Who Adjusts?

by Simmons, Beth A.

• ISBN13: 9780691017105
• ISBN10: 0691017107
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1997-08-29
• Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr

Summary

In this work Beth Simmons presents a fresh view of why governments decided to abide by or defect from the gold standard during the 1920s and 1930s. Previous studies of the spread of the Great Depression have emphasized "tit-for-tat" currency and tariff manipulation and a subsequent cycle of destructive competition. Simmons, on the other hand, analyzes the influence of domestic politics on national responses to the international economy. In so doing, she powerfully confirms that different political regimes choose different economic adjustment strategies.

Author Biography

Beth A. Simmons is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of California-Berkeley

Table of Contents

List of Figures	ix	(2)
List of Tables	xi	(2)
Acknowledgments	xiii
CHAPTER 1 Introduction	3	(17)
The Problem: Explaining International Economic Relations during the Interwar Years	4	(7)
The Argument of This Book	11	(2)
Toward an Explanation of the Policy Mix: Methodology and Organization	13	(5)
Findings	18	(2)
CHAPTER 2 The Interwar Gold Standard	20	(32)
The Prewar and Interwar Gold Standards	20	(11)
The Norms of Gold Standard Adjustment	31	(11)
Explaining Policy Choice during the Interwar Years	42	(8)
Conclusions	50	(2)
CHAPTER 3 The Determinants of External Imbalance	52	(54)
Politics, Credibility, and External Imbalance	52	(12)
Capital Movements	64	(20)
The Current Account	84	(17)
Conclusions	101	(3)
Appendix	104	(2)
CHAPTER 4 Devaluation	106	(34)
Descriptive Statistics: Currency Depreciation	107	(5)
On Gold or Off?	112	(6)
Explaining Currency Depreciation	118	(7)
Domestic Politics and Currency Depreciation: The Evidence	125	(11)
Conclusions	136	(2)
Cumulative Results	138	(2)
CHAPTER 5 France, 1924-1927	140	(34)
The Real Economy	145	(4)
Cracks in Credibility	149	(7)
From a Crack to a Gulf: January 1925-July 1926	156	(8)
The Politics of Credibility	164	(4)
Conclusions	168	(6)
CHAPTER 6 Tariff Protection	174	(45)
Descriptive Statistics of Tariff Protection	175	(3)
Explaining Tariff Levels	178	(13)
Changes in Tariff Policy	191	(21)
Conclusions	212	(2)
Cumulative Results	214	(3)
Appendix	217	(2)
CHAPTER 7 Deficits during Depression: Britain, Belgium, and France in the Thirties	219	(56)
Aggregate Introduction to the Cases and to the Policy Mix	223	(3)
The Case of Britain, 1929-1931	226	(15)
The Case of Belgium, 1934-1936	241	(15)
The Case of France, 1935-1937	256	(14)
Conclusions	270	(5)
CHAPTER 8 Conclusions	275	(14)
The Argument	276	(2)
Major Findings	278	(4)
Implications for International Cooperation	282	(1)
Implications for International Political Economy	283	(3)
Parting Words	286	(3)
APPENDIX I General Data Appendix	289	(10)
APPENDIX II Central Bank Independence Data	299	(6)
Select Bibliography	305	(14)
Index	319