A Prism on Globalization

The unprecedented shifts in the U.S. dollar’s exhange rate that started during the late 1970s and continued through the 1980s provide an ideal opportunity to explore how the global economy works and the role that multinational enterprises (MNEs) play in the phenomenon of globalization. In this book, Subramanian Rangan and Robert Z. Lawrence examine the international pricing, sourcing, and trade responses of MNEs to shifts in the dollar. Based upon the micro patterns they observe in MNE behavior, the authors suggest explanations for some puzzling macro patterns evident in our international economy. They conclude that the global integration of markets remains incomplete due to informational and other important discontinuities, and they refute stereotypes which portray multinational firms as either footloose or inflexible. Policy implications for exchange rates, trade, and foreign direct investment are also discussed.

Sabramanian Rangan, assistant professor of strategy and management at INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France, was awarded the Eldridge Haynes Prize by the Academy of International Business in October 1998 for his paper on the problems of search and deliberation in international exchange. He is coauthor of Manager in the International Economy (Prentice Hall, 1996). Robert Z. Lawrence is Albert L. Williams Professor of International Trade and Investment at the Kennedy School of Government. He is also a senior fellow at the Institute for International Economics, and a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. He served as a member of the President's Council of Economic Advisers from 1998 to 2000. Lawrence has also been a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. His books include Globaphobia: Confronting Fears about Open Trade (Brookings, 1998) and Single World, Divided Nations? International Trade and the OECD Labor Markets (Brookings/OECD, 1996).