POLISCI 359 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Economic Integration, Bretton Woods Conference, John Maynard Keynes
1 Feb 2016
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Document Summary
Major phases of international economic integration: liberal imperial order (before 1930s, bretton woods order (1950s-1971, post-bretton woods order (1973-present) Very free movement of trade, finance (especially by late 19th century: british, as lead imperial state, tried to encourage other european states that owned different colonies to have this free movement. Periodic bouts of gunboat diplomacy : pretend to engage in diplomatic relations but use naval fleet if necessary. Frequent use of military force to construct imperial domains. Britain in charge, but there were imperial rivalries among european powers. Monetary system managed under the gold standard system: fixed amount of gold in the system; if one country owed another more money, they would settle balance of payment in actual gold, british liked and enforced this system. Central banks didn"t do much (hands-off approach) Low inflation, stable exchange rates, bankers very free and happy in this period.
