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

2. Economic SummitsDaniels and VanHoose2 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).

3. Economic SummitsDaniels and VanHoose3 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.

4. Economic SummitsDaniels and VanHoose4 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.

5. Economic SummitsDaniels and VanHoose5 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).

6. Economic SummitsDaniels and VanHoose6 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.

7. Economic SummitsDaniels and VanHoose7 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.

8. Economic SummitsDaniels and VanHoose8 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.

9. The Gold Standard and the Bretton Woods System

10. Economic SummitsDaniels and VanHoose10 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.

11. Economic SummitsDaniels and VanHoose11 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.

12. Economic SummitsDaniels and VanHoose12 The Gold Standard

13. Economic SummitsDaniels and VanHoose13 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.

14. Economic SummitsDaniels and VanHoose14 The Bretton Woods System 1944-1971 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.

15. Economic SummitsDaniels and VanHoose15 The Bretton Woods Conference Organizations Created

16. Economic SummitsDaniels and VanHoose16 The Bretton Woods Conference Organizations Created

17. Economic SummitsDaniels and VanHoose17 The Bretton Woods Conference Organizations Created

18. Economic SummitsDaniels and VanHoose18 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.

19. Economic SummitsDaniels and VanHoose19 The Dollar-Standard System

20. Economic SummitsDaniels and VanHoose20 The 1960s Trouble 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.

21. Economic SummitsDaniels and VanHoose21 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.

22. Economic SummitsDaniels and VanHoose22 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.

23. Economic SummitsDaniels and VanHoose23 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.

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

25. Economic SummitsDaniels and VanHoose25 Current Arrangements

26. Economic SummitsDaniels and VanHoose26 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.

27. Economic SummitsDaniels and VanHoose27 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.

28. Economic SummitsDaniels and VanHoose28 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.

29. Economic SummitsDaniels and VanHoose29 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.

30. Economic SummitsDaniels and VanHoose30 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.

31. Economic SummitsDaniels and VanHoose31 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.

32. Economic SummitsDaniels and VanHoose32 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.”

33. Economic SummitsDaniels and VanHoose33 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.