Shifts in global economic dominance are by nature tectonic and never precipitated by single events. The Great Recession of 2008–09, however, has presented the European Union, its common currency the euro, and the United States with new global challenges. The transatlantic partnership has dominated the world economy since the early 20th century and, based upon US and European values and interests, has designed and sustained all its principal global political and economic institutions. But countries outside the European Union and United States now account for about half of the world economy, and in the aftermath of the Great Recession their share is growing rapidly. Hence their increasing role and concomitant demands for greater influence over global economic governance pose a series of challenges and opportunities to the European Union and the United States, as illustrated by the eclipse of the G-8 by the G-20. The contributions in this volume by subject area experts from the Peterson Institute for International Economics and Bruegel ponder how or whether the rise of outside actors of potentially equal, or even greater, economic weight will invariably force a rethinking of not only how the European Union and the United States should conduct policy externally towards the new rising economic poles, but also of the substantive contents of the EU-US bilateral economic and political relationship.

China's transition to a market economy has propelled its remarkable economic growth since the late 1970s. In this book, Nicholas R. Lardy, one of the world's foremost experts on the Chinese economy, traces the increasing role of market forces and refutes the widely advanced argument that Chinese economic progress rests on the government's control of the economy's "commanding heights." In another challenge to conventional wisdom, Lardy finds little evidence that the decade of the leadership of former President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao (2003–13) dramatically increased the role and importance of state-owned firms, as many people argue. This book offers powerfully persuasive evidence that the major sources of China's growth in the future will be similarly market rather than state-driven, with private firms providing the major source of economic growth, the sole source of job creation, and the major contributor to China's still growing role as a global trader. Lardy does, however, call on China to deregulate and increase competition in those portions of the economy where state firms remain protected, especially in energy and finance.

The book examines how the outgrowth of the financial industry has contributed to the recent tendencies towards inequality and stagnation. It proposes a monetary interpretation of these events using a Classical–Keynesian theoretical approach derived from the work of Keynes and Sraffa. The approach moves from the distributive conflicts among economic and social groups, presuming that they influence the legislation shaping the organisation of the markets and the policy of the authorities. It argues that the degrees of liquidity of assets, which reflect the individual perceptions of their future prices, ultimately depend on the organisation of the markets and policy decisions. The development of his work persuaded Keynes that it was necessary to revolutionise the scientific foundations of economic discipline to effectively interpret events and recommend policies. He consequently introduced in 1932 a monetary theory of production. Following these lines, Sraffa proposed in Production of Commodities to take the rate of interest as an independent variable in the theory of distribution. Using the Classical–Keynesian approach, the book shows how the changes in legislation and policies since the abandonment of the Bretton Woods agreements have caused the outgrowth of finance and how these alterations have raised financial instability. It identifies various competitive mechanisms through which financial events can affect income distribution and growth, describing how they have triggered the recent tendencies towards inequality and stagnation. This book is essential reading for researchers studying the interactions among financial markets, distribution, and growth.

It is not in the US interest to adopt tax and regulatory policies that would discourage global engagement by US multinational corporations (MNCs). Research presented in this book shows that the expansion of foreign affiliates of US MNCs is positively associated with more production, greater employment, higher exports, and more research and development (R&D) in the United States. These findings suggest that less investment abroad by US firms would weaken—not strengthen—the US economy. This analysis by no means implies that there are only winners and no losers from outward investment. Changing patterns of MNC investment, like changing patterns of technology and production more generally, contribute to job losses and dislocations for some workers and to new opportunities for others. To benefit the US economy and US workers most broadly, the United States will want to search for ways to strengthen the appeal of the United States as a base for the operations of international firms. High among the recommendations to accomplish this, the United States should adopt a territorial tax system, like the great majority of developed countries.

Since the Treaty of the European Union was ratified in 1993, the European Union has become an important factor in an ever-increasing number of regimes of pooled sovereignty. This Handbook seeks to present a valuable guide to this new and unique system in the twenty-first century, allowing readers to obtain a better understanding of the emerging multilevel European governance system that links national polities to Europe and the global community. Adopting a pan-European approach, this Handbook brings together the work of leading international academics to cover a wide range of topics such as: the historical and theoretical background the political systems and institutions of both the EU and its individual member nations political parties and party systems political elites civil society and social movements in European politics the political economy of Europe public administration and policy-making external policies of the EU. This is an invaluable and comprehensive resource for students, scholars, researchers and practitioners of the European Union, European politics and comparative politics.

Americans have long been ambivalent toward foreign direct investment in the United States. Foreign multinational corporations may be a source of capital, technology, and jobs. But what are the implications for US workers, firms, communities, and consumers as the United States remains the most popular destination for foreign multinational investment? Theodore H. Moran and Lindsay Oldenski find that foreign multinational firms that invest in the United States are, alongside US-headquartered American multinationals, the most productive and highest-paying segment of the US economy. These firms conduct more research and development, provide more value added to US domestic inputs, and export more goods and services than other firms in the US economy. The superior technology and management techniques they employ spill over horizontally and vertically to improve the performance of local firms and workers. As the United States wants not only to expand employment but also create well-paying jobs that reverse the falling earnings that many US workers and middle class families have suffered in recent decades, it is more important than ever to enhance the United States as a destination for multinational investors