The Failure of the Foreign Bondholders Protective Council Experiment, 1934–1940
This article explores the contentious U.S. State Department–Foreign Bondholders Protective Council relationship in the context of interwar foreign economic policy and bureaucratic competition. U.S. officials created the council in 1933 to represent the interests of U.S. investors in the settlement of the numerous dollar bond issues that had gone into default. The article shows why the council failed to perform as U.S. officials expected and outlines the process by which they increasingly interposed themselves in debt negotiations. In doing so, it considers the limitations of using private organizations to accomplish the objectives of public policy.
Boom, Recession and Recovery 1871–92
The years 1871–73 saw ‘a convulsion of prosperity’ in the industrial economies, to use Benjamin Disraeli’s contemporary description1 There was a boom on the London stock market, which saw a rash of bond issues on behalf of borrowers of very doubtful standing, and a ‘fever of speculation’ on the Continental bourses.2 In Germany, the upsurge was especially vigorous, being fuelled by the massive war indemnity paid by France following its defeat in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71. The end of the boom was heralded by the crash of the Vienna bourse in May 1873 and soon the industrial nations were in recession, which meant bankruptcies, bond defaults and a slowing in the rate of growth of international trade. The slackening of demand in the major European economies and the United States exacerbated the growing imbalance between the supply and consumption of primary produce and triggered the start of an era of declining prices which lasted until the mid-1890s. The underlying cause was the rapid increase in output of foodstuffs, minerals and other raw materials due to the integration of the American prairies and other frontier lands into the international economy, brought about by the construction of railways and the growth of ocean-going steam shipping. Stagnant or falling export revenues made it difficult for public and private borrowers in regions such as Latin America to service their external debts, and there were many defaults.
Communicative Competence: Theory and Classroom Practice
ABSTRACT Within the framework of viewing communicative competence as a prerequisite to linguistic competence, rather than vice versa, this paper considers the following: (1) the nature of communicative competence; (2) the implications of communicative competence for second language teaching; and (3) ways in which the teacher can begin to make a foreign language program more meaningful. Communicative competeuce is defined as what native speakers know which enables them to interact effectively with each other. Implications for the language teacher include: (T) the need for tests which measure the ability to use language; (2) the irrelevancy of sequencing surface features; (3) the need for emphasis on non-lizguistic aspects of communication; and (4) the need to re-examiLe attitudes toward students and language teaching. Practical suggestins for implementing communicative competence in the classroom include the use of spontaneous role-playing, discussions, games, radio, and the telephone. (AM)