The Next Great Globalization: How Disadvantaged Nations Can Harness Their Financial Systems to Get Rich
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  • Get down in the trenches of 21st century globalizationm
The Next Great Globalization: How Disadvantaged Nations Can Harness Their Financial Systems to Get Rich
Frederic S. Mishkin
Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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  5. Global Financial Warriors: The Untold Story of International Finance in the Post-9/11 World Global Financial Warriors: The Untold Story of International Finance in the Post-9/11 World

ASIN: 0691121540

Book Description

Many prominent critics regard the international financial system as the dark side of globalization, threatening disadvantaged nations near and far. But in The Next Great Globalization, eminent economist Frederic Mishkin argues the opposite: that financial globalization today is essential for poor nations to become rich. Mishkin argues that an effectively managed financial globalization promises benefits on the scale of the hugely successful trade and information globalizations of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This financial revolution can lift developing nations out of squalor and increase the wealth and stability of emerging and industrialized nations alike. By presenting an unprecedented picture of the potential benefits of financial globalization, and by showing in clear and hard-headed terms how these gains can be realized, Mishkin provides a hopeful vision of the next phase of globalization.

Mishkin draws on historical examples to caution that mismanagement of financial globalization, often aided and abetted by rich elites, can wreak havoc in developing countries, but he uses these examples to demonstrate how better policies can help poor nations to open up their economies to the benefits of global investment. According to Mishkin, the international community must provide incentives for developing countries to establish effective property rights, banking regulations, accounting practices, and corporate governance--the institutions necessary to attract and manage global investment. And the West must be a partner in integrating the financial systems of rich and poor countries--to the benefit of both.

The Next Great Globalization makes the case that finance will be a driving force in the twenty-first-century economy, and demonstrates how this force can and should be shaped to the benefit of all, especially the disadvantaged nations most in need of growth and prosperity.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Get down in the trenches of 21st century globalizationm.......2007-02-12

Whilst Mishkin tells it like it is, you just may want to follow on with "EXTREME COMPETITION" by Fingar, and "THE WORLD IS FLAT," by Aronica and Ramdoo to get to the "what do I do tomorrow."

Great book, Mishkin... readers, keep reading!
Economics of Monetary Union, 4th Edition
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Useful
Economics of Monetary Union, 4th Edition
Paul De Grauwe
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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  1. The Economics of European Integration: Theory, Practice, Policy The Economics of European Integration: Theory, Practice, Policy
  2. The Economics of European Integration The Economics of European Integration
  3. The Economics of Europe (Penguin Business Library) The Economics of Europe (Penguin Business Library)
  4. The European Economy since 1945: Coordinated Capitalism and Beyond (Princeton Economic History of the Western World) The European Economy since 1945: Coordinated Capitalism and Beyond (Princeton Economic History of the Western World)
  5. The European Union: Economics and Policies The European Union: Economics and Policies

ASIN: 0198776322

Book Description

With the launch of the Euro, Europe's monetary landscape has changed fundamentally. Now in its fourth edition, this well-established textbook on monetary integration has been significantly rewritten to take account of these changes. New issues include: Monetary policies in Euroland in the presence of asymmetric shocks The mechanics of open market operations in Euroland Is the Eurosystem too decentralized? The Target Payments system Problems of bank supervision and control in Euroland The future of the euro in the international financial system Will the euro be a strong currency? Financial and banking integration in Euroland. This latest edition has been produced in a larger format, with clear figures and tables packed with relevant international data. Chapter conclusions provide a clear summary of each topic under discussion. Paul De Grauwe's lucid and balanced analysis continues to provide a clear account of all the crucial issues surrounding monetary union for undergraduate students of monetary economics and European studies.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Useful.......2002-04-10

I'm an undergraduate student in Finance and Economics. I picked up this book for a term paper for my Public Economics class.

If there's one thing to say about De Grauwe's book is that it seemed very useful, down to earth, in contrast to other economics books I've read. The concepts covered in the book were explained very clearly, and for someone interested in the area, the theories seemed ready for use for application in understanding the important issues of monetary integration.

