Introduction to International Money and Finance

With the restructuring of world production and the phenomenal increase in international finance, the early postwar emphasis on stability has shifted increasingly to policies which favour competitiveness and efficiency. The reaction to the debt crisis on the 1980s, the spread of the market model and the globalization of goods and financial markets have created a more conducive framework for capital movements. In practice it has become difficult to separate balance of payments assistance from structural adjustment and development finance.

This book addresses the adaptation of international monetary arrangements to the rapidly changing environment but pays particular attention to developments in capital markets and their effects on financial flows to developing countries. If nothing else, the debt crisis proved how difficult it is for governments, multilateral financial institutins, banks and private investors to work at cross purposes. The book is an attempt to understand the forces driving the flow of capital from a development perspective and the institutional responses to the challenges posed to outdated structures and policies.