¿Gobernar la globalización? Política y economía en la regulación de los movimientos internacionales de capital

Abstract

Instability and recurrent crisis in the international economy have led a number of governments to some kind of regulation of short-term financial investment. Regulating capital flows is based on the evidence that free markets not always deliver the best allocation of resources, in whose cases governments have to implement active policies in order to prevent market failures. Beginning with a summing up of this issue since its initial recognition in the Bretton Woods accords to current IMF and the US Federal Reserve efforts to institutionalize de-regulation of the capital account as a mandatory condition for affiliation to the IMF. It is then argued that US government efforts in this direction are part and parcel of its attempts at a global re-design of its political and economic hegemony. Subsequently the paper focuses on some recent experiences of regulating short-term financial flows in both Latin America and Asia, arguing that, under certain conditions, regulation of this kind of capital movements can improve the performance of policy strategies addressed at sustained development and full employment.Instability and recurrent crisis in the international economy have led a number of governments to some kind of regulation of short-term financial investment. Regulating capital flows is based on the evidence that free markets not always deliver the best allocation of resources, in whose cases governments have to implement active policies in order to prevent market failures. Beginning with a summing up of this issue since its initial recognition in the Bretton Woods accords to current IMF and the US Federal Reserve efforts to institutionalize de-regulation of the capital account as a mandatory condition for affiliation to the IMF. It is then argued that US government efforts in this direction are part and parcel of its attempts at a global re-design of its political and economic hegemony. Subsequently the paper focuses on some recent experiences of regulating short-term financial flows in both Latin America and Asia, arguing that, under certain conditions, regulation of this kind of capital movements can improve the performance of policy strategies addressed at sustained development and full employment