sovereign states and banks over who controls the creation of money was thrown into sharp relief. This collection investigates the relationship between states and banks, arguing that conflicts between the two over control of money produces critical junctures. Drawing on Max Weber's concept of 'mobile capital', the book examines the mobility of capital networks in contexts of funding warfare, global bubbles and dangerous instability disengaged from social-economic activity. It proposes that mobile capital is a primary feature of capitalism and nation states, and furthermore, argues that the perennial, hierarchical struggles between states and global banks is intrinsic to capitalism. Featuring authors writing from an impressively diverse range of academic backgrounds (including sociology, geography, economics and politics), Critical Junctures in Mobile Capital presents a variety of analyses using current or past examples from different countries, federations, and of differing forms of mobile capital.

This book explores how the "wild beast" of finance may be best understood and controlled. Using the framework of exchange and regulation, European capital markets are analyzed, and it is shown that a common European area of financial exchange has developed. Relative to financial regulation, it is evident that the EU has become the most dominant rule-setter and the regulation established can be interpreted as being of a statutory kind. As it presents the shortcomings of this process, this volume proposes the establishment of a more transparent mega-regulator to control all financial market segments and financial agents.
Markus Lederer is a researcher at the University of Munich.

This book explores financial trends in the age of financial globalization and explores the changing roles within the global financial industry. At the same time, the book provides a solid foundation for understanding the dramatic process of financial globalization specifically in the emerging Balkans. More elaborately, the book examines financial trends and developments of eight countries in the emerging Balkans defined to include: Albania, B&H, Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Romania. Building on this background, this book addresses issues related to the emerging Balkans in terms of financial development compared with the benchmark of mature economies and highlights issues related to the growing impact of financial globalization, global trade, and FDI flows. It brings the focus onto the recent trends in Intra-Balkan trade liberalization and cooperation through the transition process and on the eve of EU membership. It also assesses progress made in banking development, stock market development, and economic growth and critically examines financial trends in the emerging Balkans and changes in its financial landscape.

Transition Banking assesses the efforts since 1989 to develop financial sectors in the economies of Central and Eastern Europe. In finance above all, the principles of central planning were radically opposed to those of capitalism, and moving from one system to the other has required entirely new institutions and skills. This financial development is crucial to growth and to full partnership with the West. The approach taken here is comprehensive, empirical, and comparative. Anderson and Kegels seek to answer a series of key questions: * Has the State retreated from controlling the allocation of savings? * Is the banking sector competitive? * Do investors direct the use of capital? * Are securities markets developing? * Is outside finance supporting economic growth? * Is the financial system stable? In explaining the logic of finance in a transition setting, Transition Banking both documents the important progress made in institution-building to date and pinpoints the areas where the region remains vulnerable.

The fifth edition of Maurice D. Levi's classic textbook has been updated to incorporate the massive changes in the world of international finance of the past few years. In particular, the emergence of new markets is given broad coverage - particularly the rise to financial prominence of China and India and other growth economies in Asia and elsewhere. Key features of the book include: the impact of globalization and the greater connectedness of national economies and the world economy as a whole probably the best introduction to exchange rates available and how they directly impact upon firms as well as governments the continued massive impact of multinational corporations on the global financial scene as well as the opportunities presented by e-commerce. The material is interlaced with a wealth of supplementary material including real world case studies, review questions, examples and objectives. The result is the most authoritative survey of international finance currently available. Thoroughly updated and with a large amount of new information, this text will prove an indispensable guide to the inner workings of international finance to students of economics and business as well as professionals in the finance industry.

This is a book about the international oil market. It takes a historical perspective on how the market emerged, developed, and became what it is today-the biggest commodity market in the world. It is mature and complex, but far from perfect. Throughout most of its 150-year history, the oil market has been monopolised by companies and governments. For only a fraction of that, oil traded in a relatively free market. As a result, we had to live with 'big oil', economic shocks, high oil prices, instability and wars. Using a simple concept of market power, this book will explain the meaning of 'oil price' and how it is established while offering a valuable lesson for other commodities. Market power is the key to understanding the 'price of oil'. This book uses a simple concept of price-makers and price-takers to examine the evolution of oil markets, their structure, and prices. The early decades of the oil industry were competitive with low barriers to entry. Barely 25 years later, the Standard Oil company created a refining monopoly, buying oil at its own 'posted' price. In the following century, the cartel of major oil companies, helped by their governments, did the same at the international level. OPEC helped producing governments regain control of their own resources, but the organisation was never able to retain a similar level of control. After 1986 price collapse, OPEC abdicated the price-making function in favour of the market. While it never gave up attempts to influence prices, OPEC had to link their official prices to one of the global oil benchmarks. Modern international oil markets function because of oil benchmarks such as Brent, WTI and Dubai. This book showcases: * How oil traders played a prominent role in development of the industry * How policies of consuming nations helped oil cartels * Why and how the US price of oil was negative * How AI has changed the way markets operate and the way in which the markets are likely to change in future This book explores how oil markets grew, functioned, and have occasionally failed to do their job. The ecosystem of derivatives or 'paper barrels' trading in far greater volume than physical oil plays a very important role in mitigating risk. With this core tenant, setting the 'price of oil' is explained in detail.

