Introduction, Scope and Content

Abstract

International economic and financial policy (IEFP) consists of the analysis of the policy measures of the governments of individual countries to influence their external trade, investment, intellectual property rights (IPR) and migration. In addition, IEFP consists of the governance and policies of international financial institutions (IFI), which are the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank (WB), the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and the multilateral development banks (MDB). The MDBs include the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the European Investment Bank (EIB). The ministers of finance and heads of central banks of the Group of Seven (G7) industrialized countries — the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Canada — shape the policies of the IFIs (Peláez and Peláez 2005, 63–100). IEFP is also processed through other international organizations (IO) such as the United Nations (UN), the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Labor Organization (ILO).