The International

Monetary System
2
Chapter Two
INTERNATIONAL
Chapter Objective: FINANCIAL
MANAGEMENT
This chapter serves to introduce the student to the
institutional framework within which:
Third Edition
International payments are made.
The movement of capital is accommodated.
EUN / RESNICK
Exchange rates are determined.
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 Chapter Two Outline
 Evolution of the International Monetary System
 Current Exchange Rate Arrangements
 European Monetary System
 Euro and the European Monetary Union
 The Mexican Peso Crisis
 The Asian Currency Crisis
 Fixed versus Flexible Exchange Rate Regimes

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 Evolution of the
International Monetary System
 Bimetallism: Before 1875
 Classical Gold Standard: 1875-1914

 Interwar Period: 1915-1944

 Bretton Woods System: 1945-1972

 The Flexible Exchange Rate Regime: 1973-

Present

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 Bimetallism: Before 1875
 A “double standard” in the sense that both gold
and silver were used as money.
 Some countries were on the gold standard, some

on the silver standard, some on both.

 Both gold and silver were used as international

means of payment and the exchange rates among

currencies were determined by either their gold or
silver contents.
 Gresham’s Law implied that it would be the least

valuable metal that would tend to circulate.

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 Classical Gold Standard:
1875-1914
 During this period in most major countries:
 Gold alone was assured of unrestricted coinage
 There was two-way convertibility between gold and
national currencies at a stable ratio.
 Gold could be freely exported or imported.
 The exchange rate between two country’s
currencies would be determined by their relative
gold contents.

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 Classical Gold Standard:
1875-1914
For example, if the dollar is pegged to gold at
U.S.$30 = 1 ounce of gold, and the British pound
is pegged to gold at £6 = 1 ounce of gold, it must
be the case that the exchange rate is determined
by the relative gold contents:

$30 = £6
$5 = £1

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 Classical Gold Standard:
1875-1914
 Highly stable exchange rates under the classical
gold standard provided an environment that was
conducive to international trade and investment.
 Misalignment of exchange rates and international

imbalances of payment were automatically

corrected by the price-specie-flow mechanism.

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 Price-Specie-Flow Mechanism
 Suppose Great Britain exported more to France than
France imported from Great Britain.
 This cannot persist under a gold standard.
 Net export of goods from Great Britain to France will be
accompanied by a net flow of gold from France to Great Britain.
 This flow of gold will lead to a lower price level in France and, at
the same time, a higher price level in Britain.
 The resultant change in relative price levels will slow
exports from Great Britain and encourage exports from
France.

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 Classical Gold Standard:
1875-1914
 There are shortcomings:
 The supply of newly minted gold is so restricted that
the growth of world trade and investment can be
hampered for the lack of sufficient monetary reserves.
 Even if the world returned to a gold standard, any
national government could abandon the standard.

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 Interwar Period: 1915-1944
 Exchange rates fluctuated as countries widely
used “predatory” depreciations of their currencies
as a means of gaining advantage in the world
export market.
 Attempts were made to restore the gold standard,

but participants lacked the political will to

“follow the rules of the game”.
 The result for international trade and investment

was profoundly detrimental.

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 Bretton Woods System:
1945-1972
 Named for a 1944 meeting of 44 nations at
Bretton Woods, New Hampshire.
 The purpose was to design a postwar international

monetary system.
 The goal was exchange rate stability without the

gold standard.
 The result was the creation of the IMF and the

World Bank.

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 Bretton Woods System:
1945-1972
 Under the Bretton Woods system, the U.S. dollar
was pegged to gold at $35 per ounce and other
currencies were pegged to the U.S. dollar.
 Each country was responsible for maintaining its

exchange rate within ±1% of the adopted par

value by buying or selling foreign reserves as
necessary.
 The Bretton Woods system was a dollar-based

gold exchange standard.

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 Bretton Woods System:
1945-1972
German
British mark French
pound franc
r Par P
Pa lue Va ar
Value lue
Va
U.S. dollar

Pegged at $35/oz.
Gold
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 The Flexible Exchange Rate Regime:
1973-Present.
 Flexible exchange rates were declared acceptable
to the IMF members.
 Central banks were allowed to intervene in the
exchange rate markets to iron out unwarranted
volatilities.
 Gold was abandoned as an international reserve
asset.
 Non-oil-exporting countries and less-developed

countries were given greater access to IMF funds.

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Current Exchange Rate Arrangements
 Free Float
 The largest number of countries, about 48, allow market forces to
determine their currency’s value.
 Managed Float
 About 25 countries combine government intervention with market
forces to set exchange rates.
 Pegged to another currency
 Such as the U.S. dollar or euro (through franc or mark).
 No national currency
 Some countries do not bother printing their own, they just use the
U.S. dollar. For example, Ecuador, Panama, and El Salvador have
dollarized.
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 European Monetary System
 Eleven European countries maintain exchange
rates among their currencies within narrow bands,
and jointly float against outside currencies.
 Objectives:

 To establish a zone of monetary stability in Europe.

 To coordinate exchange rate policies vis-à-vis non-
European currencies.
 To pave the way for the European Monetary Union.

