What made me write this book was a feeling that students of international economics needed to fill out their knowledge of the theory with work on the practice of the major international economic organizations, many of which are having a growing influence on the national economies of their members. There was no single volume given over to a concise treatment of these organizations. The annual reports of the international organizations themselves can be consulted, of course, but as a rule these are not noted for being brief and to the point (the items of importance have to be fished out of a sea of useless detail), nor do they go in for criticism of their own activities. In selecting the organizations to be dealt with in the book I was guided by the influence they exert. I have left out those whose activities consist mainly in the drafting of recommendations to which, however meritorious they may be, little or no attention is paid. Some of them are included in the Introduction, which provides a summary of a number of institutions not discussed separately in the body of the work. There are, however, two exceptions: the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) as the organization replac ing the Organization for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC), and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) whose meet ings have succeeded in drawing much attention of the press."

The text has again been brought up to date and extensively revised, especially the EC chapter. The chapter on the OECD has been transferred to Part One. The brought-up-to-date chapter on the CMEA has been maintained, but at the time ofwriting its abolition was still not decided. A new treaty on central andeasternEuropeancooperationwasnotyetapproved. My thanks are due to the persons listed below, who were kind enough to comment on the draft of certain chapters of part of chapters: my former students Mr Marc Quintyn of the International Monetary Fund and Luc Everaert of the World Bank, who - in addition - prepared information needed to bring the chapters concerned up to date, Dr Horst Bockelmann, economic adviser of the Bank for International Settlements. Mr J. Schotte of the Benelux secretariat, Mr Lars Erik P. Nordgaard of the EFTA Brussels Office. Of course, this does not necessarily imply that they share the conclu- sions of the chapters involved. Numerous international and national civil servants and libraries kindly answered my questions. I want to thank espe- Mr Jozef van den Broeck, head Information Office Belgium of the cially Commission of the European Communities, and Mr A. Carchon, conseiller d'AmbassadeBelgiumand thelibraryoftheBelgiancentralbank. I am very grateful to my wife, who has helped me at every stage of the preparation of this edition. She also undertook the compilation of the list of articles andtheindexes. MA. G. v. M.

Der Worte sind genug gewechse/t, lasst mich auch endlich Taten sehn. J.W. GOETHE Since the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), which are analysed in Part 1, are spe cialized agencies linked by special agreements with the United Nations, a few words about the UN and two of the other specialized agencies, the Food and Agriculture Organization and the International Labour Organization, are called for. This is followed by a short account of the Bank for International Settlements, which is also referred to in connection with the IMF and the IBRD. The rest of this introduction is devoted to some non-European attempts at economic integration (which have not yet been very successful) and to the regional development banks. 1. The United Nations (UN) The United Nations comprises 159 countries (September 1986) which have accepted the Charter of the United Nations, which was signed at San Francisco on 26 June 1945 by fifty-one states and came into force on 24 October 1945. The aims of the organization include the maintenance of peace and security, the promotion of better standards of living and the encouragement of economic and social progress for all nations by means of international cooperation. The principal organs of the UN are: The General Assembly The Security Council The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) The Trusteeship Council The International Court of Justice The Secretariat."

The content of this book formed part of an introduction to economics. Weidenfeld and Nicolson published an english translation in 1971: Econ- ics. A critical approach. Since several colleagues thought that the critical comments on various theories might discourage students, I divided this introduction into two parts. Were as the first part deals with economic theory as such, the present publication contains the subject matter of the second part, namely the former appraisal sections. The first edition benefited from comment by Professor P. Hennipman, who, although I took his comment into consideration as far as possible, did not always share my views. The appendix to the first edition (Economic Doctrines) has been omitted. I have used brief portions of it in a new chapter, 'Economic doctrines and economic policy'. I have added a chapter entitled 'Economic theory and economic policy' and brought up to date the other chapters. This book has no intention of instructing fellow economists. It is intended as a complement to an introductory course on economics, which for the most part does not deal systematically with (or is even totally lacking in) critical comments. Many economists consider any criticism of economic theory to be a form of lese-majeste. On the other hand, a critical approach should not be the monopoly of left-wing authors.

Der Warte sind genug gewechselt. lasst mich auch endllch Taten sehn. l.W. GOETHE Since the International Monetary Fund and the International Bank for Recon struction and Development, which are analysed in Part I, are specialized agencies linked by special agreements with the United Nations, a few words about the UN and two of the other specialized agencies, the Food and Agricul ture Organization and the International Labour Organization, are called for. This is followed by a short account of the Bank for International Settlements, which is also referred to in connection with the IMF and the IBRD. The rest of this introduction is devoted to some non-European attempts at economic integration (which have not yet been very successful) and to the regional development banks. 1. The United Nations (UN) The United Nations comprises 158 countries (September 1983) which have accepted the Charter of the United Nations, which was signed at San Francisco on 26 June 1945 and came into force on 24 October 1945. The aims of the organization include the maintenance of peace and security, the promotion of better standards of living and the encouragement of economic and social pro gress for all nations by means of international cooperation. The principal organs of the UN are: The General Assembly The Security Council The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) The Trusteeship Council The International Court of Justice The Secretariat."

The text has again been brought up to date and extensively revised, especially the EC chapter. The chapter on the OECD has been transferred to Part One. The brought-up-to-date chapter on the CMEA has been maintained, but at the time ofwriting its abolition was still not decided. A new treaty on central andeasternEuropeancooperationwasnotyetapproved. My thanks are due to the persons listed below, who were kind enough to comment on the draft of certain chapters of part of chapters: my former students Mr Marc Quintyn of the International Monetary Fund and Luc Everaert of the World Bank, who - in addition - prepared information needed to bring the chapters concerned up to date, Dr Horst Bockelmann, economic adviser of the Bank for International Settlements. Mr J. Schotte of the Benelux secretariat, Mr Lars Erik P. Nordgaard of the EFTA Brussels Office. Of course, this does not necessarily imply that they share the conclu- sions of the chapters involved. Numerous international and national civil servants and libraries kindly answered my questions. I want to thank espe- Mr Jozef van den Broeck, head Information Office Belgium of the cially Commission of the European Communities, and Mr A. Carchon, conseiller d'AmbassadeBelgiumand thelibraryoftheBelgiancentralbank. I am very grateful to my wife, who has helped me at every stage of the preparation of this edition. She also undertook the compilation of the list of articles andtheindexes. MA. G. v. M.

What made me write this book was a feeling that students of international economics needed to fill out their knowledge of the theory with work on the practice of the major international economic organizations, many of which are having a growing influence on the national economies of their members. There was no single volume given over to a concise treatment of these organizations. The annual reports of the international organizations themselves can be consulted, of course, but as a rule these are not noted for being brief and to the point (the items of importance have to be fished out of a sea of useless detail), nor do they go in for criticism of their own activities. In selecting the organizations to be dealt with in the book I was guided by the influence they exert. I have left out those whose activities consist mainly in the drafting of recommendations to which, however meritorious they may be, little or no attention is paid. Some of them are included in the Introduction, which provides a summary of a number of institutions not discussed separately in the body of the work. There are, however, two exceptions: the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) as the organization replac ing the Organization for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC), and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) whose meet ings have succeeded in drawing much attention of the press."