This paper by Professor Catherine Schenk was prepared for the Hangzhou conference held on May 17-18, 2014 in China, as part of RBWC’s initiative for celebrating the 70th anniversary of Bretton Woods. All historians are cautious about claims of the ‘lessons of history’ – at best we can identify the reasons for the success or… Continue reading
In the 1950s the sterling area (35 countries and colonies pegged to sterling and holding primarily sterling reserves) accounted for half of world trade and sterling accounted for over half of world foreign exchange reserves. In the early post-war years, this share was even higher – the IMF estimated that official sterling reserves, excluding those… Continue reading
The 1930s Chatham House Study Group on ‘The International Gold Problem’ and the 2011 Chatham House Taskforce on ‘Gold and the International Monetary System’ The economic context of the 1930s Chatham House Study Group was in many ways very different from the modern-day Chatham House Taskforce, of which I am a member, but the focus… Continue reading
Professor Catherine Schenk presented a paper on multiple reserve currencies: How have multiple reserve currencies functioned in the past? Why were the rules-based adjustment indicator and the substitution account abandoned in the past? The paper can be downloaded here. Image source: http://www.imf.org/external/np/adm/pictures/images/bldextm.jpg
Summer in the City: the 1974 International Banking Crisis in London and its implications for regulatory reform, paper presented by Professor Catherine Schenk at the Centre of Business History, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, on 9 January 2012 Abstract The relationship between regulators and the regulated in financial services has attracted considerable academic attention, partly because banking… Continue reading
“The Central Banks and the States” conference organised by the Historical Mission of the Bank of France on 15-16 March 2011 in Paris. Dr Emmanuel Mourlon-Druol will give a presentation entitled “Un nouveau système monétaire dans un système politique en mutation: Les banques centrales, la CEE, et la création du SME.” Abstract L’objet de cette… Continue reading
Symposium on “The euro: (Greek) tragedy or Europe’s destiny? Economic, historical and legal perspectives on the common currency” (Bayreuth, Germany, 11-12 January 2012) Dr Emmanuel Mourlon-Druol is invited as a discussant to the Symposium on the Euro Crisis organized by the University of Bayreuth on 11-12 January 2012. For more details, see the conference programme and… Continue reading
