Il credit crunch e gli effetti sui flussi del commercio internazionale: il sistema di baratto multilaterale

Outlook on the effects on the worldwide trade flows, and subsequent analysis of a different way of trade: the multilateral trade barter. In the first chapter of this report I will provide an outlook of the global credit crunch situation, focusing on the different types of countries involved and I will give some statistical data concerning past, present and future trends. In the second chapter I will try to explain the effects of the credit crunch on the international trade. The third chapter will focus the attention on an alternative largely unknown (in particular in Italy and the E.U. Zone countries) way of trade: the multilateral barter system. In the fourth chapter, thanks to my internship experience in a barter company, I will describe and analyze the functionality and some relevant factors of the activities of the barter company Ormita Commerce Network Limited. More specifically, I am going to use internal data pertaining to trade volumes and client numbers and make some critical analysis and reflections about the variation of these variables in different geo-economical contexts. Finally, in the conclusion, I will provide some reasoning on the effectiveness of multilateral barter as an alternative way of trade; being the opportunity to posses a mechanism for the indirect exchange of goods and services regardless of the amount of traditional currency available in local and regional markets.