A Beginner’s Guide to the World Economy (Randy Charles Epping) - 172冊目

ジャンル: 経済・ビジネス
英語難易度: ★☆☆
オススメ度: ★★★☆☆

世界経済についてコンパクトにまとめられたQ&A形式の81個のエッセイ。文章も平易で読みやすく、とても基本的なことから書かれています。例えば「What is Macroeconomics?」とか「How does International Trade Work?」とか。(2001年発刊)

メモポイント
● よく話題になる米国のチャプター11とチャプター7。倒産について「ごっちゃ」にしていましたが、この本を読んで理解しました。

In most countries of the world economy, bankrupt companies are encouraged to try to continue operating, under legal supervision, in order to generate money to pay off creditors. Just as a mechanic may try to fix a broken-down car before sending it to the junk heap, companies are sometimes given a new life through court-appointed restructuring. This rehabilitation is called Chapter Eleven in the United States—referring to the relevant chapter in the U.S. Bankruptcy Code—and Administration in Britain. (中略)
If a company shows no prospect of being able to recover, it is simply forced into liquidation—called Chapter Seven in the United States and Receivership in Britain.

● ヨーロッパにないのにEuro Currency とはこれいかに! Eurobond もそうですが、Euroの概念についてのこの説明は分かりやすかったです。Euroyen はヨーロッパにあるとは限らない。ドル国債は米国だけが発行するとは限らない。

During the Cold War, the Soviet Union was—understandably—reluctant to put its U.S. dollar reserves under the control of authorities in the United States. So, instead of putting its dollars on deposit in New York, it turned to European banks to keep those dollars abroad. Those deposits were soon being called Eurodollars to differentiate them from dollars kept on deposit in their home country. Today, any currency held abroad, even in banks that are not in Europe, is called a Eurocurrency. Japanese yen held in a New York bank, for example, are called Euroyen. Even the new European currency, the euro, can be held abroad. Euros held in Japan would be called—appropriately enough—“ Euro-euros.” (中略)
Arab oil producers, following the example of the Soviet Union, began keeping a large part of their “petrodollars” in European banks. This flood of foreign capital needed to be invested, so London-based banks began issuing U.S. dollar bonds, outside the control and regulations of the U.S. government. These bonds were called Eurobonds. (中略)
Eurobonds were bearer bonds. Unlike normal domestic bonds, which were registered with the government, bearer bonds allow the investor to remain anonymous. And since there was no withholding tax on interest payments, investors could pocket the interest income without reporting it to the tax authorities at home.

巻末に簡単な用語集(glossary)も載っています。知ってるつもりでも正しく理解していなかった用語がいっぱい… 読み物としてもオススメです。