Central banks were not always as ubiquitous as they are today. Their functions were circumscribed, their mandates ambiguous, and their allegiances once divided. The inter-war period saw the establishment of twenty-eight new central banks – most in what are now called emerging markets and developing economies. The Emergence of the Modern Central Bank and Global Cooperation provides a new account of their experience, explaining how these new institutions were established and how doctrinal knowledge was transferred. Combining synthetic analysis with national case studies, this book shows how institutional design and monetary practice were shaped by international organizations and leading central banks, which attached conditions to stabilization loans and dispatched 'money doctors.' It highlights how many of these arrangements fell through when central bank independence and the gold standard collapsed.

In this book, a leading observer of the international financial system assesses official efforts to address the problem of financial crises in emerging markets. Professor Eichengreen describes the progress that has been made in limiting the frequency of crises and strengthening the international financial system. He also shows that initiatives in this area have unintentionally made life more difficult for the poorest countries. He therefore argues that efforts to limit the threat to the international financial system need to be linked to an increase in development assistance. Another place where official efforts have fallen short, the author argues is in creating new ways of resolving crises. He shows that official financing through the International Monetary Fund is part of the problem. The IMF's financial rescues allow investors to escape without losses, in turn encouraging them to lend without due regard to the risks. This only makes the international system more crises prone. That the IMF has repeatedly come under pressure to bail out crisis countries reflects the absence of other acceptable ways of resolving the financial difficulties of emerging markets. Not lending threatens to expose the international financial system to a disorderly and disruptive crisis. At the same time, radical new alternatives like an international bankruptcy court or international lender of last resort would create more problems than they solved-even if there was the political appetite for such ambitious schemes, which there is not. The author concludes that the best way to enhance the efficiency and stability of international financial markets is by pushing for changes to the provisions of loan agreements that will enhance the capacity of creditors and debtors to resolve financial problems on their own.

Europe's economy is under strain due to lagging productivity growth, population ageing, the difficulties of adjustment in an enlarged European Union, and the challenges of globalization. In comparison with America, rates of growth of GDP per capita and labour productivity growth are anaemic, raising questions about the viability of a distinct European model. From observations like these, conclusions can be drawn that Europe will feel irresistible pressure to allow its policies and institutions to converge toward those of the United States. But how far and how fast are uncertain. Edited by internationally renowned authors in the field and packed with articles by an impressive array of international contributors, this book examines the American and European economies; drawing comparisons between them. Bringing together specialists from both sides of the Atlantic, including Lindert, DeLong and Buti to analyze the current state of both economies and their responses to the changing global environment, the book deals with competitiveness on the one hand and the relationship between institutions and markets on the other. This volume is particularly relevant to postgraduate and postdoctoral students undertaking research in all areas of European integration and international political economy, while also being appropriate for a professional audience.

The spread of currency convertibility is one of the most dramatic trends of the late twentieth century. It reflects the desire of policymakers to integrate their economies into the global trading system and to attract financial capital and direct investment from abroad. In this book a team of leading international economists and economic historians look at parallel situations in the history of the international monetary system, focusing in particular on the gold standard. The concluding chapter uses a case study of modern Portugal to draw out implications for modern international monetary relations in Europe and for the rest of the world.

In this volume, a group of distinguished economists, political scientists, and sociologists analyzes the political economy of European integration. The authors evaluate recent developments of European politics and institutions. They consider the current situation, and assess prospects for the future of an Integrated Europe. This book will be of great interest to observers, scholars, and students of European economic and political affairs, macroeconomic policy, institutional analysis, and comparative and international political economy. The book is unique in combining perspectives from economics and political science and provides in-depth analysis of the new European institutions. It is published in conjunction with "Monetary and Fiscal Policy in an Integrated Europe" by the same editors.

