Contemporary Challenges of International Economic Relations

Abstract

The main aim of this chapter is to analyze the contemporary challenges that have affected movements in the global trade and investments, as well as their interdependence. The focus is on the causes and consequences of the fundamental changes in international economic relations. The analysis is based on the following data: value of world trade, dynamics, and structure of exchange. Contemporary faces of the world economy such as transnationalization, intra-sector trade, increasing discourse on whether foreign trade and FDIs represent substitutes or complements, have also been an unavoidable part of this chapter. Depending on the stage of development, global changes have specific consequences on developed countries and developing economies. The chapter in its final part focuses on the analysis of how global value chains are directly affecting the growth of international trade and flows of foreign capital through the inevitable role of multinational companies.