The Economics of Barter and Countertrade

实习生ational Library of Critical Writings in Economics series

Edited by Rolf Mirus, Professor of International Business, University of Alberta, Canada and Bernard Yeung, Dean and Stephen Riady Distinguished Professor, National University of Singapore

The Economics of Barter and Countertrade is a timely collection due to the resurgence of barter and countertrade following the Russian and Asian financial crises. It is an essential reference source for those with an interest in trade and international economic relations.

‘Countertrade is a more common phenomenon than many people realise, especially in East–West and North–South trade. Yet, superficially, countertrade is inefficient in comparison to monetary trade. The paradox of how an apparently inefficient trading mechanism can become so dominant attracted increasing theoretical interest in the 1970s and 1980s. The editors of this volume were amongst the intellectual leaders in the field. The literature on countertrade is quite diffuse, and the editors have performed a major service by bringing together the important contribution in a single volume. This will be an important source of reference for many years to come.’
– Mark Casson, University of Reading, UK

‘Mirus and Yeung have been pioneers in showing that countertrade is economically efficient. Here, a surprisingly large literature supports their insight. The papers use aspects of transaction cost economics to examine the efficiency aspects of countertrade.’
– Alan M. Rugman, University of Reading, UK