The first edition of this book was published in 1994, as the future of monetary unification in Europe was very much in doubt. With Economic and Monetary Union now in place, it is appropriate to bring the scholarship on the topic up to date for the students of international political economics. To this effect, essayists Jeffry Frieden, Geoffrey Garrett, Lisa L. Martin, Benjamin J. Cohen revised four of the original chapters to reflect new conditions. Editors, Barry Eichengreen and Frieden completely rewrote the introductory essay. Three new chapters by Matthew Gabel, Charles Engel, and Paul De Grauwe et al cover public support for EMU, local currency pricing, and whether Europe is now better off? The updated volume's purpose remains that of bringing the latest in scholarship in Economics and Political Science to bear on the European monetary integration

Western Europe's recovery from World War II was nothing short of miraculous. From the chaos of the war and the crisis of 1947, Europe moved directly to the most rapid quarter-century of economic growth in her history. The contributors to this volume seek to identify the sources of this singularly successful recovery. That all European countries shared in the miracle suggests that its roots may lie at the international level. The chapters therefore focus on the role played by international institutions - the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the European Coal and Steel Community, the European Payments Union, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade - and weigh the relative importance of domestic and international factors in Europe's postwar recovery. This book will be of interest to students of modern European history and to economists interested in economic growth, European economic integration, and reform of the Bretton Woods institutions.

Currency crises in Europe and Mexico during the 1990s provided stark reminders of the importance and the fragility of international financial markets. These experiences led some commentators to conclude that open international capital markets are incompatible with financial stability. But the pre-1914 gold standard is an obvious challenge to the notion that open capital markets are sources of instability. To deepen our understanding of how this system worked, this volume draws together recent research on the gold standard. Theoretical models are used to guide qualitative discussions of historical experience, while econometric methods are used to help the historical data speak clearly. The result is an overview of the gold standard, a survey of the relevant applied research in international macroeconomics, and a demonstration of how the past can help to inform the present.

The global credit crisis of 2008-2009 was the most serious shock to the world economy in fully 80 years. It was for the world as a whole what the Asian crisis of 1997-1998 was for emerging markets: a profoundly alarming wake-up call. By laying bare the fragility of global markets, it raised troubling questions about the operation of our deeply integrated world economy. It cast doubt on the efficacy of the dominant mode of light-touch financial regulation and more generally on the efficacy of the prevailing commitment to economic and financial liberalization. It challenged the managerial capacity of inherited institutions of global governance. And it augured a changing of the guard, pointing to the possibility that the economies that had been the leaders in the "global growth stakes" in the past might no longer be the leaders in the future. What the crisis means for reform, however, is still unclear. This book brings together leading scholars and policy analysts to describe and weigh the options. Successive chapters assess options for the global financial system, the global trading system, the international monetary system, and the Group of 20 and global governance. A final set of chapters contemplates the policy challenges for emerging markets and the advanced economies in the wake of the financial crisis.

The spread of currency convertibility is one of the most dramatic trends of the late twentieth century. It reflects the desire of policymakers to integrate their economies into the global trading system and to attract financial capital and direct investment from abroad. In this book a team of leading international economists and economic historians look at parallel situations in the history of the international monetary system, focusing in particular on the gold standard. The concluding chapter uses a case study of modern Portugal to draw out implications for modern international monetary relations in Europe and for the rest of the world.

Since the Asian financial crisis of 1997-1998, there has been a deep and abiding desire on the part of Asian policy makers and opinion makers to enhance the region's economic, monetary and financial self-sufficiency - or at least to ring-fence the region against financial instability and give it a louder voice in global financial affairs. There has been progress in these directions, notably in the form of the Chiang Mai Initiative of financial supports and the Asian Bond Market Initiative to build a single Asian financial market. But progress is hindered by disagreements among the principal national governments - Japan, China and South Korea - and resistance to the development of an Asian bloc from both Europe and the United States.This volume considers these issues from a number of different national and analytical perspectives. Scholars from all the relevant regions and countries are represented: Japan, China, Korea, Europe and the United States. While there have been a few previous books and articles concerned with the issue of Asian integration, this is one of the first volumes to successfully draw together top contributors from these different countries and regions to address the issues in a rigorous but relatively accessible way.

