RESOURCES
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they are so ``transnational'' as to owe no allegiance to any nation.
The authors describe US, German, and Japanese firms in particular,
showing that MNCs from these countries tend to pursue national objec-
tives and operate very different systems. For instance, MNCs from
different countries vary widely in the importance they give share-
holders, in their closeness to banks, in management accountability,
and in their exposure to international capital markets. A potential
strain between national ideas about corporate governance and global
pressures for standardization is discussed. Power is not shifting from
governments to supranational corporations, say the authors, but the
tendency for states to pursue nationalist policies in trade, technology,
and finance could well bring about the eventual disintegration of the
global economy.
» Doremus, P.N., Keller, W.W., Pauly, L.W., Reich, S. (1999) The Myth
of the Global Corporation
. Princeton University Press, Princeton.
MONETARISM
A Monetary History of the United States, 18671960
Arch-monetarist Milton Friedman and co-author Anna Jacobson Sch-
wartz's 1963 book had a major impact on economic thinking in the US,
and is still one of the most frequently quoted texts in economics. Prior
to its publication, it was generally thought that having a government
monetary policy was ineffective and that the state should restrict itself
to keeping interest rates low enough to keep unemployment at an
acceptable level. Friedman established that the quantity of money is
controllable and strongly influences the economy.
The book covers the Great Depression in much detail, arguing that
a better monetary policy could have greatly reduced the problems it
caused, notably at a crucial point in 1930/31 when a banking crisis
developed.
The book is accessible and highly readable, without equations in
the main text it is probably the best foundation for an understanding
of the genuine theoretical advances that monetarism has produced.
Money does not explain everything, nor does Friedman claim so; the
point is that the flow and quantity of money has important, and to
some degree manageable, effects on the economy.
