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© Copyright by Uniwersytet Gdański Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Gdańskiego
ISBN 978-83-7865-850-4
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Table of contents
Introduction . . . 7
Chapter 1. The global economy: History, structure, actors . . . 11
1.1. The global economy in historical perspective . . . 11
1.1.1. The cold-war period . . . 11
1.1.2. The world after the collapse of the Berlin Wall . . . 19
1.1.3. International organisations and institutions . . . 23
1.2. Globalisation: Causes and consequences . . . 32
1.2.1. The character of globalisation processes . . . 32
1.2.2. Criticism of globalisation . . . 34
1.3. Summary . . . 37
Chapter 2. The development gap between North and South: Poverty and inequality in the world . . . 39
2.1. Socio-economic underdevelopment in the world . . . 39
2.1.1. Causes of poverty and civilizational retardation . . . 39
2.1.2. Consequences of underdevelopment . . . 42
2.2. International aid: Rationale and effectiveness . . . 43
2.2.1. Forms of international assistance . . . 43
2.2.2. Effectiveness of international aid . . . 50
2.3. Dimensions and implications of inequality . . . 52
2.3.1. Character of inequality . . . 52
2.3.2. Debate on inequality . . . 55
2.4. Summary . . . 59
Chapter 3. Cross-border flows of labour and technology . . . 61
3.1. International flows of labour . . . 61
3.1.1. Economic and socio-psychological mechanisms underlying migratory movements . . . 61
6 Table of contents
3.1.2. Consequences of emigration . . . 66
3.1.3. The impact of immigration on receiving economies . . . 68
3.2. International flows of technology . . . 76
3.2.1. The character and implications of technological progress . . . 76
3.2.2. The mechanics of cross-border technology transfer . . . 78
3.3. Summary . . . 83
Chapter 4. International finance: Selected aspects . . . 85
4.1. The balance of payments . . . 85
4.1.1. The function and components of the balance of payments . . . 85
4.1.2. A balance-of-payments crisis: Causes and consequences . . . . 87
4.2. The global monetary system . . . 92
4.2.1. A historical perspective . . . 92
4.2.2. Fixed and floating exchange-rate regimes . . . 95
4.3. Summary . . . . 100
Chapter 5. Economic integration in Latin America . . . . 103
5.1. Mercosur . . . . 103
5.1.1. The raison d’être and institutions of Mercosur . . . . 103
5.1.2. Mercosur member states in main international rankings . . . . 106
5.1.3. Conclusions and policy implications . . . . 110
5.2. CARICOM . . . . 112
5.2.1. Objectives and institutions . . . . 112
5.2.2. The development level of CARICOM member states . . . . . 114
5.2.3. Conclusive remarks . . . . 118
5.3. Summary . . . . 119
References . . . . 121
