Development of world monetary system

Understanding of modern processes in the global monetary system is impossible without clarification of the genesis and stages of its formation and development. In its evolution the world monetary system has the following stages: Paris, Genoa, Bretton Woods and Jamaican currency system.

First international monetary system was introduced in the late XIX century and it is known in history as the "gold standard". Legally it was framed at the International Conference in Paris in 1867. The Conference recognized gold as the only form of world money. Most countries then applied the "gold standard" which means they started to determine the rate and the value of their currencies by quantitative gold content. State banks were required to exchange paper money for the appropriate amount of gold. Major currencies traded for gold at a fixed gold standard.

This practice lasted until 1944, although it was in the late 20's when there appeared a need for its replacement, which was caused by active introduction of credit money. At this time, based on national currencies of the leading countries (England, USA, France) currency zones began to form - the sterling zone, the dollar zone, the franc zone. Currencies of these countries were used in their colonies and semi-colonies.

In 1944 the international monetary system was established. It was named after the venue of an international monetary conference (Bretton Woods, USA) and was called the Bretton Woods system. It was based on the idea to adapt countries’ currencies to the domestic currency systems of advanced countries of that time – the U.S. and England. Minor gold stock of England did not give it a chance to express a gold price of pound sterling. The dominant position was occupied dollar. However, pound sterling got the status of a reserve currency. Officially this system called the gold-currency standard, informally – gold-dollar standard. The main principles of the Bretton Woods system include: maintaining the gold function of world money, use of U.S. dollar as world money along with gold, the U.S. commitment to exchange dollars brought by central banks of other countries into gold at the official rate - $ 35 USD per troy ounce (31.1 grams), the use of fixed parities of currencies to dollar, and through this to other currencies; obligations of countries to support fluctuations in market rates of national currencies around the fixed dollar parities within certain limits, to regulate the international monetary relations through specially established the International Monetary Fund.

Thus, this system has put dollar in a privileged position, and it began to prevail in international payments. The system worked fine until the mid 60's.

In the second half of the XX century of the positions of Japan and the EU Member States on the world market have changed. Their national currencies increasingly began to be used in international payments. At the same time the United States could not exchange dollars for gold in adequate quantities. A refusal from the principles of the Bretton Woods system began.

Its place was taken by Jamaican monetary system. A decision on its establishment was made within the IMF in 1976 in Kingston (Jamaica) and enacted into force in 1978. Basic principles Jamaican monetary system include: demonetization of gold, the transition to the use of national currencies in international payments, adoption of floating exchange courses, granting the status of the main backup tool of the international monetary system to the so-called special drawing rights (SDR), which are produced by the IMF. SDR - a non-cash money in the form of records at special accounts in the IMF.

Дата добавления: 2014-01-04