International payments unions and clearing houses have been employed by 88 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean to liberalise regional trade and payments during the past 50 years. Yet, their impact on participating countries has not been well understood. When the republics of the former Soviet Union were deciding on new monetary regimes, many economists proposed a payments union but could not estimate its potential benefits or risks. This book presents the first fully articulated theory of international payments unions and clearing houses in order to answer the questions: When should a country choose to participate in a payments union? What benefits and costs have actually resulted from existing and past clearing houses? When should countries in a clearing house seek to form a payments union?

International payments unions and clearing houses have been employed by 88 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean to liberalise regional trade and payments during the past 50 years. Yet, their impact on participating countries has not been well understood. When the republics of the former Soviet Union were deciding on new monetary regimes, many economists proposed a payments union but could not estimate its potential benefits or risks. This book presents the first fully articulated theory of international payments unions and clearing houses in order to answer the questions: When should a country choose to participate in a payments union? What benefits and costs have actually resulted from existing and past clearing houses? When should countries in a clearing house seek to form a payments union?

Provides an in-depth overview of the Federal Reserve System, including information about monetary policy and the economy, the Federal Reserve in the international sphere, supervision and regulation, consumer and community affairs and services offered by Reserve Banks. Contains several appendixes, including a brief explanation of Federal Reserve regulations, a glossary of terms, and a list of additional publications.

"The World Scientific Handbook of Futures Markets serves as a definitive source for comprehensive and accessible information in futures markets. The emphasis is on the unique characteristics of futures markets that make them worthy of a special volume. In our judgment, futures markets are currently undergoing remarkable changes as trading is shifting from open outcry to electronic and as the traditional functions of hedging and speculation are extended to include futures as an alternative investment vehicle in traditional portfolios. The unique feature of this volume is the selection of five classic papers that lay the foundations of the futures markets and the invitation to the leading academics who do work in the area to write critical surveys in a dozen important topics."--$cProvided by publisher.

Defines and explains terms related to management, banking, finance, insurance, real estate, investment, data processing, marketing, and economic theory.