My research seeks to explain the evolution of trade policy debates among American business leaders between World War I and the 1960s. The key finding is that a new framework for discussing trade policy was widely adopted after the United States became a creditor nation during World War I. This framework related tariffs and imports to exports, international lending and American foreign policy. High levels of imports ceased to be a threat and instead came to be seen as a pre-requisite for high levels of exports and a well-functioning global economy; raising the levels of imports, including through tariff cuts, became a strategy for providing American allies and debtors with dollar revenues. This new insight into the political economy of American foreign economic policy is based on new evidence from the archival records of business associations and a wide range of other primary and secondary sources. In addition to bringing to light new evidence, my research also addresses some of the gaps that still exist in the literature on the history of the foreign economic policy of the United States, the Cold War and transatlantic relations.

A tese trata da política econômica internacional desenvolvida pelo govêrno brasileiro, composta pela política de comércio exterior, a política cambial e tarifária, e o balanço de pagamentos, que constituem pilares fundamentais da política de estabilização do PAEG. A política econômica externa, além de contribuir para a estabilidade e o equilíbrio das contas externas, tentou criar as condições para realização de um novo modelo de crescimento, baseado na promoção de exportações e na abertura da economia aos fluxos de comércio e de investimento. A cooperação financeira internacional e a resolução do endividamento externo passaram a ser considerados questões estratégicas para o êxito deste novo modelo. Sem o aval e os recursos do FMI e dos organismos multilaterais dificilmente o plano de estabilização teria sobrevivido. / This dissertation is about the international economic policy developed by the Brazilian Government. It includes the external trade policy, the exchange rate policy and tariffs trade as well as the balance of payments, that were the basic points of the economic stabilization policy that was carried on during the PAEG – Plano de Ação Econômica do Governo. The external economic policy has helped to reach the goal of the Brazilian economy stabilization as well as has created the conditions for the launching of a new economic growth model, based upon the exports and the opening of the country to the international investment flows. The questions concerning the international finance cooperation and the solution of the external debt problem were considered to be strategic issues for achieving the success of this new economic model. The stabilization program would not be succeeded without the help from the IMF and other multilateral agencies.

La première partie de la thèse se propose de montrer commentl’analyse du changement structurel doit être abordée, pas seulement du point de vuedes conditions de l’offre mais également du point de vue de la demande. La prise encompte de ces deux aspects du processus de développement, en suivant lesanalyses de Harrod, Prebisch, Kaldor et Thirlwall, a permis d’identifier l'existenced'une contrainte structurelle à la croissance, résultant de la dynamique particulière ducommerce extérieur dans les pays les moins avancés. Les différents modèlesthéoriques qui formalisent cette restriction ont été analysés et, un test empirique aété effectué sur la Loi de Thirlwall dans cinq pays émergents (Brésil, Colombie,Singapour, Corée du Sud et la Malaisie).Dans la deuxième partie de la thèse, l’accent a été mis sur l'analyse historique duprocessus de changement structurel en Corée du Sud et en Colombie, en vue decomprendre comment les deux pays ont lutté contre cette contrainte et commentcette dernière a influé sur leur croissance à long terme. / In the first part, the thesis discusses structural change, not only from offerconditions but also from the point of view of the demand parameters. Following theHarrod, Prebisch, Kaldor and Thirlwall analysis, we identified the existence of astructural constraint to growth, as a result of the particular foreign trade dynamic inthe less advanced economies (demand for imports vs. demand for exports). Weexamined the different theoretical models that formalize such restriction and, weelaborated a Thirlwall's Law empirical test in five emerging economies (Brazil,Colombia, Singapore, South Korea and Malaysia).In the second part, the thesis examines the structural change process in South Koreaand Colombia, in order to understand how these countries, have deal with thisrestriction and how it has impacted their long-term economic growth. To accomplishthis historical analysis, the key concepts of French regulation school areincorporated.

