: Eichengreen argues that the gold standard was not a stabilizer, but rather the "principal threat" to financial stability. It acted as a "fetter," preventing central banks from lowering interest rates or expanding the money supply to combat the Depression.
Barry Eichengreen’s book, , is a landmark reassessment of how the international monetary system contributed to the global economic crisis of the 1930s. Key Themes & Arguments Golden Fetters: The Gold Standard and the Great...
: The book demonstrates that countries that abandoned the gold standard early—such as Great Britain and several Scandinavian nations—recovered more quickly than those that clung to it. Useful Summaries and Articles : Eichengreen argues that the gold standard was
For a deeper dive into these concepts, you can explore these resources: The Gold Standard and the Great Depression, 1919-1939 Key Themes & Arguments : The book demonstrates
: Unlike the pre-WWI gold standard, which relied on central bank cooperation, the interwar version was fragile and lacked credible commitment. Imbalances from WWI and a lack of international coordination made the system brittle.
: The system transmitted economic shocks from the United States to the rest of the world. Because countries were committed to fixed exchange rates, a downturn in one major economy forced others to adopt contractionary policies to protect their gold reserves.