Who adjusts? : domestic sources of foreign economic policy during the interwar years

Bibliographic Information

Who adjusts? : domestic sources of foreign economic policy during the interwar years

Beth A. Simmons

(Princeton studies in international history and politics)

Princeton University Press, c1994

  • : hbk
  • : pbk

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Note

Bibliography: p. [305]-318

Includes index

Description and Table of Contents

Volume

: pbk ISBN 9780691017105

Description

In this work Beth Simmons presents a fresh view of why governments decided to abide by or defect from the gold standard during the 1920s and 1930s. Previous studies of the spread of the Great Depression have emphasized "tit-for-tat" currency and tariff manipulation and a subsequent cycle of destructive competition. Simmons, on the other hand, analyzes the influence of domestic politics on national responses to the international economy. In so doing, she powerfully confirms that different political regimes choose different economic adjustment strategies.

Table of Contents

List of FiguresList of TablesAcknowledgmentsCh. 1Introduction3The Problem: Explaining International Economic Relations during the Interwar Years4The Argument of This Book11Toward an Explanation of the Policy Mix: Methodology and Organization13Findings18Ch. 2The Interwar Gold Standard20The Prewar and Interwar Gold Standards20The Norms of Gold Standard Adjustment31Explaining Policy Choice during the Interwar Years42Ch. 3The Determinants of External Imbalance52Politics, Credibility, and External Imbalance52Capital Movements64The Current Account84Ch. 4Devaluation106Descriptive Statistics: Currency Depreciation107On Gold or Off?112Explaining Currency Depreciation118Domestic Politics and Currency Depreciation: The Evidence125Cumulative Results138Ch. 5France, 1924-1927140The Real Economy145Cracks in Credibility149From a Crack to a Gulf, January 1925-July 1926156The Politics of Credibility164Ch. 6Tariff Protection174Descriptive Statistics of Tariff Protection175Explaining Tariff Levels178Changes in Tariff Policy191Cumulative Results214Ch. 7Deficits during Depression: Britain, Belgium, and France in the Thirties219Aggregate Introduction to the Cases and to the Policy Mix223The Case of Britain, 1929-1931226The Case of Belgium, 1934-1936241The Case of France, 1935-1937256Ch. 8Conclusions275The Argument276Major Findings278Implications for International Cooperation282Implications for International Political Economy283Parting Words286Appendix I. General Data Appendix289Appendix II. Central Bank Independence Data299Select Bibliography305Index319
Volume

: hbk ISBN 9780691086415

Description

This study presents a fresh view of why governments decided to abide by or defect from the gold standard during the 1920s and 1930s. Previous studies of the spread of the Great Depression have emphasized "tit-for-tat" currency and tariff manipulation and a subsequent cycle of destructive competition. This work, on the other hand, analyzes the influence of domestic politics on national responses to the international economy. In so doing, it confirms that different political regimes chose different economic adjustment strategies. Using cross-sectional time series data and four cases studies, it offers a profile of the domestic politics and institutions associated with capital flight, current account deficit, currency devaluation, and tariff protection - all of which were inconsistent with the demands of remaining on the gold standard. The work demonstrates that capital flight and current account deficits stemmed largely from governmental failure to develop credible anti-inflationary policies. In turn, decisions to externalize the subsequent deficits, whether through high tariffs or devaluation, were also driven by domestic political conditions.

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