Economic Policy, Exchange Rates, and the International System

An ambitious successor to W. Max Corden's highly acclaimed Inflation, Exchange Rates, and the World Economy , this book addresses topics in international macroeconomics that have come to the forefront of economic policy debates in recent years. Covering exchange rate policy, the European Monetary System, protection and competition, and the international "non-system" since the collapse of Bretton Woods, Corden provides a probing analysis of significant economic trends associated with the increasing integration of the world capital market. Beginning with essays on exchange rate policy, the current account, and external effects of fiscal policy, Corden lays out the foundations of balance-of-payments theory in relation to wage rates, income distribution, and inflation. Chapters on the European Monetary System focus on monetary integration and look skeptically at European proposals to move toward monetary union. Other topical essays discuss the "competitiveness" problem and the relation between protection and macroeconomic policy. Corden summarizes and clarifies a vast range of work on the coordination of macroeconomic policies and critically reviews various proposals for reforming the international monetary system.