International

Business 7e
by Charles W.L. Hill

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Copyright 2009 by The McGraw-Hill Companies,

Inc. All rights reserved.

Chapter 10

The International Monetary System

Introduction
The institutional arrangements that countries adopt to
govern exchange rates are known as the international
monetary system
When a country allows the foreign exchange market to
determine the relative value of a currency, a floating
exchange rate system exists
When a country fixes the value of its currency relative to
a reference currency, a pegged exchange rate system
exists

10-3

Introduction
When a country tried to hold the value of its currency
within some range of a reference currency, dirty float exists
Countries that adopt a fixed exchange rate system fix
their currencies against each other
Prior to the introduction of the euro, some European
Union countries operated with fixed exchange rates within
the context of the European Monetary System (EMS)

10-4

Classroom Performance System

A ________ exchange rate system exists when the foreign
exchange market determines the relative value of a
currency.
a) Fixed
b) Floating
c) Pegged
d) Market

10-5

The Gold Standard

The gold standard dates back to ancient times when gold
coins were a medium of exchange, unit of account, and
store of value
Payment for imports was made in gold or silver
Later, as trade grew, payment was made in paper
currency which was linked to gold at a fixed rate

10-6

Mechanics Of The Gold Standard

Pegging currencies to gold and guaranteeing
convertibility is known as the gold standard
In the 1880s, most of the worlds trading nations followed
the gold standard
Under the gold standard one U.S. dollar was defined as
equivalent to 23.22 grains of "fine (pure) gold
The amount of a currency needed to purchase one ounce
of gold was called the gold par value

10-7

Strength Of The Gold Standard

The great strength of the gold standard was that it
contained a powerful mechanism for achieving balance-oftrade equilibrium (when the income a countrys residents
earn from its exports is equal to the money its residents
pay for imports) by all countries

10-8

Classroom Performance System

What type of exchange rates system was the gold
standard?
a) Fixed
b) Floating
c) Pegged
d) Market

10-9

The Period Between The Wars: 1918-1939

The gold standard worked fairly well from the 1870s until
the start of World War I in 1914
During the war, many governments financed their war
expenditures by printing money, and in doing so, created
inflation
People lost confidence in the system and started to
demand gold for their currency putting pressure on
countries' gold reserves, and forcing them to suspend gold
convertibility
By 1939, the gold standard was dead

10-10

The Bretton Woods System

In 1944, representatives from 44 countries met at Bretton
Woods, New Hampshire, to design a new international
monetary system that would facilitate postwar economic
growth
Under the new agreement:
a fixed exchange rate system was established
all currencies were fixed to gold, but only the U.S. dollar
was directly convertible to gold
devaluations could not to be used for competitive
purposes
a country could not devalue its currency by more than
10% without IMF approval
10-11

The Bretton Woods System

The Bretton Woods agreement also established two
multinational institutions:
the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to maintain order
in the international monetary system
the World Bank to promote general economic
development

10-12

The Role Of The IMF

The IMF was charged with executing the main goal of the
Bretton Woods agreement - avoiding a repetition of the
chaos that occurred between the wars through a
combination of discipline and flexibility
Discipline mean that:
the need to maintain a fixed exchange rate put a brake
on competitive devaluations and brought stability to the
world trade environment
a fixed exchange rate regime imposed monetary
discipline on countries, thereby curtailing price inflation
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The Role Of The IMF

Flexibility meant that:
while monetary discipline was a central objective of the
agreement, a rigid policy of fixed exchange rates would be
too inflexible
the IMF was ready to lend foreign currencies to members
to tide them over during short periods of balance-ofpayments deficit, when a rapid tightening of monetary or
fiscal policy would hurt domestic employment

10-14

The Role Of The World Bank

The World Bank is also called the International Bank for
Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)
There are two ways to borrow from the World Bank:
1. under the IBRD scheme, money is raised through bond
sales in the international capital market
borrowers pay what the bank calls a market rate of
interest - the bank's cost of funds plus a margin for
expenses.
2. through the International Development Agency, an arm of
the bank created in 1960
IDA loans go only to the poorest countries
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The Collapse Of The Fixed

