This paper examines the role of IMF-supported programs in crisis prevention; specifically, whether, conditional on an episode of intense market pressures, IMF financial support helps prevent a capital account crisis from developing and, if so, through what channels. In doing so, the paper...

Egypt's nationalization of the Suez Canal in 1956 and the failed attempt by France, Israel, and Britain to retake it by force constituted a serious political crisis with significant economic consequences. For the United Kingdom, it engendered a financial crisis as well. That all four of the...

It has taken two crises - the Asian financial crisis of 1997-1998 and the global financial crisis of 2007-2009 - for the international community to seriously focus on the reform of the international financial architecture for crisis prevention, management and resolution. Facing the global...

This paper assesses whether the international monetary system is already tripolar and centred around the US dollar, the euro and the Chinese renminbi (RMB). It focuses on what we call China’s “dominance hypothesis”, i.e. whether the renminbi is already the dominant currency in Asia,...

This paper assesses whether the international monetary system is already tripolar and centred around the US dollar, the euro and the Chinese renminbi (RMB). It focuses on what we call China's "dominance hypothesis", i.e. whether the renminbi is already the dominant currency in Asia, exerting a...

This paper assesses whether the international monetary system is already tripolar and centred around the US dollar, the euro and the Chinese renminbi (RMB). It focuses on what we call China's “dominance hypothesis”, i.e. whether the renminbi is already the dominant currency in Asia, exerting...

The role of the yen in the international financial system is reconsidered from a comparative (historical) approach. Compared with the D-Mark in the postwar years, the limited use of the yen results not so much from regulations on capital movements as from the structure and behavior of Japanese...

We use the demise of silver-based standards in the 19th century to explore price dynamics when a commodity-based money ceases to function as a global unit of account. We develop a general equilibrium model of the global economy with gold and silver money. Calibration of the model shows that...

The 2008 global financial crisis raised the expectations for the International Monetary Fund (IMF/the Fund) and instigated a call for a New Bretton Woods. In this paper, I review the Bretton Woods monetary system and the role of the IMF to suggest new insights into its role in the postwar...

This paper takes stock of the evolution of the international monetary system over the last thousand years. Several points stand out from the analysis. One is the reluctance of governments to embrace radical changes in international monetary relations. Another is the conflict between external and...