"Long a secret weapon for the hedge-fund elite," says "Trader Monthly," the DeMark Indicators are now used by more than 35,000 traders. This book provides an easy-to-follow system for using the indicators to identify market turns as they happen.
Author Jason Perl gives a concise introduction to thirty-nine of the DeMark Indicators, and then shows how to combine the indicators and time frames to achieve a higher probability of trading success.
Thomas R. DeMark, the creator of the DeMark Indicators and one of the most well-respected practitioners of technical analysis wrote the Foreword to this book.
This is the second book in the Bloomberg Market Essentials(TM) Technical Analysis series, which covers the key elements of the most widely used technical analysis tools.
Silver Medal Winner, Investing Category, Axiom Business Book Awards (2009)
Winner: Book Series Cover Design, The Bookbinders Guild of New York/2009 New York Book Show Awards

This book analyses business cycles synchronization in the Euro Area (EA), one of the 3 criteria that define Optimal Currency Areas (OCAs). Even before its launch, economists questioned whether the EA has what it takes to become an OCA. The onset of the sovereign debt crisis in 2010 confirmed the challenges relating to its construction. But did the EA change over time, and what key drivers may be necessary in the future to strengthen the common currency?

The SDGs, developed by the UN in 2012, focuses on 17 goals for the betterment of humanity and humanitarian causes. Among the core objectives of Shari'ah in Islamic finance is to offer a helping hand, emphasizing the efforts and scope of the SDGs. This book explores how Islamic ethical wealth is structured to contribute to the SDGs and an overall socio-economic impact within the principles of Maqasid al-Shari'ah. Focusing areas such as Islamic micro-finance, wealth inclusion, corporate and agro-Zakat, Awqaf, SRI Sukuk, and green Sukuk, this book will feature contributions from the leading researchers in sustainability and Islamic finance and will be of interest to scholars, researchers, industrialists, NGOs, UNDP and students studying both areas.

This book, first published in 1973, presents a collection of original contributions to the analysis of international trade and monetary relations by a number of distinguished economists. The papers bear on six topics in trade theory: the inadequacies of classical trade theory, customs unions, immiserising growth, the international transmission of technical change, multinational company behaviour, and comparative trends in income distribution. Chapters dealing with international monetary relations focus on general equilibrium analysis of spot and forward exchange markets, money supply analysis in open economies, devaluation in developing countries, the sharing of the burden of international adjustment, the monetary approach to balance-of-payments theory, and the integration of Keynesian and monetary approaches to international adjustment. Taken together, they summarize much of the most advanced contemporary research in international economics. The volume is unified by the contributors' common belief that economic theory can help solve important and relevant problems in international economic relations. All the contributions represent original work on the frontiers of research in international economics, but they use simple and understandable techniques to reach their conclusions.

Principles of International Finance, first published in 1988, provides a comprehensive introduction to international finance which is rapidly becoming an increasingly important branch of international economics. The book is structured so that it can easily be adopted as a complete one-semester course in international finance and is divided into the four major divisions of international finance: The Foreign Exchange Market and the Balance of Payments; Exchange Rate Systems; Equilibrium and the Adjustment Process and The Post-War International Financial System. This book is designed for economics and business undergraduates studying international finance for the first time. It is non-mathematical and presumes no more than a general background in macroeconomics.

Income inequality is a serious problem confronting not only the developed world but also developing countries. Recently, financialization has been one of the culprits identified in literature as one of the cause of income inequality. This book offers the only detailed presentation of the how financialization aided the spread of income inequality in Organization of Islamic Cooperation, OIC countries. Finance has taking a center stage in the affairs of most developing economies, surpassing the real sector of the economy. The result is the creation of an indebted society in which people are comfortable with financing their financial needs through credit. This creates a debt laden society that is trapped in the cycle of debt. This book represents a comprehensive and indispensable source for students, practitioners and the general public at large. It presents data which shows the buildup of debt and the rising income inequality in Muslim countries. It includes discussion of the rise in rentier income, financialization of everyday life, decline in physical capital accumulation and deregulation of the financial sector. The book therefore, proffers solutions on how Muslim countries can come out of the present economic problem facing them. The promotion and adoption of Islamic principles, which promotes risk sharing based contracts as against debt based transaction is the way to go. When financial contracts are based on the principles of risk sharing, any gains from economic activities get to be shared equitably. Hence, not only capital owners get to enjoy the benefit from the income derived from investments, but rather, all parties that partake in the contract. Distinguished by its clarity and readability as it is written in a very easy to understand language, it is an important reference work for any concerned individual interested on the recent causes of income inequality in Muslim World.

This EYIEL special issue examines the interaction between international investment law and competition law. Although issues related to both international investment law and competition law arise regularly in international legal practice and are examined together, scholarly analysis largely treats them as parallel universes. As a result their actual and potential overlap has yet to be sufficiently explored. In this light, International Investment Law and Competition Law discusses a variety of topics at the intersection of investment and competition, including the interaction between competition-related provisions and investment protection standards in free trade agreements; investors' anti-competitive behaviour and illegal investments; state aid schemes and foreign investors' legitimate expectations; EU member States' compliance with investment awards as (illegal) state aid under EU law; State-owned enterprises and competitive neutrality; and interactions between public procurement, investment and competition law.

This book offers a reassessment of the international monetary problems that led to the global economic crisis of the 1930s. It explores the connections between the gold standard--the framework regulating international monetary affairs until 1931--and the Great Depression that broke out in 1929. Eichengreen shows how economic policies, in conjunction with the imbalances created by World War I, gave rise to the global crisis of the 1930s. He demonstrates that the gold standard fundamentally constrained the economic policies that were pursued and that it was largely responsible for creating the unstable economic environment on which those policies acted. The book also provides a valuable perspective on the economic policies of the post-World War II period and their consequences.