A dive into the origins, management, and uses and misuses of sovereign debt through the ages. Public debts have exploded to levels unprecedented in modern history as governments responded to the Covid-19 pandemic and ensuing economic crisis. Their dramatic rise has prompted apocalyptic warnings about the dangers of heavy debts-about the drag they will place on economic growth and the burden they represent for future generations. In Defense of Public Debt offers a sharp rejoinder to this view, marshaling the entire history of state-issued public debt to demonstrate its usefulness. Authors Barry Eichengreen, Asmaa El-Ganainy, Rui Esteves, and Kris James Mitchener argue that the ability of governments to issue debt has played a critical role in addressing emergencies-from wars and pandemics to economic and financial crises, as well as in funding essential public goods and services such as transportation, education, and healthcare. In these ways, the capacity to issue debt has been integral to state building and state survival. Transactions in public debt securities have also contributed to the development of private financial markets and, through this channel, to modern economic growth. None of this is to deny that debt problems, debt crises, and debt defaults occur. But these dramatic events, which attract much attention, are not the entire story. In Defense of Public Debt redresses the balance. The authors develop their arguments historically, recounting two millennia of public debt experience. They deploy a comprehensive database to identify the factors behind rising public debts and the circumstances under which high debts are successfully stabilized and brought down. Finally, they bring the story up to date, describing the role of public debt in managing the Covid-19 pandemic and recession, suggesting a way forward once governments-now more heavily indebted than before-finally emerge from the crisis.

Since the successful first edition of The Gold Standard in Theory and History was published in 1985, much new research has been completed. This updated version contains five new essays including:
* post 1990 literature on exchange rate target zones
* a discussion of the light shed by the gold standard on the European Monetary Union debate
* a new introduction by Eichengreen with Marc Flandreau
This will be an invaluable resource for students of macroeconomics, international economics and economic history at all levels.

Since the successful first edition of The Gold Standard in Theory and History was published in 1985, much new research has been completed. This updated version contains five new essays including:
* post 1990 literature on exchange rate target zones
* a discussion of the light shed by the gold standard on the European Monetary Union debate
* a new introduction by Eichengreen with Marc Flandreau
This will be an invaluable resource for students of macroeconomics, international economics and economic history at all levels.

Europe's economy is under strain due to lagging productivity growth, population ageing, the difficulties of adjustment in an enlarged European Union, and the challenges of globalization. In comparison with America, rates of growth of GDP per capita and labour productivity growth are anaemic, raising questions about the viability of a distinct European model. From observations like these, conclusions can be drawn that Europe will feel irresistible pressure to allow its policies and institutions to converge toward those of the United States. But how far and how fast are uncertain. Edited by internationally renowned authors in the field and packed with articles by an impressive array of international contributors, this book examines the American and European economies; drawing comparisons between them. Bringing together specialists from both sides of the Atlantic, including Lindert, DeLong and Buti to analyze the current state of both economies and their responses to the changing global environment, the book deals with competitiveness on the one hand and the relationship between institutions and markets on the other. This volume is particularly relevant to postgraduate and postdoctoral students undertaking research in all areas of European integration and international political economy, while also being appropriate for a professional audience.

The two great financial crises of the past century are the Great Depression of the 1930s and the Great Recession, which began in 2008. Both occurred against the backdrop of sharp credit booms, dubious banking practices, and a fragile and unstable global financial system. When markets went into cardiac arrest in 2008, policymakers invoked the lessons of the Great Depression in attempting to avert the worst. While their response prevented a financial collapse and catastrophic depression like that of the 1930s, unemployment in the U.S. and Europe still rose to excruciating high levels. Pain and suffering were widespread. The question, given this, is why didn't policymakers do better? Hall of Mirrors, Barry Eichengreen's monumental twinned history of the two crises, provides the farthest-reaching answer to this question to date. Alternating back and forth between the two crises and between North America and Europe, Eichengreen shows how fear of another Depression following the collapse of Lehman Brothers shaped policy responses on both continents, with both positive and negative results. Since bank failures were a prominent feature of the Great Depression, policymakers moved quickly to strengthen troubled banks. But because derivatives markets were not important in the 1930s, they missed problems in the so-called shadow banking system. Having done too little to support spending in the 1930s, governments also ramped up public spending this time around. But the response was indiscriminate and quickly came back to haunt overly indebted governments, particularly in Southern Europe. Moreover, because politicians overpromised, and because their measures failed to stave off a major recession, a backlash quickly developed against activist governments and central banks. Policymakers then prematurely succumbed to the temptation to return to normal policies before normal conditions had returned. The result has been a grindingly slow recovery in the United States and endless recession in Europe. Hall of Mirrors is both a major work of economic history and an essential exploration of how we avoided making only some of the same mistakes twice. It shows not just how the "lessons" of Great Depression history continue to shape society's response to contemporary economic problems, but also how the experience of the Great Recession will permanently change how we think about the Great Depression.

