The decline of sterling : managing the retreat of an international currency, 1945-1992 / Catherine R. Schenk.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Schenk, Catherine R. (Catherine Ruth), 1964- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Pound, British--History--20th century.

Pound, British.

Monetary policy--Great Britain--History--20th century.

Monetary policy.

International economic relations--History--20th century.

International economic relations.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xv, 437 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2010.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The demise of sterling as an international currency was widely predicted after 1945, but the process took thirty years to complete. Why was this demise so prolonged? Traditional explanations emphasize British efforts to prolong sterling's role because it increased the capacity to borrow, enhanced prestige, or supported London as a centre for international finance. This book challenges this view by arguing that sterling's international role was prolonged by the weakness of the international monetary system and by collective global interest in its continuation. Using the archives of Britain's partners in Europe, the USA and the Commonwealth, Catherine Schenk shows how the UK was able to convince other governments that sterling's international role was critical for the stability of the international economy and thereby attract considerable support to manage its retreat. This revised view has important implications for current debates over the future of the US dollar as an international currency.

Contents:

Introduction

Reconstructing the International Monetary System 1945-59

The post-war international monetary system 1945-50

Return to convertibility 1950-59

Accelerating the Retreat: Sterling in the 1960s

Sterling and European integration

The sterling devaluation 1967: relations with the USA and the IMF

Sterling and the City

Multilateral negotiations: sterling and the reform of the international monetary system

The sterling agreements of 1968

Sterling's Final Retreat 1970-1992

Sterling and the end of Bretton Woods

Years of crisis 1973-79

The aftermath 1980-1992

Summary and conclusions.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

ISBN:

1-107-21081-X

1-282-53633-8

9786612536335

0-511-67882-7

0-511-67757-X

0-511-68205-0

0-511-68403-7

0-511-67649-2

0-511-68007-4

OCLC:

609860930