The purpose of this thesis is to show first how the policy of the United States toward Germany developed during and after World War II: second, to describe that policy in its relation to the entrance of West Germany into the western European community.

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The decision to enter a foreign market has long-term implications for the investing firm, as has its choice of entry mode. The hierarchical model of market entry modes proposes that entry modes can be categorised as equity-based or non-equity based, and further categorised by type as joint ventures and wholly owned subsidiaries, exports and contractual agreements. The hierarchical model of market entry modes proposes that there are factors that influence the entry mode at the level of equity versus non-equity but not within the type of equity or non-equity.

This thesis examines the reintegration of localities in Poland through foreign investment in general and transnational corporations, in particular. The focus of the research is on the relationships and interplay between incoming foreign firms, the corporate strategy of individual companies and the role of institutions and local actors. The region which is the focus of the empirical work is Wroclaw, which is located in the South West of Poland, and regarded as a relatively successful example of transformation. The analytical framework is radical institutionalist in emphasising the socially and politically embedded nature of economic behaviour and the existence of differentiated interests and power. Four dimension of embeddedness, structural, cultural, cognitive and institutional are used to examine how far and in what ways recent changes in the corporate strategy of firms have influenced the nature of firms' quantitative and qualitative linkages in the locality. The main conclusions are that although the multiplier effects through supplier linkages were modest, a process of cumulative causation was evident through the demonstration effect of incoming firms and the stimulation of a range of business services. Ambiguous and embryonic structures of local governance Wroclaw meant that foreign investors were significant contributors to the building of formal institutions. The research findings emphasise the use of enabling myths by foreign investors in attempting to instill a set of values, beliefs and expectations viewed to be congruent with a market economy, in both the locality and the workplace, while displacing or circumventing what were regarded as the inappropriate institutional legacies of the previous regime. The overall conclusion is that there needs to be a radical break with the free market status quo and that change can only come from below in the workplaces and local communities through participatory systems of local governance.

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M.Com. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

D.Comm. (Economic and Management Sciences) / The objective of this thesis was to examine the dynamics of Mexico's external economic relations during the period 1968-1995. Since the early seventies, the workings of the international monetary system has been governed Illore by implicit rules and conventions based on sound market principles than rules as were the case under the fixed exchange rate system of Bretton Woods. These "rules of the game" dictated that if a country wanted to be part of the global village and reap the benefits thereof, such a country should adhere to market forces and administer its monetary-fiscal policy in such a way as to ensure that the delicate balance between the domestic and international economic environment is maintained. In the event of a deviation from these rules, a country, in this instance Mexico, would fmd itself in a .position where it is heavily penalised for not playing according to the rules of the game. Starting in 1976, the Mexican economy was characterised by ongoing exchange rate crises, which seemed to be a recurring phenomenon repeating itself more or less every six years. Time and again a misalignment in Mexico's monetary-fiscal policy led to a build-up of pressures and tensions in the external accounts of the country, especially the balance of payments and eventually disruption of the economic growth process and relations with the external world. The Mexican economy was time and again subject to a rapidly growing current account deficit, rising external foreign debt, a rising overall fiscal deficit fuelled by - xiii - expansionary government expenditure policies and the slavish adherence to a fixed exchange rate regime. The growing fiscal deficit was in all instances financed by either increased short-term, highly volatile portfolio capital, or a depletion of the country's gold and foreign reserve holdings. The discovery of large oil reserves in 1978 lessened the need for structural adjustment and the following of more prudent policy measures. Rising domestic inflation and the fixed exchange rate gave rise to an ongoing real appreciation of the peso, which undermined the competitiveness of the domestic economy and distorted the balance between domestic savings and consumption. The appreciation of the peso and the high import propensity of the domestic households led to sharp increases in imports and rather static export earnings. The vulnerability of the domestic economy was exacerbated by developments in the country's external environment. These exogenous shocks took the form of either a decline in the international oil-prices and/or a more hostile international financing environment characterised by higher .interest rates and stricter borrowing requirements. The combination of domestic financial tensions and negative developments in the country's external environment were often, especially in 1994, accompanied by domestic political upheavals. . Time and again the apparent unsustainable domestic and external disparities and the heavy reliance on speculative foreign funding led to a change in investor views of the future of the Mexican peso. Capital flights and continued speculation eventually led to a situation where the authorities could no longer manage to maintain the parity of the peso. The market subsequently forced a devaluation and/or depreciation of the peso. The exchange rate crises of 1976, 1982, 1986-87 and 1994 appear to have been the result of a monetary-fiscal policy stance in which the government played a relatively central role. The role of the government and its hold over the Bank of Mexico led to a situation where the Mexican economy was out of touch with developments in its external economic and financial environment. Interesting though, is the way in which the government, especially the Salinas administration, refused to follow a more marketoriented macroeconomic policy with reference to the exchange rate regime and monetary-fiscal policy in general. As the events that led to the collapse of the peso in - XIV - 1994 unfolded, it became evident that the overvalued peso was maintained solely for non-economic reasons. The manner in which the new Zedillo administration reacted to the sharp depreciation of the peso in 1994and 1995 greatly influenced the further deterioration of the peso and Mexico's international position. The main objective of the international assistance provided to Mexico by the United States, the International Monetary Fun~ and other international institutions during the course of 1995 was to underpin the continued deterioration of the peso and the overall well-being of the Mexican economy. Although the Mexican authorities are bound by the conditions tied to the foreign fmancial assistance provided and are at this stage following a more market-oriented, less regulated economic policy, it remains to be seen whether the authorities will in future adhere more closely to the rules of the game of the international monetary system as embodied in the conventions dictated by the global village market.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) has become the most important source of development finance. Foreign direct investment is said to be taking place when a foreign corporation buys at least a 10 percent shareholding in a domestic firm or undertakes a greenfield investment in a foreign country. Recognising that FDI can contribute to economic development, all governments want to attract it. The world market for FDI is highly competitive, and developing countries, in particular, seek such investments to accelerate their development efforts. Both developing and developed countries are competing for global FDI flows. The result is that FDI flows are concentrated in few developed countries. It becomes critical for economic development to developing countries to attract more FDI flows into their economies. FDI flows are basically the result of investment decisions taken by trans-national corporations in response to certain pull factors. Whether a TNC will undertake FDI in a foreign country or not depends on the existence of determinants that influence such a decision. The increase in global FDI flows is a result of firms decid ing to invest in foreign markets rather than to export to those markets. What makes FDI attractive is that, unlike portfolio investment, it is almost of permanent nature. FDI is also more desirable than loans and official development assistance (ODA) in that it does not create debt. For this and other reasons, countries are seeking to attract FDI flows. Various economic development theories have been advanced to explain the reasons firms undertake FDI rather than export to those foreign markets. These theories include theories that focus on internal organisation or the intending firm. These theories assume the imperfect market condition. Foreign firms will undertake FDI if they have superior oligopolistic advantages over the local firms. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) like other regions and countries is seeking to attract foreign direct investment. The present analysis of the performance of this region show that its share of global FDI flows is very small. The region is facing big challenges as a result of weaknesses in its individual member countries. South Africa is the best performing member in terms of attracting FDI flows and undertaking FDI in other regional countries. FDI inflows into the SADC region are predominantly goin g into resources. This evident when case of Angola and Democratic Republic of the Congo is analysed. It can be said that the FDI inflow into the region is predominantly resourceseeking. It can, however, also be said that some FDI is driven by the market-seeking motive. This is evident in the case of FDI in the food and beverages sector. It is important that the countries in the SADC region work hard to address those determinants that are critical to attracting more FDI. It is evident that some countries can improve their international image if they can address negative factors such as conflicts, crime and government apathy to disregard of the rule of law. Policies and strategies that are aimed at improving the image of the region need to be coordinated among member countries, if the region is to increase its share of global FDI. / Prof. A.E. Loots

