The themes of this study are the exchange rate regimes chosen by policy makers in the twentieth century, the means used to maintain these regimes, and the impact of these decisions on individual national economies and the world economy in general. The book draws heavily on new research showing the lessons and the legacy left for policy makers by the gold standard and the attempt at its resurrection in the 1920s. In examining issues such as the gold exchange standard, the gold bullion standard, the experience of floating exchange rates, the Bretton Woods arrangements, the EMS and the ERM, and the Currency Board approach, there is a conscious attempt to draw out the relevance of history for policy makers now.

During the twentieth century, foreign-exchange intervention was sometimes used in an attempt to solve the fundamental trilemma of international finance, which holds that countries cannot simultaneously pursue independent monetary policies, stabilize their exchange rates, and benefit from free cross-border financial flows. Drawing on a trove of previously confidential data, Strained Relations reveals the evolution of US policy regarding currency market intervention, and its interaction with monetary policy. The authors consider how foreign-exchange intervention was affected by changing economic and institutional circumstances—most notably the abandonment of the international gold standard—and how political and bureaucratic factors affected this aspect of public policy.

Provides an account of the evolution of exchange rate regimes in the 20th century, in chronological, non-technical format. Links between the past and present shed light on the merits of different exchange rate systems. Discusses forces that have brought about change in order to determine how different regimes affected the economic environment, considers the merits or otherwise of the respective regimes, and assesses arguments for and against fixed and floating exchange ratesAnnotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Controlling inflation is among the most important objectives of economic policy. By maintaining price stability, policy makers are able to reduce uncertainty, improve price-monitoring mechanisms, and facilitate more efficient planning and allocation of resources, thereby raising productivity. This volume focuses on understanding the causes of the Great Inflation of the 1970s and ’80s, which saw rising inflation in many nations, and which propelled interest rates across the developing world into the double digits. In the decades since, the immediate cause of the period’s rise in inflation has been the subject of considerable debate. Among the areas of contention are the role of monetary policy in driving inflation and the implications this had both for policy design and for evaluating the performance of those who set the policy. Here, contributors map monetary policy from the 1960s to the present, shedding light on the ways in which the lessons of the Great Inflation were absorbed and applied to today’s global and increasingly complex economic environment.

In contemporary American political discourse, issues related to the scope, authority, and the cost of the federal government are perennially at the center of discussion. Any historical analysis of this topic points directly to the Great Depression, the "moment" to which most historians and economists connect the origins of the fiscal, monetary, and social policies that have characterized American government in the second half of the twentieth century. In the most comprehensive collection of essays available on these topics, The Defining Moment poses the question directly: to what extent, if any, was the Depression a watershed period in the history of the American economy? This volume organizes twelve scholars' responses into four categories: fiscal and monetary policies, the economic expansion of government, the innovation and extension of social programs, and the changing international economy. The central focus across the chapters is the well-known alternations to national government during the 1930s. The Defining Moment attempts to evaluate the significance of the past half-century to the American economy, while not omitting reference to the 1930s. The essays consider whether New Deal-style legislation continues to operate today as originally envisioned, whether it altered government and the economy as substantially as did policies inaugurated during World War II, the 1950s, and the 1960s, and whether the legislation had important precedents before the Depression, specifically during World War I. Some chapters find that, surprisingly, in certain areas such as labor organization, the 1930s responses to the Depression contributed less to lasting change in the economy than a traditional view of the time would suggest. On the whole, however, these essays offer testimony to the Depression's legacy as a "defining moment." The large role of today's government and its methods of intervention—from the pursuit of a more active monetary policy to the maintenance and extension of a wide range of insurance for labor and business—derive from the crisis years of the 1930s.

"1. The book treats a new topic: monetary history of seven small states across the 20th century; 2. It shows the crucial importance of economic ideas and monetary theories in policy making; 3. It has a long-term perspective: 100 years of European monetary history; 4. The results are relevant for the understanding of the current/recent financial and economic crisis"--

In an outstanding account of exchange rates inthe international monetary system, W. Max Corden considers the essential issues in international macroeconomics.The author takes as his model the macroeconomic situation of a country with an open economy, and explains the effects of domestic fiscal and monetary macroeconomic policy on exchange rates. He clearly analyses the choices faced by governments attempting to manage both the domestic inflation rateand the external exchange rate and current account balance. Professor Corden then discusses the European Exchange Rate mechanism, and provides a sceptical analysis of the possibilities for monetary union in Europe, and for international policy coordination in general. He gives equal weight todiscussion of the present US-centred international monetary system outside the ERM, and combines theoretical models with an account of the actual determination of floating exchange rates. Although the book itself is orientated towards monetary rather than trade issues, the author discusses twotopical issues: the role of protectionist policies, and the idea of competitiveness. Finally, he looks at the future of the international monetary system and the series of current reform proposals.Students will find this book useful because the author covers essential issues lucidly and authoritatively. The exposition is entirely non-mathematical. Postgraduate students and academics will be interested since Corden is a distinguished writer on international trade and policy, and hisarguments are powerfully presented.New to this edition:This is a revised and expanded edition of a previous book by Corden, Inflation, Exchange Rates and the World Economy, the third edition of which was published in 1985. In this new book, Professor Corden has fully rewritten the text, but retains the discursive, informal, reader-friendly style ofthe earlier editions. In this new edition, Professor Corden has included two new chapters which extend the treatment of macroeconomic policy, separating it into its fiscal and monetary branches. He also includes a new chapter on the role of the current account balance in determining macroeconomicpolicy. The author has brought his account of the present international monetary context up to date - characterised as the non-system - and has included a new analysis of European monetary issues, incorporating a review of the progress of the EMS towards full monetary union. The book also containsa provocative discussion of two highly topical issues: trade protection, and competitiveness, including both new theoretical analysis and such events as the recent GATT agreement.