British Monetary Policy, 1924-1931


Book Description

This book provides a detailed analysis of British monetary policy in the aftermath of World War I and leading up to the onset of the Great Depression. The survey commences with the successful operation of the pre-1914 gold standard and goes on to examine the policies Britain adopted for monetary reconstruction up to 1924. The decision to return to gold in 1925 is considered in detail, and Professor Moggridge argues that the official policy did little, if anything, to correct the basic overvaluation of stirling. He examines the underlying reasons behind the limited use of more orthodox policy instruments and suggests the authorities were forced to develop new policies to combat the effects of gold at $4-86. The final section of the book sums up the ultimate impact of the new policy instruments which were adopted.




British Capitalism at the Crossroads, 1919-1932


Book Description

This book examines the reconstruction of the British economy in the aftermath of the First World War up until the break of the second. Using a wide range of primary sources, the author presents an account which integrates the economic, political and diplomatic events of the period.




British Economic and Social History


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A History of Britain, 1885-1939


Book Description

The period between 1885 and 1939 was a pivotal half century in British history, in which the Victorian political system yielded to a system far more recognisably modern, in response to popular pressure for social reform and the implications of global superpower status. Dr Davis relates these political developments to the background of social and economic change and to the consequences of Britain's position as an imperial power. Drawing extensively upon the new historical scholarship of the 1980s and 1990s, John Davis presents an original analysis of political change in a crucial period of Britain's recent past.




Economics in the Long View


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Money over Two Centuries


Book Description

This collection of essays by the eminent financial and monetary historians Forrest Capie and Geoffrey Wood examines and offers explanations of the parts played by money and the banking system in the British economy over the last two centuries. Structured in three chronological parts, it covers: the period of the classical gold standard from 1870 until the First World War, and the associated key issues of the time; the troublesome interwar years, when there was a breakdown in the international economy, the Second World War and immediate post-War years; and the international dimensions of the post-War period up to the present day. It deals with financial crises, periods of stability, and Britain in the international system, and covers topics such as debt management, money and the exchange rate, interest rates and velocity, as well as central bank independence, monetary unions, price controls and the role of the IMF. Combining empirical research and economic theory, this timely publication is essential reading for all scholars of financial, monetary, and economic history.




Transition of Power


Book Description

This book addresses one of the least understood issues in modern international history: how, between 1930 and 1945, Britain lost its global pre-eminence to the United States. The crucial years are 1930 to 1940, for which until now no comprehensive examination of Anglo-American relations exists. Transition of Power analyses these relations in the pivotal decade, with an epilogue dealing with the Second World War after 1941. Britain and the United States, and their intertwined fates, were fundamental to the course of international history in these years. Professor McKercher's book dissects the various strands of the two powers' relationship in the fifteen years after 1930 from a British perspective - economic, diplomatic, naval and strategic.




The Genoa Conference


Book Description

This work, by Carole Fink, winner of the George Louis Beer Prize, traces the origin and outcome of the Genoa Conference in 1921/22, one of the most important events in European diplomacy following World War I.




Money and the Nation State


Book Description

Monetary and banking problems in the world today arise not so much from the failure of specific policies as from more deep-seated problems in institutional structures. Individuals clearly make mistakes and legislatures make bad laws, but the institutions from which decisions and laws emanate determine the effectiveness of social operations and the value of social decisions. Unless we change the present institutional structure, we are not likely to get stable solutions to today's most serious problems—ongoing and often erratic inflation and serious banking instability. Money and the Nation State examines the history of modern monetary and banking arrangements, some of the major monetary and banking problems, and options for meaningful reform. The common theme of all the essays is that current arrangements result less from the accomplishments of great men than man-made institutions that society has inherited—central banks and "the legal and regulatory frameworks that accompany them. The contributors emphasize the impact of political interference on the workings of monetary and financial institutions. Not surprisingly, they find many problems arise because politically generated structures are inappropriate to the real needs of the individuals and groups they are meant to serve. Money and the Nation State provides an essential framework for those willing to return to first principles in thinking about the role of monetary institutions in economic life. Economists, financial theorists, and the interested citizen will find it stimulating reading.