WIDER Working Paper 2016/97 A brief history of the international monetary system since Bretton Woods José Antonio Ocampo* September 2016 Abstract: This paper provides a historical background to contemporary debates on the international monetary system: their genesis, similarities, and differences of problems it has faced at different times. It looks sequentially at the design of the Bretton Woods system; the tensions it faced since the 1960s and its collapse in the early 1970s; the management of the collapse, the failure to agree on a new system, and the resulting non-system that followed; the maturing of these ad hoc arrangements, and the reforms after the North Atlantic financial crisis and debates on how to build up a broader global ‘financial safety net’. Keywords: Bretton Woods agreement, gold reserves, foreign exchange reserves, exchange rate system, payments imbalances, IMF credit lines JEL classification: F02, F31, F33, F34, F42 Acknowledgements: This is the initial chapter of a book on the international monetary system prepared for the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research. I am grateful to Andrés Lizcano for incomparable research assistance. * School of International and Public Affairs; Committee on Global Thought; and Initiative for Policy Dialogue, Columbia University;
[email protected]. This study has been prepared within the UNU-WIDER project on ‘Macro-Economic Management (M-EM)’. Copyright © UNU-WIDER 2016 Information and requests:
[email protected] ISSN 1798-7237 ISBN 978-92-9256-141-3 Typescript prepared by Ayesha Chari. The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research provides economic analysis and policy advice with the aim of promoting sustainable and equitable development.