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Fetters of gold and paper

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Listed:
  • Barry Eichengreen
  • Peter Temin

Abstract

We describe in this essay why the gold standard and the euro are extreme forms of fixed exchange rates, and how these policies had their most potent effects in the worst peaceful economic periods in modern times. While we are lucky to have avoided another catastrophe like the Great Depression in 2008--9, mainly by virtue of policy-makers' aggressive use of monetary and fiscal stimuli, the world economy is still experiencing many difficulties. As in the Great Depression, this second round of problems stems from the prevalence of fixed exchange rates. Fixed exchange rates facilitate business and communication in good times but intensify problems when times are bad. Copyright 2010, Oxford University Press.

Suggested Citation

  • Barry Eichengreen & Peter Temin, 2010. "Fetters of gold and paper," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 26(3), pages 370-384, Autumn.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:oxford:v:26:y:2010:i:3:p:370-384
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/oxrep/grq018
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    Cited by:

    1. Lin, Justin Yifu & Fardoust, Shahrokh & Rosenblatt, David, 2012. "Reform of the international monetary system : a jagged history and uncertain prospects," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6070, The World Bank.
    2. Bordo, Michael & James, Harold, 2014. "The European Crisis in the Context of the History of Previous Financial Crises," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 39(PB), pages 275-284.
    3. Valentini, Enzo & Arlotti, Marco & Compagnucci, Fabiano & Gentili, Andrea & Muratore, Fabrizio & Gallegati, Mauro, 2017. "Technical change, sectoral dislocation and barriers to labor mobility: Factors behind the great recession," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 187-215.
    4. George Chouliarakis & Sophia Lazaretou, 2014. "Deja vu? The Greek crisis experience, the 2010s versus the 1930s. Lessons from history," Working Papers 176, Bank of Greece.
    5. Spahn, Peter, 2011. "Die Währungskrisenunion: Die Euro-Verschuldung der Nationalstaaten als Schwachstelle der EWU," FZID Discussion Papers 31-2011, University of Hohenheim, Center for Research on Innovation and Services (FZID).
    6. Roldan Alba, 2022. "The Golden Fetters in the Mediterranean Periphery. How Spain and Italy Overcame Business Cycles Between 1870 and 1913?," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 16(1), pages 170-193, January.
    7. Crescioli, Tommaso & Martelli, Angelo, 2022. "Beyond the Great Reversal: Superstars, Unions, and the Euro," Single Market Economics Papers WP2022/8, Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (European Commission), Chief Economist Team.
    8. Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas & Maurice Obstfeld, 2012. "Stories of the Twentieth Century for the Twenty-First," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 4(1), pages 226-265, January.
    9. Benczes, István, 2018. "Az euróövezet válságrendezése a liberális kormányköziség elméletének értelmezésében [Crisis management in the Euro Zone from the perspective of liberal inter-governmentalism]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(9), pages 923-948.
    10. Elmas Yaldiz Hanedar & Avni Önder Hanedar & Ferdi Çelikay, 2017. "Effects of reforms and supervisory organizations: Evidence from the Ottoman Empire and the Istanbul bourse," Working Papers 0112, European Historical Economics Society (EHES).
    11. Deborah Mabbett & Waltraud Schelkle, 2015. "What difference does Euro membership make to stabilization? The political economy of international monetary systems revisited," Review of International Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(3), pages 508-534, June.
    12. Alan de Bromhead & Kevin Hjortshøj O'Rourke, 2024. "Should history change the way we think about populism?," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 77(3), pages 1086-1109, August.
    13. Harris Dellas & George S. Tavlas, 2011. "The fatal flaw: the revived Bretton-woods system, liquidity creation, and commodity-price bubbles," Working Papers 122, Bank of Greece.
    14. Lucian Croitoru, 2018. "How Countries’ Different Attitudes towards Inflation can thwart the European Dream," Romanian Economic Journal, Department of International Business and Economics from the Academy of Economic Studies Bucharest, vol. 21(70), pages 2-41, December.
    15. Berbenni, Enrico, 2021. "External devaluation and trade balance in 1930s Italy," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 93-107.
    16. Alogoskoufis, George & Gravas, Konstantinos & Jacque, Laurent, 2023. "Asymmetries in post-war monetary arrangements in Europe: From Bretton Woods to the Euro Area," The Journal of Economic Asymmetries, Elsevier, vol. 28(C).
    17. Willem THORBECKE, 2010. "The Appropriate Policy Mix for China," Policy Discussion Papers 10002, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    18. Nicholas Crafts & Peter Fearon, 2010. "Lessons from the 1930s Great Depression," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 26(3), pages 285-317, Autumn.
    19. Bruce N. Lehmann & David M. Modest, 1985. "The Empirical Foundations of the Arbitrage Pricing Theory I: The Empirical Tests," NBER Working Papers 1725, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. Sabaté, Marcela & Fillat, Carmen & Escario, Regina, 2019. "Budget deficits and money creation: Exploring their relation before Bretton Woods," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 38-56.
    21. Chen, Yao & Ward, Felix, 2019. "When do fixed exchange rates work? Evidence from the Gold Standard," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 158-172.
    22. Spahn Peter, 2012. "Diskussionsbeitrag / Discussion. Paper David Hume und die Target-Salden," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 232(4), pages 482-488, August.
    23. Javier Bilbao‐Ubillos & Ana‐Isabel Fernández‐Sainz, 2022. "The results of internal devaluation policy as a crisis exit strategy: The case of Spain," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 13(5), pages 767-781, November.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • F33 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - International Monetary Arrangements and Institutions
    • N20 - Economic History - - Financial Markets and Institutions - - - General, International, or Comparative

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