Introduction

It is difficult today to read any economic literature, popular or scholarly, without soon encountering references to ‘globalization,’ ‘transnationals,’ ‘multinationals,’ and the like. As we are reminded every day, the world is getting smaller and smaller and, in the process, more interdependent. A financial crisis in East Asia can be a cause of genuine concern to farmers in Iowa. Chinese labor laws significantly affect the economic and social status of workers (employed and unemployed) in Birmingham. The prospect of a European central bank has ramifications well beyond the borders of the European Union. All of this is increasingly evident to both participants and bystanders in this process.