Books in the Bloomsbury Academic Collections: Economics series

Economic development is one of the key issues that has confronted Africa since the beginning of independence, more than a quarter-century ago. The countries of Africa have not only recognised the need for international assistance, but also the need for self-help along with various collective efforts in tackling the problems of development. The principal concern of Economic Development in Africa is with the contributions of the international environment to the development process in Africa. It considers efforts conceived within bilateral, multilateral and regional frameworks, acting as an introduction to the economic and political dimensions of these approaches. This specially commissioned collection brings together a number of scholars working in the field of International Relations with specialist interest in Africa.

The study of urban political economy needs no justification, for cities are the heart (and arguably the soul) of our civilization, and their political and economic conditions are the linchpins of its existence. But how should we study urban political economy? Urban Political Economy deals with different nations - Belgium, Denmark, France, Norway, the UK. and the USA - and with different problems - expenditure patterns, service provision, economic development, fiscal strain, budgetary cuts, and borrowing systems - but they all agree on two fundamental points about the study of their subject matter: first, that the urban economy cannot be understood outside its political context, just as urban politics cannot be understood without its economic background; and second, that the local and the national are knitted together so closely and so tightly that it is necessary to think of them as forming a single system. Urban Political Economy explores the idea of the fusion of factors by demonstrating the extent to which local and national conditions react upon one another to analyze the urban political economy.

International Trade Theories and the Evolving International Economy provides a much-needed from which to approach this topic, offering a self-contained introduction to the subject of international trade theory. Drawing on a broad range of material this book provides the students with a well-rounded and more broadly informed view of the subject.

Globalisation and Interdependence in the International Political Economy addresses central developments within the contemporary international system.The notions of interdependence and globalisation that have accompanied the political discourse of ''a new world disorder'' are replete with definitional ambiguities, theoretical difficulties and empirical complexities. Barry Jones offers a critical review and analysis of these concepts, their significance and place within the wider debates of international political economy. He argues that contemporary conditions are complex, with regionalising tendencies cross-cutting those of increasing globalisation, and ''national'' impulses surviving even in the face of powerful ''internationalising'' forces. Future developments, it is concluded, may also be far more uncertain and turbulent than is widely anticipated.Written by a leading authority, this volume is an effective and compelling introduction to the complex study of international political economy.

A major problem of conventional economic theory as applied to long-run economic change is its unduly narrow and static character, which compromises its capacity to handle conceptually a social process inherently systemic, complex and dynamic. At the same time there is a growing realization in relevant government and industrial circles (reinforced by the example of Japan) that effective economic policy-making needs a strategic, and therefore a technological, content. Long-Run Economics suggests a more realistic conceptual framework for the analysis of economic and technological change. Borrowing from other disciplines, such as sociology, psychology and biology, the authors develop a model that is evolutionary and systemic in character. Special emphasis is given to the role of information flows in the innovative process, while the overall argument is illustrated by two case studies, photovoltaics and fuel ethanol. Finally, the book stresses the strategic importance of science and technology policy and the role of appropriate institutions in facilitating long-run economic change.

Classical Political Economy addresses the question of what determines the social division of labour, the division of society into independent firms and industries and develops the theoretical implications of primitive accumulation. It also offers a significantly different interpretation of classical political economy, demonstrating that this school of thought supported the process of primitive accumulation.Classical political economy presents an imposing facade. For more than two centuries, the accepted doctrine dictates that a market generates forces that provide the most efficient method for organising production. This laissez faire approach is an ideology that gives capital absolute freedom of action, and yet called for intervention to coerce people to do things that they would not otherwise do. Classical political economy therefore encouraged policies that would hinder people''s ability to produce for their own needs.Michael Perelman, however, in this innovative take on the subject, seeks to challenge the ideologies that would allow things to continue in this line unchecked.

The specific concern of this study is ''politicization'' or the relationships between contests in national politics and the capacity for international cooperation.Progress towards fiscal harmonization in the European Community is selected as the substantive focus for the study, although the object is to learn from the EC rather than about it.The author argues that common EC policies usually reach fruition as complex compromises, derived from decisions based on the perceived effect on domestic politics and rivalries, rather than transnational neatness. Lack of political will is frequently blamed for delays in the acceptance of common policies, whereas the truth often lies in the fact that national governments believe that domestic political costs would be prohibitive.Politicization is studied in four major areas:1. Identification, causes and effects2. The effect on domestic politics and transnational cooperation in the EC3. Effects on further ''European integration''4. Deriving lessons from the EC for more general relationships between domestic politics and international cooperation.

Following the introduction of the 200-mile extended economic zone (EEZ), many developing countries suddenly found they had large fish resources, which - wisely managed and exploited - could generate wealth and income of immense benefit. However, one constraint to this was that many countries, for historic reasons, lacked the expertise to manage fisheries on this scale. Despite the need for information, few economists and especially development economists teaching in universities and colleges were able to incorporate fisheries economics into their courses owing to the lack of readily accessible material. As a result, many rising economists were failing to recognize the global importance of fishers as an economic resource capable of generating substantial wealth and income to many countries. Economics of Fisheries Development provides an accessible exploration of this area of economics, introducing development economists to some of the problems of developing fisheries in areas of the world where fisheries now present great growth prospects. The case studies used throughout the book are nearly entirely drawn from developing countries.

