Analyzing several aspects of the political economy of international economic policy,this book contains 12 essays that address the areas of the political economy of trade, aid and investment policy, and therefore will be of interest to academic researchers and students of international economics.

Approach by John H. Petersen.

The cold war between the United States and the Soviet Union provided the context for U.S. policies toward Central America from the 1950s to the 1980s. Nonetheless, attitudes developed during the Cold War cannot explain the specific content of U.S. foreign policies toward the region. Ronald W. Cox argues that U.S. business interests have worked with policymakers to develop trade, aid and investment policies toward Central America. He reveals how the relationship between business groups and the state has been shaped by business competition, national security considerations, institutional structures, and instability in the Central American countries. Many see the state as autonomous and not influenced by business, but Cox argues that business groups have been able to take advantage of specific international circumstances to promote economic policies, thus increasing foreign investment. At the same time, division among business groups has affected foreign economic policies. This book is a provocative analysis of interest to scholars of international political economy, American foreign policy, comparative politics, and business-government relations.

This volume looks at the effectiveness of conditionality in structural adjustment programmes. Tony Killick charts the emergence of conditionality, and challenges the widely held assumption that it is a co-operative process, arguing that in fact it tends to be coercive and detrimental to development objectives. Through detailed case studies of twenty one recipient countries, he explores the key issues of: * ownership * role of agencies * government objectives and the effects of policy. The conclusion is that conditionality has been counterproductive to price stability, economic growth and investment.

Studies in Political Economy of Development is a collection of texts that elucidate the various aspects of political economy and proposes strategies and plans to attain a genuine and comprehensive economic development. The book covers a broad range of topics on development planning, with particular focus on mixed economies. Chapters are devoted to the discussion of long-term planning on mixed economies; strategies for industrial development; significance of foreign trade; and a review of the principal forms of economic aid and its evaluation. The text also presents an analysis of the problems and policies of economic development and technology issues of Latin America. The final chapter deals with the political economy of environment. Economists, political scientists, and policymakers will find this book invaluable.

In an era of increasing interdependence among nations, the foreign policies of poor countries are becoming a subject of critical interest to scholars and the public alike. Neil R. Richardson adopts a political economy perspective to examine the foreign policy repercussions of international economic dependence. Are dependent countries compliant in their foreign policies, acquiescing to the preferences of the industrial giants on which they rely for foreign trade, investment, and aid revenues? Or are they instead prepared to defy their dominant economic partners? These are the major concerns of Richardson’s rigorous investigation. The book begins with a characterization of economic dependence and its possible impact on the foreign policy decisions of dependent governments. Ideas from both “interdependence” and dependencia scholarship are extracted in order to explain the reliance of poor countries on their rich partners. These economics are linked to the foreign policies of poorer countries by considering how the mechanisms of dependence may create pressures on foreign policymakers. Several combinations of pressures are plausible, and each set yields a differing expectation about their foreign policies. The second part of the book is an empirical test of these foreign policy predictions for the years 1950–1973. Richardson analyzes the foreign policy behavior (as reflected in certain votes in the United Nations General Assembly) of a number of poor countries that are economically dependent on the United States to varying degrees. The results suggest several surprising conclusions. Contrary to one common assumption, these mostly Latin American and Caribbean countries are not necessarily locked into a condition of perpetual dependence. Richardson finds that the foreign policies of the economic dependencies are not easily manipulated by the United States. Not only do annual changes in their external economic reliance fail to correspond to their U.N. voting behavior, but the dependencies as a group are no longer clear voting allies of the United States after the late 1960s. These and other results bear theoretical and policy implications that conclude the book. Foreign Policy and Economic Dependence will be of interest to specialists in quantitative international relations and American foreign policy.

The first and definitive book of its kind, Joan Spero's The Politics of International Economic Relations has been fully updated to reflect the sweeping changes in the international arena. With the expertise of co-author Jeffrey Hart, the fifth edition strengthens the coverage of political and economic relations since the end of the Cold War, economic polarization in developing nations and the roots of economic decline in centrally planned economies. A new chapter on industrial policy and competitiveness debates further illustrates the changing dynamics of International Political Economy. Ideal as a supplement to the International Relations course or as the core text in International Political Economy, Spero and Hart's The Politics of International Economic Relations continues to give students the breadth and depth of scholarship needed to understand the politics of world economy.