Financial Openness and National Autonomy: Opportunities and Constraints (Wider Studies in Development Economics) - Hardcover

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The 1980s ushered in a sea-change in international financial markets with what appeared to most observers as a rapid acceleration of 'globalization of finance'. In the process, many governments rejected in (sic) international financial management or control of international capital movements. A new doctrine--global neoclassicism--arose, based on the idea that government regulation of financial markets was futile and even foolish. The authors of this book challenge the new orthodoxy and reinterpret the current state of the international financial system, tackling the question of whether national policy autonomy is still possible. They argue that the conventional understanding of international financial openness is both simplistic and mistaken. They explore the 'political economy' of financial openness, arguing that many of the developments of the 1980s have been political, involving the ascendence of private financial interests. They show the inadequacies of 'global neoclassicism' and offer instead, a novel political economy approach, based on relations of power within financial markets, and between private financial interests and the state. The book includes both general historical and theoretical approaches, as well as case studies of various countries, such as Australia, Mexico, and Pakistan. It represents a major contribution in the political economy of international finance.