Testing Monetarism pursues the complex question of the nature of the controversy surrounding monetarist theory and evidence, and the reasons for the persistence of this controversy.The theory of monetarism is examined in its old guise as the Quantity Theory of Money, and subsequent chapters look at the evolution of the theory to its present form in the period since the 1950''s, and Desai weaves together issues of theory with those of econometric evidence. He looks in turn at major predictions of monetarism, critically examining the claims made in the literature in the light of his discussion of the methodology of testing theories and highlights flaws in the empirical data surrounding monetarism.

The Recalcitrant Rich is a collection of sharp and fairly short sketches and explanations of the responses to developing-country demands by seven West European countries, the European Community, the United States of America and the U.S.S.R. It aims to analyse the responses of the North to the demands from the South for those political and economic changes that collectively constitute the ''New International Economic Order'' package.

During prolonged economic recessions when the normal cyclical expansion of output fails to materialize, the topic of the ''cyclical behaviour of wages'' has emerged as an area of debate. In 1985, the British Treasury claimed that academic studies into the cyclical behaviour of wages demonstrated that a cut in wages would increase employment. Wages in the Business Cycle contests this argument by presenting the results of original, empirical work which illustrates the absence of any systematic empirical regularity to wage movements over the business cycle.Jonathan Michie argues that the re-emergence of this debate must be seen within the context of the theory of the ''labour demand function'', representing an attempt to challenge the Keynesian theoretical assumptions implicit in the bulk of applied macro economic work up to the late 1970s.

Legal Aspects of the New International Economic Order draws together the results of discussions from the 58th Conference of the International law Association held in Manila in September 1978. Many there, including a number of contributors to this insightful book, felt that proposals for the establishment of a new international economic order bristled with complex legal issues, which merited the serious attention of lawyers. Moved by the conviction that these proposals aimed at restructuring international economic relations and effective a global redistribution of wealth and power, presented a challenge to legal creativity, the Conference adopted a resolution urging the International Law Association to undertake a study of the Legal Aspects of a New International Economic Order. Legal Aspects of the New International Economic Order draws together the papers that came from that study, to offer a fascinating and powerful examination of the legal challenges thrown up by the establishment of this new order.

Time and the Macroeconomic Analysis of Income will undoubtedly puzzle, stimulate, infuriate, or annoy many readers. Alvaro Cencini challenges so many of the commonly held notions which are perpetuated in elementary textbooks and taken for granted in learned journals that a first reaction is bound to be that the author must be naive or ignorant - this is far from the case; the questions that Cencini raises are original and searching. His answers are even more intriguing for economists and interested readers.

In Money, Income and Time, Alvaro Cencini examines how money has been alternatively defined as a commodity and as the general equivalent of all commodities to be, subsequently, identified with the concept of numéraire, and, finally, reduced to the actual notion of credit. To better clarify the terms of the problem, the writer analyses it through the main theories of money which have been developed since the works of the classical economist. The book does not take the form of a history of economic doctrines, however, since its aim is at the same time less ambitious and more precise, that is defining the true nature of money through a critical and synthetic appraisal of its various analyses.

Development Financing tackles the complicated subject of how to aid and finance the development of LEDCs. The problem, according to the writers, has not been whether or not to negotiate, but rather where and what should be negotiated when it came to tackling third world debt. As the debate reaches a stand-off between the more economically developed and less economically developed countries, this book offers several sets of perspectives (in a selection of essays) on how to appropriately manage the thorny issues of development financing.

How do governments make key decisions on vital economic questions of nationalimportance? Can they advance the national interest on issues that are highlypoliticized? How do they respond to competing pressures from the international anddomestic environments? Forming Economic Policy explores these and other questions in Canada and Mexico, two very different countries which share a common vulnerability to the world economy. Using the case of energy, the book argues that policymakers will address the national interest, but only episodically with the onset of major national crises that invoke a higher and sustained sense of national priorities. These crises are frequently induced by the interaction of domestic and foreign political and economic forces.The conclusions are surprising. Despite profound political and economic differences between these two countries, policymakers have behaved in remarkably similar ways when arriving at key policy decisions. The explanation - which integrates two competing views of politics, the pluralist and the statist - has important implications with regard to the political processes in those states which, like Canada and Mexico, are exposed to the world economy and face problems of political legitimacy at home. Forming Economic Policy will appeal to students and teachers of political economy and comparative politics as well as to those interested in the politics of energy policy.

