  the bretton woods conference, formally known as the united nations monetary and financial conference, was the gathering of 730 delegates from all 44 allied nations at the mount washington hotel, situated in bretton woods, new hampshire, united states, to regulate the international monetary and financial order after the conclusion of world war ii.. the conference was held from the 1st to 22nd of july, 1944. agreements were executed that later established the international bank for reconstruction and development (ibrd, which is part of today's world bank group) and the international monetary fund (imf). ==purposes and goals== the bretton woods conference took place in july 1944, but some of its core accords did not become operative until december 1958, when all european currencies became convertible. the imf was developed as a permanent international body. the summary of agreements states, "the nations should consult and agree on international monetary changes which affect each other. they should outlaw practices which are agreed to be harmful to world prosperity, and they should assist each other to overcome short-term exchange difficulties." the ibrd was created to speed up post-war reconstruction, to aid political stability, and to foster peace. this was to be fulfilled through the establishment of programs for reconstruction and development. the main terms of this agreement were: *formation of the imf and the ibrd, which is today part of the world bank. *adjustably pegged foreign exchange market rate system: the exchange rates were fixed, with the provision of changing them if necessary. *currencies were required to be convertible for trade related and other current account transactions. the governments, however, had the power to regulate ostentatious capital flows. *as it was possible that exchange rates thus established might not be favourable to a country's balance of payments position, the governments had the power to revise them by up to 10%. *all member countries were required to subscribe to the imf's capital. ==encouraging open markets== the seminal idea behind the bretton woods conference was the notion of open markets. in henry morgenthau's farewell remarks at the conference, he stated that the establishment of the imf and the world bank marked the end of economic nationalism. this meant countries would maintain their national interest, but trade blocks and economic spheres of influence would no longer be their means. the second idea behind the bretton woods conference was joint management of the western political-economic order, meaning that the for
1944_conferences 1944_in_international_relations 1944_in_the_United_States 20th-century_diplomatic_conferences Diplomatic_conferences_in_the_United_States Global_economic_conferences Gold_standard History_of_the_United_States_(1918a45) International_Monetary_Fund United_Nations_conferences World_Bank World_War_II_conferences