Strained Relations: US Foreign-Exchange Operations and Monetary Policy in the Twentieth Century (National Bureau of Economic Research Monograph)

During the twentieth century, foreign-exchange intervention was sometimes used in an attempt to solve the fundamental trilemma of international finance, which holds that countries cannot simultaneously pursue independent monetary policies, stabilize their exchange rates, and benefit from free cross-border financial flows. Drawing on a trove of previously confidential data, __Strained Relations__ reveals the evolution of US policy regarding currency market intervention, and its interaction with monetary policy. The authors consider how foreign-exchange intervention was affected by changing economic and institutional circumstances—most notably the abandonment of the international gold standard—and how political and bureaucratic factors affected this aspect of public policy. During the twentieth century, foreign-exchange intervention was sometimes used in an attempt to solve the fundamental trilemma of international finance, which holds that countries cannot simultaneously pursue independent monetary policies, stabilize their exchange rates, and benefit from free cross-border financial flows. Drawing on a trove of previously confidential data, Strained Relations reveals the evolution of US policy regarding currency market intervention, and its interaction with monetary policy. The authors consider how foreign-exchange intervention was affected by changing economic and institutional circumstances--most notably the abandonment of the international gold standard--and how political and bureaucratic factors affected this aspect of public policy.--Amazon.com On the evolution of U.S. foreign-exchange-market intervention : thesis, theory, and institutions Exchange market policy in the United States : antecedents and precedents Introducing the exchange stabilization fund, 1934-1961 U.S. intervention during the Bretton Woods era, 1962-1973 U.S. intervention and the early dollar float, 1973-1981 U.S. foreign-exchange-market intervention during the Volcker-Greenspan era, 1981-1997 Lessons from the evolution of U.S. monetary and intervention policies Epilogue : foreign-exchange-market operations in the twenty-first century. During the twentieth century, foreign-exchange intervention was sometimes used in an attempt to solve the fundamental trilemma of international finance, which holds that countries cannot simultaneously pursue independent monetary policies, stabilise their exchange rates, and benefit from free cross-border financial flows. Drawing on a trove of previously confidential data, 'Strained Relations' reveals the evolution of US policy regarding currency market intervention, and its interaction with monetary policy Drawing on a trove of previously confidential data, Strained Relations reveals the evolution of US policy regarding currency market intervention, and its interaction with monetary policy. The authors consider how foreign-exchange intervention was affected by changing economic and institutional circumstances - most notably the abandonment of the international gold standard - and how political and bureaucratic factors affected this aspect of public policy