A Retrospective on the Bretton Woods system1993

"At the close of the Second World War, when industrialized nations faced serious trade and financial imbalances, delegates from forty-four countries met in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, in order to reconstruct the international monetary system. Over the next 25 years, with currencies fixed to the American dollar, world trade expanded vigorously, inflation remained moderate, and national income in industrialized countries rose faster than during any other period. In this volume, three generations of scholars and policy makers, some of whom participated in the 1944 conference, consider how the Bretton Woods System contributed to economic stability and rapid growth between 1945 and 1971 and discuss the future of the international monetary system in light of the Bretton Woods...