Capital flows to the developing economies have long displayed a boom-and-bust pattern. Rarely has the cycle turned as abruptly as it did in the 1990s, however: surges in lending were followed by the Mexican peso crisis of 1994-95 and the sudden collapse of currencies in Asia in 1997. This volume maps a new and uncertain financial landscape, one in which volatile private capital flows and fragile banking systems produce sudden reversals of fortune for governments and economies. This environment creates dilemmas for both national policymakers who confront the "mixed blessing" of capital inflows and the international institutions that manage the recurrent crises.

The authors—leading economists and political scientists—examine private capital flows and their consequences in Latin America, Pacific Asia, and East Europe, placing current cycles of lending in historical perspective. National governments have used a variety of strategies to deal with capital-account instability. The authors evaluate those responses, prescribe new alternatives, and consider whether the new circumstances require novel international policies.

Miles Kahler is the Rohr Professor of Pacific International Relations at the University of California, San Diego. He is the author of several books, including Governance in a Global Economy: Political Authority in Transition, and editor of The Politics of International Debt, also from Cornell.

This volume is an invaluable addition to the extensive literature on the subject and is a must for all who are interested in understanding Islamic politics.

The book offers a wealth of theory and facts that will be important for anyone interested in understanding cross-border capital flows.

A first-rate study, providing excellent coverage of the major issues.... These texts not only provide an excellent introduction to the main issues but are an enriching and timely addition to the continuing debates.

This edited volume provides valuable insights into... and a comprehensive understanding of issues around capital flows and financial crises, including some policy analyses and recommendations that can be beneficial not only to students of international recommendations that can be beneficial not only to students of international finance but also to concerned observers and policymakers.