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 What Is the Euro?
 The euro is the single currency of the European
Monetary Union which was adopted by 11
Member States on 1 January 1999.
 These original member states were: Belgium,

Germany, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy,

Luxemburg, Finland, Austria, Portugal and the
Netherlands.

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 EURO CONVERSION RATES
1 Euro is Equal to:
40.3399 BEF Belgian franc
1.95583 DEM German mark
166.386 ESP Spanish peseta
6.55957 FRF French franc
.787564 IEP Irish punt
1936.27 ITL Italian lira
40.3399 LUF Luxembourg franc
2.20371 NLG Dutch gilder
13.7603 ATS Austrian schilling
200.482 PTE Portuguese escudo
5.94573 FIM Finnish markka

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What is the official sign of the euro?
 The sign for the new single currency looks like an
“E” with two clearly marked, horizontal parallel
lines across it.

€
 It was inspired by the Greek letter epsilon, in
reference to the cradle of European civilization
and to the first letter of the word 'Europe'.
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 What are the different denominations
of the euro notes and coins ?
 There are be 7 euro notes and 8 euro coins.
 The notes are: €500, €200, €100, €50, €20, €10,

and €5.
 The coins will be: 2 euro, 1 euro, 50 euro cent, 20

euro cent, 10, euro cent, 5 euro cent, 2 euro cent,

and 1 euro cent.
 The euro itself is divided into 100 cents, just like

the U.S. dollar.

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 How did the euro affect contracts
denominated in national currency?
 All insurance and other legal contracts continued in force
with the substitution of amounts denominated in national
currencies with their equivalents in euro.

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 Value of the Euro in U.S. Dollars
January 1999 to March 2003

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 The Long-Term Impact of the Euro
 If the euro proves successful, it will advance the
political integration of Europe in a major way,
eventually making a “United States of Europe”
feasible.
 It is likely that the U.S. dollar will lose its place as

the dominant world currency.

 The euro and the U.S. dollar will be the two major

currencies.

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 The Mexican Peso Crisis
 On 20 December, 1994, the Mexican government
announced a plan to devalue the peso against the
dollar by 14 percent.
 This decision changed currency trader’s

expectations about the future value of the peso.

 They stampeded for the exits.

 In their rush to get out the peso fell by as much as

40 percent.

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 The Mexican Peso Crisis
 The Mexican Peso crisis is unique in that it
represents the first serious international financial
crisis touched off by cross-border flight of
portfolio capital.
 Two lessons emerge:
 It is essential to have a multinational safety net in place
to safeguard the world financial system from such
crises.
 An influx of foreign capital can lead to an
overvaluation in the first place.
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 The Asian Currency Crisis
 The Asian currency crisis turned out to be far
more serious than the Mexican peso crisis in
terms of the extent of the contagion and the
severity of the resultant economic and social
costs.
 Many firms with foreign currency bonds were

forced into bankruptcy.

 The region experienced a deep, widespread

recession.
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 Currency Crisis Explanations
 In theory, a currency’s value mirrors the fundamental
strength of its underlying economy, relative to other
economies. In the long run.
 In the short run, currency trader’s expectations play a
much more important role.
 In today’s environment, traders and lenders, using the
most modern communications, act by fight-or-flight
instincts. For example, if they expect others are about to
sell Brazilian reals for U.S. dollars, they want to “get to
the exits first”.
 Thus, fears of depreciation become self-fulfilling
prophecies.
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 Fixed versus Flexible
Exchange Rate Regimes
 Arguments in favor of flexible exchange rates:
 Easier external adjustments.
 National policy autonomy.
 Arguments against flexible exchange rates:
 Exchange rate uncertainty may hamper international
trade.
 No safeguards to prevent crises.

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 Fixed versus Flexible
Exchange Rate Regimes
 Suppose the exchange rate is $1.40/£ today.
 In the next slide, we see that demand for British

pounds far exceed supply at this exchange rate.

 The U.S. experiences trade deficits.

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 Fixed versus Flexible
Exchange Rate Regimes
Supply
Dollar price per £
(exchange rate)

(S)

Demand
$1.40 (D)

Trade deficit

S D Q of £
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 Flexible
Exchange Rate Regimes
 Under a flexible exchange rate regime, the dollar
will simply depreciate to $1.60/£, the price at
which supply equals demand and the trade deficit
disappears.

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 Fixed versus Flexible
Exchange Rate Regimes
Supply
Dollar price per £
(exchange rate)

(S)

$1.60
Dollar depreciates Demand
$1.40 (flexible regime) (D)

Demand (D*)

D=S Q of £
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 Fixed versus Flexible
Exchange Rate Regimes
 Instead, suppose the exchange rate is “fixed” at
$1.40/£, and thus the imbalance between supply
and demand cannot be eliminated by a price
change.
 The government would have to shift the demand

curve from D to D*
 In this example this corresponds to contractionary
monetary and fiscal policies.

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 Fixed versus Flexible
Exchange Rate Regimes
Supply
Dollar price per £

Contractionary
(exchange rate)

policies (S)
(fixed regime)

Demand
$1.40 (D)

Demand (D*)

D* = S Q of £
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 End Chapter Two

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