Pictures of a Revolution: Analyzing the Transition from Global Bimetallism to the Gold Standard in the 1860s and 1870s

Pictures of a Revolution: Analyzing the Transition from Global Bimetallism to the Gold Standard in the 1860s and 1870s PDF Author: Mr. Johannes Wiegand
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 26

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Book Description
In the early 1870s, the global monetary system transitioned from bimetallism—a regime in which gold and silver currencies were tied at quasi-fixed exhange ratios—to the gold standard that was characterized by the use of (only) gold as the main currency metal by the largest and most advanced economies. The transition ocurred against the backdrop of both large supply shifts in global bullion markets in the 1850s and 60s and momentous political events, such as the Franco-Prussian war of 1870/71 and the subsequent foundation of the German empire. The causes for the transition have long been a matter of intense debate. This article discusses three separate but interrelated issues: (i) assessing the robustness of the pre-1870 bimetallic system to shocks—which includes a discussion of the appropriate use of Flandreau’s (1996) reference model; (ii) analyzing the transition from bimetallism to gold as a multi-stage currency game played by France and Germany; and (iii) evaluating the monetary debates at the German Handelstag conferences in the 1860s, to present a more complete narrative of the German discussion in the run-up to the transition.

Pictures of a Revolution: Analyzing the Transition from Global Bimetallism to the Gold Standard in the 1860s and 1870s

Pictures of a Revolution: Analyzing the Transition from Global Bimetallism to the Gold Standard in the 1860s and 1870s PDF Author: Mr. Johannes Wiegand
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 26

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Book Description
In the early 1870s, the global monetary system transitioned from bimetallism—a regime in which gold and silver currencies were tied at quasi-fixed exhange ratios—to the gold standard that was characterized by the use of (only) gold as the main currency metal by the largest and most advanced economies. The transition ocurred against the backdrop of both large supply shifts in global bullion markets in the 1850s and 60s and momentous political events, such as the Franco-Prussian war of 1870/71 and the subsequent foundation of the German empire. The causes for the transition have long been a matter of intense debate. This article discusses three separate but interrelated issues: (i) assessing the robustness of the pre-1870 bimetallic system to shocks—which includes a discussion of the appropriate use of Flandreau’s (1996) reference model; (ii) analyzing the transition from bimetallism to gold as a multi-stage currency game played by France and Germany; and (iii) evaluating the monetary debates at the German Handelstag conferences in the 1860s, to present a more complete narrative of the German discussion in the run-up to the transition.

Central Banks and Monetary Policies

Central Banks and Monetary Policies PDF Author: Felix Lessambo
Publisher: Ethics International Press
ISBN: 1804416630
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 297

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Book Description
This book provides a uniquely comprehensive and detailed analysis of central banks within the G-20. It discusses their policies and functions in detail. Central banks use monetary policy to manage economic fluctuations and achieve price stability. Monetary policy is the control of the quantity of money available in an economy and the channels by which new money is supplied. Monetary policy is implemented either (i) through interest rate policy, whereby the central bank influences financial conditions by setting, or closely controlling, a short-term rate and by steering expectations about the interest rate forward, or (ii) through balance sheet policy, whereby the central bank influences financial conditions beyond the short-term rate by adjusting its balance sheet. Inflation targeting has emerged as the leading framework for monetary policy. Since the 1990s, the role of the interest rate has increased, and many countries are using inflation targeting to achieve the aims of their monetary policy. Central banks around the globe, and within the G-20, have introduced explicit inflation targets. Though a central bank cannot directly control inflation, or the factors that determine inflation, it does have the tools needed to directly affect a group of nominal variables, that in turn have an impact on the determinants of inflation. Moreover, most major central banks have adopted unconventional monetary policies to stabilize financial conditions, boost economic activity, and maintain price stability. Last but not least, financial and monetary policies have become increasingly international, involving trade-offs between domestic and foreign interests. The response to cross-border financial crises requires the close cooperation of multiple jurisdictions. The book is a key reference text for researchers, teachers and students in banking, economic policy, and government worldwide.

