Globalizing Capital

by Eichengreen, Barry J.

• ISBN13: 9780691139371
• ISBN10: 0691139377
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-09-15
• Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr

Summary

Globalizing Capitalwas first published more than ten years ago and it remains an indispensable part of the economic literature today. This classic book, written by renowned economist Barry Eichengreen, emphasizes the importance of the international monetary system, and its importance for understanding the international economy. Brief and lucid, this book is intended not only for economists, but also for a general audience of historians, political scientists, professionals in government and business, and anyone with a broad interest in international relations. Here, Eichengreen demonstrates that the international monetary system can be understood and effectively governed only if it is seen as a historical phenomenon extending from the period of the gold standard to today's world of fluctuating prices. This updated edition continues to document the effect of floating rate exchanges and contains a new chapter on topics such as the Asian financial crisis, the advent of the euro, and the future of the dollar.Globalizing Capitalclearly shows how these and other recent developments can be put in their proper perspective once their political and historical contexts are analyzed.

Author Biography

Barry Eichengreen is the George C. Pardee and Helen N. Pardee Professor of Economics and Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley

Table of Contents

Preface	p. vii
Introduction	p. 1
The Gold Standard	p. 6
Prehistory	p. 7
The Dilemmas of Bimetallism	p. 8
The Lure of Bimetallism	p. 12
The Advent of the Gold Standard	p. 15
Shades of Gold	p. 19
How the Gold Standard Worked	p. 24
The Gold Standard as a Historically Specific Institution	p. 29
International Solidarity	p. 32
The Gold Standard and the Lender of Last Resort	p. 34
Instability at the Periphery	p. 37
The Stability of the System	p. 41
Interwar Instability	p. 43
Chronology	p. 44
Experience with Floating: The Controversial Case of the Franc	p. 49
Reconstructing the Gold Standard	p. 55
The New Gold Standard	p. 59
Problems of the New Gold Standard	p. 61
The Pattern of International Payments	p. 66
Responses to the Great Depression	p. 70
Banking Crises and Their Management	p. 73
Disintegration of the Gold Standard	p. 75
Sterling's Crisis	p. 78
The Dollar Follows	p. 83
Managed Floating	p. 86
Conclusions	p. 89
The Bretton Woods System	p. 91
Wartime Planning and Its Consequences	p. 94
The Sterling Crisis and the Realignment of European Currencies	p. 100
The European Payments Union	p. 104
Payments Problems and Selective Controls	p. 107
Convertibility: Problems and Progress	p. 111
Special Drawing Rights	p. 115
Declining Controls and Rising Rigidity	p. 118
The Battle for Sterling	p. 123
The Crisis of the Dollar	p. 126
The Lessons of Bretton Woods	p. 132
After Bretton Woods	p. 134
Floating Exchange Rates in the 1970s	p. 136
Floating Exchange Rates in the 1980s	p. 142
The Snake	p. 149
The European Monetary System	p. 157
Renewed Impetus for Integration	p. 164
Europe's Crisis	p. 168
Understanding the Crisis	p. 172
The Experience of Developing Countries	p. 178
Conclusions	p. 183
A Brave New Monetary World	p. 185
The Asian Crisis	p. 192
Emerging Instability	p. 198
Global Imbalances	p. 210
The Euro	p. 219
International Currency Competition	p. 225
Conclusion	p. 228
Glossary	p. 233
References	p. 241
Index	p. 259
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