Diploma thesis deals with the US external economic balance, particularly balance of payments, international investment position, indebtness and the dollar exchange rate. The first part includes the theoretical approach to external economic balance and related terms. Furthermore, I focus on the status of current and financial account of the United States in detail. Here I evaluate the balances of BOP parts and search for the explanation of this situation. I also focus on international investment position of the United States, the development of foreign direct investment and debt indicators. The work also contains a detailed analysis of the U.S. balance of payments for the years 2004 - 2008. The last section is a treatise on the history of the dollar, development of its rate, expected future developments and relationships with U.S. major trading partner, China.

The master thesis emphasizes the economic relations between China and the United States. It gives an overview and theoretical background support on the significance of contemporary the economic relations between countries in today`s globalized era. Secondly, it analyzes how the theoretical background of economic and trade relations affect the empirical case study of the economic relations between China and the USA. The goal is to show how the economic and trade relations between China and the United States influence each other`s economies and what is the effect of such relations on the economic performance of both countries. More precisely, in order to answer the question above, the master thesis deals with complex analysis in regard of historical perspective concerning the economic relations between these countries, their ongoing cooperation in terms of balance of payments, the current and potential issues what both countries face and the existing challenges for the future. In order to complete the analysis and answer the research question, list of various sources will be used, starting from academic journals, books, literature reviews, reports from the World Trade Organization (hereafter WTO), reports from the respective countries on their economic progress, data available from the ministries of trade of respective countries and other sources related to the analysis of the contemporary economic and trade relations between the countries participating in the global economy.

The main objective of this thesis is to provide an overview of developments and issues in the context of the European debt crisis. Euro as a central aspect of Economic and Monetary Union has a major impact on convergence and existing systemic problems of the EU. The first chapter provides a brief description of the european integration since World War II in the context of Economic and Monetary union. The second chapter defines the concept of nominal and real convergence and dedicates closer to the Maastricht convergence criteria and the Stability and Growth Pact, which was the result of efforts towards closer fiscal coordination. Moreover, it summarizes the main causes of the financial crisis and subsequently analyses its impact on the EUR/USD currency pair. The fourth chapter focuses on the systemic weaknesses of the eurozone with an emphasis on the imbalance in the current account balance of payments. The last chapter summarizes the approaches to solving the debt crisis assuming that current steps taken by eurozone leaders in cooperation with the governments of intebted members fail.

Ma thèse étudie la pensée monétaire ainsi que les travaux de Ralph G. Hawtrey, Harry D. White et Robert Triffin, entre 1919 et 1960. Au cours des débats sur cette période, considérée comme fondatrice pour le système monétaire international, ces trois économistes ont été des personnalités clés qui ont influencé le cours de l’histoire monétaire. Premièrement, ils ont critiqué la théorie de l’étalon-or issue de la tradition ricardienne, en soulignant le caractère non-automatique et asymétrique du mécanisme d’ajustement de la balance des paiements. En s’articulant autour du rejet de cette tradition, les analyses de nos auteurs ont caractérisé les faiblesses liées au fonctionnement du système monétaire international. Deuxièmement, bénéficiant de leurs positions au Trésor américain et britannique, au FMI ou encore à la Fed, ces économistes ont exercé une influence sur les réformes en œuvrant pour une consolidation de la coopération monétaire internationale dans un régime de changes fixes. / My PhD dissertation studies Ralph G. Hawtrey’s, Harry D. White’s and Robert Triffin’s monetary thought and works between 1919 and 1960. Actively participating to key institutions which shaped the international monetary system – the British Treasury for Hawtrey, the US Treasury for White and the Fed and the IMF in the case of Triffin – those economists influenced the course of monetary theory and history. They both wrote on the non-automatic and asymmetric nature of the balance of payments adjustment mechanism, and formulated an original critic towards the classical Ricardian gold standard theory. Structured around the rejection of this classical theory, the authors’ analysis pointed out the weaknesses of the international monetary system. Since then, all of their reform proposals were grounded on the strengthening of monetary cooperation under a fixed exchange rates system.

