The papers collected in this volume are those presented at the seventeenth Collo quium arranged by the Societe Universitaire Europeenne de Recherches Financieres (SUERF), which took place in Berlin in October 1992. The Society is supported by a large number of central banks and commercial banks, by other fmancial and business institutions and by personal subscriptions from academics and others interested in monetary and fmancial problems. Since its establishment in 1963, it has developed as a forum for the exchange of information, research results and ideas among academics and practitioners in these fields, including central bank officials and civil servants responsible for formulating and applying monetary and financial policies, national and international. A major activity of SUERF is to organise and conduct Colloquia on subjects of topical interest to its members. The titles, places and dates of previous Colloqu~ for which volumes of the collected papers were published are noted on the last page of this volume.

By the end of this century, 9 out of 10 Europeans will live in an urban area. But what kind of city will they call home? You'll find all the answers in CITY, TRANSFORMED, the new essay series from the European Investment Bank. This panoramic first essay in the series lays out a great sweeping history of European cities over the last fifty years—and showcases new directions being taken by some of our most innovative cities. Urban experts Greg Clark, Tim Moonen, and Jake Nunley based at University College London take a definitive look at how Europe's cities transformed from post-industrial decline to thriving metropolises that are as prosperous and liveable as anywhere on Earth.

This book offers new insights and perspectives on the financial and banking sector in Europe with a special focus on Central and Southeastern European countries. Through quantitative and qualitative analysis of primary sources and datasets, the book examines both the financial development and performance of the real sector of the economy and the impact and involvement of the banking sector. The contributions offer new insights into current financial innovations and discuss best practices in innovative financial solutions. They also highlight new perspectives in finance and analyze characteristic problems in the real and banking sectors in various European countries. The insights and financial solutions presented in this book will be of interest to scholars of finance and financial economics as well as practitioners in the financial industry and policy makers.

Recent developments in the global economy, such as the Greek budget crisis, have led to new focus on the role of Europe, and in particular on the countries in Europe's south-eastern region. This new volume from a global set of contributors explores south-east Europe's present and future direction, placing it in the context of the history of the region since the end of the Second World War. Through an exploration of Europe's cultural and political economy, this volume argues that the south-east part of Europe is currently the most crucial component of Europe's future development. The book charts the post-World War Two 'evolution' of the continent, taking in such key turning points as the 1971 breakdown of the fixed exchange rate system, the breakdown of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, and the 2008 global financial collapse. In doing so, the book seeks to explain why and how the current events in south-east Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean can be seen as the weakest points in the wider capitalist system in Europe, and how the issues faced by these regions can provide insight into a possible re-design of European governance. Including a comprehensive editorial introduction, this timely and important book is fully up to date with recent global events, including the 2011 Arab Spring, and provides context and comparison with the countries in the EU.

This book addresses the policy questions surrounding the challenge of transforming eastern European economies from their planned, administrative past to vibrant market-based entities. Jozef van Brabant considers in turn, the wider set of challenges facing these economies - stabilization, privatization, liberalization, institution building, and developing and maintaining the sociopolitical consensus - before examining the evolving role of the state. Using concrete examples from the eastern European countries throughout, including the Czech Republic and Bulgaria, this work systematically examines, in a society-wide context, the initial conditions of transformation, the policy tasks ahead and the manner in which policies have been pursued.