During the years before 1914 the world’s still largely unused resources were brought increasingly within the framework of a single world economy. This process owed much to Britain’s ability to export capital on a scale which has never since been equalled. Yet periods of heavy investment overseas alternated with home investment booms that absorbed the greater part of Britain’s savings. The reasons for this fluctuation, and the mechanism which linked Britain’s economic development with the rest of the world, are still subject to debate. This volume illuminates the problems of the global economy today by examining different interpretations and research from history.

During the years before 1914 the world’s still largely unused resources were brought increasingly within the framework of a single world economy. This process owed much to Britain’s ability to export capital on a scale which has never since been equalled. Yet periods of heavy investment overseas alternated with home investment booms that absorbed the greater part of Britain’s savings. The reasons for this fluctuation, and the mechanism which linked Britain’s economic development with the rest of the world, are still subject to debate. This volume illuminates the problems of the global economy today by examining different interpretations and research from history.

During the years before 1914 the world's still largely unused resources were brought increasingly within the framework of a single world economy. This process owed much to Britain's ability to export capital on a scale which has never since been equalled. Yet periods of heavy investment overseas alternated with home investment booms that absorbed the greater part of Britain's savings. The reasons for this fluctuation, and the mechanism which linked Britain's economic development with the rest of the world, are still subject to debate. This volume illuminates the problems of the global economy today by examining different interpretations and research from history.

This and the previous volume chart the history of financial institutions in England in the mid-late nineteenth century as well as examining the periods of boom and bust, their causes and effects. Using hitherto unpublished sources from the International Financial Society this book provides an unrivalled record of the development of the modern banking industry.

This volume is an extremely readable guide to the world of international finance by two former City Editors of The Times. It is designed for people who want to understand something of the world’s financial affairs and learn how to follow jargon on the City pages of newspapers or money programmes on radio and television. Starting with the basic facts, the authors gently guide you through the world’s money maze – so that by the time you have reached the last chapter you should be able to understand the newspaper extracts printed at the end of the book. The World’s Money aims to answer some of the many questions of the times in which it was published: Why had there been so many monetary crises? How were they caused? What is the role of gold in international finance? How do exchange rates, the IMF, the World Bank, the eurodollar market work? What is the new World Money? How was the pound devalued? Can 1929 recur? The material is equally suitable for students, sixth-formers, economists and the armchair reader. Contemporary events are used as examples and illustrations, the history and the future of money discussed, so that the book is at once topical for its times and of lasting value.

This book is concerned with developments in three main areas of monetary history: domestic commercial banking; monetary policy; and the UK’s international financial position. For ease of analysis the 160 years under study are arranged into three clear chronological divisons. Part 1 covers the years 1826-1913, a period in which the UK emerged as the world’s leading economic power. It was in these years that an extensive and fully-operative domestic banking system was established. Part 2 covers 1914 to 1939 – the years which marked a break in the traditional monetary arrangements of the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Part 3 covers 1939-1986 when the dominance of state influence within the domestic money markets was re-established by the Second World War and the acceptance by the authorities of the obligation to ‘manage’ the economy which meant that successive postwar governments took direct responsibility for the conduct of monetary and credit policy.