Germany's international monetary policy and the European monetary system
In: Brooklyn College studies on society in change 46
In: East European monographs 171
In: Brooklyn College studies on society in change 46
In: East European monographs 171
In: SAIS review / School of Advanced International Studies, the Johns Hopkins Foreign Policy Institute, S. 171-182
ISSN: 0036-0775
In: Seminar proceedings
In: Contemporary European history, Band 3, Heft 1, S. 1-60
ISSN: 1469-2171
Early in 1978 the Federal German Chancellor, Helmut Schmidt, decided to propose the creation in Europe of a zone of monetary stability. He was offended by the neglect of the United States dollar by the administration of President Carter and by the effect on German competitiveness. He resented the pressure brought to bear on the German Government by countries such as the USA and the UK. They, unable to manage their own economies successfully, were seeking relief from their problems in the expansion of the German economy. This, he considered, would be inflationary. Germany's enormous reserves and its current account surplus were evidence of successful economic management. The USA and the UK should try to emulate Germany, not attempt to persuade it to become a 'locomotive' and thereby follow their primrose path. The zone of monetary stability in Europe was to be his answer to American neglect and American pressure. How exactly it would fulfil the role of an answer was never explained. But politics has its own rationale not always fit for frank exposition. The zone would be created by the linking of European exchange rates in a fixed but adjustable relationship. If, as expected, the yoking of weaker currencies acted as lead in the Deutschmark's balloon and thereby safeguarded German competitiveness, that would be a bonus, for the Chancellor if not for the Bundesbank. The now defunct Bretton Woods system had had the same objective of monetary stability and, indeed, had succeeded in it for many years. One of the surviving Bretton Woods institutions was the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In the same way the European zone of monetary stability would have its Fund, a European Monetary Fund (EMF), equipped with reserves subscribed by member states. Its activities would no doubt resemble those of the IMF, strengthening the resolve of governments in embracing the paths of economic prudence, thereby helping to calm markets when they turned against one currency or another. No doubt it would also, like the IMF, give governments advice which would not always be welcome.
In: Review of international affairs, Band 38, S. 18-19
ISSN: 0486-6096, 0543-3657
Evaluates the mechanism that maintains stability in foreign exchange rates.
In: Occasional papers Occasional paper no. 61
This chapter discusses various aspects of policy coordination in the European Monetary System (EMS). The purpose of the first paper in this chapter is to provide a survey of the process of European monetary integration, with focus on the EMS, its purposes, evolution, and the experience gathered since its establishment in early 1979. In its present stage of evolution, the EMS has developed a body of general institutional procedures to promote consistency among the policies and objectives of participating countries. The search for consistency inevitably gives rise to consequent constraints, such as those implicit in the specific rules on exchange rate and international reserve management that characterize the exchange rate mechanism (ERM). By drawing on an analysis of the role of monetary policy in balance of payments adjustment under different monetary systems and exchange rate arrangements, the second paper focuses on the crucial issues involved when an attempt is made to set rules for monetary policy coordination in a system of fixed but adjustable exchange rates such as the EMS
In: The annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Band 579, S. 153-167
ISSN: 0002-7162
The creation of the euro at the beginning of 1999 represents one of the most significant events in international finance since the end of World War II. Never in the past had a group of sovereign nations voluntarily given up their national currency for a common currency. The article begins by reviewing the benefits & costs of the euro on the participating countries; it then examines the role of the European Central Bank (ECB) in the conduct of monetary policy in the European Monetary Union, as well as its effect on the euro/dollar & euro/yen exchange rates; finally, the article analyzes the effect that the ECG has & is likely to have on the functioning of the international monetary system. 1 Table, 2 Figures, 30 References. [Copyright 2002 Sage Publications, Inc.]
In: Occasional Paper / International Monetary Fund, 73
World Affairs Online
In: Occasional papers Occasional paper no. 48
This study reviews developments in the European Monetary System from the beginning of 1983 to August 1986; it updates and complements an earlier study prepared by staff members of the International Monetary Fund and published Occasional Paper No. 19, which covered the time period from the inception of the European Monetary System to the end of 1982
In: CEPS Working Document, No. 40
World Affairs Online
In: Yearbook of European law, Band 8, Heft 1, S. 87-104
ISSN: 2045-0044