A Beginner's Guide to the World Economy

In a time of rapid change in the world economy, this fascinating, concise, and user-friendly primer is the most reliable tool for keeping track of what's happening. 

What is the new economy? What is globalization? Is the euro the final seal on European Union? How is e-commerce transforming our world beyond economics? What is virtual money, and does it have real value? How do social concerns and societal ills (drugs, poverty, AIDS, endangered natural resources) play a part in the rapidly changing world economy? What are multinationals, and do they signal the end of nationalism? These and many other pertinent issues are addressed in an enlightening and entertaining handbook for those who want to be economically literate (and who doesn't?).

Randy Charles Epping, based in Zurich, Switzerland and São Paulo, Brazil, has worked in International Finance for over 25 years, holding management positions in European and American investment banks in London, Geneva, and Zurich. He has a master's degree in International Relations from Yale University, in addition to degrees from the University of Notre Dame and the University of Paris-La Sorbonne. He is currently the manager of IFS Project Management AG, a Switzerland-based international consulting company. He is also the president of the Central Europe Foundation, which provides assistance to students and economic organizations in Central and Eastern Europe. In addition to several other books on the world economy, he has written a novel, Trust, a financial thriller based in Zurich and Budapest. Mr. Epping holds dual U.S. and Swiss citizenship and is fluent in six languages: English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish.