Trade Policy Research Centre – serie

The essays in this volume have been translated from the German to bring to the notice of a wider public the contemporary views of a group of prominent German economists and lawyers who have all participated in the development of post-war economic policy in the Federal Republic of Germany. The essays deal with a wide range of problems including the control of monopolies, the welfare state and the need for self-help, the role of trade unions in industrial societies and the future approach to economic problems of both communist and capitalist countries. This is the first of two which is part of a two-volume series that examines the contemporary state of Germany's social market economy. The second volume contains a collection of ten further essays in which the authors assess the contribution of German Ordo-Liberals 50 years after the founders of the liberal movement in Germany stated their aims and objectives.

The Ordo-liberals were a group of liberal economic and legal thinkers in the Federal Republic of Germany who came into prominence as a result of their influence on, and participation in, post-war economic policy in the Federal Republic when Ludwig Erhard was Minister for Economic Affairs and, later, Chancellor.

The external trade policies of the European Community are of great importance, both for its own people and for trading partners in the remainder of the world. Yet, the processes by which the European Community of 12 countries attempts to reach agreement have remained somewhat mysterious. What has been the relative influence of principles of policy and of various political, bureaucratic and private interests, at both the Community and the national levels? This volume is based on a number of case studies, and also contains chapters on the formation of attitudes to trade policy in three of the largest countries of the Community - Germany, the United Kingdom and France. J.P. Hayes is the author of "Economic Effects of Sanctions in Southern Africa".

This volume is a collection of ten essays in which the authors assess the contribution of the German Ordo-liberals fifty years after the founders of the liberal movement in Germany stated their aims and objectives. The Ordo-liberals were a group of liberal economic and legal thinkers in the Federal Republic of Germany who came into prominence as a result of their influence on, and participation in, post-war economic policy in the Federal Republic when Ludwig Erhard was Minister for Economic Affairs and, later, Chancellor. They became known as Ordo-liberals because of their commitment to designing the appropriate economic and legal system.The essays in this volume consider not only the philosophy of the Ordo-liberals and their concept of the social market economy, but are also concerned with the contribution of the Ordo-liberals to more practical problems. The role of the public sector, the control of mergers and monopolies and the problem of sound money are among the topics considered, as well as the views of the Ordo-liberals on the international order. Many of the authors of these essays are well known internationally and they represent a wide range of contemporary liberal thought.The book will be warmly welcomed by students and scholars interested in economic philosophy and the place of liberalism in contemporary thought.The essays in this volume have been translated from the German in order to bring to the notice of a wider public the views of a group of German liberal economic and legal thinkers. This group of economists and lawyers came into prominence as a result of their influence on, and participation in, post-war economic policy in the Federal Republic of Germany when Ludwig Erhard was Minister for Economic Affairs and, later, Chancellor.Seventeen essays have been selected to express the thoughts of the group who, because of their commitment ot designing the appropriate economic and legal order system, became known as Ordo-liberals. The essays deal with a wide range of contemporary problems, such as the control of monopolies, the problem of the welfare state and the need for self-help, the role of the trade unions in industrial societies, as well as with the more philosophical question of whether capitalist and communist systems are moving closer together in their approach to economic problems to such an extent that they will eventually converge. This book will be of interest to all those who are concerned with contemporary problems both at practical and philosophical levels.