The Floating Pound and the Sterling Area
1931–1939

Britain's abandonment of the Gold Standard in 1931 raised new economic policy problems both for Britain and for the countries of the Empire.

Ian M. Drummond (Author)

9780521068567, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 10 July 2008

320 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.8 cm, 0.47 kg

Britain's abandonment of the Gold Standard in 1931 raised new economic policy problems both for Britain and for the countries of the Empire, who had to decide whether to follow sterling off gold and, if so, whether to peg their currencies to sterling. By exploiting archival material, the author casts fresh light on the debates and financial diplomacy of the period, and provides a fuller understanding of several key issues: the formation of the sterling area, the World Economic Conference of 1933, and American concerns about the price and course of sterling.

1. Introduction: the sterling area in the 1930s
2. Sterling and the rupee
3. The Canadian debate over money and exchanges, 1930-1934
4. South Africa, sterling, and the gold standard, 1931 and thereafter
5. Australia and New Zealand, 1930-1939
6. Monetary preparations for the World Economic Conference
7. United Kingdom policy at the World Monetary and Economic Conference
8. Talking about exchange stabilization, autumn 1933 through June 1936
9. The Tripartite Agreement of 1936
10. Intergovernmental conversations and the management of sterling, 1936-1939
11. Conclusion: the significance of sterling.

Subject Areas: Economic theory & philosophy [KCA]