Today the gap between rich and poor nations is larger than it has ever been in recorded history. Yet the economic hegemony of Europe was unanticipated in the fifteenth century when Europeans seemed no more advanced than their eastern counterparts.This distinguished collection of papers places present development problems in historical perspective, drawing on European experience to show what characterized the growth of the world's first industrialized continent. Topics discussed in this volume include the influence of late fertility on economic development, the roots of Latin American backwardness, economic growth in Central and Eastern Europe since 1870, macroeconomic populism and economic failure in Africa since 1960, trade and exchange rate liberalization, and the impact of technology and capital market development in a divided world. Rich Nations - Poor Nations offers a broad perspective on the development process in which authors relate historical work to the current problems of the Third World. While these papers are not anchored solely in the European past, they recognize that some positive things can be gleaned from Europe's historical experience which will be of value to developing nations.

The themes of this study are the exchange rate regimes chosen by policy makers in the twentieth century, the means used to maintain these regimes, and the impact of these decisions on individual national economies and the world economy in general. The book draws heavily on new research showing the lessons and the legacy left for policy makers by the gold standard and the attempt at its resurrection in the 1920s. In examining issues such as the gold exchange standard, the gold bullion standard, the experience of floating exchange rates, the Bretton Woods arrangements, the EMS and the ERM, and the Currency Board approach, there is a conscious attempt to draw out the relevance of history for policy makers now.

The themes of this study are the exchange rate regimes chosen by policy makers in the twentieth century, the means used to maintain these regimes, and the impact of these decisions on individual national economies and the world economy in general. The book draws heavily on new research showing the lessons and the legacy left for policy makers by the gold standard and the attempt at its resurrection in the 1920s. In examining issues such as the gold exchange standard, the gold bullion standard, the experience of floating exchange rates, the Bretton Woods arrangements, the EMS and the ERM, and the Currency Board approach, there is a conscious attempt to draw out the relevance of history for policy makers now.