THE ESSENCE AND FORMS OF INTERNATIONAL CIRCULATION OF CAPITAL

Abstract

Capital, in all its forms, is probably the economic resource with the highest degree of mobility in the economic context of the new millennium. Capital flows are today common presences both on international circuits and on national, intersectoral and intrasectoral routes. Not only the volume of capital flows and the speed of their movement are in a permanent ascendancy, but also the ease with which they metamorphose (direct investments, portfolio investments, bank and non-bank loans, debt securities), depending on the characteristics of the host environment and of the interest and profit of the holder. If in the past capital movement was understood only as a form of financing the current account, today, the international distribution of capital increasingly determines the exchange rate and international interest rates which, in turn, influence the evolution and structure of international trade.