Whether there are flaws in the theory are--honestly--beyond my grasp; I'd have to read more. The book seems written and revised fairly enough and hasn't received negative comments from the faculty at my university. If someone else has a contrary opinion, I'm sure it'd help for people to hear.

Check the sample pages if you want to see if this book would be good for you.
Economic and Monetary Union in Europe: Moving beyond Maastricht
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Useful contribution to vital debate
  • This is a handbook of Euro
Economic and Monetary Union in Europe: Moving beyond Maastricht
Peter B. Kenen
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0521558832

Book Description

This book provides a comprehensive account and analysis of the plan for European monetary union contained in the Maastricht Treaty. The provisions of the treaty itself are examined, showing how they evolved, what must be done to implement them, and some of the problems they will pose. Kenen goes far beyond the treaty, however, to survey and adapt recent research by economists on the benefits and costs of monetary unions, the conduct of monetary policy, and the consequences of large public deficits and debts.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Useful contribution to vital debate.......2001-05-17

Professor Peter Kenen is a leading US expert on international economic relations. In this excellent little book, he analyses the prospects for Economic and Monetary Union.

Firstly, he shows the difficulties that countries are having when their governments try to meet the criteria for Economic and Monetary Union. He points out that in 1994 none of the twelve European Community countries met all four criteria; Italy and Portugal met none of them. Six countries failed the inflation test; two had interest rates too high; ten had fiscal deficits too high, and eight had excessive public debts.

Since then, European Union economies have stagnated or shrunk, so they are even further from meeting the criteria. Four of the six countries with debt ratios above 75 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 1993 ran bigger budget deficits in 1994 than in 1992, so they would have to make even bigger cuts in their deficits before they can start to cut their debt ratios.

The Governments are in a dilemma: they cannot cut their budget deficits quickly to the stipulated three per cent without depressing real economic activity. And the more they deflate their economies, the less popular support there is for Economic and Monetary Union. Professor Kenen sums up, "It is thus unlikely that a majority of EC countries will be ready for Stage Three in 1997, when a majority is required to set a starting date, and it may be hard to muster a majority in 1999 - although a majority is not needed then." Stage Three is supposed to start automatically in 1999!

Secondly, Kenen studies the likely results if Governments seriously try to meet the criteria. He cites Buiter et al, writing in Economic Policy: "Greece, Italy, Belgium and Ireland need serious fiscal retrenchment, but getting even halfway to the Maastricht debt targets ... involves dangerous fiscal overkill. A blatantly unrealistic debt target is unhelpful for these countries in designing effective fiscal programs." They write that the necessary scale of retrenchment would involve "the economics of the lunatic asylum."

Kenen also cites the Centre for European Policy Studies in Brussels, which says that "If the Maastricht targets are adhered to, something significant will have to give in terms of public expenditure in many EC countries, with social consequences which could be highly disruptive. Clawing back public deficits which are across the Community higher in GDP percentage terms than they have been at any moment since the EC was founded, at a time when more and more 'legitimate' demands are made on the public purse, looks increasingly like trying to run up a downward moving escalator."

Thirdly, Kenen looks at the costs of joining Economic and Monetary Union. He cites the economists Ghosh and Wolf who estimate that joining it would cost as much as 2.5 per cent of the European Union's total GDP. The European Union's own employment committee said that Economic and Monetary Union would destroy ten million jobs in the European Union.

Supporters of Economic and Monetary Union like to claim that it would curb the speculators, tame finance capital, and end financial crises. But what does Kenen conclude? "In the first years of Economic and Monetary Union, then, the G-7 countries may find it harder to agree on policies and strategies for exchange rate management, and Economic and Monetary Union may thus lead to exchange rate fluctuations wider than those seen since the Louvre Accord [of 1987]. That would be truly ironic. Economic and Monetary Union is meant to replace the EMS (European Monetary System), which emerged from the desire to create a zone of monetary stability in Europe. Yet the achievement of that goal may have the effect of producing greater exchange rate instability at the global level."

