The book assesses the lessons which can be drawn from reforms in Central Europe for the later reformers in the former Soviet Union and the Balkans. It considers the impact of banking reform on macroeconomic stabilization and the suitability of German-type universal banks; the role of banking regulation and the advantages of 'narrow banks' during transition; the cleaning-up of bad debts; bank privatization and reform of the payments system. Five chapters follow which review the experience of some of the 'second-wave' countries: Estonia, Georgia, Romania, Russia and Ukraine.

Precious metals played a key role in inter-continental trade between Europe and Asia in the early modern period. An assured supply of these metal was indeed a pre-requisite to the procurement of Asian goods such as spices, textiles and raw silk. Once these metals had been imported into Asia, they were converted into the coinage of the country concerned. The 'bullion for goods' pattern of trade had important implications for the level of output, income, employment and prices in the Asian societies. This collection of essays by Professor Om Prakash explores these issues in relation mainly to the Dutch East India Company. Given the scale of its operations, as well as its unique character as the only European corporate group to engage in large scale intra-Asian trade as an integral part of its overall trading strategy, the VOC is a particularly appropriate medium through which to analyse these issues. Les metaux precieux jouerent in rAle clef dans le commerce international entre l'Europe et l'Asie au debut de la periode moderne. La presence d'un stock assure de ces metaux etait, en effet, un facteur necessaire afin de se procurer des produits asiatiques tels les epices, les textiles et la soie grege. Une fois importes en Asie, ces metaux etaient convertis dans le monnaie du pays concerne. La structure commerciale du bullion for goods avait des implications importantes en ce qui concernait le niveau de production, l'emploi et les prix au sein des societes asiatiques. Cette collestion d'essais du professeur Om Prakash explore ces questions en relation plus particulierement avec la conpagnie hollandaise d'Inde Orientale. Etant donnee l'envergure de ses operations, ainsi que son caractere unique en tant que seule corporation europeenne engagee dans un commerciale, le VOC est un particulierement bon exemple A travers lequel analyser ces questions.

A multi-volume work which examines key texts from literature, providing a useful resource for the study of the foundations of monetary economics from writers such as Ricardo, Cantillon and Hume. It covers the 19th century debates on bullion, currency and monetary control, through to monetary non-conformists. There is an introduction by the editor and a comprehensive bibliography and index.

This book critically examines the progress made on macroeconomic stabilization and financial sector reform in the transition economies of Central and Eastern Europe. It relates microeconomic experiences to the broader macroeconomic context of reform, and emphasises that macro reform is underpinned by micro and institutional reform, especially in the financial sphere.Key features include: bank and enterprise restructuring and the progress towards the resolution of banking and bad debt problems implications of bank and enterprise restructuring for corporate governance and company performance an evaluation of bank-enterprise relationships exchange rates and capital flows, with an analysis of the capital inflow problem and the performance of fixed exchange rate regimes in the post-stabilization phase of the transition detailed surveys of individual firm and bank behaviour and performance during the reform process. The book will be welcomed by scholars and practitioners interested in monetary and financial economics, the economics of transition and comparative economic systems.

This monograph introduces the student to the neo-Ricardian paradigm in economics. It restores the core of economic reasoning to its classical roots with a focus on production and class distribution, rather than the optimum allocation of scarce resources. As in the neo-Ricardian tradition, the book integrates value theory with growth theory and shows how the accumulation of capital (with its impact on growth and employment) is intertwined with price determination and income distribution. In this perspective, the price setting mechanism is presented within the framework of the "megacorp" world. This leads the author to macroeconomics, the determination of the aggregate price level, and aggregate output. The book discusses basic growth models, savings, and the mechanics of income distribution. The student should be able to gain an understanding of the challenges to contemporary neoclassical economics now taking place. The book is appropriate for courses in price theory and national income.

Essential reading for understanding the international economy-now thoroughly updated Lucid, accessible, and provocative, and now thoroughly updated to cover recent events that have shaken the global economy, Globalizing Capital is an indispensable account of the past 150 years of international monetary and financial history-from the classical gold standard to today's post-Bretton Woods "nonsystem." Bringing the story up to the present, this third edition covers the global financial crisis, the Greek bailout, the Euro crisis, the rise of China as a global monetary power, the renewed controversy over the international role of the U.S. dollar, and the currency war. Concise and nontechnical, and with a proven appeal to general readers, students, and specialists alike, Globalizing Capital is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand where the international economy has been-and where it may be going.

