Transatlantic economic relations are dominated by three factors which are of major historical significance. The first and most important is the multilateral process for trade liberalization, deregulation of financial markets, and macro-economic policy coordination. The second factor is a transatlantic environment of national and regional idiosyncracies exemplified by protectionist initiatives, a significant weakening of the EMS, and changes in central bank statutes.

The second factor is in part a political backlash against the first. The third factor affecting transatlantic economic relations is of course the emergence of regional economic relationships within the transatlantic economy, and a treaty calling for a common currency in Europe. In this volume, specialists in international trade, international finance, and political economy analyse the cause of these three factors, and their implications.