A single European currency would not end speculation. It would still be operating in the world of global speculative flows. A single currency would be the focus for speculation against the dollar and the yen, and a smaller number of currencies could generate even more rapid and destabilising speculative flows.

So, to sum up, Kenen's book shows us that Economic and Monetary Union would be extremely difficult and painful to achieve. It would mean savage cuts in public spending (an estimated £18 billion in Britain), a 2.5 per cent reduction in GDP, and greater exchange rate instability. The cuts in public spending would also increase unemployment, reduce wages and worsen our public services...

5 out of 5 stars This is a handbook of Euro.......2000-08-10

EMU is the most important international economic event since the Bretton Woods Agreements of 1944.It will represent a further step in the process of economic integration within the European Union. The effects of the monetary union will be felt primarily in the Euro area participating countries. At the same time, Euro will affect international monetary system. Euro's taking its place among the major international currencies is going to be gradual. This process will be quite important for the countries those with the close economic relationships with the European Monetary Union member countries. This book is a must read for all interested in the Euro...
IMF Essays from a Time of Crisis: The International Financial System, Stabilization, and Development
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • Insightful!
  • Insightful!
IMF Essays from a Time of Crisis: The International Financial System, Stabilization, and Development
Stanley Fischer
Manufacturer: The MIT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0262562162

Book Description

Stanley Fischer served as First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund from 1994 to 2001. IMF Essays from a Time of Crisis collects sixteen essays written for the most part during his time at the IMF, each updated with Fischer's later reflections on the issues raised. The IMF drew much criticism for some of its actions during Fischer's tenure, and he vigorously defends the "battlefield medicine" practiced by the IMF during a series of economic crises, which included the problems of economic transition in the former Soviet bloc and the Asian financial crisis. Fischer addresses the subsequent calls for reform of the international financial system and makes the case for the IMF as an international lender of last resort.

The first section of essays, "The Role of the IMF and the Reform of the International Financial System," considers the IMF's role in the international financial system in light of the crises of the 1990s. The second section, "Macroeconomic Policy, Stabilization, and Transition," examines such topics as exchange rate regimes, inflation, and Eastern Europe's relation to the European Union. The final section, "Poverty and Development," reflects Fischer's basic belief that economic policies should explicitly target poverty reduction. These engaging and accessible essays will appeal not only to economics students, economists, and policymakers but also to the general reader interested in the international monetary system.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Insightful!.......2004-04-23

This lucid, plain, straightforward book is not necessarily the sort of thing one expects from an economist, yet author Stanley Fischer is one of our era's greatest economists. His work at the International Monetary Fund put him on the front lines during some of the twentieth century's most serious economic crises and panics. He has a unique and valuable perspective. His timely discussion of the IMF and the World Bank provides a sobering antidote to the rhetoric of both globalization and anti-globalization. Fischer reminds us that the IMF's many glaring failures and imperfections are the stumbles and flaws of an organization that has done good work to further a noble purpose. It also has proven willing and able to change when the facts do. For good reason, Fischer's essays sometimes read like the arguments of a defense attorney countering prosecutorial accusations. The IMF has come in for so much criticism in recent years that it is refreshing to discover so many points in its favor, and we find it both fair and prudent to consider them carefully.

4 out of 5 stars Insightful!.......2004-03-09

This lucid, plain, straightforward book is not necessarily the sort of thing one expects from an economist, yet author Stanley Fischer is one of our era's greatest economists. His work at the International Monetary Fund put him on the front lines during some of the twentieth century's most serious economic crises and panics. He has a unique and valuable perspective. His timely discussion of the IMF and the World Bank provides a sobering antidote to the rhetoric of both globalization and anti-globalization. Fischer reminds us that the IMF's many glaring failures and imperfections are the stumbles and flaws of an organization that has done good work to further a noble purpose. It also has proven willing and able to change when the facts do. For good reason, Fischer's essays sometimes read like the arguments of a defense attorney countering prosecutorial accusations. The IMF has come in for so much criticism in recent years that it is refreshing to discover so many points in its favor, and we find it both fair and prudent to consider them carefully.
World Economic Outlook September 2006: Financial Systems and Economic Cycles (World Economic Outlook)
Average customer rating: Not rated
    World Economic Outlook September 2006: Financial Systems and Economic Cycles (World Economic Outlook)

