Globalizing capital: a history of the international monetary system

Abstract

Barry Eichengreen presents a brief, lucid book that tells the story of the international financial system over the past 150 years. Globalizing Capital is intended not only for economists but also for a general audience of historians, political scientists, professionals in government and business, and anyone with a broad interest in international economic and political relations. Eichengreen's work demonstrates that insights into the international monetary system and effective principles for governing it can result only if it is seen as a historical phenomenon extending from the gold standard period to the interwar period, then to Bretton Woods, and finally to the post-1973 period of fluctuating currencies.