Conventional wisdom has treated international trade as the motive force behind international financial flows. However, the last quarter of this century has witnessed an upsurge in volume of international financial flows which have gained a momentum of their own, thus dwarfing the role of international trade. This increase in volume is generated by the large size of the international financial market systems, which are more closely integrated today than ever before. Dilip K. Das demonstrates through the work of highly acclaimed contributors, who are leading authorities in the field of international finance, that the development of a whole range of financial instruments is one of the key forces behind greater integration of financial markets. This provides medium-level discussion on international finance issues which are neither introductory nor over-specialised in nature and six themes are developed which encompass some of the most practical and useful facets of international finance.
Beginning with a description of the new size and shape of the financial markets, the first chapter focusses on how international mobile capital has become, and looks at the nature and operation of the principle international financial institutions. The role of European Monetary Union forms the second section where key issues in monetary policy and the central banking system are analysed. Part three evaluates world equity markets using Asia as an example, with part four providing papers relating to foreign exchange markets. International debt issues are discussed in part five taking examples from the U.S., which is the largest debtor economy in the world. The final section deals with the currency aspect of international finance looking specifically at the Deutsche Mark, the Yen, and the internationalisation of the Korean capital market.