Handbook of Cliometrics

Handbook of Cliometrics PDF Author: Claude Diebolt
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3031355830
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 2796

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Book Description


Destabilizing the Global Monetary System: Germany’s Adoption of the Gold Standard in the Early 1870s

Destabilizing the Global Monetary System: Germany’s Adoption of the Gold Standard in the Early 1870s PDF Author: Mr.Johannes Wiegand
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1498301223
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 28

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Book Description
In 1871-73, newly unified Germany adopted the gold standard, replacing the silver-based currencies that had been prevalent in most German states until then. The reform sparked a series of steps in other countries that ultimately ended global bimetallism, i.e., a near-universal fixed exchange rate system in which (mostly) France stabilized the exchange value between gold and silver currencies. As a result, silver currencies depreciated sharply, and severe deflation ensued in the gold block. Why did Germany switch to gold and set the train of destructive events in motion? Both a review of the contemporaneous debate and statistical evidence suggest that it acted preemptively: the Australian and Californian gold discoveries of around 1850 had greatly increased the global supply of gold. By the mid-1860s, gold threatened to crowd out silver money in France, which would have severed the link between gold and silver currencies. Without reform, Germany would thus have risked exclusion from the fixed exchange rate system that tied together the major industrial economies. Reform required French accommodation, however. Victory in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870/71 allowed Germany to force accommodation, but only until France settled the war indemnity and regained sovereignty in late 1873. In this situation, switching to gold was superior to adopting bimetallism, as it prevented France from derailing Germany’s reform ex-post.

Development Centre Studies The Making of Global Finance 1880-1913

Development Centre Studies The Making of Global Finance 1880-1913 PDF Author: Flandreau Marc
Publisher: OECD Publishing
ISBN: 9264015361
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 148

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Book Description
This book traces the roots of global financial integration in the first “modern” era of globalisation from 1880 to 1913 and can serve as a valuable tool to current-day policy dilemmas by using historical data to see which policies in the past led to enhanced international financing for development.

Capital in the Twenty-First Century

Capital in the Twenty-First Century PDF Author: Thomas Piketty
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674979850
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 817

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Book Description
What are the grand dynamics that drive the accumulation and distribution of capital? Questions about the long-term evolution of inequality, the concentration of wealth, and the prospects for economic growth lie at the heart of political economy. But satisfactory answers have been hard to find for lack of adequate data and clear guiding theories. In this work the author analyzes a unique collection of data from twenty countries, ranging as far back as the eighteenth century, to uncover key economic and social patterns. His findings transform debate and set the agenda for the next generation of thought about wealth and inequality. He shows that modern economic growth and the diffusion of knowledge have allowed us to avoid inequalities on the apocalyptic scale predicted by Karl Marx. But we have not modified the deep structures of capital and inequality as much as we thought in the optimistic decades following World War II. The main driver of inequality--the tendency of returns on capital to exceed the rate of economic growth--today threatens to generate extreme inequalities that stir discontent and undermine democratic values if political action is not taken. But economic trends are not acts of God. Political action has curbed dangerous inequalities in the past, the author says, and may do so again. This original work reorients our understanding of economic history and confronts us with sobering lessons for today.

The Case for Gold

The Case for Gold PDF Author: Ron Paul
Publisher: Cato Institute
ISBN: 0932790313
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 341

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Book Description


Global Business Regulation

Global Business Regulation PDF Author: John Braithwaite
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521780339
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 194

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Book Description
How has the regulation of business shifted from national to global institutions? What are the mechanisms of globalization? Who are the key actors? What of democratic sovereignty? In which cases has globalization been successfully resisted? These questions are confronted across an amazing sweep of the critical areas of business regulation--from contract, intellectual property and corporations law, to trade, telecommunications, labor standards, drugs, food, transport and environment. This book examines the role played by global institutions such as the World Trade Organization, World Health Organization, the OECD, IMF, Moodys and the World Bank, as well as various NGOs and significant individuals. Incorporating both history and analysis, Global Business Regulation will become the standard reference for readers in business, law, politics, and international relations.

The Origins and Development of Financial Markets and Institutions

The Origins and Development of Financial Markets and Institutions PDF Author: Jeremy Atack
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139477048
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 497

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Book Description
Collectively, mankind has never had it so good despite periodic economic crises of which the current sub-prime crisis is merely the latest example. Much of this success is attributable to the increasing efficiency of the world's financial institutions as finance has proved to be one of the most important causal factors in economic performance. In a series of insightful essays, financial and economic historians examine how financial innovations from the seventeenth century to the present have continually challenged established institutional arrangements, forcing change and adaptation by governments, financial intermediaries, and financial markets. Where these have been successful, wealth creation and growth have followed. When they failed, growth slowed and sometimes economic decline has followed. These essays illustrate the difficulties of co-ordinating financial innovations in order to sustain their benefits for the wider economy, a theme that will be of interest to policy makers as well as economic historians.

U.S. History

U.S. History PDF Author: P. Scott Corbett
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 1886

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Book Description
U.S. History is designed to meet the scope and sequence requirements of most introductory courses. The text provides a balanced approach to U.S. history, considering the people, events, and ideas that have shaped the United States from both the top down (politics, economics, diplomacy) and bottom up (eyewitness accounts, lived experience). U.S. History covers key forces that form the American experience, with particular attention to issues of race, class, and gender.