【正文】 (2) any BOP disequilibrium can be corrected automatically through crossborder flows of gold. On the other hand, the main disadvantages of the gold standard are: (I) the world economy can be subject to deflationary pressure due to restricted supply of gold。CHAPTER 1 GLOBALIZATION AND THE MULTINATIONAL FIRM SUGGESTED ANSWERS TO ENDOFCHAPTER QUESTIONS QUESTIONS 1. Why is it important to study international financial management? Answer: We are now living in a world where all the major economic functions, ., consumption, production, and investment, are highly globalized. It is thus essential for financial managers to fully understand vital international dimensions of financial management. This global shift is in marked contrast to a situation that existed when the authors of this book were learning finance some twenty years ago. At that time, most professors customarily (and safely, to some extent) ignored international aspects of finance. This mode of operation has bee untenable since then. 2. How is international financial management different from domestic financial management? Answer: There are three major dimensions that set apart international finance from domestic finance. They are: 1. foreign exchange and political risks, 2. market imperfections, and 3. expanded opportunity set. 3. Discuss the three major trends that have prevailed in international business during the last two decades. Answer: The 1980s brought a rapid integration of international capital and financial markets. Impetus for globalized financial markets initially came from the governments of major countries that had begun to deregulate their foreign exchange and capital markets. The economic integration and globalization that began in the eighties is picking up speed in the 1990s via privatization. Privatization is the process by which a country divests itself of the ownership and operation of a business venture by turning it over to the free market system. Lastly, trade liberalization and economic integration continued to proceed at both the regional and global levels. 4. How is a country?s economic wellbeing enhanced through free international trade in goods and services? Answer: According to David Ricardo, with free international trade, it is mutually beneficial for two countries to each specialize in the production of the goods that it can produce relatively most efficiently and then trade those goods. By doing so, the two countries can increase their bined production, which allows both countries to consume more of both goods. This argument remains valid even if a country can produce both goods more efficiently than the other country. International trade is not a ?zerosum? game in which one country benefits at the expense of another country. Rather, international trade could be an ?increasingsum? game at which all players bee winners. 5. What considerations might limit the extent to which the theory of parative advantage is realistic? Answer: The theory of parative advantage was originally advanced by the nieenth century economist David Ricardo as an explanation for why nations trade with one another. The theory claims that economic wellbeing is enhanced if each country?s citizens produce what they have a parative advantage in producing relative to the citizens of other countries, and then trade products. Underlying the theory are the assumptions of free trade between nations and that the factors of production (land, buildings, labor, technology, and capital) are relatively immobile. To the extent that these assumptions do not hold, the theory of parative advantage will not realistically describe international trade. 6. What are multinational corporations (MNCs) and what economic roles do they play? Answer: A multinational corporation (MNC) can be defined as a business firm incorporated in one country that has production and sales operations in several other countries. Indeed, some MNCs have operations in dozens of different countries. MNCs obtain financing from major money centers around the world in many different currencies to finance their operations. Global operations force the treasurer?s office to establish international banking relationships, to place shortterm funds in several currency denominations, and to effectively manage foreign exchange risk. 7. Mr. Ross Perot, a former Presidential candidate of the Reform Party, which is a third political party in the United States, had strongly objected to the creation of the North American Trade Agreement (NAFT A), which noheless was inaugurated in 1994, for the fear of losing American jobs to Mexico where it is much cheaper to hire workers. What are the merits and demerits of Mr. Perot?s position on NAFTA? Considering the recent economic developments in North America, how would you assess Mr. Perot?s position on NAFTA? Answer: Since the inception of NAFTA, many American panies indeed have invested heavily in Mexico, sometimes relocating production from the United States to Mexico. Although this might have temporarily caused unemployment of some American workers, they were eventually rehired by other industries often for higher wages. Currently, the unemployment rate in the . is quite low by historical standard. At the same time, Mexico has been experiencing a major economic boom. It seems clear that both Mexico and the . have benefited from NAFTA. Mr. Perot?s concern appears to have been ill founded. 8. In 1995, a working group of French chief executive officers was set up by the Confederation of French Industry (CNPF) and the French Association of Private Companies (AFEP) to study the French corporate governance structure. The group reported the following, among other things “The board of directors should not simply