IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/nbr/nberwo/20554.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Price of Stability: The balance sheet policy of the Banque de France and the Gold Standard (1880-1914)

Author

Listed:
  • Guillaume Bazot
  • Michael D. Bordo
  • Eric Monnet

Abstract

Under the classical gold standard (1880-1914), the Bank of France maintained a stable discount rate while the Bank of England changed its rate very frequently. Why did the policies of these central banks, the two pillars of the gold standard, differ so much? How did the Bank of France manage to keep a stable rate and continuously violate the "rules of the game"? This paper tackles these questions and shows that the domestic asset portfolio of the Bank of France played a crucial role in smoothing international shocks and in maintaining the stability of the discount rate. This policy provides a striking example of a central bank that uses its balance sheet to block the interest rate channel and protect the domestic economy from international constraints (Mundell's trilemma).

Suggested Citation

  • Guillaume Bazot & Michael D. Bordo & Eric Monnet, 2014. "The Price of Stability: The balance sheet policy of the Banque de France and the Gold Standard (1880-1914)," NBER Working Papers 20554, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:20554
    Note: DAE ME
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w20554.pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Esteves, Rui Pedro & Reis, Jaime & Ferramosca, Fabiano, 2009. "Market Integration in the Golden Periphery. The Lisbon/London Exchange, 1854-1891," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 46(3), pages 324-345, July.
    2. Eric Monnet, 2014. "Monetary Policy without Interest Rates: Evidence from France's Golden Age (1948 to 1973) Using a Narrative Approach," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 6(4), pages 137-169, October.
    3. Eichengreen, Barry, 1987. "Conducting the international orchestra: Bank of England leadership under the classical gold standard," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 6(1), pages 5-29, March.
    4. David Le Bris & Pierre-Cyrille Hautcoeur, 2010. "A challenge to triumphant optimists? A new blue chips Index for the Paris stock-exchange (1854-2007)," Post-Print halshs-00754455, HAL.
    5. Sommariva, Andrea & Tullio, Giuseppe, 1988. "Notes, Comments, Replies: International Gold Flows in Gold Standard Germany: A Test of the Monetary Approach to the Balance of Payments, 1880-1911," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 20(1), pages 132-140, February.
    6. Christiano, Lawrence J. & Eichenbaum, Martin & Evans, Charles L., 1999. "Monetary policy shocks: What have we learned and to what end?," Handbook of Macroeconomics, in: J. B. Taylor & M. Woodford (ed.),Handbook of Macroeconomics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 2, pages 65-148, Elsevier.
    7. David Le Bris & Pierre-Cyrille Hautcoeur, 2009. "A challenge to triumphant optimists? A blue chips index for the Paris Stock-Exchange (1854-2007)," Working Papers halshs-00586765, HAL.
    8. Marc Flandreau, 1997. "Central Bank Cooperation in Historical Perspective: A Sceptical View," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 50(4), pages 735-763, November.
    9. Jobst, Clemens, 2009. "Market leader: the Austro-Hungarian Bank and the making of foreign exchange intervention, 1896–1913," European Review of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 13(3), pages 287-318, December.
    10. Le Bris, David & Hautcœur, Pierre-Cyrille, 2010. "A challenge to triumphant optimists? A blue chips index for the Paris stock exchange, 1854–2007," Financial History Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 17(2), pages 141-183, October.
    11. repec:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/661 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Jeanne, Olivier & Masson, Paul, 2000. "Currency crises, sunspots and Markov-switching regimes," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 327-350, April.
    13. Rémy Contamin, 2003. "Interdépendances financières et dilemme de politique monétaire. La Banque de France entre 1880 et 1913," Revue économique, Presses de Sciences-Po, vol. 54(1), pages 157-179.
    14. Morys, Matthias, 2013. "Discount rate policy under the Classical Gold Standard: Core versus periphery (1870s–1914)," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 205-226.
    15. Marc Flandreau, 1996. "Les règles de la pratique: La Banque de France, le marché des métaux précieux, et la naissance de l'étalon-or, 1848-1876," Post-Print hal-01027606, HAL.
    16. Eichengreen, Barry, 1995. "Central bank co-operation and exchange rate commitments: the classical and interwar gold standards compared1," Financial History Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 2(2), pages 99-117, October.
    17. Eugene N. White, 2007. "The Crash of 1882 and the Bailout of the Paris Bourse," Cliometrica, Journal of Historical Economics and Econometric History, Association Française de Cliométrie (AFC), vol. 1(2), pages 115-144, July.
    18. Hamilton, James D, 1989. "A New Approach to the Economic Analysis of Nonstationary Time Series and the Business Cycle," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 57(2), pages 357-384, March.
    19. Benoît Mojon, 1998. "Monetary Policy Under a Fixed Exchange Rate Regime, the Case of France 1987-1996," Working Papers 1998-14, CEPII research center.
    20. Alberto Giovannini, 1993. "Bretton Woods and Its Precursors: Rules versus Discretion in the History of International Monetary Regimes," NBER Chapters, in: A Retrospective on the Bretton Woods System: Lessons for International Monetary Reform, pages 109-154, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    21. Michael D. Bordo, 1995. "The Gold Standard as a `Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval'," NBER Working Papers 5340, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    22. John Dutton, 1984. "The Bank of England and the Rules of the Game under the International Gold Standard: New Evidence," NBER Chapters, in: A Retrospective on the Classical Gold Standard, 1821-1931, pages 173-202, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    23. Pierre Sicsic, 1989. "Estimation du stock de monnaie métallique en France à la fin du XIXe siècle," Revue Économique, Programme National Persée, vol. 40(4), pages 709-736.
    24. Eugene N. White, 2007. "The Crash of 1882, Counterparty Risk, and the Bailout of the Paris Bourse," NBER Working Papers 12933, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    25. Marc Flandreau, 1996. "Les règles de la pratique: La Banque de France, le marché des métaux précieux, et la naissance de l'étalon-or, 1848-1876," Post-Print hal-01027606, HAL.
    26. Officer,Lawrence H., 2007. "Between the Dollar-Sterling Gold Points," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521038218, December.
    27. Oskar Morgenstern, 1959. "International Financial Transactions and Business Cycles," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number morg59-1, June.
    28. Bordo, Michael D. & Rockoff, Hugh, 1996. "The Gold Standard as a “Good Housekeeping Seal of Approvalâ€," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 56(2), pages 389-428, June.
    29. Officer, Lawrence H, 1986. "The Efficiency of the Dollar-Sterling Gold Standard, 1890-1908," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(5), pages 1038-1073, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Hautcoeur, Pierre-Cyrille & Riva, Angelo & White, Eugene N., 2014. "Floating a “lifeboat”: The Banque de France and the crisis of 1889," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 104-119.
    2. Donato Masciandaro, 2014. "Macroeconomic Ideas, Business Cycles and Economic Policies: One Size Doesn’t Fit All - A Primer," BAFFI CAREFIN Working Papers 14161, BAFFI CAREFIN, Centre for Applied Research on International Markets Banking Finance and Regulation, Universita' Bocconi, Milano, Italy.
    3. 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.
    4. Ward, Felix & Chen, Yao, 2016. "Rigid relations: External adjustment under the Gold Standard (1880-1913)," VfS Annual Conference 2016 (Augsburg): Demographic Change 145930, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    5. Bazot, Guillaume & Bordo, Michael D. & Monnet, Eric, 2016. "International shocks and the balance sheet of the Bank of France under the classical gold standard," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 87-107.
    6. Donato Masciandaro, 2018. "Central Banking and Macroeconomic Ideas: Economics, Politics and History," BAFFI CAREFIN Working Papers 1858, BAFFI CAREFIN, Centre for Applied Research on International Markets Banking Finance and Regulation, Universita' Bocconi, Milano, Italy.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • E42 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Monetary Sytsems; Standards; Regimes; Government and the Monetary System
    • E43 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Interest Rates: Determination, Term Structure, and Effects
    • E50 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - General
    • E58 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Central Banks and Their Policies
    • N13 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • N23 - Economic History - - Financial Markets and Institutions - - - Europe: Pre-1913

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:20554. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: (). General contact details of provider: http://edirc.repec.org/data/nberrus.html .

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service hosted by the Research Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis . RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.