    Manufacturer: International Monetary Fund
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

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    ASIN: 1589065980
    Globalization and the International Financial System: What's Wrong and What Can Be Done
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      Globalization and the International Financial System: What's Wrong and What Can Be Done
      Peter Isard
      Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
      ProductGroup: Book
      Binding: Paperback

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      3. The Next Great Globalization: How Disadvantaged Nations Can Harness Their Financial Systems to Get Rich The Next Great Globalization: How Disadvantaged Nations Can Harness Their Financial Systems to Get Rich
      4. Globalization and Its Discontents Globalization and Its Discontents
      5. Global Capital Markets: Integration, Crisis, and Growth (Japan-US Center UFJ Bank Monographs on International Financial Markets) Global Capital Markets: Integration, Crisis, and Growth (Japan-US Center UFJ Bank Monographs on International Financial Markets)

      ASIN: 0521605075

      Book Description

      This book provides prespectives on various aspects of the international financial system that contribute to financial crises and growth failures, and discusses the remedies that economists have proposed for addressing the underlying problems. It also sheds light on a central feature of the international financial system that remains mysterious to many economists and most non-economists: The International Monetary Fund and the factors that influence its effectiveness.
      The Chastening: Inside the Crisis that Rocked the Global Financial System and Humbled the IMF
      Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
      • A Primer on Why Third World Debt Is Such a Mess
      • A Case Study in the Failure of Political Rationalism
      • Entertaining & Imformative
      • 1997
      • Economists On A Mission
      The Chastening: Inside the Crisis that Rocked the Global Financial System and Humbled the IMF
      Paul Blustein
      Manufacturer: PublicAffairs
      ProductGroup: Book
      Binding: Hardcover

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      3. Bailouts or Bail-Ins: Responding to Financial Crises in Emerging Markets Bailouts or Bail-Ins: Responding to Financial Crises in Emerging Markets
      4. The World Economy: Open-Economy Macroeconomics and Finance (with Economic Applications Printed Access Card) The World Economy: Open-Economy Macroeconomics and Finance (with Economic Applications Printed Access Card)
      5. Globalization and Its Discontents Globalization and Its Discontents

      ASIN: 1891620819
      Release Date: 2001-10-09

      Amazon.com

      An author who tries to write an engaging book about the International Monetary Fund faces a daunting task. Who besides devoted readers of The Financial Times would want to read it? With The Chastening, however, Paul Blustein offers a remarkably accessible account of this off-putting institution and its importance to the world economy. "The IMF cultivates its mystique, seeking to appear all-knowing, scientific, and detached. To outsiders, it often comes across as a high priesthood with pretensions of divine powers and insight," he writes. Blustein tears down this façade as he recounts some of the epic struggles of recent years: "As markets were sinking and defaults looming, the guardians of global financial stability were often scrambling, floundering, improvising, and striking messy compromises." Through dozens of interviews with IMF insiders, Blustein reveals how the institution really works--and how it often doesn't. There are fast-paced stories of success and failure on these pages, as Blustein describes efforts to bail out faltering economies in Korea, Russia, and elsewhere. Best of all, readers don't need economics degrees to keep pace: anybody who simply wants a primer on global financial systems will be well served by Blustein. --John Miller

      Book Description

      The breathtaking behind-the-scenes story of the nearly disastrous global financial crisis of the late 1990s and how the International Monetary Fund tried-and failed-to stop it.

      At a time when the IMF has become the object of intense political controversy, The Chastening is the first book to provide a behind-the-scenes look at the Fund during an extraordinarily turbulent period in modern economic history. Based on interviews with more than 200 officials at the IMF, the World Bank, the U.S. Treasury, the Federal Reserve, the White House and many foreign governments, The Chastening recounts the struggle to stem the financial crisis that flared in Thailand in mid-1997 and spread to three continents. Its disquieting conclusion: at a time when massive flows of money traverse borders and oceans, the IMF is often woefully ill-equipped to safeguard the global economy or to combat virulent new strains of investor panics.

