A. C. Pigou’s Membership of the ‘Chamberlain-Bradbury’ Committee Part Ii: ‘Transitional’ and ‘Ongoing’ Issues

In 1924-25 A. C. Pigou was a member of the “Committee on the Currency and Bank of England Note Issues”, which became known as the ‘Chamberlain-Bradbury’ Committee after its two successive chairmen. The historical context of that report, including Pigou’s highlighting of discussion pertaining to that context, has been presented in Part I of this study. The present paper, which is the Part II of the study, considers Pigou’s reading of the transcripts of interview between the Committee’s members and those appearing before the Committee to give evidence. The contribution of the present part of the study is to examine the ‘transitional’ and ‘ongoing’ issues that Pigou highlighted in a thematically organised manner, with a view to establishing the character of Pigou’s membership of the ‘Chamberlain-Bradbury’ Committee. His reading of the witness testimony suggests a far more cautious and moderate approach to the return to the gold standard than what can be inferred from the bold and urgent recommendations included in the Committee’s report. A likely reason for Pigou unwillingness to oppose the pro-gold position is also presented.