The papers collected in this volume are those presented at the seventeenth Collo quium arranged by the Societe Universitaire Europeenne de Recherches Financieres (SUERF), which took place in Berlin in October 1992. The Society is supported by a large number of central banks and commercial banks, by other fmancial and business institutions and by personal subscriptions from academics and others interested in monetary and fmancial problems. Since its establishment in 1963, it has developed as a forum for the exchange of information, research results and ideas among academics and practitioners in these fields, including central bank officials and civil servants responsible for formulating and applying monetary and financial policies, national and international. A major activity of SUERF is to organise and conduct Colloquia on subjects of topical interest to its members. The titles, places and dates of previous Colloqu~ for which volumes of the collected papers were published are noted on the last page of this volume.