Historical reasons for the focus on broad monetary aggregates in post-World War II Britain and the 'Seven Years War' with the IMF
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Journal Title
Financial History Review
ISSN
0968-5650
Volume
24
Issue
3
Type
Article
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Goodhart, C., & Needham, D. (2018). Historical reasons for the focus on broad monetary aggregates in post-World War II Britain and the 'Seven Years War' with the IMF. Financial History Review, 24 (3)https://doi.org/10.1017/S0968565017000233
Abstract
Copyright © 2018 European Association for Banking and Financial History e.V. The British monetary authorities have traditionally focused on broader monetary aggregates than their counterparts elsewhere. The reasons include: the willingness of UK banks to allow customers to make payments by drawing on time deposits, the particularities of the UK approach to managing the national debt and the foreign exchange reserves, and the flow-of-funds system of national accounts developed after World War II. This article outlines these reasons, and explores the implications for the UK's often fractious relationship with the International Monetary Fund during the 1950s and 1960s. It explains why IMF conditionality on loans to the UK focused on broad aggregates.
Identifiers
External DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0968565017000233
This record's URL: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/283391
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