If English is rapidly becoming the international language of choice and necessity, the dollar is racing ahead as the world's currency. This somewhat astonishing development is due in large part to the actions, and deliberate non-actions, of the Federal Reserve. This organisation is responsible for tweaking, pushing and pulling the financial and economic infrastructure of America when it deems it necessary. Its moves and non-moves are scrutinised, analysed, and criticised. This new book offers an in-depth presentation of the proposes and functions of the Federal reserve, several analytical articles and an in-depth bibliography.

The growing integration of capital markets has strengthened incentives for greater international coordination of economic and financial policies. Structural changes in these financial market, however, may have undermined the effectiveness of monetary and fiscal policy and complicated market access by developing countries. These are among the findings of this study of capital flows in the 1970s and the 1980s.

Includes history of bills and resolutions.