      The IMF and its overseers have cultivated the image of masterminds coolly dispensing effective economic remedies. But the reality, as Washington Post economics correspondent Paul Blustein shows, is that as markets were sinking and defaults looming, the guardians of global financial stability were often scrambling, floundering, improvising, feuding among themselves and striking messy compromises. The Chastening--important and fascinating reading for anyone interested in business, finance, and economics-=will chasten readers out of any sense of complacency.

      Customer Reviews:

      4 out of 5 stars A Primer on Why Third World Debt Is Such a Mess.......2007-01-01

      There are many good reasons to bash the IMF but few reasons to do so if you don't know what you're talking about -- this books lets you do both.

      I've spent years in social circles that carry on a tragic lament of third world debt to first world countries, a lament I agree with but often find is expressed through oft-repeated anti-globalization mantras with no perception of how hideously complex the situation is.

      This book gives you the tools to make cogent criticisms of the IMF while simultaneously learning about the herculean chore the IMF has before it. Blustein describes the mechanics of how financial crises arose in the fateful year of 1997 in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Korea, and later in Russia and Brazil. A combination of cookie-cutter shock therapy schemes, out-of-touch IMF officials, incompetent and often corrupt finance ministry officials and Wall Street Bankers converge to make it nearly impossible for countries to escape the wrath of an increasingly volatile group of investors the author appropriately dubs the "Electronic Herd."

      The pattern is now a familiar one -- irresponsible fiscal and monetary policy leaves a country exposed to predatory lenders and currency speculators. Investors and debt holders see the country's dwindling hard currency reserves as sign of imminent collapse and begin to sell off every asset they have there, creating a vicious circle of panic. The IMF is called in to make sure the country doesn't go bankrupt by providing loans of hard currency -- but who's being bailed out, the country itself of the lenders that put their money there?

      Blustein explains how this dynamic was repeated in each of the countries of the 1997 and 1998 crises, with the IMF response working in everyone's favor in only two cases among a string of dismal failures. He extensively explores the issue of "moral hazard," or the idea that big loan packages to economies in crisis just reinforces irresponsible behavior on the part of both the lenders and the borrowers.

      Can get a little tedious at times, and the sequence of events is sometimes hard to follow because so much is being explained at once -- but overall a well written work by a reporter who covered the subject for years.

      5 out of 5 stars A Case Study in the Failure of Political Rationalism.......2006-09-26

      The Chastening is a ripping, white-knuckle read. This IS the best single book about the IMF, but it is also a lesson in political theory. Like Milton Friedman's "Monetary History of the United States," David Halberstam's "The Best and the Brightest," and Robert Conquest's "Harvest of Sorrow," this book is a case study in how superempowered and unaccountable bureaucrats tend make natural disasters incalculably worse. It is an object lesson in how policymaking ambitions are frustrated by human fallibility, especially when the policymaker in question fails to account for that fallibility. At every step, the Fund's planners made horrible missteps with smug confidence, thereby prolonging the suffering of untold millions of people. At every step, they were shocked when reality failed to coorespond to theory and their best intentions backfired. In a subtle way, the doctrinaire rationalist approach taken by the Fund during the Asian crisis presages the failure of the remaking of Iraq. The inherent weakness of theory-laden, top-down political and economic planning is a lesson we must apparently learn over and over again. (For those who appreciate this philosophical dimension to the book, I highly recommend James C. Scott's "Seeing Like a State.")

      The IMF is the most powerful single human force on the planet and yet it remains totally almost unknown to public at large. Blustein is to be commended for making the Fund transparent and accessible to all educated people.

      5 out of 5 stars Entertaining & Imformative.......2006-08-16

      Clearly the best book ever written on the IMF & its inner-workings. Great detail on the theater and players within the IMF and those that make policy. The book is a must read for anyone interested in the world economy.