This dissertation is a collection of three essays dealing with selected problems of the Euro Area during its most recent crisis. It applies empirical, theoretical, and institutional analyses to gain new insights into many of its financial aspects. The first essay offers an alternative explanation for the surge in government bond spreads. Many researchers attribute this phenomenon to market sentiment and multiple equilibria alone. We show that an often neglected fundamental variable may drive spreads: a decrease in the expected recovery value of private market participants. With an ever-increasing share of crisis countries’ debt held by official creditors, private investors may feel pushed into the position of subordinated creditors. The other two essays both explain the sharp increase in central bank credit from different perspectives. First, from the national perspective, central banks may be confronted with a classical tragedy-of-the-commons problem, which gives rise to an expansionary bias. Second, from the perspective of the ECB, we argue that the empirical patterns surrounding the liquidity provision in December 2011 are reminiscent of a speculative attack on a fixed exchange rate system.

Die Arbeit setzt sich das Ziel, den Ursache-Wirkungs-Zusammenhang zwischen den zahlungsbilanzrelevanten Transaktionen aufzudecken. Dieses Vorhaben legt eine zweigeteilte Analyse der Zahlungsbilanz nahe: Es wird zunächst über die Buchungsmechanik der nach ihrem wirtschaftlichen Charakter unterschiedenen internationalen Transaktionen aufgeklärt und anschließend folgt eine fundierte Zahlungsbilanzdiskussion, die Klarheit in die Ursache-Wirkungs-Beziehung bringt. Grenzüberschreitende Transaktionen werden eingeteilt in (reine) Finanztransaktionen und Leistungstransaktionen. Somit bezieht sich die Kausalitätsfrage auf den Zusammenhang zwischen diesen beiden Transaktionsarten. Das Ergebnis verkehrt gängige Vorstellungen über die Wirkungsrichtung ins Gegenteil und lautet: Die Leistungsbilanz bestimmt die Kapitalbilanz.:Abbildungsverzeichnis V Abkürzungen VII 1. Einleitung 1 1.1 Die Problemstellung 1 1.2 Zum Kausalitätsbegriff 8 2. Die Buchungsmechanik 15 2.1 Die Entstehung der Salden in der Zahlungsbilanz 15 2.1.1 Die Erfassung reiner Finanztransaktionen 16 2.1.2 Die Erfassung von Leistungstransaktionen 24 2.1.3 Die praktische Erfassung der Zahlungsbilanzbuchungen 29 2.2 Die Bedeutung der Salden 32 2.2.1 Die Wirkung reiner Finanztransaktionen 33 2.2.2 Die Wirkung von Leistungstransaktionen 40 2.2.3 Leistungsbilanzüberschüsse und (Netto-) Kapitalexporte 46 3. Der Wirkungszusammenhang 49 3.1 Zahlungsbilanzdiskussionen 49 3.1.1 Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk 50 3.1.2 Wolfgang Stützel 56 3.1.3 Die aktuelle Zahlungsbilanzdiskussion: Target2-Salden 64 3.2 Ursachenhypothesen 71 3.2.1 Die Kapitalbilanz bestimmt die Leistungsbilanz 72 3.2.2 Die Leistungsbilanz bestimmt die Kapitalbilanz 80 3.2.3 Lohnstückkosten und Leistungsbilanzsalden 103 4. Resümee 112 Literaturverzechnis 116

This study focuses on foreign direct investment ("FDI") and its importance to the economy of South Africa. Recognising that FDI, notwithstanding the type, can contribute to economic growth and development, most countries including South Africa are constantly working to attract it, and hence its demand has become highly competitive. However, FDI does not go without some negative effects, such as conflicts between host and investor country, and the creation of damaging competition to local firms. These negative effects could be minimised if policies and strategies for the promotion and attraction of FDI is part of, and integrated into, general economic development and economic reform policies, and not seen in isolation. Although South Africa has implemented strategies to attract more FDI, a refinement of some of these policies is needed if the country is to be successful in this regard. / Economics / M. Comm. (Economics)