This book explores the central economic and political issues defining the modern world. With contributions from a number of world renowned economists, a range of topical debates are discussed in an accessible and practical manner. The topics discussed include the current economic and political...

Although entering currency (and customs) unions involve both costs and benefits, an increasing body of research is finding that the benefits--in terms of international trade creation--are remarkably large. Focusing simply on the European Monetary Union (EMU) rather than the broad range of...

This paper discusses the fault lines in cross-border banking, both at the global level and at the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) level, using the case of the three Icelandic cross-border banks as an example. Cross-currency liquidity risk built up prior to the crisis, especially...