Beth A. Simmons and Zachary Elkins (2004), 'The Globalization of Liberalization: Policy Diffusion in the International Political Economy', American Political Science Review, 98, pp. 171-89

O ne of the most important developments over the past three decades has been the growing willingness of governments to open up the na-

tional economy to global market forces. The widespread rollback of policies that block the free movement of goods and capital has affected the quality of life for millions of the world's citizens. Economists reckon the gains to developing countries from a liberalized capital regime to be in the billions of dollars of added GDP growth (Dobson and Hufbauer 2001; Soto 2000). Some, however, acknowledge the instability and human insecurity left in liberalization's wake (Kaplinsky

2001; Prasad et al. 2003). These debates have not been resolved. Nevertheless, few policy choices are as fundamental as those that determine how a national economy should engage-or resist-the forces of economic globalization.