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Seminar paper from the year 2006 in the subject Economics - Monetary theory and policy, grade: 1, Pforzheim University, course: International Economics, 37 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: This work is about the international monetary system, which is a called the Bretton Woods System, starting primarily from the end of the Second World War till the the 1970s. First of all the background of the years before the formation of the Bretton Woods System will be disclosed. This is important to evaluate the importance of a reformation of the monetary system. In the chapter "History" you will find further information, first about the Classical Gold Standard before 1914, second about the Gold-Exchange-Standard after the First World War and finally, about the currency confusion in the period from 1931 till the Second World War. In the third chapter of this assignement the Bretton Woods System will be revealed in detail. It starts with the background of the system, the theoretical details like the two proposals for the formation of the system, followed by some important aspects, as well as the main principles. Further points in this chapter are the implementation and the development throughout the years. Last but not least this is followed by a conclusion.
At the close of the Second World War, when industrialized nations faced serious trade and financial imbalances, delegates from forty-four countries met in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, in order to reconstruct the international monetary system. In this volume, three generations of scholars and policy makers, some of whom participated in the 1944 conference, consider how the Bretton Woods System contributed to unprecedented economic stability and rapid growth for 25 years and discuss the problems that plagued the system and led to its eventual collapse in 1971. The contributors explore adjustment, liquidity, and transmission under the System; the way it affected developing countries; and the role of the International Monetary Fund in maintaining a stable rate. The authors examine the reasons for the System's success and eventual collapse, compare it to subsequent monetary regimes, such as the European Monetary System, and address the possibility of a new fixed exchange rate for today's world.
Essay from the year 2009 in the subject Economics - Finance, grade: 5 von 5, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano (School of Economics and Management), language: English, abstract: The Bretton Woods institutions – International Monetary Fund (IMF) and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) = World Bank – are based on a hierarchical level of cooperating national states. The function of the International Monetary Fund is to be a reserve bank of industry states, as well as being a controlling body which is supervising the account of payments and the accounts of debits. The duties of World Bank have been defined to coordinate and resolve development and reconstruction aid. (Tetzlaff, S. 47). It was a long way before the Bretton Woods institutions began their work concrete in 1947. From 1942 until the conference in 1944 in Bretton Woods were discussed proposals by different states. Many oft that proposals was presented by the United States and by Great Britain. Some of the fundamental aspects in the discussion presented by the national states were to build up a strong world economic, to influence the capital movement, to provent currency manipulation but also to maintain the national currency and economic policy. Contents: Economic situation until the foundation of Bretton Woods in 1944, Bretton Woods – Theoretic idea, The End of the Bretton Woods System, The Bretton Woods II System in Asia, Euro or Dollar?, Conclusion
In recent years, the theory of rules and discretion in monetary policy has fascinated scores of academic economists and policymakers alike. This paper asks whether it can be applied to understand the history of the world monetary system, by focusing on the setup and the experience of the Bretton Woods regime, and comparing it with its predecessors, in particular the classical gold standard. The paper first discusses the underpinnings, and some of the problems, of a theory of the evolution of the international monetary regime based on alternating rules and discretion. It then assesses the ability of such theories to explain the historical record. It first reviews the rules that characterized the classical gold standard, and the motivations to return to gold in the interwar period. Then it evaluates the British and US plan for world monetary reform published in 1943, and the IMF Articles of Agreement. Finally, the paper analyzes the data on interest rates and exchange rates during the classical gold standard and the Bretton Woods period to assess the stabilizing properties of the two exchange-rate regimes.
