Stuck on gold
Subtitle: real exchange rate volatility and the rise and fall of the gold standard
By: Natalia Chernyshoff, David S. Jacks, Alan M. Taylor.
Contributors: Taylor, Alan M., 1964-; Jacks, David S.; National Bureau of Economic Research.
Series: NBER working paper series ;; working paper 11795; Working paper series (National Bureau of Economic Research : Online) ;; working paper no. 11795.
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research
Published: 2005
Place of publication: Cambridge, MA
Language: eng
Format: Electronic resource
Subjects: Gold standard -- History.; Monetary policy -- History.; Foreign exchange rates -- History.
Description: "Did adoption of the gold standard exacerbate or diminish macroeconomic volatility? Supporters thought so, critics thought not, and theory offers ambiguous messages.  A hard exchange-rate regime such as the gold standard might limit monetary shocks if it ties the hands of policy makers.  But any decision to forsake exchange-rate flexibility might compromise shock absorption in a world of real shocks and nominal stickiness.  A simple model shows how a lack of flexibility can be discerned in the transmission of terms of trade shocks.  Evidence on the relationship between real exchange rate volatility and terms of trade volatility from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century exposes a dramatic change.  The classical gold standard did absorb shocks, but the interwar gold standard did not, and this historical pattern suggests that the interwar gold standard was a poor regime choice"--National Bureau of Economic Research web site.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references.
Title from PDF file as viewed on 12/13/2005.
Also available in print.
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Mode of access: World Wide Web.