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Construction of an Ad Hoc International Financial System

Explore significant events from the creation of the Bank for International Settlements to the Plaza Agreement and the impact of the Gold Standard and Bretton Woods System. Understand the evolution of monetary policies through key meetings, agreements, and organizations.

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Construction of an Ad Hoc International Financial System

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  1. Construction of an Ad Hoc International Financial System Important Meetings, Events, and Organizations

  2. Bank for International Settlements: An Overlooked Institution • Created in 1930 by private U.S. banks and the governments of 10 advanced economies. • Based in Basle, Switzerland. • Serves as an international loan trustee, as an agent of central banks, center of economic cooperation (e.g. Basle Agreement). Daniels and VanHoose

  3. Economic Summits • November 1975 French President, Valery Giscard d’Estaing hosts the first economic summit. • France, US, UK, Germany, Japan (G5). • Italy added to represent the EU (G6). • Agreed to a system of flexible exchange rates. Countries would intervene when needed to ensure stability. Daniels and VanHoose

  4. Jamaica Accords • January 1976 meeting of IMF member country nations. • Amended the articles of agreement of the IMF to recognize flexible exchange rate systems. • Member nations could adopt an arrangement of their own choice. Daniels and VanHoose

  5. Summits “Institutionalized” • Summits made an annual event. • 1976 President Ford hosts the second summit. • Invites Canada (G7). • Summits now occur ever summer, rotating from country to country. • British PM, Tony Blair, adds President Yeltsin (Russia) as a “full member” for the 1998 Birmingham Summit (G8). Daniels and VanHoose

  6. Plaza Agreement • September 1985. • Meeting of the G5 central bankers and finance ministers. • Had been meeting quietly for a number of years. • Discussed the value of the US dollar. • Announced a belief that the dollar was overvalued and that the nations would intervene on a coordinated basis to drive down the value of the dollar. Daniels and VanHoose

  7. Louvre Accord • February 1987 • Meeting of the G7 (less Italy) central bankers and finance ministers. • Announced that the dollar was now “consistent with economic fundamentals.” • Would only intervene when required to ensure stability. • Managed float system emerges. Daniels and VanHoose

  8. Groups • The main G’s • G7 refers to the meetings of the central bankers and finance ministers of the G7 nations. • G8 refers to the heads of state of the G8 nations meeting at the economic summits. • G10, G7 plus Belgium, the Netherlands, and Sweden. Daniels and VanHoose

  9. The Gold Standard and the Bretton Woods System

  10. The Gold Standard • Came into effect in the mid-1870s when most of the major economies unilaterally pegged to gold. • Nations fixed the value of their currency relative to gold via a mint parity rate. • They also established convertibility, or the ability to exchange the currency for gold. Daniels and VanHoose

  11. The Gold Standard • Pegging the value of each currency to gold, established an exchange rate system by indirectly establishing exchange rates. • The mint parity rates could be used to determine the exchange rate. Daniels and VanHoose

  12. The Gold Standard Daniels and VanHoose

  13. The Gold Standard • Long-run price stability • Short-run price instability • Numerous financial crises • Suspended in 1914 after the beginning of WWI. • Return to gold standard in 1925 led to collapse. Daniels and VanHoose

  14. The Bretton Woods System1944-1971 • Forty-four nations participated in the conference. • Primary architects were Harry White of the U.S. and John Maynard Keynes of the U.K. • Ratified in 1944 • Though known as the Bretton Woods Conference, it was officially called the International Monetary and Financial Conference of the United and Associated Nations. Daniels and VanHoose

  15. The Bretton Woods ConferenceOrganizations Created Daniels and VanHoose

  16. The Bretton Woods ConferenceOrganizations Created Daniels and VanHoose

  17. The Bretton Woods ConferenceOrganizations Created Daniels and VanHoose

  18. Bretton Woods System • System of adjustable pegged exchange rates. • U.S. dollar was the anchor of the system because it was pegged to gold. • All other participating nations could peg to gold or to the dollar. • All chose to beg to the dollar, a dollar-standard exchange rate system was created. Daniels and VanHoose

