The enormous leaps of growth and development experienced by Eastern and Southeast Asian states since the 1960s on account of their astonishing industrial development have led to concerns that a resulting global economic and political shift might favour the Pacific region at the expense of the...

Subnational insolvency is a reoccurring event in development, as demonstrated by historical and modern episodes of subnational defaults in both developed and developing countries. Insolvency procedures become more important as countries decentralize expenditure, taxation, and borrowing, and...

Review of the Monograph: Fforde, Adam (2009), Coping with Facts: A Skeptic’s Guide to the Problem of Development, Bloomfield, CT: Kumarian Pr Inc. ; ISBN-13: 978-1565492684, 246 pages

As a result of worldwide decentralization, subnational debt is rising. Subnational debt crises in major developing countries in the 1990s have led to strengthened regulatory frameworks for subnational borrowing and insolvency. With the fragility of the global recovery and increasing public debt,...

What legal basis is there for retaliating against China’s exchange-rate policy? This column says that IMF rules are likely inadequate to rule against China, while its policy does not constitute a WTO-punishable export subsidy. It argues that exchange-rate conflicts should be handled by a...

The article explores the relationship between free transfer clauses and exchange restrictions. The transfer of funds provision is a common feature of BITs, albeit of limited practical relevance thus far. The free transfer provision is particularly important in difficult economic times, when the...

UNCTAD's Draft Principles are an innovative set of best practices for sovereign borrowing and lending. Independent of the desirability of the Principles, it is important to consider whether they depart in important ways from the existing practice on sovereign lending and the resolution of...

Investment treaties are some of the most controversial yet least understood instruments of global economic governance. Public interest in international investment arbitration is growing, and some developed and developing countries are beginning to revisit their investment treaty policies. The...

This chapter examines the rise and fall of the International Financial Commission in Greece, set against the background of Greek public finances in the 19th century. The IFC played a central role in Greek economic life up to and throughout the interwar period. It is a leading example of a...