U.S. Foreign Policy and the New International Economic Order is an authoritative account of the development of U.S. policy toward the New International Economic Order (NIEO) from its inception in 1974 through the Eleventh Special Session of the General Assembly in August-September 1980. Olson concentrates on the latter stages of the North-South dialogue, analyzing U.S. policy in the context of broad foreign policy objectives pursued since the end of World War II and also in light of the events of the seventies and the 1980 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. On the premise that policy is, ultimately, what happens at the negotiating table, he also specifically examines the record of U.S. negotiations on the Common Fund, UNCTAD V, and other major North-South meetings during 1979-1980. This material, together with an examination of how policy is made within the U.S. bureaucracy, who makes it, and why, provides fresh insight into a complex process.Olson seeks to determine if and to what extent U.S. policy serves basic U.S. interests and whether the negotiating process has been an effective medium for global problem solving. He concludes that althought U.S. policy and practice do serve traditional U.S. foreign policy interests, the political cost is high. He also concludes that NIEO negotiations have not been an effective means for global problem solving and that rapid change in political and economic realities has rendered obsolete the basic concepts - the very mechanisms for problem solving - on both sides.

Tax Havens and Offshore Finance examines the subject of offshore finance centres.

The Developing Countries and the World Economic Order provides a lucid introduction to the debate about the developing countries and the quest for a New International Economic Order. The primary objective is to indicate some of the fundamental requirements that must be satisfied by an equitable world order.Since the present economic situation and demands of developing countries cannot be understood thoroughly without prior knowledge of how the present world order has evolved, Part I begins with a detailed historical survey. An account of economic development up to the Second World War and of the colonial heritage of the developing countries is followed by a description of the way in which the postwar world order came into being. Part II analyses more recent developments, including the central demands of developing countries and the background to these demands, and outlines a new perspective on the NIEO programme with suggestions are offered on how the developing countries could secure for themselves a larger share of the world''s resources.A major theme of the book is that important changes in the world order take place irrespective of the recommendations adopted at international conferences.

The Financing of Foreign Direct Investment examines the communication gap between business leaders and international economists when it comes to financing the overseas operations of domestic firms. Gilman argues that economists and business people have been speaking ''two different languages'' when it comes to these issues, and he explores the different positions adopted by economists and business people to provide a plausible explanation of the determinants of capital flows financing foreign direct investment that incorporates the main elements of both approaches.

Economic development may be seen from many different points of view: in terms of history, theory or empirical generalization. The Political Economy of Development draws these points of view together as it explores the practice of economic development itself and considers the issues that arise in attempting to devise development strategies for developing countries and to implement them.The term ''political economy'' highlights the fact that economics cannot be conducted in isolation, and always has to be related to the political and social setting of the countries with which it is concerned. The Political Economy of Development foregrounds the political context of development in its study of applied economics.

This collection makes a valuable theoretical and empirical contribution to the study of Political Economy. The book covers a wide range of approaches currently in vogue, coupled with an exploration of areas in commonality, thus rendering it a more effective introduction to Political Economy than many of the purpose written, but highly partial, existing texts. The individual papers, while summarizing the established literature in each field, also contribute much that is new and of considerable value to the further development of the subject.

Economic and Social Development in Qatar analyses and discusses the economic and social development in Qatar since the country''s emergence as a soveriegn State in 1971. Qatar is now a member of the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the Arab League, the Non-aligned Gropu, the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the Organisation of the Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), and as such has a significant role to play in world affairs. The author provides a detailed and lucid introduction to the resources, policies and system of government which have brought about this rapid progress.Qatar has vast reserves of crude oil and natural gas which form the backbone of the economy, providing the main source of foreign exchange earnings which in turn is essential for teh continued importation of capital goods and services. Improvement in living conditions is a dominant feature of the development policy, which expenditure on education, public utilities, health care, improved housing, mass media and cultural facilities taking priority. Industrial development is directed at widening the productive base of the economy through the establishment of natural gase based and other manufacturing industries. This book documents the twin developments of economic and social advancement.

The slow-down in economic growth and the rise in unemployment in the 1970s revived some of the uncertainties experienced by industrialized economies during the inter-war period. After more than a decade of stagnation, the period of sustained growth in the thirty years following the Second World War now seems increasingly to have been an exceptional phase in an overall development process still dominated by wide fluctuations in economic growth rates. Slow Growth and the Service Economy examines what it means to live in a period of economic recession and analyses social patterns in response to the slowing down of financial and economic growth.

American International Oil Policy offers an insight into the political mechanics of American international oil policy in the long decade from 1973 to early 1986, when oil prices were highly priced. It is furthermore the intention of the author to delineate the link from United States policy to the political organization of the international oil system.Written at a time when oil prices had recently shrunk, this book makes valuable and timely reading for those interested in the topic at a time when oil prices have sky-rocketed again. The book provides a fascinating insight into the effects of oil policy and pricing on American political life.

International trade theory implicitly assumes that countries participating in external trade each have sovereign status. Its failure to recognise the pervasive importance of colonial trade as an intermediate stage of external trade development, interposed between autarky and ''international trade'' narrowly defined creates a serious gap In its explanatory structure and direct applicability.Anthony John''s book is an attempt to examine the properties of colonial resource management on the process of territorial specialisation. He considers the implications of such foreign involvement for the trade patterns which may ensue after political independence when formal ''international'' trade entry is effected.