  19. The Dollar-Standard System Daniels and VanHoose

  20. The 1960sTrouble for the Dollar • Glut of dollars due to Vietnam war and programs of the “Great Society.” • Dollar believed overvalued relative to the currencies of Japan and some Western European economies, e.g., Germany. • Dollar becomes target of foreign exchange speculators. • U.S. and European countries intervene in the gold market. • Britain devalues in 1967 and holders of the pound experience a 15 percent capital loss. Daniels and VanHoose

  21. The Dollar and the Mark(from Grabbe, 1999) • On May 4, 1971, the Bundesbank buys $1 billion on the exchange market to maintain the parity value. • On the next day they buy $1 billion in the first hour of trading. • Bundesbank abandons the parity rate and lets the mark float upward relative to the dollar. • Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Switzerland follow suit. Daniels and VanHoose

  22. End of the System • Faced with a major run on the dollar, President Nixon suspends convertibility of the dollar. • The system falls into disarray. • Market is closed on extremely volatile days. Daniels and VanHoose

  23. Smithsonian Agreement • In an attempt to restore order to the exchange market, 10 leading nations meet at the Smithsonian institution on December 16 and 17, 1971. • A new system of exchange parity values determined. Dollar, however, is still not convertible to gold. • Nixon hails the agreement as the “most significant monetary agreement in the history of the world.” • System collapses in 15 months and a de facto system of floating rates emerges. Daniels and VanHoose

  24. The Ad Hoc Exchange Rate System The Various Types of Arrangements Today

  25. Current Arrangements Daniels and VanHoose

  26. Dollarization • Dollarization is the replacement of the domestic currency with the currency of another nation. • Two possible problems are the loss of seigniorage revenues and the loss of discretionary monetary policy. • Seigniorage is the revenue created through the manufacturing of money, and can be quite important to developing nations. • Examples are Panama, El Salvador and Ecuador. Daniels and VanHoose

  27. Currency Board • Establishes and maintains a hard peg between the domestic currency and another currency. • Issues domestic notes. • Notes issued depend on the value of the exchange rate and the amount of foreign reserves. • Hence, monetary base is determined by the stock of foreign reserves. Daniels and VanHoose

  28. Currency Board - Continued • Replaces central bank • Cannot hold domestic debt. • Not a lender of last resort • Does not set reserve requirements • Theoretically shielded from political pressure. • Examples are Argentina, Estonia, and Bulgaria. Daniels and VanHoose

  29. Pegged and Pegged with Bands • Parity value established relative to another currency. • Central bank must conduct monetary policy to maintain parity. • “Parity band” allows limited flexibility on either side of the parity rate. • Band can be very narrow or very wide. • Examples are Bangladesh, China, and Egypt. Daniels and VanHoose

  30. Currency Basket Peg • Currency is pegged to a “basket” currencies. • Parity value is the weighted average of a basket of currencies in various quantities. Each currency has an implicit weight assigned to it. • Provides some degree of flexibility against individual currencies. • Examples are Poland and Chile. Daniels and VanHoose

  31. Crawling Peg • Parity value is changed on a periodic basis. • Crawl is typically designed to compensate for differences between the economic performance of the pegging country and the country being pegged to. • Bands may be established around the crawling parity rate. Bands may be symmetric or asymmetric. • Examples are Chile, Hungary, and Poland. Daniels and VanHoose

  32. Managed Float • Currency value is determined in the interbank market. • Monetary authority may intervene periodically to maintain stability. • Sometimes referred to as a “dirty float.” Daniels and VanHoose

  33. Floating • Value of domestic currency is determined in the foreign exchange market. • Forces of supply and demand are the sole determinants of currency value movements. Daniels and VanHoose

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