The Glitter of Gold

France, Bimetallism, and the Emergence of the International Gold Standard, 1848-73
Erscheinungsjahr 2003
ISBN: 978-0-19-925786-7
Verlag: OUP Oxford

Buch, Englisch, 344 Seiten, Print PDF, Format (B × H): 161 mm x 240 mm, Gewicht: 681 g

This book studies the so far unexplored operation of the international monetary system that prevailed before the emergence of the international gold standard in 1873. Conventional wisdom has it that the emergence of gold as a global anchor was both an inescapable and desirable evolution, given the exchange rate stability it provided and Britain's economic predominance.

This study draws on a wealth of archival sources and abundant new statistical evidence (fully detailed in the appendix) to demonstrate that global exchange rate stability always prevailed before the making of the gold standard. This was despite the heterogeneity among national monetary regimes, based on gold, silver, or both.

The reason for the stability before the establishment of the gold standard is France's bimetallic system. France, by being in a position to trade gold for silver, and vice versa, effectively pegged the exchange rate between gold and silver at its legal ratio of 15.5. Part I of the book studies exactly how this mechanism worked. Part II focuses on the respective behaviour of private concerns and arbitrageurs on the one hand, and authorities such as the Bank of France on the other hand, in order to underline the constraints and opportunities that were associated with bimetallism as an international regime. Finally, Part III provides a new view on the collapse of bimetallism and its replacement by a gold standard. It is argued that bimetallism might well have survived, and that the emergence of the gold standard was by no means inescapable. Rather, it resulted from a massive coordination failure at both national and international levels - a failure that was a preview of the interwar collapse of the gold standard.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Flandreau, Marc

Flandreau, M.

Fachgebiete

• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Wirtschaftswissenschaften Wirtschaftsgeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Wirtschaftsgeschichte
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Betriebswirtschaft Bereichsspezifisches Management Außenhandel
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Weltgeschichte
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Volkswirtschaftslehre Internationale Wirtschaft Internationaler Handel
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Volkswirtschaftslehre Volkswirtschaftslehre Allgemein Geldwirtschaft, Währungspolitik
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Volkswirtschaftslehre Volkswirtschaftslehre Allgemein Geschichte der VWL

Inhaltsverzeichnis

- Introduction: King Bullion: The International Monetary Regime, 1848-73

- Part I: The Logic of Arbitrage

- 1: Bimetalism in Theory

- 2: Gold-Silver Points: Domestic Arbitrages and the Bimetallic System

- 3: Bimetallic Exchange Rates: An Exploration

- 4: Coin Memories: New Estimates of France's Specie Stock (1840 to 1878)

- Part II: Policy and Profit: The Microeconomics of Bimetallism

- 5: The Rules of the Bimetallic Game

- 6: Scale and Scope: Coinage, Arbitrage and Bimetallism

- Part II: Macroeconomics: Bimetallism's Success and Failure

- 7: How did International Bimetallism Work? A Monetary Theory

- Conclusion: The Glitter and the Shine

- Appendixes

Über Autor(innen)

Marc Flandreau is Professor of Economics at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques, Paris. A renowned expert in the history of the international monetary system and international finance, he has published extensively. His work has appeared in the Journal of Economic History, Explorations in Economic History, the European Economic Review, the Journal of International Economics and the Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking.