Was this a failure of the rule or a belated admission of reality?

The dollar remained powerful even after losing the old gold link. The gold link ended, but the dollar's international role did not disappear with...

Calling the event the instant birth of today's entire monetary system skips subsequent negotiations and the transition toward floating rates. A s...

The decision emerged from strains involving US external liabilities, gold reserves and international monetary arrangements. The pressure built over ti...

Could the original settlement reconcile national economic priorities with stable international exchange rates indefinitely?

The system evolved under pressure as dollar liabilities expanded relative to confidence in US gold convertibility. Dollar confidence was not an unlimi...

Capital controls and domestic policy goals were part of the wider design; this was not simply a revival of prewar gold rules. The capital-controls pie...

Adjustable pegs were an attempt to balance discipline with room for adjustment. Currencies were linked through an adjustable peg framework centered on...

Would you trade flexibility for the reassurance of a fixed monetary rule?

No historical gold standard was perfectly automatic; central banks and governments made consequential choices within it. There was always more discret...

The burden of adjustment could fall on wages and jobs instead of exchange rates. Adjusting wages and prices could be painful when exchange-rate flexib...

Credibility depended on reserves, monetary policy, international payments and political willingness to maintain convertibility. A fixed promise only w...