D.Comm. / The objective of this thesis was to examine the dynamics of Mexico's external economic relations during the period 1968-1995. Since the early seventies, the workings of the international monetary system has been governed more by implicit rules and conventions based on sound market principles than rules as were the case under the fixed exchange rate system of Bretton Woods. These "rules of the game" dictated that if a country wanted to be part of the global village and reap the benefits thereof, such a country should adhere to market forces and administer its monetary-fiscal policy in such a way as to ensure that the delicate balance between the domestic and international economic environment is maintained. In the event of a deviation from these rules, a country, in this instance Mexico, would find itself in a position where it is heavily penalised for not playing according to the rules of the game. Starting in 1976, the Mexican economy was characterised by ongoing exchange rate crises, which seemed to be a recurring phenomenon repeating itself more or less every six years. Time and again a misalignment in Mexico's monetary-fiscal policy led to a build-up of pressures and tensions in the external accounts of the country, especially the balance of payments and eventually disruption of the economic growth process and relations with the external world.

M.Com. (Economics) / The gold sector has historically made an extremely important contribution to the total external revenue earnings of South Africa. Gold is traded on the international markets at a price which is determined daily through supply and demand and quoted in American dollar terms. South Africa is one of the largest producers of gold in the world and despite this it has no control over the international gold price. Local producers get paid in rands for their production. Because the international gold price is determined in American dollar terms and local producers get paid in rands the exchange rate is extremely important to local gold producers. If the dollar/gold price is compared to rand/dollar gold price in the long term there is a definite pattern. From 1980 to 1990 it can clearly be seen that if the gold price rises or declines the exchange rate has depreciated or appreciated. Since 1990 the dollar/gold price declined steadily until 1993 when it recovered somewhat. The rand exchange rate has not in the past depreciated in relation to the decline in the gold price. A sharp depreciation of the rand since 1990 has been experienced. The question that arises is that has the deviation in the long term relation between the rand/dollar exchange rate and the gold price since 1990 just been temporary in nature or was there a fundamental change? Since 1990 the dollar/gold price has declined from American $383.55 to $324.86 in October 1997. Over the same period the rand has depreciated from 258.17 cent to 470.90 cents for a dollar. Over the whole period the rand has hardly shown signs of appreciation whilst there were sporadic increases in the gold price. Government policy changed in 1990 and the focus moved to inflation control. A sharp increase of nett capital from South Africa was noted since 1990.