This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

The gold standard as a rule

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Michael D. Bordo
Finn E. Kydland

Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

Abstract

In this paper, we show that the monetary rule followed by a number of key countries before 1914 represented a commitment technology preventing the monetary authorities from changing planned future policy. The experiences of these major countries suggest that the gold standard was intended as a contingent rule. By that, we mean that the authorities could temporarily abandon the fixed price of gold during a wartime emergency on the understanding that convertibility at the original price of gold would be restored when the emergency passed.

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://www.clevelandfed.org/research/Workpaper/1992/wp9205.pdf
File Format: application/pdf
File Function:
Download Restriction: no

Publisher Info
Paper provided by Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland in its series Working Paper with number 9205.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Length:
Date of creation: 1992
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:fip:fedcwp:9205

Contact details of provider:
Postal: 1455 East 6th St., Cleveland OH 44114
Phone: 216.579.2000
Web page: http://www.clevelandfed.org/
More information through EDIRC

Order Information:
Email:

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (Diane Rosenberger).

Related research
Keywords: Gold standard ; Economic history ; Monetary policy;

Other versions of this item:

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Lucas, Robert Jr. & Stokey, Nancy L., 1983. "Optimal fiscal and monetary policy in an economy without capital," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 12(1), pages 55-93. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  2. Finn Kydland & Edward C. Prescott, 1980. "A Competitive Theory of Fluctuations and the Feasibility and Desirability of Stabilization Policy," NBER Chapters, in: Rational Expectations and Economic Policy, pages 169-198 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!]
  3. Friedman, Milton, 1990. "The Crime of 1873," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(6), pages 1159-94, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  4. Barry Eichengreen, 1989. "Hegemonic Stability Theories of the International Monetary System," NBER Working Papers 2193, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  5. Garber, Peter M. & Grilli, Vittorio U., 1986. "The Belmont-Morgan Syndicate as an optimal investment banking contract," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 649-677, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Barry Eichengreen., 1989. "The Gold Standard Since Alec Ford," Economics Working Papers 89-120, University of California at Berkeley. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  7. Barro, Robert J, 1979. "On the Determination of the Public Debt," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 87(5), pages 940-71, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Calomiris, Charles W, 1988. "Price and Exchange Rate Determination during the Greenback Suspension," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 40(4), pages 719-50, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  9. Bordo, Michael D. & White, Eugene N., 1991. "A Tale of Two Currencies: British and French Finance During the Napoleonic Wars," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 51(02), pages 303-316, June. [Downloadable!]
  10. V.V. Chari & Patrick J. Kehoe, 1989. "Sustainable plans and debt," Staff Report 125, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  11. Goodfriend, Marvin, 1988. "Central banking under the gold standard," Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 85-124, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  12. Barsky, Robert B & Summers, Lawrence H, 1988. "Gibson's Paradox and the Gold Standard," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 96(3), pages 528-50, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  13. Redish, A., 1988. "The Evolution Of Thr Gold Standard In England," UBC Departmental Archives 88-36, UBC Department of Economics.
    Other versions:
  14. Michael D. Bordo & Eugene N. White, 1991. "British and French Finance During the Napoleonic Wars," NBER Working Papers 3517, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  15. Harold L. Cole & Patrick J. Kehoe, 1991. "Reputation with multiple relationships: reviving reputation models of debt," Staff Report 137, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. [Downloadable!]
  16. Robert J. Barro & David B. Gordon, 1984. "Rules, Discretion and Reputation in a Model of Monetary Policy," NBER Working Papers 1079, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  17. Barsky, Robert B., 1987. "The Fisher hypothesis and the forecastability and persistence of inflation," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 3-24, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  18. Grossman, Herschel I & Van Huyck, John B, 1988. "Sovereign Debt as a Contingent Claim: Excusable Default, Repudiation, and Reputation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 78(5), pages 1088-97, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  19. Kydland, Finn E. & Prescott, Edward C., 1980. "Dynamic optimal taxation, rational expectations and optimal control," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 2(1), pages 79-91, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  20. Fumio Hayashi, 1989. "Japan's Saving Rate: New Data and Reflections," NBER Working Papers 3205, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  21. Chari, V V & Kehoe, Patrick J, 1990. "Sustainable Plans," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(4), pages 783-802, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  22. V.V. Chari, 1988. "Time consistency and optimal policy design," Quarterly Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, issue Fall, pages 17-31. [Downloadable!]
