Handbook of Key Global Financial Markets, Institutions, and Infrastructure

Chapter 3

Bretton Woods and Monetary Regimes

S.C. Knight

American University, Washington, DC, USA

Outline

Introduction

Types and Examples of Monetary Regimes

The Classical Gold Standard

The Interwar Years, the Gold-Exchange Standard, and the Great Depression

Bretton Woods and the Anglo-American Compromise

Conclusion

Further Reading

Introduction

Formal monetary unions, in which two or more countries agree to give up their national currencies for a single, shared currency, are rare events in the history of international monetary cooperation. The Eurozone, which is analyzed in detail elsewhere in this volume, is the most important modern-day example. There are other types of monetary regimes, ranging in the degree to which countries surrender ...