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An "Art", not a "Science"? Central Bank Management in Portugal under the Gold Standard, 1854-1891

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  • Jaime Reis

Abstract

As long as Portugal was on the gold standard, the Bank of Portugal, sought to stabilize the currency at the exchange rate to which the country was committed. Because it was subject to political and other constraints, the Bank carried out discount rate interventions excessively sparingly, although in accordance with what could be termed the contemporary ‘science’ of central banking. Consequently, it had to intervene constantly in the currency markets, usually in covert fashion, repeatedly infringing the gold standard’s ‘rules of the game’, in order to conciliate the needs of convertibility with a frequently unorthodox stance towards the gold standard.

Suggested Citation

  • Jaime Reis, 2002. "An "Art", not a "Science"? Central Bank Management in Portugal under the Gold Standard, 1854-1891," Working Papers w200206, Banco de Portugal, Economics and Research Department.
    • Handle: RePEc:ptu:wpaper:w200206
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    File URL: https://www.bportugal.pt/sites/default/files/anexos/papers/wp200206.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Lars Jonung, 1984. "Swedish Experience under the Classical Gold Standard, 1873-1914," NBER Chapters, in: A Retrospective on the Classical Gold Standard, 1821-1931, pages 361-404, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. 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.
    3. Michael D. Bordo & Anna J. Schwartz, 1984. "A Retrospective on the Classical Gold Standard, 1821-1931," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number bord84-1, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. António Portugal Duarte & João Sousa Andrade, 2012. "How the Gold Standard functioned in Portugal: an analysis of some macroeconomic aspects," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(5), pages 617-629, February.
    2. 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.
    3. Manmohan Agarwal, 2017. "The Operation of the Gold Standard in the Core and the Periphery Before the First World War," Working Papers id:12074, eSocialSciences.

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