This book provides a good basis for a graduate course in international finance. It also serves as a reference source for professional economists. Though other good surveys and handbooks available, they are too extensive to serve as a graduate textbook. In many cases they are outdated, as there has been an explosion of work on the issues over the last decade, stimulated by such events as the Asian crises of 1997 and 1998, the creation of the Euro zone in 1999, and Argentina's 2001 default. This book covers up-to-date developments on these issues.

Much recent discussion has focused on the prospects for monetary unification in Europe and the possible creation of a European central bank. This book discusses in detail the possible structure and operational procedures of such a bank and investigates their implications for the community's member states and for the global economy. Presented at a conference organized jointly by the Centre for Economic Policy Research, Georgetown University's Center for German and European Studies and the International Monetary Fund, the papers collected here examine evidence from US experience, the influence...

Provides an integrated compilation of selected major articles, that include contributions to the understanding of currency crises and financial contagion, the evolution of exchange rate regimes, and the interaction between national fiscal policies and regional monetary unions.