Search

This volume brings together several of the most important research papers on the monetary approach to the balance of payments prepared by IMF staff members. The 11 papers record, the contribution made by the IMF's staff to the development of the monetary approach, which is now widely accepted by academic economists and policymakers alike.

An original and systematic synthesis of the major postwar developments in theory and policy of balance-of-payments adjustment, this book focuses on the present-day system of pegged-but-adjustable exchange rates and the problems that policy authorities must face if they are to attain full employment, price stability, balance-of-payments equilibrium, and a satisfactory rate of economic growth. The dominate theme of this book is that any system of exchange rates carries with it assumptions about the way it works and how effective the automatic and policy-motivated forces operate to bring about equilibrium in a country's balance of payments. By analyzing balance-of-payments adjustment and policies under alternative exchange-rate systems, and with different assumptions concerning the level of employment and prices, it is possible to embrace a wide variety of contemporary and historical circumstances experienced by individual countries and the world as a whole. In this way the author assesses the economic consequences of the different exchange-rate systems and of the policies that countries may follow to attain their national objectives. In particular it appears to Professor Stern that the international monetary turmoil of the past ten years can be traced to the exchange-rate inflexibilities of the adjustable-peg system and to the creation of excessive reserves under the dollar standard. He demonstrates that the international monetary system must be redesigned to permit greater exchange-rate inflexibility and control over the creation of new international reserve assets.

This rigorous textbook tames technicalities and makes even the most complex models accessible to students. Its unique two-tier structure makes the book attractive for undergraduates, graduates and researchers alike. In fact, the coverage is primarily directed to undergraduate students and is mainly confined to graphic analysis and to some elementary algebra. Further, each chapter has its own mathematical appendix, in which (i) the topics treated in the text are examined at a level suitable for advanced undergraduates, graduates and researchers, and (ii) generalizations and/or topics not treated in the text (including some at the cutting edge of research) are formally examined. The new edition has been thoroughly revised and updated to reflect the latest research on international finance.This book deals with the financial side of international economics and covers all aspects of international finance. There are many books and articles by exponents of alternative points of view. I know of no other book that provides the scope, balance, objectivity and rigor of this book. the late Professor Jerome L. Stein, Brown University This book is a second edition of a volume on international finance first published in 2001. Like Giancarlo's other books in International Economics, this book is organised as a two-books-in-one by distributing the material between text and appendices. The text provides coverage suitable for an undergraduate course while the mathematical appendices provide coverage of the topics at the frontier of the discipline and suitable for advanced undergraduate or graduate students in an international finance and international macroeconomics course. This edition updates the earlier volume and covers all the classic topics as well as the more recent advances in the theory and modelling of international finance. It includes some discussion of the empirical testing of these theories and where appropriate reference to the extensive empirical literature is also provided. This book is a valuable addition to the bookshelf of any serious International Finance Scholar and provides a treasure chest of material for any quality international finance course. Professor Pasquale M Sgro, Deakin University Giancarlo Gandolfo is one of the profession's most gifted textbook authors on mathematical modeling and international economics. His revised International Finance and Open-Economy Macroeconomics is remarkable for its scope and clarity. The book covers the older and intertemporal approaches, and topics that are usually left out of graduate treatments (the chapter on balance-of-payments accounting is a gem). Gandolfo's two-tier approach of first developing topics with graphs and basic algebra and then providing rigorous mathematics for each topic makes the book ideal for advanced undergraduate and graduate classes. Professor Michael D. Goldberg, University of New Hampshire

'UNCTAD/TDR/2008.'

A fire sale of US debt could cause a global recession through disorderly devaluation of the dollar, raising interest rates and crashing stock markets. The G7 doctrine of shared responsibility intends to coordinate regional efforts. This book analyzes the main issues and individual regions, including China, Japan, the EU and the USA.

A Theory of International Trade Under Uncertainty analyzes international trade in goods and securities in the presence of uncertainty using an integrated general equilibrium framework that recognizes the dependence of markets for goods on financial markets and vice versa. The usefulness of this approach is demonstrated by means of applications to questions such as the effects of international trade on resource allocation, tariff policy, and intervention in financial capital markets. Results which are important for theoretical as well as policy oriented applications are presented. Comprised of 11 chapters, this volume begins with an introduction to some of the fundamental elements of the deterministic Ricardian and Heckscher-Ohlin theories of international trade. Relevant elements from the theory of decision making under uncertainty are then discussed, along with the behavior of firms and consumers-investors in an economy with stock markets. Subsequent chapters focus on problems of commercial policy; gains from trade in goods and securities; and issues of intervention in financial capital markets. The book concludes by describing a dynamic model of international trade that contains an infinite horizon and takes into account the trade-off between present period consumption and savings. An example that illustrates an equilibrium structure of the dynamic model is presented. This monograph is intended for economists who are interested in international trade or international finance, including graduate students who specialize in these fields.

The Balance of Payments Textbook, like the Balance of Payments Compilation Guide, is a companion document to the fifth edition of the Balance of Payments Manual. The Textbook provides illustrative examples and applications of concepts, definitions, classifications, and conventions contained in the Manual and affords compilers with opportunities for enhancing their understanding of the relevant parts of the Manual. The Textbook is one of the main reference materials for training courses in balance of payments methodology.