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Abstract One of the main controversies within the Marxist theory of imperialism centres on the capacity of the capitalist system to organise itself economically and politically. Ultimately, this argument is linked to the notion of system stability: the end of economic crises, and lasting world peace. The famous polemic between Lenin and Kautsky in the early 20th century about whether capitalism could be peacefully managed by the great powers and private corporations that compete for global wealth persists in much of the current debate. Some authors emphasise economic stability, while others highlight political stability, using terms such as globalisation, transnational capital and Empire, but the central idea remains that of a more disciplined capitalist system. This implies that the Marxist concepts of interstate competition and imperialism have become outdated. This article examines the Marxist literature on imperialism which holds that capitalism has become more organised, to the point of overcoming the rivalries between the great powers. It concludes that the argument that capitalism has reached a degree of organisation which invalidates the concept of imperialism is questionable and does not recognise some fundamental features of the capitalist system.

Abstract One of the main controversies within the Marxist theory of imperialism centres on the capacity of the capitalist system to organise itself economically and politically. Ultimately, this argument is linked to the notion of system stability: the end of economic crises, and lasting world peace. The famous polemic between Lenin and Kautsky in the early 20th century about whether capitalism could be peacefully managed by the great powers and private corporations that compete for global wealth persists in much of the current debate. Some authors emphasise economic stability, while others highlight political stability, using terms such as globalisation, transnational capital and Empire, but the central idea remains that of a more disciplined capitalist system. This implies that the Marxist concepts of interstate competition and imperialism have become outdated. This article examines the Marxist literature on imperialism which holds that capitalism has become more organised, to the point of overcoming the rivalries between the great powers. It concludes that the argument that capitalism has reached a degree of organisation which invalidates the concept of imperialism is questionable and does not recognise some fundamental features of the capitalist system.

Jonathan Swift's masterpiece, Gulliver's Travels, considered at first a children's book, has been for a long time the subject of a debate among philosophers, political scientists, and literary critics. Apart from its keen political satire, Gulliver's Travels approaches in a very non‐standard way interesting socioeconomic topics such as the legal system, political science, and colonisation. Moreover, Swift provides interesting insights about human nature and behaviour when describing the nations visited by Captain Gulliver. This paper examines to what extent economic philosophy can contribute to the understanding of Gulliver's Travels, and what economists can learn from Swift's extravagant digressions.

Esta nota pretende examinar uma parte da literatura sobre as causas dos desequilíbrios globais. A maioria das análises concentra-se na ideia de que a causa dos desequilíbrios está na "superabundância global de poupança". A superabundância de poupança seria consequência direta de políticas adotadas deliberadamente por algumas economias emergentes nos últimos anos, particularmente na China. Em contraposição à tese da superabundância de poupança, há uma hipótese que identifica as causas dos desequilíbrios no arranjo financeiro desencadeado após o fim dos acordos de Bretton Woods em 1971, que se exacerbou nas duas últimas décadas. Sob a chamada globalização financeira, esse arranjo promoveu um temerário boom de ativos e uma excessiva expansão do crédito com consequências negativas sobre a economia real que foram materializadas na crise financeira de 2008. Por meio dessa literatura, é mostrado, ainda, que tais consequências tornam-se mais evidentes quando se analisam os fluxos brutos de capitais ao invés dos fluxos líquidos.

The subprime crisis led to a wave of government interventions in the private sector that has been particularly strong in Europe and Latin America, where several governments are large shareholders in a variety of public firms. In a sense, the subprime crisis induced these governments to behave as active large shareholders. This paper uses a sample of public firms in Brazil to show that government activism lowers the value of minority shareholders' voting rights. While the corporate governance literature usually associates lower voting premia with stronger protection of minority shareholders, we provide evidence that the government-induced decline in the value of voting rights harmed minority shareholders in Brazil.

The aim of this paper is to analyze the change in the orientation of Brazil's foreign policy after the beginning of the Temer government, highlighting the main measures related to MERCOSUR. With the appointment of José Serra as Minister of Foreign Affairs, a profound change of position took place in relation to the way in which Brazil has guided its foreign policy since 2003, especially in relation to MERCOSUR. Evidence shows that the focus of South-South integration is likely to give rise to a project of rapprochement with Western powers, notably the United States.

The article intends to problematize the alleged antagonism between, on the one hand, state capacity and sovereignty and, on the other hand, the integration of markets at a global level. The current manichaeism that tends to reduce approaches to "globalists" or "skeptics" does not contribute to the understanding of the contemporary international system. It is necessary to overcome the supposed antagonism between state-centric and transnational visions, in favor of critical approaches that understand the interlacements between the State and the internationalization of capital, which are crossed by the process of expansion of capitalism in contemporary times.

Annual stress tests have become a regular part of the supervisors' toolkit following the global financial crisis. We investigate their capital market implications in the United States by looking at price and trade reactions, information asymmetry and uncertainty indicators, and bank activities. The evidence we present supports the notion that there is important new information in stress tests, especially at times of financial distress. Moreover, public disclosure seems to help reduce informational asymmetries. Importantly, public disclosure of stress test results (and methodology) does not seem to have reduced private incentives to generate information or to have led to distorted incentives.