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12 - Gold, International Monetary Cooperation, and the Tripartite Agreement of 1936

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 December 2023

Patricia Clavin
Affiliation:
University of Oxford
Giancarlo Corsetti
Affiliation:
University of Cambridge
Maurice Obstfeld
Affiliation:
Peterson Institute for International Economics, Washington DC
Adam Tooze
Affiliation:
Columbia University, New York
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Summary

The conventional narrative of the 1930s portrays international monetary cooperation as non-existent, disappearing with the collapse of the gold standard during the early years of the decade and reappearing only with World War II and Bretton Woods. I argue, in contrast, that the Western democracies – foremost Britain, France, and the United States – put an end to their monetary war and moved towards peace with the Tripartite Agreement of 1936, through which they agreed to consult on matters of mutual interest and work towards greater stability. To achieve these ends, they created reciprocal gold facilities that brought coherence to the international monetary system and enabled stabilizing exchange intervention. Exploring the operation of these facilities sheds light on the evolution of the international monetary system and the ability of technical cooperation to provide a foundation for broader collaboration.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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