Exchange Rate System
Bretton Woods worked well until the late 1960s
It collapsed when huge increases in welfare programs
and the Vietnam War were financed by increasing the
money supply and causing significant inflation
Other countries increased the value of their currencies
relative to the dollar in response to speculation the dollar
would be devalued
However, because the system relied on an economically
well managed U.S., when the U.S. began to print money,
run high trade deficits, and experience high inflation, the
system was strained to the breaking point
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The Floating Exchange Rate Regime

In 1976, following the collapse of Bretton Woods, IMF
members formalized a new exchange rate system at a
meeting in Jamaica
The rules that were agreed on then, are still in place
today

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The Jamaica Agreement

Under the Jamaican agreement:
floating rates were declared acceptable
gold was abandoned as a reserve asset
total annual IMF quotas - the amount member countries
contribute to the IMF - were increased to $41 billion

10-18

Exchange Rates Since 1973

Since 1973, exchange rates have become more volatile and less
predictable than they were between 1945 and 1973
Volatility has increased because of:
The 1971 oil crisis
The loss of confidence in the dollar that followed the rise of U.S.
inflation in 1977 and 1978
The 1979 oil crisis
The unexpected rise in the dollar between 1980 and 1985
The partial collapse of the European Monetary System in 1992
The 1997 Asian currency crisis

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Exchange Rates Since 1973

Figure 10.1: Major Currencies Dollar Index, 1973-2006

10-20

Classroom Performance System

Which agreement deemed floating exchange rates to be
acceptable?
a) The Bretton Woods Agreement
b) The Gold Standard
c) The Jamaica Agreement
d) The Louvre Accord

10-21

Fixed Versus Floating Exchange Rates

The merit of a fixed exchange rate versus a floating
exchange rate system continues to be debated
Many countries today are disappointed with the floating
exchange rate system

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The Case For Floating Exchange Rates

The case for floating exchange rates has two main
elements:
1. monetary policy autonomy
2. automatic trade balance adjustments

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The Case For Floating Exchange Rates

Supporters of floating exchange rates argue that
removing the obligation to maintain exchange rate parity
restores monetary control to a government
Under a fixed system, a country's ability to expand or
contract its money supply as it sees fit is limited by the
need to maintain exchange rate parity
So, under the Bretton Woods system, if a country
developed a permanent deficit in its balance of trade that
could not be corrected by domestic policy, the IMF would
have to agree to a currency devaluation

10-24

The Case For Fixed Exchange Rates

Supporters of fixed exchange rates focus on monetary
discipline, uncertainty, and the lack of connection between
the trade balance and exchange rates
Having to maintain a fixed exchange rate parity ensures
that governments do not expand their money supplies at
inflationary rates
They also claim that speculation that is associated with
floating exchange rates can cause uncertainty
Advocates of floating exchange rates also argue that
floating rates help adjust trade imbalances

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Who Is Right?
There is no real agreement as to which system is better
We know that a fixed exchange rate regime modeled
along the lines of the Bretton Woods system will not work
A different kind of fixed exchange rate system might be
more enduring and might foster the kind of stability that
would facilitate more rapid growth in international trade and
investment

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Exchange Rate Regimes In Practice

Various exchange rate regimes are followed today
Currently:
14% of IMF members follow a free float policy
26% of IMF members follow a managed float system
28% of IMF members have no legal tender of their own
the remaining countries use less flexible systems such as
pegged arrangements, or adjustable pegs

10-27

Exchange Rate Regimes In Practice

Figure 10.2: Exchange Rate Policies, IMF Members, 2006

10-28

Classroom Performance System

Which type of exchange rate system do most IMF countries
follow today?
a) Free float
b) Managed float
c) Fixed peg
d) Adjustable peg

10-29

Pegged Exchange Rates

A country following a pegged exchange rate system,
pegs the value of its currency to that of another major
currency
Pegged exchange rates are popular among the worlds
smaller nations
There is some evidence that adopting a pegged
exchange rate regime does moderate inflationary
pressures in a country

10-30

Currency Boards
Countries using a currency board commit to converting
their domestic currency on demand into another currency
at a fixed exchange rate
To make this commitment credible, the currency board
holds reserves of foreign currency equal at the fixed
exchange rate to at least 100% of the domestic currency
issued