China and India are the two most populous countries in the world and now also two of the fastest growing. By sheer virtue of the fact that China and India are home to 2.4 billion people--two-fifths of the world's population--the rapid growth of their economies has far-reaching implications not just for global living standards and poverty reduction but also for competitiveness and distribution of income in the rest of the world. Commensurate with their economic progress, there has been a surge of interest in the nature and implications of China and India's economic growth.
There are several apparent similarities in the development process of China and India: both are home to ancient civilizations that have bequeathed distinctive attitudes, institutions, and traditions. Both have very large populations. Both have performed well economically for more than two decades. However there are important differences that can be seen beneath the surface. China started the current reform process in 1978--that is, almost fifteen years before India. The two countries have very different political systems. Their development models differ fundamentally as well. China has opened up much more than India to foreign trade and foreign direct investment, while India has a better developed banking system. Growth in the two countries has been driven by different sectors--Chinese growth by manufacturing and Indian growth by services.
This volume brings together some of the best research on issues related to the growth experience of China and India and places these issues in a comparative perspective. It contains papers written by some of the leading academic and experts in the world on issues ranging from the roles of China and India in the world economy, contrasts in their development experience, and challenges to sustaining growth.

A powerful new understanding of global currency trends, including the rise of the Chinese yuan At first glance, the modern history of the global economic system seems to support the long-held view that the leading world power's currency--the British pound, the U.S. dollar, and perhaps someday the Chinese yuan--invariably dominates international trade and finance. In How Global Currencies Work, three noted economists provide a reassessment of this history and the theories behind the conventional wisdom. Offering a new history of global finance over the past two centuries, and marshaling extensive new data to test established theories of how global currencies work, Barry Eichengreen, Arnaud Mehl, and Livia Chit?u argue for a new view, in which several national monies can share international currency status, and their importance can change rapidly. They demonstrate how changes in technology and in the structure of international trade and finance have reshaped the landscape of international currencies so that several international financial standards can coexist. They show that multiple international and reserve currencies have in fact coexisted in the pastupending the traditional view of the British pound's dominance prior to 1945 and the U.S. dollar's dominance more recently. Looking forward, the book tackles the implications of this new framework for major questions facing the future of the international monetary system, from whether the euro and the Chinese yuan might address their respective challenges and perhaps rival the dollar, to how increased currency competition might affect global financial stability.

In this volume, a group of distinguished economists and political scientists analyzes the political economy of European integration. The authors evaluate recent developments of the European Monetary and Fiscal Policy. They consider the current situation, and assess prospects for the future of an Integrated Europe. This book will be of great interest to observers, scholars, and students of European economic and political affairs, macroeconomic policy, institutional analysis, and comparative and international political economy. The book is unique in combining perspectives from economics and political science and provides an in-depth analysis of the new European institutions. It is published in conjunction with "Politics and Institutions in an Integrated Europe" by the same editors.

The first edition of this book was published in 1994, as the future of monetary unification in Europe was very much in doubt. With Economic and Monetary Union now in place, it is appropriate to bring the scholarship on the topic up to date for the students of international political economics. To this effect, essayists Jeffry Frieden, Geoffrey Garrett, Lisa L. Martin, Benjamin J. Cohen revised four of the original chapters to reflect new conditions. Editors, Barry Eichengreen and Frieden completely rewrote the introductory essay. Three new chapters by Matthew Gabel, Charles Engel, and Paul De Grauwe et al cover public support for EMU, local currency pricing, and whether Europe is now better off? The updated volume's purpose remains that of bringing the latest in scholarship in Economics and Political Science to bear on the European monetary integration

"Encompassing all of Europe, this magisterial book tells the story of how, during the second half of the twentieth century, high growth based on capital formation changed to low growth based on innovation. Eichengreen's masterful narrative never loses its focus while ranging far to integrate successfully international political contexts and informal economic conventions."--Peter J. Katzenstein, Cornell University

A magisterial achievement. This book shows in detail how institutions and policies explain the miraculous postwar recovery and the subsequent economic growth of Western Europe, how they flavored the economic experience of different countries, and how they determined and shaped the nature of coordination and cooperation among the European economies. It is deeply learned, using a huge variety of sources and data, always informed about the facts and at the same time based on sound economic analysis."--Joel Mokyr, Northwestern University, author of "The Gifts of Athena"

