This course concerns the evolution of the international monetary system. Serious attention will be given to the financial upheavals starting with the 1980s Debt Crisis , the Mexican devaluation of '95, the '98 slowdown from the '97 Asian Crisis , the meltdown following the the likelihood of further financial instabilities , current monetary policy , vulnerability of the US equities market , international debt , IMF structural adjustment programs , exchange rate regimes, the evolution and value of unbacked fiat currency, deflationary waves , currency areas, parallel currencies, and alternative monetary systems.
Most readings can be downloaded from the net, other readings are on reserve .
The most important resource is perhaps Nouriel Roubini's web site. If financial instabilities manifest themselves during the semester, more current events will be included in the course and resources like The Economist BBC Bloomberg and CNNfn will prove useful. The final exam score can be used to substitute for either of the preceding two exams. Old exams can be found here . At least half the questions on the exams will be drawn from a set of study questions .