  23. Prescott, Edward C., 1977. "Should control theory be used for economic stabilization?," Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 7(1), pages 13-38, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  24. North, Douglass C, 1991. "Institutions," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 5(1), pages 97-112, Winter. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  25. Glassman, Debra & Redish, Angela, 1988. "Currency depreciation in early modern England and France," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 75-97, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  26. Alberto Alesina & Allan Drazen, 1989. "Why are Stabilizations Delayed?," NBER Working Papers 3053, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  27. Cukierman, Alex, 1988. "Rapid inflation -- deliberate policy or miscalculation?," Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 11-75. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  28. Officer, Lawrence H., 1983. "Dollar-Sterling Mint Parity and Exchange Rates, 1791?1834," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 43(03), pages 579-616, September. [Downloadable!]
  29. Giovannini, Alberto, 1986. "`Rules of the game' during the International Gold Standard: England and Germany," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 5(4), pages 467-483, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  30. Garber, Peter M, 1986. "Nominal Contracts in a Bimetallic Standard," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(5), pages 1012-30, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  31. Kydland, Finn E & Prescott, Edward C, 1977. "Rules Rather Than Discretion: The Inconsistency of Optimal Plans," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 85(3), pages 473-91, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  32. Michael D. Bordo, 1981. "The classical gold standard: some lessons for today," Review, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, issue May, pages 2-17. [Downloadable!]
  33. Michael D. Bordo & Finn E. Kydland, 1996. "The Gold Standard as a Rule," NBER Working Papers 3367, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  34. Herschel I. Grossman, 1990. "The Political Economy of War Debts and Inflation," NBER Working Papers 2743, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  35. Friedman, Milton, 1990. "Bimetallism Revisited," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 4(4), pages 85-104, Fall. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  36. Michael D. Bordo, 1993. "The Bretton Woods International Monetary System: An Historical Overview," NBER Working Papers 4033, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  37. Marvin Goodfriend, 1989. "Money, credit, banking and payments system policy," Working Paper 89-03, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Barry Eichengreen, 1993. "The Endogeneity of Exchange Rate Regimes," NBER Working Papers 4361, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  2. Arthur J. Rolnick & Warren E. Weber, 1994. "Inflation, money, and output under alternative monetary standards," Staff Report 175, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. [Downloadable!]
  3. Rui Pedro Esteves, 2007. "Quis custodiet quem? Sovereign Debt and Bondholders' Protection Before 1914," Economics Series Working Papers 323, University of Oxford, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  4. Michael Bordo & Angela Redish, 1994. "Maximizing Seignorage Revenue During Temporary Suspensions of Convertibility: A Note," NBER Working Papers 4024, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  5. Rui Pedro Esteves & Jaime Reis & Fabiano Ferramosca, 2007. "Market Integration in the Golden periphery The Lisbon/London Exchange, 1854-1891," Economics Series Working Papers 338, University of Oxford, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  6. Joseph G. Haubrich & Joseph A. Ritter, 1996. "Dynamic commitment and imperfect policy rules," Working Paper 9601, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  7. Michael D. Bordo & Finn E. Kydland, 1992. "The gold standard as a rule," Working Paper 9205, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  8. Maurice Obstfeld, 1993. "The Adjustment Mechanism," NBER Working Papers 3943, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  9. Joseph A. Ritter, 1994. "The transition from barter to fiat money," Working Papers 1994-004, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. [Downloadable!]
  10. Richard S. Grossman, 2006. "Other People’s Money: The Evolution of Bank Capital in the Industrialized World," Wesleyan Economics Working Papers 2006-020, Wesleyan University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  11. Anton Muscatelli, 1996. "Political Consensus, Uncertain Preferences and Central Bank Independence," Working Papers 9615, Department of Economics, University of Glasgow, revised Nov 1996.
    Other versions:
  12. Ben Bernanke & Harold James, 1990. "The Gold Standard, Deflation, and Financial Crisis in the Great Depression: An International Comparison," NBER Working Papers 3488, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. Michael D. Bordo & Lars Jonung, 1996. "Monetary Regimes, Inflation And Monetary Reform: An Essay in Honor of Axel Leijonhufvud," Departmental Working Papers 199407, Rutgers University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  14. Susanto Basu & Alan M. Taylor, 1999. "Business Cycles in International Historical Perspective," NBER Working Papers 7090, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? Over 80% of the top 1000 economists are registered on RePEc.

This page was last updated on 2009-11-12.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.