ABSTRACT
The rules of the global market economy identify who the players are and what restrictions they must observe in the conduct of business. Law and Economics has underlined the contribution of economic institutions to economic outcomes such as long-term economic development. Economic nationalism has been a strong force in many countries, government somehow favouring or controlling the domestic firms through either import substitution or export orientation. The European Community was from its very start in 1957 preoccupied with economic coordination, although the concern about avoiding any future war in Europe also played a role. The financial economy (IMF) or the 'Fund' was conceived at a United Nations conference convened in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, in July 1944. The World Bank is run like a cooperative, with its member countries as shareholders. The World Trade Organization began on January 1, 1995, but its trading system is half a century older. Economic coordination has advanced much further than environmental or political coordination.