Studienarbeit aus dem Jahr 2012 im Fachbereich Geschichte - Sonstiges, Note: 14, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Sprache: Deutsch, Abstract: Observing this todays financial crisis one might find it hard to believe that only about sixty years ago we had a financial world order that was founded on the idea that finance has to be the “servant“ (Gardner 76) of the economy and of society as a whole. The Bretton-Woods-Conference in 1944 set out to regulate finance in a way that promotes trade while protecting national states from damage caused by monetary problems. The focus lay on the domestic economies, which the new system would strive to safeguard. The national states were, in the thinking of the makers, to be the “masters” (76) of international economy and the international financial system was to work in their best interest. The way of thinking of economists and policy makers at the time did not originate out of thin air. After the turn of the 19th to the 20th century the world experienced two devastating World Wars and the Great Depression, which brought unemployment and poverty to millions of people and basically destroyed parts of the economy in the western hemisphere. These events resulted in the wish to create a system of international rules and regulations that could guarantee stability. Problems that called for a remedy included fluctuating exchange rates, extensive balance of payment deficits and destructive mercantilist trade policies, like competitive devaluations and foreign exchange regulations. Still, to understand the foundations on which John Maynard Keynes and Harry Dexter White, the chief economists behind the Bretton-Woods-System, drafted their initial plans for an economic world order, it is necessary to go even further back in time. The starting point for the analysis in this paper will be a period of relative stability, namely the end of the 19th century when most economic activity gravitated around Great Britain, at the time the hub of the financial world. The system in place was the so-called gold standard, which guaranteed the convertibility of different currencies and ensured that balance of payments deficits were evened out.
Using recent advances in the classification of exchange rate regimes, this paper finds no support for the popular bipolar view that countries will tend over time to move to the polar extremes of free float or rigid peg. Rather, intermediate regimes have shown remarkable durability. The analysis suggests that as economies mature, the value of exchange rate flexibility rises. For countries at a relatively early stage of financial development and integration, fixed or relatively rigid regimes appear to offer some anti-inflation credibility gain without compromising growth objectives. As countries develop economically and institutionally, there appear to be considerable benefits to more flexible regimes. For developed countries that are not in a currency union, relatively flexible exchange rate regimes appear to offer higher growth without any cost in credibility.
This anthology of significant writings by eminent economists is, in part, a critique of the Bretton Woods system of fixed exchange rates, which was very successful at the time it was instituted but which, because of its rigidity, failed in the end to address the economic problems of the post-war era. The authors suggest that the stock market crash of 1987 might not have occurred if market forces had been allowed simply to run their course in the absence of any real economic restrictions. Contributors include: Harry Johnson, Fritz Machlup, Milton Friedman, Gottfried Haberler, Henry Wallich, Alan Greenspan, Leo Melamed, Jacques de Larosiere, Beryl Sprinkel, Michael L. Mussa, Martin Feldstein, Jacob Frenkel, Rudiger Dornbusch, Morris Goldstein, Rachel McCulloch, Paul R. Krugman, William H. Branson, Thomas D. Willett, J. Carter Murphy.
The politics surrounding exchange rate policies in the global economy The exchange rate is the most important price in any economy, since it affects all other prices. Exchange rates are set, either directly or indirectly, by government policy. Exchange rates are also central to the global economy, for they profoundly influence all international economic activity. Despite the critical role of exchange rate policy, there are few definitive explanations of why governments choose the currency policies they do. Filled with in-depth cases and examples, Currency Politics presents a comprehensive analysis of the politics surrounding exchange rates. Identifying the motivations for currency policy preferences on the part of industries seeking to influence politicians, Jeffry Frieden shows how each industry's characteristics—including its exposure to currency risk and the price effects of exchange rate movements—determine those preferences. Frieden evaluates the accuracy of his theoretical arguments in a variety of historical and geographical settings: he looks at the politics of the gold standard, particularly in the United States, and he examines the political economy of European monetary integration. He also analyzes the politics of Latin American currency policy over the past forty years, and focuses on the daunting currency crises that have frequently debilitated Latin American nations, including Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil. With an ambitious mix of narrative and statistical investigation, Currency Politics clarifies the political and economic determinants of exchange rate policies.
For twenty-five years, the International Monetary Fund administered a worldwide system of fixed exchange rates until their system was destroyed by a combination of market forces and those who advocated market forces. The first destructive element has been extensively analyzed; the second has hitherto been almost completely ignored. Robert Leeson examines the process by which the case for flexible exchange rates was transformed from an academic exercise to become the organizing principle for international monetary relations.