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Dirty float or clean intervention? The Bank of England on the foreign exchange market, 1952-72

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Abstract

Using over 40,000 new observations on intervention and exchange rates, this paper is the first study of Bank of England foreign exchange intervention between 1952 and 1972. The main finding is that the Bank was unsuccessful in managing a credible exchange rate. By estimating a reaction function, I find that the Bank of England during most of the period refused to intervene on the forward market which was growing in importance. Analysing alternative exchange rates, I show how the Bank failed to maintain credibility in offshore markets. The Bank was eventually forced to manipulate the publication of its reserve figures to avoid a run on sterling.

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  • Alain Naef, "undated". "Dirty float or clean intervention? The Bank of England on the foreign exchange market, 1952-72," Working Papers 32, Department of Economic and Social History at the University of Cambridge.
    • Handle: RePEc:cmh:wpaper:32
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    File URL: http://www.econsoc.hist.cam.ac.uk/docs/CWPESHnumber32April2018.pdf
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    Cited by:

    1. Monnet, Eric & Puy, Damien, 2020. "Do old habits die hard? Central banks and the Bretton Woods gold puzzle," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    2. Michael Bordo & Eric Monnet & Alain Naef, 2017. "The Gold Pool (1961-1968) and the Fall of the Bretton Woods System. Lessons for Central Bank Cooperation," NBER Working Papers 24016, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Bretton Woods; Foreign exchange intervention; Bank of England; exchange rate;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F31 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - Foreign Exchange
    • N24 - Economic History - - Financial Markets and Institutions - - - Europe: 1913-
    • E42 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Monetary Sytsems; Standards; Regimes; Government and the Monetary System
    • E58 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Central Banks and Their Policies

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