- `Good exposition, very technical, right level. Very good on comparative issues.' N.
Sarantis, Kingston University
- `It is very good at the introductory level to understand real issues.' Dr D. Barn,
University of Kent
- `The book is reasonably priced and well-designed. As always, Corden is very lucid.'
Heikki Taimio, University of Joensuu, Finland
- 'In Max Corden we have one of today's leading international economists. And in his
latest book we surely have an essential addition to the library of any serious student of
international monetary economics.' -Times Higher Education Supplement
- 'An essential addition to the library of any serious student of international monetary
economics ... a very useful text for students of both economics and international law and
one which reveals the extent to which these two disciplines depend on each other ... The
book provides a comprehensive coverage of the subject of trade regulation.' -Times Higher
Education Supplement
In an outstanding account of exchange rates inthe international monetary system, W. Max
Corden considers the essential issues in international macroeconomics.
The author takes as his model the macroeconomic situation of a country with an open
economy, and explains the effects of domestic fiscal and monetary macroeconomic policy on
exchange rates. He clearly analyses the choices faced by governments attempting to manage
both the domestic inflation rate and the external exchange rate and current account
balance. Professor Corden then discusses the European Exchange Rate mechanism, and
provides a sceptical analysis of the possibilities for monetary union in Europe, and for
international policy coordination in general. He gives equal weight to discussion of the
present US-centred international monetary system outside the ERM, and combines theoretical
models with an account of the actual determination of floating exchange rates. Although
the book itself is orientated towards monetary rather than trade issues, the author
discusses two topical issues: the role of protectionist policies, and the idea of
competitiveness. Finally, he looks at the future of the international monetary system and
the series of current reform proposals.
Students will find this book useful because the author covers essential issues lucidly
and authoritatively. The exposition is entirely non-mathematical. Postgraduate students
and academics will be interested since Corden is a distinguished writer on international
trade and policy, and his arguments are powerfully presented.
New to this edition:
This is a revised and expanded edition of a previous book by Corden, Inflation,
Exchange Rates and the World Economy, the third edition of which was published in 1985. In
this new book, Professor Corden has fully rewritten the text, but retains the discursive,
informal, reader-friendly style of the earlier editions. In this new edition, Professor
Corden has included two new chapters which extend the treatment of macroeconomic policy,
separating it into its fiscal and monetary branches. He also includes a new chapter on the
role of the current account balance in determining macroeconomic policy. The author has
brought his account of the present international monetary context up to date -
characterised as the non-system - and has included a new analysis of European monetary
issues, incorporating a review of the progress of the EMS towards full monetary union. The
book also contains a provocative discussion of two highly topical issues: trade
protection, and competitiveness, including both new theoretical analysis and such events
as the recent GATT agreement.
Readership: Central for undergraduates in international economics; for part of monetary
or finance economics; for part of macroeconomics courses, or the economics of Europe.
Useful for postgraduates in international economics.
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Part 1: Open Economy Macroeconomics
- 1 A Model of Balance-of-Payments Policy
- 2 Income Distribution, Wage Rigidity and Balance-of-Payments Policy
- 3 Fiscal Policy, Monetary Policy and Capital Mobility
- 4 Inflation and Exchange Rate Policy
- 5 Does the Current Account Matter?
- Part 2: EMS and Monetary Integration
- 6 The European Monetary System
- 7 Monetary Integration
- 8 Maastricht and the Transition to Monetary Union
- Part 3: The Managed-Floating High-Capital-Mobility Non-System
- 9 The International Macrosystem
- 10 The International Transmission of Disturbances
- 11 What Determines Exchange Rates in a Floating Rate Regime?
- 12 Macroeconomic Policy Co-ordination
- Part 4: Protection and Competitiveness
- 13 Macroeconomic Policy and Protection
- 14 What is the Competitiveness Problem?
- Part 5: The Future
- 15 The Exchange Rate Regime: Choices and Plans
- Bibliography
- Index
Authors, editors, and contributors
W. Max Corden, Professor of International Economics, School of Advanced International
Studies, Johns Hopkins University, Washington
322 pages