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U.S. balance-of-payments problems in the 1960s remain poorly understood. In this paper I argue that they had two aspects. On the one hand there was a problem of real overvaluation, evident in the erosion of the current account and reflecting the reluctance of the Fed, the Executive and Congress...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10012471141
A number of explanations for the severity of the Great Depression focus on the malfunctioning of the international monetary system. One such explanation emphasizes the deflationary monetary consequences of the liquidation of foreign-exchange reserves following competitive devaluations by Great...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10012476872
Specialists in international relations have argued that international regimes operate smoothly and exhibit stability only when dominated by a single, exceptionally powerful national economy. In particular, this "theory of hegemonic stability" has been applied to the international monetary...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10012476877
This paper provides an overview of recent trends in the U.S. basic industries. It first documents the dramatic fall in their shares of domestic employment and global production. It then considers explanations for these industries' relative -- and, in some instances, absolute -- decline. Those...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10012476880
Economic histories of the interwar years view the Great Depression and the Smoot Hawley Tariff as inextricably bound up with one another. They assign a central role to the Depression in explaining the passage of the 1930 Tariff Act and at the same time emphasize the role of the tariff in the...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10012477070
Over time, there has been a tendency for political jurisdictions and residents to converge on a single currency. Monopoly over seigniorage is a source of political power and a valuable lifeline when sovereignty is threatened. Moreover a uniform currency, insofar as it is free of counterparty and...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10012479382
Alexander Swoboda is one of the originators of the bipolar view that capital mobility creates pressure for countries to abandon intermediate exchange rate arrangements in favor of greater flexibility and harder pegs. This paper takes another look at the evidence for this hypothesis using two...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10012464545
The thesis of this paper is that there is no historical precedent for Europe's monetary union (EMU). While it is possible to point to similar historical experiences, the most obvious of which were in the 19th century, occurred in Europe, and had "union" as part of their names, EMU differs from...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10012464895
The possibility that the euro area might break up was being raised even before the single currency existed. These scenarios were then lent new life five or six years on, when appreciation of the euro and problems of slow growth in various member states led politicians to blame the European...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10012465257
The accumulation of international reserves by emerging markets raises the question of how to best utilize these funds. This paper explores two routes through which the pooling of reserves could enhance stability and welfare. First, the reserve pool could be used for emergency lending in response...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10012466213