Floating Exchange Rates and International Monetary Reform

Fülszöveg

Floating Exchange Rates and International Monetary Reform, by
Thomas D. Willett, traces the role of exchange rate arrangements in the evolution of the international monetary system. Drawing heavily on both historical research and his own experiences in the U.S. government, the author analyzes the key factors in the creation and the demise of the Bretton Woods exchange rate system and in the 1976 Jamaica Agreements on reform of the international monetary system.
Willett argues that the new monetary system based on floating exchange rates adheres to the basic principles of international financial cooperation established at Bretton Woods in 1944, though it substantially alters the exchange rate procedures established there. On balance, he concludes, the performance of floating rates has come closer to the expectations of its supporters than of its critics. This study also analyzes the major criticisms of the Jamaica Agreements—that they fail to deal adequately with the problems of... Tovább

Fülszöveg

Floating Exchange Rates and International Monetary Reform, by
Thomas D. Willett, traces the role of exchange rate arrangements in the evolution of the international monetary system. Drawing heavily on both historical research and his own experiences in the U.S. government, the author analyzes the key factors in the creation and the demise of the Bretton Woods exchange rate system and in the 1976 Jamaica Agreements on reform of the international monetary system.
Willett argues that the new monetary system based on floating exchange rates adheres to the basic principles of international financial cooperation established at Bretton Woods in 1944, though it substantially alters the exchange rate procedures established there. On balance, he concludes, the performance of floating rates has come closer to the expectations of its supporters than of its critics. This study also analyzes the major criticisms of the Jamaica Agreements—that they fail to deal adequately with the problems of international liquidity and confidence and surveillance of the adjustment process. Many of these charges are attributed to a failure to recognize fully the implications of the adoption of flexible exchange rates as the new basis for the international monetary system.
Thomas D. Willett is Horton Professor of Economics at Clare-mont Graduate School and Claremont Men's College. This study was prepared while he was director of international monetary research at the U.S. Treasury. Vissza