1st Edition

International Monetary Co-operation 1945-52

By Brian Tew Copyright 2003
    182 Pages
    by Routledge

    182 Pages
    by Routledge

    Attempts to establish an international economic and financial order where a key feature of the settlement which followed the Second World War, as policy makers sought to establish a framework which would prevent an economic crisis on the scale of the great depression. This volume explores this period, focusing on monetary issues.
    Part 1 provides a general analysis of the scope for international monetary co-operation dealing in particular with:
    * The Provision of additional means of international settlement
    * The arrangement of settlements on a multilateral basis
    * The orderly fixation of exchange rates
    * The correction of international disequilibria
    * The provision of safeguards against the international transmission of business depressions.
    Part 2 deals with the actual machinery of international co-operation since the war and in particular with * The International Monetary Fund
    * The European Payments Union
    * The role of sterling

    Part 3 surveys the actual course of events since 1945, illustrating the problems that have called for treatment by international co-operation, the extent to which such treatment has been attempted, and with what success.

    List Of Tables Key To Abbreviations Used Preface PART ONE FIRST PRINCIPLES INTER-COUNTY PAYMENTS The Problem of External Liquidity The Problem of External Disequilibrium The Problem of the Transmission of Business Depressions Conclusion EXCHANGE RATES INTERNATIONAL LIQUIDITY The Means of International Settlement Multilateral Settlement in Conditions of Equilibrium Multilateral Settlement in Conditions of Disequilibrium The Scope for International Co-Operation INTERNATIONAL DISEQUILIBRIA Devaluation in Favourable Circumstances Devaluation in Unfavourable Circumstances Factors Affecting the Elasticity of Demand for Exports Summary and Conclusions The Concept of 'Suppressed Disequilibrium' THE INTERNATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF DEPRESSIONS PART TWO MACHINERY OF INTERNATIONAL MONETARY CO-OPERATION THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND The Objects of the Fund Exchange Rates Additional Liquidity Multilateral Settlement THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND (cont.) Restrictions on Trade and Payments The Treatment of Disequilibria The International Transmission of Depressions Conclusion EUROPEAN MONETARY CO-OPERATION The Intra-European Payments Schemes The European Payments Union The E.P.U. STERLING Sterling under the Gold Standard The Pre-War Sterling Area Wartime Post-War Changes The Pathology of Sterling PART THREE THE COURSE OF EVENTS SINCE THE WAR BEFORE SEPTEMBER 1949 Exchange Rates The Causes of the Post-War Disequilibria Suppressed and Open Disequilibria in the Post-War Period International Settlements in the Post-War Period The International Transmission of Depressions SEPTEMBER 1949 AND AFTER READING LIST INDEX

    Biography

    Brian Tew