This paper highlights that the Washington Consensus helped fill the need for an economic policy framework following the discrediting of central planning and import-substitution trade strategies. Latin American governments championed the Consensus in the early 1990s, and the policy agenda delivered some of the things it was supposed to—healthier budgets, lower inflation, lower external debt ratios, and economic growth. But unemployment rose in many countries and poverty remained widespread, while the emphasis on market openness made states vulnerable to the side effects of globalization.

This paper highlights that for the IMF, July 2004 marked the 60th anniversary of the conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, when delegations from 44 allied countries drafted and agreed upon the IMF’s charter. The IMF’s role and work have evolved in response, but like any large organization, its ability to change has been limited by its own rules and mandate and has been held back by inertia. This year’s anniversary offers an opportunity to reflect on how gaps between the reality and the ideal might be closed in the coming years.

This book describes the process of the Czech economic transformation from the beginning of the 1990s to the country?s entry into the European Union in 2004. This transformation is divided into four periods: an initial recession caused by the transformation; economic growth in the mid-1990s; a recession connected to the currency crisis of 1997; and recovery and growth from 1999 until 2004, when the analysis ends. The examination covers the main aspects of the transformation?an overall view of the process, political transition, economic policy, economic results (GDP development, infl ation, unemployment), changes in outside indicators (balance of payments), privatization, transformation of the fi nancial sector, and changes in the business sector and institutional development. The book also compares Czech development in this transformative era to those of Poland and Hungary. As in Hungary and Poland, the Czech Republic underwent an exceptional qualitative shift from a system centrally planned to one that was market-based. The book concludes that despite mistakes and hardships, the overall transformation process in Central Europe has been successful.

In a climate of enhanced global competition, attention for economic diplomacy has substantially grown, as much in the West as in other parts of the world. This book conceptualizes economic diplomacy and adds to a better understanding of its central place in the theory and practice of international relations. With original research from a number of thematic and regional perspectives, scholars from diplomatic studies, economics, international relations and political economy make this a unique multidisciplinary contribution to a burgeoning field.

The Monfort Plan is a five-year, forward looking plan to eradicate extreme poverty from the developing world, and details how microfinance has made a difference to developing countries. This book proposes a new institution based in the developing world with the potential to provide a basic, free, and universal service in the areas of water, sanitation, healthcare, and education to the extreme poor worldwide. The provision will be subject to a certain degree of conditionality in areas ranging from corruption to legal environment. The new institution will be established in a new international territory based within a specific country in Subsaharan Africa and will emerge in 2015. In The Monfort Plan author Jaime Pozuelo-Monfort engineers and designs a solution to lessen the burden of poverty. In order to do so he relies on the social sciences to bring about innovation and forward looking economic policies and financial instruments in the context of a paradigm shift. This book presents a multidisciplinary approach to policymaking that combines a range of fields in the social sciences, looking at the history behind the Marshall Plan, the formation of the European Union, and the Bretton Woods Institutions, in order to determine how a Marshall Plan for Africa-and the creation of New Institutions in the developing world-could work. We live a moment of crisis in which creative policymaking might prove useful when proposing outcomes for a revitalized framework for capitalism to thrive and better serve the world. Walks you through the technicalities of the new architecture of capitalism in a straightforward manner Provides a holistic view of how microfinance combined with the right economic policies and financial instruments could help change the world for the poor Contains sweeping and detailed recommendations on how to build a new capitalist paradigm that helps elevate the poor and improve the human condition Incorporating commentary from some of the top minds in the field of microfinance, this book puts the method of microfinance in perspective.

The book discusses the Sukūk market, its developments, and the legal, Sharī‘ah, risks, and rating issues facing Sukūk. Securitisation as the best way forward for Sukūk structuring is emphasized and issues such as Sukūk listing, Sukūk index and Sukūk fund are highlighted.

The most successful economies have the best working financial markets. While causation obviously runs in both directions, current research has increasingly emphasized the role of finance in promoting growth. Here seven leading financial economists explore the links between financial development and growth. The book seeks to answer the question of the role of finance in promoting sustainable growth and in the reduction of poverty, for example via micro-financial institutions.

An insightful examination of the political and economic ties between China and Latin America from the 1950s to the present This book explores the impact of Chinese growth on Latin America since the early 2000s. Some twenty years ago, Chinese entrepreneurs headed to the Western Hemisphere in search of profits and commodities, specifically those that China lacked and that some Latin American countries held in abundance--copper, iron ore, crude oil, and soybeans. Focusing largely on Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Peru, Carol Wise traces the evolution of political and economic ties between China and these countries and analyzes how success has varied by sector, project, and country. She also assesses the costs and benefits of Latin America's recent pivot toward Asia. Wise argues that while opportunities for closer economic integration with China are seemingly infinite, so are the risks. She contends that the best outcomes have stemmed from endeavors where the rule of law, regulatory oversight, and a clear strategy exist on the Latin American side.

CONTENTS: 1. Measuring Changes in Liquidity Using the Bid-offer Price Proxy: Determinants of Liquidity in the United Kingdom Gilt Market by Moorad Choudhry 2. Impact of Electronic Tax Registers on VAT Compliance: A Study of Kenyan Private Business Firms by I. K. Naibei and E. M. Siringi 3. Foreign Direct Investment Inflows, Merchandize Trade and Economic Growth in India: An Analytical Study by Mousumi Bhattacharya 4. Extension of Technology Adoption Model (TAM) Intention to Use Internet Banking: Evidence from India by V.V.Ravi Kumar, S.K. Bose and P.V.Raghavan 5. Assessment of the Impact of Financial Risk and Market Variables on Expert Investment Preferences in Colombo Stock Exchange by M. M. Fonseka, A.M.T.P. Athauda and G. L. Tian 6. Assessing the Impact of Microfinance Institutions on Financial Development within the West African Monetary and Economic Union by Kanfitine Lare-Lantone 7. Growth of Banking Sector in the Sultanate of Oman: An Analysis by Imran Azad, A.H.M. Saifullah Sadi and Mohd. Faiyaz Click here to download full PDF edition of this issue (free limited time open access) Go to Journal Homepage Go to Series editor website About the Journal The International Journal of Finance and Policy Analysis (IJFPA) aims to publish high-quality papers that are of interest to academicians and practitioners. IJFPA is peer-reviewed and publishes both applied and theoretical papers bi-annually. The journal only considers original manuscripts for publication. IJFPA welcomes contributions in the areas of corporate finance, investments, corporate governance, international finance, financial markets & institutions, credit analysis, financial planning, financial risk management, behavioural finance, financial services management, capital structure, international financial market linkages, portfolio management, financial analysis, financial market regulations, and international banking. Other papers that might be of interest to the readership will be considered for publication. The readership of IJFPA includes academics, professionals, scholars, practitioners, and policy analysts.

This provocative and important text offers a new way of thinking about sovereignty, both past and present. Distinguished geographer John Agnew boldly challenges the widely popular story that state sovereignty is in worldwide eclipse in the face of the overwhelming processes of globalization. In challenging this perception, Agnew first traces the ways in which it has become commonplace. He then develops a new way of thinking about the geography of effective sovereignty and the various geographical forms in which sovereignty actually operates in the world, offering an exciting intellectual framework that breaks with the either/or thinking of state sovereignty versus globalization.