10-31

Crisis Management By The IMF

Since many of the original reasons for the IMF no longer
exist, the organization has redefined its mission
The IMF now focuses on lending money to countries
experiencing financial crises
However, critics claim that IMF policies in these countries
have actually made the situation worse

10-32

Financial Crises In The

Post-Bretton Woods Era
A currency crisis occurs when a speculative attack on the
exchange value of a currency results in a sharp depreciation
in the value of the currency, or forces authorities to expend
large volumes of international currency reserves and
sharply increase interest rates in order to defend prevailing
exchange rates
A banking crisis refers to a situation in which a loss of
confidence in the banking system leads to a run on the
banks, as individuals and companies withdraw their
deposits
A foreign debt crisis is a situation in which a country
cannot service its foreign debt obligations, whether private
sector or government debt
10-33

Classroom Performance System

A _________ is a situation in which a country cannot
service its foreign debt obligations, whether private sector
or government debt.
a) currency crisis
b) banking crisis
c) foreign debt crisis
d) foreign exchange crisis

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Mexican Currency Crisis Of 1995

The Mexican currency crisis of 1995 was a result of:
high Mexican debts
a pegged exchange rate that did not allow for a natural
adjustment of prices
To keep Mexico from defaulting on its debt, a $50 billion
aid package was created

10-35

The Asian Crisis

The 1997 Southeast Asian financial crisis was caused by a
series of events that took place in the previous decade:
huge increases in exports that helped fuel a boom in
commercial and residential property, industrial assets, and
infrastructure
investments that were made on the basis of projections
about future demand conditions that were unrealistic and
created significant excess capacity Investments made on
the basis of unrealistic projections about future demand
conditions created significant excess capacity
investments were often supported by dollar-based debts
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The Asian Crisis

when inflation and increasing imports put pressure on the
currencies, the resulting devaluations led to default on
dollar denominated debts
by the mid 1990s, imports were expanding across the
region
by mid-1997, it became clear that several key Thai
financial institutions were on the verge of default
foreign exchange dealers and hedge funds started to
speculate against the Baht, selling it short
after struggling to defend the peg, the Thai government
abandoned its defense and announced that the Baht would
float freely against the dollar
10-37

The Asian Crisis

With its foreign exchange rates depleted, Thailand lacked
the foreign currency needed to finance its international
trade and service debt commitments, and was in desperate
need of the capital the IMF could provide
Following the devaluation of the Baht, speculation caused
other Asian currencies including the Malaysian Ringgit, the
Indonesian Rupaih and the Singapore Dollar to fall
These devaluations were mainly driven by similar factors
to those that led to the earlier devaluation of the Baht-excess investment, high borrowings, much of it in dollar
denominated debt, and a deteriorating balance of
payments position
10-38

Evaluating The IMFs Policy Prescriptions

By 2006, the IMF was committing loans to some 59 countries in
economic and currency crisis
All IMF loan packages require a combination of tight macroeconomic
policy and tight monetary policy
However, critics worry:
the one-size-fits-all approach to macroeconomic policy is
inappropriate for many countries
the IMF is exacerbating moral hazard (when people behave
recklessly because they know they will be saved if things go wrong)
The IMF has become too powerful for an institution without any real
mechanism for accountability
As with many debates about international economics, it is not clear
who is right
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Implications For Managers

For managers, understanding the international monetary
system is important for:
currency management
business strategy
corporate-government relations

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Currency Management
Managers must recognize that the current international
monetary system is a managed float system in which
government intervention can help drive the foreign
exchange market
Under the present system, speculative buying and selling
of currencies can create volatile movements in exchange
rates

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Business Strategy
Managers need to recognize that while exchange rate
movements are difficult to predict, their movement can
have a major impact on the competitive position of
businesses
To contend with this situation, managers need strategic
flexibility

10-42

Corporate-Government Relations
Managers need to recognize that businesses can
influence government policy towards the international
monetary system
So, companies should promote an international monetary
system that facilitates international growth and
development

10-43

Classroom Performance System

Managers need to understand the implications of changing
exchange rates from all of the following perspectives
except
A) corporate-governance relations
B) business strategy
C) foreign relations
D) currency management

10-44