This collection introduces a new series in UPA_s Special Studies: International Finance, Globalization of Securities, and Banking. It brings together a diverse group of reports from private and governmental organizations on the various aspects of the world financial system. The authors of these special studies are associated with several of the finest research facilities and government agencies in the U.S. and abroad: Federal Reserve banks, The World Bank, Agency for International Development, Department of Commerce, Economic Research Service, General Accounting Office, International Trade Administration, National Research Council, United States International Trade Commission, the American Institutes for Research, and major international institutes at Harvard, Columbia, Stanford, Georgetown, MIT, and Yale.