The United States and the Global Economy: From Bretton Woods to the Current Crisis

Financial collapse. Global recession. The revival of free-market policies. Massive and increasing inequalities. Housing bubbles and record foreclosures. Severe strain in the European Union. Emergence of China and other major players on the international economic scene. Every day, media outlets bombard us with news and possible explanations for the financial, economic, and political crises. In The United States and the Global Economy, Frederick S. Weaver gives readers a concise introduction to the patterns of change in international financial and trade regimes since World War II in order to clarify recent global economic turmoil. Weaver has compiled a clear chronology of major events in the international economy to show how they have reflected and shaped changes in the domestic economy of the United States. Although U.S. dominance over the world economy is not as complete as it once was, U.S. domestic economic processes continue to have profound effects on global economic affairs. The United States and the Global Economy is serious but not grim, and it familiarizes readers with the vocabulary of key elements of international economic analysis and their relationships, such as balances of trade and balances of payments, foreign direct investment and foreign portfolio investment, and the meaning of most-favored-nation agreements. The United States and the Global Economy is a concise, informative book that is of interest to anyone seeking to understand the current international economic and political disarray.