      Regarding the crisis that hit the world financial markets the author does an outstanding job in educating the reader on all of the key elements from Nation/States to Hedge Funds.

      By taking individual chapters to break down the elements of the distressed finances of Korea, Indonesia, Russia, Brazil, Thailand & wall street the author takes us on a roller coaster ride of international politics, high finance, intrigue & history.

      4 out of 5 stars 1997.......2006-01-04

      1997, S Korea banking system was on the verge of collaspe, as result of violatile banking practices that had destabled the financial system threating the 11th largest economy of the world and created the possibility of financially crippling long term companies like Hyundia, Samsung, and Daewoo. At the time the IMF began analyzing S Korea's financial condition, S Korea bank reserves stood at $24 billion. IMF's, Neiss had no idea how close the S Korean banks were to default and when Neiss arrived in S. Korea the reserves had already fallen to $9 billion and dropping $1 billion a day. Foreign banks were demanding payment on loans come due and the practice of routinely extending payments month after month was canceled causing a massive amount of money due. The short term debt to foreigner was $20 billion. Foreigners on the currency exchange were dumping the won for the dollar and investors were executing a massive selloff of Korean stocks and bonds. When Neiss arrive S Korea was within a week of default. If S Korea defaulted, the default could cause a long and crippling cutoff of loans and neighboring Asian countries might also fall into default and investment confidence could be shattered globally and the world fall into a global recession. The S Korea economic collaspe affected the US economy; in 1998, the bond market ceased to function as a provider of capital to the world; the fed was forced into sharp cuts in the interest rate, but the fed could not tame the savage beast of the global market. The global market beast was enormous. Foreign investment in the selling and buying of stocks and bonds and other securities had reached $17.3 trillion by 1997.

      Neiss envisioned three responses to the crisis: 1. acquire a short term loan from Japan 2) gain permission to pay foreign loans in bonds rather than cash 3) stem the panic by showing the market that S Korea banks had plenty of cash. The IMF bailout infused $55 billion and $21 billion from the IMF. S Korea promised to cut budget amounts, raise interest rates, shutdown ailing financial institutions and close the doors, eliminate government direct bank loans, and allow greater freedom for foreign investors to buy stocks and bonds. The IMF bailout followed by a crash in the currency and economy of S. Korea. Financial credibility damage had occurred. IMF bailouts pattern of crashes after loan approval occurred with Thailand ($17 billion loan), Indonesia ($33 billion loan), Russia (1998 - $22 billion loan), and Brazil ($44 billion bailout loan). IMF bailout meant higher interest rates cooling fast growing economies. When a country fails to meet the target goals of the IMF, the IMF blames the government of the country for failing to meet the conditions of the loan. This tactic imposes censurorship and political influence entangling the IMF with the internal policies of the countries political machinery. 1999-2000, the IMF pronounced the Asia financial crisis over.

      In fast growing Asian countries, hot money had poured inot these economies. Hot money could be liquidated with a push of a computer button by commerical banks and brokers. Hot money destabilized the S Korean financial systems and increased the violatility in the system.

      Criticism of the IMF are it lacks expertise in banking issues, it closes banks and does not consider whether other banks can cover; it can not create money like the fed. In 2001, IMF war chest totaling $137 billion. IMF limitations to financial assets makes it vulnerable to rescuing failsafe countries that could trigger global financial collaspe. Once an IMF bailout is installed, the role of the IMF is too become the financial planner of the country forcing the country to reduce spending and increase income revenue.

      4 out of 5 stars Economists On A Mission.......2005-12-23

      In Globalization and Its Discontents, Joseph Stiglitz claims that the Asian crisis could not have been achieved by market speculators and corrupt politicians alone: it required the involvement of economists, and more specifically of that breed of economists who populate the corridors of the International Monetary Fund, an institution charged with maintaining financial stability and extending credit to countries facing crises.

