Abstract

The rapid integration of national markets· after the Second World War gave rise
to a complex global system, yet it is a system that lacks a unified institutional framework.
The asymmetrical nature of the process of market integration, the excessive degree of openness
of many national economies, and the behavior of the Japanese economy are three main
factors behind the tensions in the current economic picture. The weakening of the nationstate
as a coordinating instrument for economic activity is to a large degree responsible for
the present cacophony of the economic system. On the other hand, we see no clear indication
that the corporations involved in the transnationalization of the economy are capable
of creating the institutional framework necessary for the coordination of economic activity.

JEL Classification: P17; O40; F30.