scholarly journals Le système monétaire européen : Le point de vue européen

2005 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 533-547 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michel Lelart
Keyword(s):  
Interest Rates ◽  
International Monetary System ◽  
European Monetary System ◽  
The United States ◽  
European Monetary ◽  
International Capital Markets ◽  
Monetary System ◽  
American Interest ◽  
International Environment ◽  
The Stability

The evolution of the international monetary System prompted the nine members of the E.E.C. to establish a European Monetary System. The new statutes of the I.M.F. have in fact legalized the practice of flexible exchange rates and sanctioned the dollar's inconvertibility while eliminating the role of gold. Further, the increasing importance of the international capital markets fosters the unlimited expansion of international liquidities. it is in response to this context then that Europe seeks to create a zone of stability and to manage its own international tender in accordance with rules that it has set for itself. The author draws a positive conclusion as the System has operated without major problems so far. Nevertheless, difficulties remain: the international environment has not improved given the abrupt strengthening of the dollar and the increase in American interest rates. In addition, progress with regard to cooperation among the Nine remains slow and political change in France makes any prognosis respecting the future of the European Monetary System difficult. It was anticipated that the System would be Consolidated rapidly. It would in that event contribute more effectively to the stability of the international monetary System. It could, on the other hand, sharpen competition between Europe and the United States, between the Ecu and S.D.Rs. and between the European Monetary Fund and the International Monetary Fund.

scholarly journals International Constraints and Domestic Choices: Economic Convergence and Exchange Rate Policy in France and Italy

1994 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 243-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
James I. Walsh
Keyword(s):  
Interest Rates ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Capital Mobility ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
European Monetary System ◽  
Exchange Rate Policy ◽  
International Capital ◽  
European Monetary ◽  
International Capital Mobility ◽  
Monetary System

As tensions in the European Monetary System demonstrate, international capital flows can have a decisive influence on countries' economic policies. The external constraint of high international capital mobility led the countries of Western Europe in the 1980s to attempt to stabilize their exchange rates and converge toward low levels of inflation. Yet this process was not uniform: French governments pursued a rigorous anti-inflationary policy of high interest rates and a strengthening currency, while Italian governments had difficulty controlling inflation and maintaining the lira in the European Monetary System. This difference is best explained by comparing political institutions and policymaking processes in the two countries. Particular attention is given to political leaders' access to economic policy tools and their capacity to design and implement long-term goals.

The Principles and Operation of the Bretton Woods International Monetary System in the Years 1944–1971. The Reasons for Its Collapse

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 0-0
Author(s):  
Zbigniew Klimiuk
Keyword(s):  
International Trade ◽  
World Economy ◽  
International Monetary System ◽  
The United States ◽  
International Liquidity ◽  
Bretton Woods ◽  
Monetary System ◽  
The Us ◽  
The World ◽  
The Stability

The subject of the article is an analysis of the role of the US dollar in the development of international trade and the world economy during the period of the Bretton Woods monetary system (1944–1971). The international monetary system existing at that time was, in principle, a gold exchange standard based mainly on the national currency of the United States. However, a relatively small role was also played by other currencies including, in particular, the pound sterling. It should be noted that the Bretton Woods rules did not match the conditions in the world economy which emerged after World War II. The main areas of criticism concerned such assumptions as the maintenance of an official fixed price for gold, or a too narrowly interpreter postulate for the stability of the exchange rate. On the other hand, it should be noted that the introduction of the stability of exchange rates and the abolition of restrictions on payments were fundamentally sound decisions. They led in fact to the minimisation of a risk inherent in international trade and its rapid growth. One should also emphasise the fact that from the very beginning, in the international gold based monetary system there was an internal contradiction (paradox), which eventually led to its collapse. This was namely the fact that the growth in world trade created a growing demand for international liquidity. This was tantamount to a necessity to maintain a permanent balance of payments deficit in respect of the country whose currency was considered the key currency. At the same time, the growing volume of the US currency resulted in an increasing crisis of confidence in the dollar.

scholarly journals Le système monétaire européen : Un point de vue nord américain

2005 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 513-532 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Yves Fortin ◽  
Martin Perron
Keyword(s):  
Economic Policy ◽  
International Monetary System ◽  
European Monetary System ◽  
Policy Coordination ◽  
Economic Policies ◽  
European Monetary ◽  
Monetary System ◽  
Inflation Rates ◽  
National Governments ◽  
The Impact

Is the european monetary System (EMS) a useful approach to the problems it is meant to solve and to the pursuit of the objectives that its promoters have set for themselves? A review by the authors of a number of economic motives which underly the creation of the EMS leads them to conclude that the various economic problems which the european readily blame on floating exchange rates find in fact their origins in the economic policies pursued by the national governments. Moreover, the authors consider that the defense of parities in the EMS, either through intervention in the exchange markets or by other means, can involve high economic costs and that in the longer run market forces always triumph when parities no longer reflect the fundamental positions of the respective economies. Among the other factors which limit the usefulness of the EMS the authors identify the continuing lack of macro-economic policy coordination by participating countries, its regional character, the underestimation of the importance of the american dollar in the international monetary system and the impact of its fluctuations on european currencies and the tendency of the EMS to harmonize inflation rates at a higher level than should be aimed for. The authors therefore conclude that it is doubtful that the EMS constitutes a useful instrument of economic policy and that efforts towards european monetary union based on such a system of parities can be successful under present circumstances.

The Politics of Monetary Leadership and Followership: Stability in the European Monetary System since the Currency Crisis of 1992

1998 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 236-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rawi Abdelal
Keyword(s):  
Exchange Rate ◽  
Exchange Rates ◽  
European Monetary System ◽  
European Monetary ◽  
Monetary Policies ◽  
Monetary Cooperation ◽  
Monetary System ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Rate Mechanism

Despite widespread scepticism, there is a fundamental continuity in the stability of the European Monetary System (EMS) before and after the 1992 crisis. Although speculative pressures provoked European leaders to widen the fluctuation bands of the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM), thus altering substantially the official commitment of member governments to coordinate monetary policies and exchange rates, the values of currencies in the hardcore of the EMS have remained close to their pre-crisis parities with limited fluctuations. European monetary cooperation continues informally, achieving much more stability than the wide bands suggest. The task of the article is to explain the puzzling continued success of the EMS. First, this article re-specifies the problem of international monetary cooperation as a leader-follower interaction with inherently hierarchical attributes. Second, the article outlines the causes of exchange-rate stability in Europe. Finally, the article emphasizes that French monetary followership is the key to the stability of the post-crisis arrangement and offers a preliminary interpretation of the sources of French behaviour.

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