"Barry Eichengreen has written a powerful book that is central to any understanding of the differences and strains over economic issues between Europe and the United States. He examines the fit between social and political institutions and technology and innovation, and judiciously avoids both the depths of pessimism and the optimistic fantasies about Europe that are at the center of other and more facile analyses."--Harold James, Princeton University, author of "A History of International Monetary Cooperation since 1945"

""The European Economy Since 1945" features a unique blend of modern economics, good history, and a deep understanding of the role of institutions in shaping economic success.Eichengreen's book is about the future of Europe. In the late 1970s, Japan was the model, and the United States looked doomed. Will we be saying the same thing in twenty years about the predictions of European doom and gloom so common today? To avoid that mistake we need to understand where Europe is coming from, and to think hard about the factors that will determine economic success in coming decades. This book is where we should start from."--Francesco Giavazzi, Bocconi University, Milan, and visiting professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Essential reading for understanding the international economy-now thoroughly updated Lucid, accessible, and provocative, and now thoroughly updated to cover recent events that have shaken the global economy, Globalizing Capital is an indispensable account of the past 150 years of international monetary and financial history-from the classical gold standard to today's post-Bretton Woods "nonsystem." Bringing the story up to the present, this third edition covers the global financial crisis, the Greek bailout, the Euro crisis, the rise of China as a global monetary power, the renewed controversy over the international role of the U.S. dollar, and the currency war. Concise and nontechnical, and with a proven appeal to general readers, students, and specialists alike, Globalizing Capital is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand where the international economy has been-and where it may be going.

A powerful new understanding of global currency trends, including the rise of the Chinese yuan At first glance, the history of the modern global economy seems to support the long-held view that the currency of the world's leading power invariably dominates international trade and finance. But in How Global Currencies Work, three noted economists overturn this conventional wisdom. Offering a new history of global finance over the past two centuries and marshaling extensive new data to test current theories of how global currencies work, the authors show that several national monies can share international currency status-and that their importance can change rapidly. They demonstrate how changes in technology and international trade and finance have reshaped the landscape of international currencies so that several international financial standards can coexist. In fact, they show that multiple international and reserve currencies have coexisted in the past-upending the traditional view of the British pound's dominance before 1945 and the U.S. dollar's postwar dominance. Looking forward, the book tackles the implications of this new framework for major questions facing the future of the international monetary system, including how increased currency competition might affect global financial stability.

The Great Depression and the Great Recession are the two great economic crises of the past hundred years. While there are accounts of both episodes, no one has yet attempted a sustained comparative analysis. In Hall of Mirrors, Barry Eichengreen draws on his unparalleled expertise for a brilliantly conceived dual-track account of the two crises and their consequences. Rather than telling the stories of the two crises in sequence, instead he weaves them together. He describes the two bubble-fuelled build-ups, then the onset of crisis, the subsequent financial and economic and collapse, the policy response, and finally the recovery. A theme of Eichengreen's narrative is that while the policy response to the Great Recession was importantly shaped by perceptions of the Great Depression - contemporary policymakers did in fact learn lessons from the Depression that enabled them, this time, to prevent the worst - they could have done better. Their failure to do so reflected a tendency to take the lessons of the Depression too literally, leading to an inability to recognize important respects in which circumstances, and specifically the structure of financial markets, had changed - precisely in response to the policies put in place due to the Depression. In addition, success was the mother of failure: the success of the policy response took the wind out of reformers' sails. It diminished support for the kind of far-reaching social and financial reforms adopted in the 1930s. It allowed policy makers and society to prematurely indulge their desire for a return to normal policies before a normal economy had been restored. To be sure, this more recent crisis was better managed than the earlier one, which resulted in widespread social distress and, in the worst case, the rise of fascism. But a wiser collective response after 2008 would have staved off the painfully slow growth that subsequently plagued the United States and Europe.

In this volume, a group of distinguished economists, political scientists, and sociologists analyzes the political economy of European integration. The authors evaluate recent developments of European politics and institutions. They consider the current situation, and assess prospects for the future of an Integrated Europe. This book will be of great interest to observers, scholars, and students of European economic and political affairs, macroeconomic policy, institutional analysis, and comparative and international political economy. The book is unique in combining perspectives from economics and political science and provides in-depth analysis of the new European institutions. It is published in conjunction with "Monetary and Fiscal Policy in an Integrated Europe" by the same editors.