The three exchange rate regimes adopted by Italy from 1883 up to the eve of World War I - the gold standard (1883-1893), floating rates (1894-1902), and “gold shadowing” (1903-1911) - produced a puzzling result: formal adherence to the gold standard ended in failure while shadowing the gold...

Introduction -- International monetary equilibrium and the properties of the gold standard -- The international monetary system between the World Wars -- The monetary system in economic analysis : the critique of the gold standard -- The Great Depression : overturning the state of the art --...