Did 'money matter' in the economic history of medieval Europe? In these essays John Munro has pursued the controversies surrounding the monetary (not 'monetarist') history of the period, specifically in relation to England and Flanders, and the other Burgundian Low Countries, during the late Middle Ages. He argues that, without doubt, monetary factors and policies were crucial, and attempts to integrate them with other factors, themselves often of equal significance, such as demographic change or institutional controls. The focus is upon the international flow of precious metals through the region and various related economic themes: the so-called late-medieval 'bullion famine'; the relation between monetary and price changes; the role of coinage in financing warfare ; 'bullionist' mint policies as both fiscal and monetary remedies for perceived economic, political, and military problems; and the consequences of warfare, war-financing, monetary policies, and related monetary problems for the two countries' commerce, finance and industries, especially those involving woollen textiles. Quelle etait la veritable importance de l'argent dans l'histoire monetaire et economique de l'Europe du Moyen Age? Au travers de ce volume, John Munro poursuit les controverses de cette periode, plus specifiquement se rapportant A l'Angleterre et aux Flandres, ainsi qu'aux autres Pays-Bas Bourguignons, vers la fin du Moyen Age. Il affirme que la politique et les facteurs monetaires etaient, sans aucun doute, d'une importance vitale et tente de les integer A d'autres parametres tout aussi significants, tels le changement demographique et les controles institutionnels. L'accent est mis sur la circulation internationale de metaux precieux dans toute la region, ainsi que sur divers themes s'y rattachant: la soit-disante 'famine d'or' du Bas Moyen Age; le rapport entre changements monetaires et changements de prix; le rAle de la fra

In most accounts of the origins of money we are offered pleasant tales in which it arises to the mutual benefit of all parties as a result of barter. In this groundbreaking study David McNally reveals the true story of money's origins and development as one of violence and human bondage. Money's emergence and its transformation are shown to be intimately connected to the buying and selling of slaves and the waging of war. Blood and Money demonstrates the ways that money has "internalized" its violent origins, making clear that it has become a concentrated force of social power and domination. Where Adam Smith observed that monetary wealth represents "command over labor," this paradigm shifting book amends his view to define money as comprising the command over persons and their bodies.

The economies of the Eurozone countries are plagued by multiple crises, which cast major doubts over the future of the Euro. In this engaging new book, leading heterodox economist Malcolm Sawyer argues that the entire policy framework of the Eurozone was fundamentally flawed from its foundation. He shows how these design faults intensified the effects of the crisis, made an effective response to the crash almost impossible, and are now locking in perpetual self-defeating austerity. Sawyer proposes a bold alternative agenda for reviving the continent s economic prosperity and saving the Euro, centred on a Federal fiscal policy and deep reform of the European Central Bank. He argues, however, that these solutions would require a fundamental transformation that is almost certain to encounter huge ideological and political obstacles. He therefore concludes that Europe faces a bleak economic future, blighted by low growth, high unemployment and social division. This major contribution to one of the key economic and political issues of our time will be essential reading for everyone interested in Europe s future.

A new history shows that, despite Marxism's rejection of money, the ruble was critical to the Soviet Union's promise of shared prosperity for its citizens. In spite of Karl Marx's proclamation that money would become obsolete under Communism, the ruble remained a key feature of Soviet life. In fact, although Western economists typically concluded that money ultimately played a limited role in the Soviet Union, Kristy Ironside argues that money was both more important and more powerful than most histories have recognized. After the Second World War, money was resurrected as an essential tool of Soviet governance. Certainly, its importance was not lost on Soviet leaders, despite official Communist Party dogma. Money, Ironside demonstrates, mediated the relationship between the Soviet state and its citizens and was at the center of both the government's and the people's visions for the maturing Communist project. A strong ruble-one that held real value in workers' hands and served as an effective labor incentive-was seen as essential to the economic growth that would rebuild society and realize Communism's promised future of abundance. Ironside shows how Soviet citizens turned to the state to remedy the damage that the ravages of the Second World War had inflicted upon their household economies. From the late 1940s through the early 1960s, progress toward Communism was increasingly measured by the health of its citizens' personal finances, such as greater purchasing power, higher wages, better pensions, and growing savings. However, the increasing importance of money in Soviet life did not necessarily correlate to improved living standards for Soviet citizens. The Soviet government's achievements in "raising the people's material welfare" continued to lag behind the West's advances during a period of unprecedented affluence. These factors combined to undermine popular support for Soviet power and confidence in the Communist project.

