Openness and development are key words of central importance in
describing the dynamism within the present world economy. Openness
denotes the entire process of internationalization and liberalization
now underway in the commodity markets, factor markets and financial mar-
kets. Today there is hardly anational economy or company left which can
afIord to ignore international dependencies. In the broadest sense of
the word, development encompasses an those dynamic endogenous economic
processes which create prosperity and a high standard of living via
inno- vation and structural change. Modem economic research has shown
that both of these fields of economic causalities - which are themselves
afIected by a wide variety of interdependencies - detennine the economic
destiny of the national economies and of their actors in the industrial,
newly industrializing, transitional and developing countries. The
present volume focuses on the significance of these two key words while
conveying, at the same time, an impression of the broad spectrum of
related issues. It contains papers written by economists working at uni-
versities and research institutes as well as papers submitted by
"economic practitioners"; the latter, in particular, provide valuable
insights on current issues by taking account of theoretical and
practical considerations. Whereas the papers printed in Part I analyze
their subjects from a general perspective, the emphasis in Part TI is on
specific regional aspects. Part I begins with a theoretical-empirical
study on the development of foreign trade.
