Publisher's Synopsis
This work presents the proceedings of the IEA conference, held in Basel, which focuses attention on the most pressing issues in the present polycentric world economy in the realm of international debt, trade, investment, financial markets and policy coordination on the micro and macro level.;The book attempts to tackle the basic schisma - forces pulling in the direction of worldwide integration such as financial markets, multinationals, division of labour, which clash with the forces of disintegration, especially neo-protectionism, begger-thy-neighbour policies and floating exchange rates. The contributors promote the view that international rule and order can be restored only if institutional innovation outpaces the spread of zero-sum-games within and between nations.