The atlas of contemporary capitalism is curious indeed. A desperately poor and civil-war-wracked nation, Liberia, is the world's shipping superpower; the Cayman Islands the fifth-largest financial center in the world; land-locked Zurich a venerable "offshore" banking center. Indeed, it is estimated that half of the global stock of money passes through tax havens. The logic of the offshore world, where millionaires and corporations roam in search of financial advantage, is slippery. It challenges many conventional assumptions about power and economics.In the single most comprehensive account of the offshore economy, Ronen Palan investigates the legal spaces, unregulated and yet maintained and supported by the state system, that have emerged for purposes of international finance, tax havens, export processing zones, flags of convenience, and e-commerce. The offshore economy had its beginnings in the late nineteenth century, saw early development after the First World War, and metastasized in the 1970s. Palan believes that a rapidly expanding offshore economy is now producing a new market in sovereignty; states have discovered that their rights to write law may be used as a commercial asset. This commercialization of sovereignty, he asserts, undermines the legitimacy of the nation-state and supports a form of nomadic capitalism.

Inflation is regarded by the many as a menace that damages business and can only make life worse for households. Keeping it low depends critically on ensuring that firms and workers expect it to be low. So expectations of inflation are a key influence on national economic welfare. This collection pulls together a galaxy of world experts (including Roy Batchelor, Richard Curtin and Staffan Linden) on inflation expectations to debate different aspects of the issues involved. The main focus of the volume is on likely inflation developments. A number of factors have led practitioners and academic observers of monetary policy to place increasing emphasis recently on inflation expectations. One is the spread of inflation targeting, invented in New Zealand over 15 years ago, but now encompassing many important economies including Brazil, Canada, Israel and Great Britain. Even more significantly, the European Central Bank, the Bank of Japan and the United States Federal Bank are the leading members of another group of monetary institutions all considering or implementing moves in the same direction. A second is the large reduction in actual inflation that has been observed in most countries over the past decade or so. These considerations underscore the critical - and largely underrecognized - importance of inflation expectations. They emphasize the importance of the issues, and the great need for a volume that offers a clear, systematic treatment of them. This book, under the steely editorship of Peter Sinclair, should prove very important for policy makers and monetary economists alike.

How do economists reconcile their expertise with their failures to predict and manage the 2008 financial crisis? This book goes a long way toward an answer by using systems theory to reveal the complex interdependence of factors and forces behind the crisis. In her fully integrated view of the economy, how it works, and how the economic crisis burst, Karen Higgins combines human psychology, cultural values, and belief formation with descriptions of the ways banks and markets succeed and fail. In each chapter she introduces themes from financial crisis literature and brings a systems-theory treatment of them. Her methodology and visual presentations both develop the tools of systems theory and apply these tools to the financial crisis. Not just another volume about the crisis, this book challenges the status quo through its unique multidisciplinary approach.
Presents a broad global view of international economic health and international corporate healthDescribes how policies, regulations, and trends dating to the 1950s influenced the crisisAssumes readers possess a general familiarity of economics and finance

The creation of the European Central Bank and the Euro have brought new challenges to EU integration and economic policy. This book looks into issues of monetary and factor market policies. The analysis also presents new theoretical and empirical research on the - transitory - decline of the Euro. Issues of exchange rate policy and international economic relations also are addressed.

Proven currency-specific trading strategies from one of today's top currency analysts

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"In plain English, Schlossberg lays out the basics in using technical analysis to trade foreign currencies, from the fundamentals of how the FX market works to the variety of technical strategies and trade management techniques traders can employ. Along the way, he offers entertaining examples and observations as well as simple, easy-to-read charts and diagrams. Anyone interested in getting started in the hugely popular FX market would do well to begin with this book."
--Sarah Rudolph, Executive Editor, SFO Magazine

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--Cory Janssen, CoFounder, Investopedia.com

"Schlossberg's book is a great resource for traders just starting out in currency markets. His focus on simplicity is critical for a new trader's education on how to make money."
--Andrew B. Busch, Global FX Strategist, BMO Financial Group

This monograph provides a comprehensive source of analysis and research on alternative investments in the wealth management process, with a special focus on Poland and Eastern Europe. It presents the characteristics that distinguish alternative investments from traditional investments and illustrates the benefits and risks involved in the former. The experience gained in developed countries is extremely valuable for the analysis of both the Polish and Eastern European financial markets. In the theoretical part of the book, key aspects of alternative investments are collected, systematized and developed; subsequently, in the empirical part the results of selected studies on the alternative investment sector around the world are examined. Lastly, the book s findings are applied to the context of alternative financial investments in Poland, investigating the preferences for alternative investments in the country, which is the largest market in Central and Eastern Europe. Not only of theoretical interest, these insights have a high application value, making the book an essential resource for scholars, practitioners and policymakers alike."