      Although not a professional economist, Paul Blustein provides a more balanced account. Instead of invoking arcane theories and denouncing other people's incompetence to make his point, he sticks to the facts and reconstructs the story of the Asian crisis as people experienced it on the frontline. His most fascinating pages are when he follows IMF economists on rescue missions, from Bangkok and Jakarta to Seoul and back again. You can almost smell the sweat emanating from those figures uniformly clad in white shirts and dark suits, envision the nights spent working on spreadsheets in air-conditioned hotel rooms, feel the tension that reigns once the team has unearthed some unsavory data, witness the embarrassment of the authorities who are asked to spill open their books and confess their best-kept financial secrets, imagine the relief when things fall into place and the program proposal is ready to go to the executive board for approval.

      One should not pity IMF economists. They live in poshy Washington, fly business class, stay in five stars hotels and, although they envy the paychecks of their Wall Street colleagues, manage to lead an international bureaucrat's life with a banker's salary. But one also has to acknowledge their high professional standards, their devotion to their tasks and their sense of discipline that contradicts the adage that economists can never agree with one another (remember Winston Churchill, who remarked that "if you put two economists in a room, you get two opinions, unless one of them is Lord Keynes, in which case you get three opinions.")

      Here is how IMF staffers are perceived by their colleagues from the World Bank, a sister institution located right across the street in downtown Washington:

      "Economists from the World Bank, who sometimes work in joint missions with the IMF, express awe at the almost military manners in which Fund staffers defer to their superiors. This protocol is in stark contrast to the code of conduct at the World Bank, an institution devoted to long-term development loans, whose economists or irrigation specialists or environmental experts might embark on a lively disagreement right in front of, say, a borrowing country's deputy finance minister. When an IMF mission enters a room to conduct a negotiation, it is often easy to tell who ranks where; one World Banker likens it to "a mother duck leading her baby ducks." The mission chief typically sits in the middle of the table and does most of the talking, allowing immediate subordinates to chime in on issues requiring their specialized expertise; lower-level staffers are likely to remain silent."

      Four year after its publication, the book still makes an interesting read. It could have been adorned with a more telling title (the "chastening" refers to the jacket of the hardcover edition which shows the IMF pilloried with a dunce's cap, as well as to the sense of awe when faced with the recurrence of financial crises that should chasten us all of any sense of complacency). It would also have benefited from the inclusion of a few pictures, and especially that famous snapshot that shows IMF Managing Director Michel Camdessus standing, arms crossed, looking down at President Suharto as he signed the revised multi-billion bailout package that was to provide a short respite to the country as it spiraled into chaos. A tell-tale picture, indeed.
      Schaum's Outline of International Economics
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        Schaum's Outline of International Economics
        Dominick Salvatore
        Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
        ProductGroup: Book
        Binding: Paperback

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        ASIN: 0070549508

        Book Description

        Outstanding for its easy-to-understand explanations of international economics, this guide covers all course fundamentals and supplements any class text. It takes students through the solution of hundreds of problems dealing with demand and supply in trade, the foreign exchange markets, flexible and fixed exchange rates and much more. Also includes practice midterm and final exams.

        Monetary Theory: National and International
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          Monetary Theory: National and International
          Alvaro Cencini
          Manufacturer: Routledge
          ProductGroup: Book
          Binding: Paperback

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          ASIN: 0415110556

          Book Description

          In Monetary Theory: National and International, Alvaro Cencini argues that a new approach to the analysis of bank money is needed which is capable of providing modern analytical instruments based on the intrinsic nature of bank money. Conventionally, monetary problems are examined with reference to a monetary framework which has little to do with the real world of banking. The purpose of this book is to provide an alternative analysis to monetary economics based on the very distinctive properties of bank money. Monetary problems are investigated from a structural point of view. Of special interest is the distinction made between money and income which is rooted in the everyday practices of central and secondary banks. The book also examines exchange rate instability and financial crisis and finally, sets forward an alternative proposal for European Monetary Union.

          Health And Development: Why Investing In Health Is Critical For Achieving Economic Development Goals
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            Health And Development: Why Investing In Health Is Critical For Achieving Economic Development Goals

            Manufacturer: International Monetary Fund
            ProductGroup: Book
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