Central banks lie at the interface between domestic and international political economy. Powerful technocracies tasked with domestic and international macroeconomic governance functions are responsible for monetary policy, sometimes banking supervision, and to contribute to overall financial stability. On occasion, they supervise a variety of non-banking financial services and other functions, such as anti-money laundering. During economic and financial turmoil, central banks can be crisis managers of last resort, or actually crisis managers of first resort. Today, many central banks often enjoy independence from the political authorities. They are important actors in the international monetary and financial systems acting separately from government actors. Central banks contribute to shaping these systems, and are, in turn, affected by them. Major geopolitical developments pose significant challenges to central banks and thus to the scholars studying them. This forum takes stock of current academic and policy debates on the European Central Bank (ECB) and the euro. Individual contributions explore key aspects of the ECB and the euro: the ECB as an overstretched multi-tasking technocracy, struggling with multiple goals; the distributive effects of ECB's policies; the ECB as a global normative and policy entrepreneur in combating climate change; and the geopolitics of the euro, in particular, the failed promise of the euro as a leading international currency. Together, these contributions tackle fundamental questions about the past, present, and future of the euro and the ECB; offer contending perspectives on the success (or otherwise) of this experiment; and point out what features would warrant further study. We reflect on how these analyses feed into the broader literature on central banks and international organizations in the global political economy more generally. Los bancos centrales se encuentran en medio de la interrelaci & oacute;n entre la econom & iacute;a pol & iacute;tica nacional e internacional. Las poderosas tecnocracias, que se encargan de las funciones a nivel de gobernanza macroecon & oacute;mica nacional e internacional, son las responsables de la pol & iacute;tica monetaria, a veces, incluso, de la supervisi & oacute;n bancaria, y de contribuir a la estabilidad financiera general. En ocasiones, tambi & eacute;n ejercen la supervisi & oacute;n de una variedad de servicios financieros no bancarios, as & iacute; como otras funciones, tales como la lucha contra el blanqueo de dinero. Durante las turbulencias econ & oacute;micas y financieras, los bancos centrales pueden llegar a ser gestores de crisis de & uacute;ltimo recurso, o, de hecho, gestores de crisis de primer recurso. Hoy en d & iacute;a, es frecuente que muchos bancos centrales gocen de independencia con respecto a las autoridades pol & iacute;ticas. Son actores importantes en los sistemas monetarios y financieros internacionales que act & uacute;an al margen de los actores gubernamentales. Los bancos centrales contribuyen a dar forma a estos sistemas y, a su vez, se ven afectados por ellos. Los grandes acontecimientos geopol & iacute;ticos plantean importantes desaf & iacute;os a los bancos centrales y, por lo tanto, tambi & eacute;n a los acad & eacute;micos que se encargan de estudiarlos. Este foro hace un balance de los debates acad & eacute;micos y pol & iacute;ticos actuales con relaci & oacute;n al BCE y al euro. Las contribuciones individuales exploran aspectos clave del BCE y del euro: el BCE como una tecnocracia multitarea sobrecargada, que lucha contra m & uacute;ltiples objetivos, los efectos distributivos de las pol & iacute;ticas del BCE, el BCE como empresario normativo y pol & iacute;tico mundial en la lucha contra el cambio clim & aacute;tico, la geopol & iacute;tica del euro, en particular, la promesa incumplida de que el euro ser & iacute;a la moneda l & iacute;der a nivel internacional. En conjunto, estas contribuciones abordan cuestiones fundamentales sobre el pasado, el presente y el futuro del euro y del BCE. Adem & aacute;s, ofrecen perspectivas contradictorias sobre el & eacute;xito (o no) de este experimento e indican qu & eacute; rasgos justificar & iacute;an un estudio m & aacute;s profundo. Reflexionamos sobre c & oacute;mo estos an & aacute;lisis alimentan la literatura m & aacute;s amplia en materia de bancos centrales y organizaciones internacionales en la econom & iacute;a pol & iacute;tica global en general. Les banques centrales se situent au point de rencontre entre l'& eacute;conomie politique nationale et internationale. Les puissantes technocraties dot & eacute;es de fonctions de gouvernance macro & eacute;conomique nationale et internationale sont responsables de la politique mon & eacute;taire, parfois de la supervision du syst & egrave;me bancaire, et doivent contribuer & agrave; la stabilit & eacute; financi & egrave;re globale. & Agrave; l'occasion, elles supervisent divers services financiers non bancaires et d'autres fonctions, comme la lutte contre le blanchiment d'argent. Lors de crises & eacute;conomiques et financi & egrave;res, les banques centrales peuvent s'occuper de leur gestion en dernier recours, ou en premier recours. Aujourd'hui, nombre de banques centrales jouissent souvent d'une certaine ind & eacute;pendance par rapport aux autorit & eacute;s politiques. Il s'agit d'acteurs importants au sein des syst & egrave;mes mon & eacute;taires et financiers internationaux, qui agissent ind & eacute;pendamment des acteurs gouvernementaux. Les banques centrales participent au fa & ccedil;onnement de ces syst & egrave;mes, dont elles, & agrave; leur tour, subissent les cons & eacute;quences. Les & eacute;v & eacute;nements importants en g & eacute;opolitique repr & eacute;sentent un d & eacute;fi cons & eacute;quent pour les banques centrales, et donc pour les chercheurs qui les & eacute;tudient. Ce forum propose un & eacute;tat des lieux des d & eacute;bats politiques et acad & eacute;miques actuels au sujet de la BCE et de l'euro. Chaque contribution s'int & eacute;resse & agrave; des aspects cl & eacute;s de la BCE et de l'euro: la BCE, une technocratie polyvalente et surmen & eacute;e, en difficult & eacute; vis-& agrave;-vis de maints objectifs; les effets distributifs des politiques de la BCE; la BCE, un entrepreneur normatif et politique mondial dans la lutte contre le changement climatique; la g & eacute;opolitique de l'euro, et notamment la promesse non tenue d'une monnaie qui aurait d & ucirc; devenir une devise internationale de premier plan. Ensemble, ces contributions traitent de questions fondamentales quant au pass & eacute;, pr & eacute;sent et futur de l'euro et de la BCE; proposent des perspectives oppos & eacute;es sur la r & eacute;ussite (ou non) de cette exp & eacute;rience; et indiquent les caract & eacute;ristiques qui m & eacute;riteraient une & eacute;tude plus approfondie. Nous r & eacute;fl & eacute;chissons & agrave; l'insertion de ces analyses dans la litt & eacute;rature plus vaste sur les banques centrales et les organisations internationales dans l'& eacute;conomie politique mondiale.

