The making of global finance : 1880-1913
Abstract
This book traces the roots of global financial integration in the first "modern" era of globalisation from 1880 to 1913. It analyses the direction, destinations and origins of international financial flows in order to determine the domestic policy choices that either attracted or deterred such flows to developing countries. The book deposes the idea that the gold standard and other institutional arrangements were the key to attracting foreign investment, pointing to the stability and probity of political systems as much more important. One of the major conclusions is that the successful management of international financial integration depends primarily on broad institutional and political factors, as well as on financial policies, rather than simply opening or closing individual economies to the international winds. The Making of Global Finance: 1880-1913 can serve as a valuable tool to current-day policy dilemmas by using historical data to see which policies in the past led to enhanced international financing for development. It also includes historical data that will interest all scholars of economics and economic history, as well as the casual reader.