This book shows how regional cooperation and integration have increased massively in scale and scope in recent years, as developing countries seek new ways to shield themselves from economic turbulence and to kick-start their economies in the face of stagnant global demand. The trend is partly a defense mechanism against the limitations of the international financial system, but also reflects a wider search for new and different growth paths more appropriate with developing countries' increasing economic and political voice. As a consequence, the landscape of financial and monetary mechanisms has changed dramatically, especially in the ten years since the economic crisis of 2007-2008.

Introduction. Chapter 1: South-South Regional Financial Arrangements in the 21st century: promise and potential.- Part I: Exchange and Payment Systems.- Chapter 2: A Critical Analysis of Transnational Payment Systems in Latin America.- Chapter 3: Monetary Policy and Emergence: What lessons can WAEMU learn?.- Chapter 4: The Euro Experience: Lessons for Africa.- Part II: Short-term Liquidity. Chapter 5: Regional Monetary Co-operation in the Developing World: Taking Stock.- Chapter 6: The Clearing Union Principle as the Basis for Regional Financial Arrangements in Developing Countries.- Chapter 7: Sovereign Wealth Funds and the South: New instruments for building resilience and reducing vulnerability?.- Chapter 8: Towards a Regional Financial Architecture: The East Asian Experience with a Focus on Defense.- Chapter 9: Alternatives to the International Monetary Fund in Asia and Latin America: Lessons for Regional Financial Arrangements.- Chapter 10: Conclusion.