This book was first published in 1951. It is a statistical survey of the balance of payments data of different types of country in the period 1924-38, to show the pattern of cyclical behaviour particular to each type of country, and to suggest, in the light of the Keynesian theory of employment, a possible explanation for the general nature of the equilibrating process in the balance of payments. Five types of country are classified, and a representative country taken for each class: highly industrialised and deficient (Great Britain); highly industrialised and self-sufficient (USA); less industrialised (Sweden); purely agricultural (Australia); mining (Chile). In addition, the Canadian balance of payments is studied because of its peculiar features.