Money and Politics European Monetary Unification and the International Gold Standard (1865-1873)

by Einaudi, Luca

• ISBN13: 9780199243662
• ISBN10: 0199243662
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-07-12
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

This is a detailed study of a little-known attempt to create monetary union throughout the whole of Europe in the late nineteenth century. It explores political, diplomatic, and economic aspects of the Latin Monetary Union between 1865 and 1873. Areas such as the debate between economists and the public, and the daily operations, conflicts of interest, and power struggles between national banks and governments in the age of Gladstone, Napoleon III, and Bismarck are examined.

Author Biography

Luca Einaudi is Senior Economist, Prime Minister's Office, Rome and Research Associate, Centre for History and Economics, Cambridge University

Table of Contents

List of Graphs	xi
List of Tables	xii
List of Abbreviations	xiii
Introduction	1	(8)
The Political and Monetary Situation in Europe in 1865	9	(28)
The Political Situation in Europe in the mid-1860s	9	(7)
Unification of the Tools for Economic Growth	16	(4)
European Monetary Systems before the Latin Monetary Union	20	(17)
The Formation of the Latin Monetary Union and the International Monetary Conference of 1867	37	(25)
The origins of the Latin Monetary Union, from an Answer to Gold Invasion to a Model for International Gold Coinage	37	(3)
Interpretation of the Nature of the Latin Monetary Union	40	(6)
The Plan of the French Government for European Monetary Unification and the Contribution of Parieu	46	(8)
The 1867 Paris International Monetary Conference and the Identification of Unification with the Gold Standard	54	(8)
Economics of Monetary Unification	62	(27)
The Debate over the Opportunity of Monetary Unification	64	(11)
The Interaction between International Money and the Battle of the Standards	75	(5)
How far into a Monetary Union?	80	(4)
Gainers and Losers from Monetary Unification	84	(5)
Managing a Difficult Union: France and the LMU	89	(54)
The Development of the Latin Monetary Union	89	(29)
The French Internal Dilemma: Conflicting Groups Paralysing Policy	118	(25)
Enthusiasm and Resistance to Union in Britain and Germany	143	(46)
United Kingdom: the Pound Debased to Adapt to the Franc?	143	(24)
The German Influence	167	(22)
Epilogue	189	(7)
Postscript	196	(5)
Appendix: The Effect of Monetary Unification and the Metallic Standards on Exchange Rate Fluctuation	201	(4)
Maps	205	(7)
Bibliography	212	(13)
Glossary	225	(2)
Biographical Notices	227	(6)
Index of Names	233	(4)
Index of Subjects	237