Money is usually understood as a valuable object, the value of which is attributed to it by its users and which other users recognize. It serves to link disparate institutions, providing a disguised whole and prime tool for the "invisible hand" of the market. This book offers an interpretation of money as a social institution. Money provides the link between the household and the firm, the worker and his product, making that very division seem natural and money as imminently practical. Money as a Social Institution begins in the medieval period and traces the evolution of money alongside consequent implications for the changing models of the corporation and the state. This is then followed with double-entry accounting as a tool of long-distance merchants and bankers, then the monitoring of the process of production by professional corporate managers. Davis provides a framework of analysis for examining money historically, beyond the operation of those particular institutions, which includes the possibility of conceptualizing and organizing the world differently. This volume is of great importance to academics and students who are interested in economic history and history of economic thought, as well as international political economics and critique of political economy.

Crowds move markets and at major market turning points, the crowds are almost always wrong. When crowd sentiment is overwhelmingly positive or overwhelmingly negative it's a signal that the trend is exhausted and the market is ready to move powerfully in the opposite direction. Sentiment has long been a tool used by equity, futures, and options traders. In Sentiment in the Forex Market, FXCM analyst Jaime Saettele applies sentiment analysis to the currency market, using both traditional and new sentiment indicators, including: Commitment of Traders reports; time cycles; pivot points; oscillators; and Fibonacci time and price ratios. He also explains how to interpret news coverage of the markets to get a sense of when participants have become overly bullish or bearish. Saettele points out that several famous traders such as George Soros and Robert Prechter made huge profits by identifying shifts in crowd sentiment at major market turning points. Many individual traders lose money in the currency market, Saettele asserts, because they are too short-term oriented and trade impulsively. He believes retail traders would be much more successful if they adopted a longer-term, contrarian approach, utilizing sentiment indicators to position themselves at the beginning points of major trends.

Regional development banks (RDB) have become increasingly important in the world economy, but have also been relatively under-researched to date. This timely volume addresses this lack of attention by providing a comprehensive, comparative, and empirically informed analysis of their origins, evolution, and contemporary role in the world economy through to the second decade of the twenty-first century. In Regional Development Banks in the World Economy, the editors provide an analytical framework that includes a revised categorisation of RDB by geographic operation and function. Part one offers detailed analyses of the origins, evolution, and contemporary role of the major RDB, including the Inter-American Development Bank, the African Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the European Investment Bank, the Central American Bank, the Andean Development Corporation, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Part two offers comparative analyses of key topics on RDB, examining their initial design and their changing business models, their shifting role in promoting policies supported by the United States as hegemon and the private sector. The volume ends with a critical reflection on the role played by RDB to date and a strong defence of the need for these banks in an increasingly complex world economy.

Augusto Graziani challenges traditional theories of monetary production, arguing that a modern economy based on credit cannot be understood without a focus on the administration of credit flow. Money functions as an instrument for the circulation of commodities or for keeping a stock of liquid wealth in mainstream economic theory. In neither case is it considered fundamental to the production of goods or the distribution of income. A strong exponent of the circulation theory of monetary production, Graziani presents an original and perhaps controversial argument which will stimulate debate.

The Federmanns live a pleasant but painfully normal life in the Munich suburbs. All that the three children really know about money is that there's never enough of it in their family. Every so often, their impish Great-Aunt Fe descends on the city. After repeated cycles of boom and bust, profligacy and poverty, the grand old lady has become enormously wealthy and lives alone in a villa on the shore of Lake Geneva. But what does Great-Aunt Fe want from the Federmanns, her only surviving relatives? This time, she invites the children to tea at her luxury hotel where she spoils, flummoxes, and inspires them. Dismayed at their ignorance of the financial ways of the world, she gives them a crash course in economics that piques their curiosity, unsettles their parents, and throws open a whole new world. The young Federmanns are for once taken seriously and together they try to answer burning questions: Where does money come from? Why are millionaires and billionaires never satisfied? And why are those with the most always showered with more? In this rich volume, the renowned poet, translator, and essayist Hans Magnus Enzensberger turns his gimlet eye on the mechanisms and machinations of banks and politicians-the human greed, envy, and fear that fuels the global economy. A modern, but moral-less fable, Money, Money, Money! is shot through with Enzensberger's trademark erudition, wit, and humanist desire to cut through jargon and forearm his readers against obscurantism.