This chapter examines the question of how we should think about Global Political Economy (GPE), and offers a multitude of theoretical approaches and perspectives. Perspectives can be distinguished from one another along five key dimensions: ontology, agenda, purpose, boundaries, and epistemology. At the most general level, the field is divided between two broad approaches, described as either orthodox or heterodox theoretical perspectives. Orthodox perspectives share a preference for a state-centric ontology, positivism, closed disciplinary boundaries, and rigorous methodology. They may be subdivided into three main variations: liberalism, realism, and constructivism. Heterodox perspectives are less state-centric, agendas are broader and more normative, boundaries are more open, and methodology is less formal. They include a variety of system-level theories, critical theory, and approaches that seek to extend the boundaries of the field in one direction or another. Fundamentally, our thinking about GPE should be ruled by two paramount principles: pragmatism and eclecticism.

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What does the international currency system really look like? Since World War II, the US dollar has prevailed as the international community's one truly global money. The currency system could loosely be described as unipolar, practically a monopoly. Is that still true? Opinions are sharply divided. Close to a decade ago the authors sought to resolve the issue with a detailed empirical analysis stretching back over a quarter of a century. Their conclusion was that loose talk of an increasingly multipolar currency system was at best premature. In reality, they could find few signs of significant change in the competitive structure of the system over the years under review. While acknowledging that a future of multipolarity could yet arrive, they saw no evidence that anything like that had happened yet. The aim of this paper is to extend the authors' previous analysis forward to encompass another decade. Their conclusion, overall, remains much the same as before. Despite some hints of minor erosion, the dollar remains as dominant as ever. A cluster of smaller currencies have begun to compete for attention, but multipolarity in any meaningful sense has still not arrived. The greenback still reigns supreme.

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In this timely book, Benjamin J. Cohen identifies and analyses a range of critical pathologies currently afflicting the field of international political economy (IPE) and offers remedies to restore the field’s vitality. The book addresses the purpose of IPE as a field of study, highlighting the key questions posed by scholars since the modern field’s inception, and explores how research seeks to engage with politics in practice.

An end effector system is disclosed for a robotic system that includes a primary acquisition system that includes a primary end effector, and a secondary retention system that substantially surrounds at least a portion of the primary acquisition system, wherein at least a portion of the primary acquisition system may be drawn up within at least a portion of the secondary retention system such that the primary end effector system may be used to select an object from a plurality of objects, and the secondary retention system may be used to secure the object for rapid transport to an output destination.

For over a quarter of a century, the author has ventured systematically into the emerging field of international political economy, an area traditionally dominated by political scientists. Crossing Frontiers - the title refers both to national and disciplinary boundaries - brings together for the first time a dozen of his essays. These essays exhibit a pragmatism, a preference for practical applications over abstract theory, and a willingness to face the complexity of the real world rather than adopt simplifying assumptions.

A processing system including a singulation system is disclosed. The singulation system includes a conveying system for moving objects to be sorted from a source area along a first direction, a detection system for detecting objects at the conveying system, and for selecting certain selected objects for removal from the conveying system, and a removal system for removing the certain selected objects from the conveying system for providing a singulated stream of objects.

Is United States monetary policy becoming more nationalistic? In this chapter I shall argue that American policy is not becoming more nationalistic — for the simple reason that it always has been nationalistic. In international monetary affairs, America has always acted out of an instinct for self-interest. That has not changed. What has changed is the willingness of other countries to acquiesce in America’s pursuit of its self-interest: others no longer see this as being in their own interest as well. And so what they once regarded as world leadership by the United States, they now brand as economic nationalism. In fact, this says more about changes in their own attitudes and perceptions — and about changes in the international monetary system in general-than it does about the specifics of United States monetary policy. It is not so much the content as the context of American policy that has really changed.

A processing system is disclosed for processing objects. The processing system includes a perception system for providing perception data regarding an object, and a primary transport system for providing transport of the object along a primary direction toward a processing location that is identified based on the perception data.

A system including a programmable motion device and an end effector for grasping objects to be moved by the programmable motion device is disclosed. The system includes a vacuum source that provides a high flow vacuum such that an object may be grasped at an end effector opening while permitting a substantial flow of air through the opening, and a dead-head limitation system for limiting any effects of dead-heading on the vacuum source in the event that a flow of air to the vacuum source is interrupted.