A Handbook Of International Economic Institutions

What made me write this book was a feeling that students of international economics needed to fin 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. of the international organizations themselves can be con The annual reports sulted, 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 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 replacing the Organization for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC), and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) whose meetings have succeeded in drawing much attention of the press.

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.

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 essential role institutions play in understanding economic development has long been recognised and has been closely studied across the social sciences but some of the most high profile work has been done by economists many of whom are included in this collection covering a wide range of topics including the relationship between institutions and growth, educational systems, the role of the media and the intersection between traditional systems of patronage and political institutions. Each chapter covers the frontier research in its area and points to new areas of research and is the product of extensive workshopping and editing. The editors have also written an excellent introduction which brings together the key themes of the handbook. The list of contributors is stellar (Steven Durlauf, Throsten Beck, Bob Allen,and includes a diverse mix of Western and non Western, male and female scholars)"

Globalization is a multi-dimensional concept reflecting the increased economic, social, cultural, and political integration of countries. There has been no pinpointed consensus on the history of globalization; however, the globalization process has gained significant speed as of the 1980s in combination with liberalization. Many countries have removed or loosened barriers over the international flows of goods, services, and production factors. In this context, both liberalization and globalization have led to considerable institutional, economic, social, cultural, and political changes in the world. The liberalization and globalization processes have affected economic units, institutions, cultures, social lives, and national and international politics. The Handbook of Research on Institutional, Economic, and Social Impacts of Globalization and Liberalization provides a comprehensive evaluation of the institutional, economic, and social impacts of globalization and liberalization processes across the world. While highlighting topics like economics, finance, business, and public administration, this book is ideally intended for government officials, policymakers, practitioners, stakeholders, researchers, and academicians interested in the international impacts of globalization and liberalization across a variety of different domains.

Since the summer of 2007, the world scenario has been dominated by the US sub-prime mortgage crisis and its repercussions on global financial markets and economic growth. As banks around the world wrote down their losses and governments intervened to rescue domestic financial institutions, financial distress severely hit the real economy leading to what has been widely defined as the worst recession since the 1930s. Under these conditions, along with the immediate concern for stemming the effects of the crisis, policy-makers around the world have been debating the long-term measures that have to be adopted in order to reduce the likelihood of future crises and to ensure stable economic growth. Although this debate has not yet produced significant transformations, it indicates a renewed concern about the institutional architecture that is meant to govern the global economic and financial system. This book tackles the issue of what the governance of the global economic and financial system looks like and what the prospects for its reform are. Specifically, the book will address the following three main themes: Governance: What is governance in the international economic system? What forms does it take? How did it come about? How can we study it?; Functions of governance: What are the functions of global economic governance? Who performs them? What are the rules and mechanisms that make global governance possible? Problems and prospects of governance: What are the problems in global economic governance? Is there a trade-off between legitimacy and efficiency? What are the prospects for reform of global economic governance in the aftermath of the global financial crisis? This book will: _ Provide a thorough analysis of the issues at stake in designing international rules and institutions able to govern the global economy; _ Illustrate and analyze virtually all the main institutions, rules, and arrangements that make up global economic governance, inscribing them within the function these institutions, rules, and arrangements are meant to perform; _ Discuss the problems that affect today’s global economic governance and assess alternative proposals to reform the international financial architecture.