Bretton Woods and Key Currencies

This our weekly discussion of the price level as it relates to Perry Mehrling's money view. The price level is the average price of goods in terms of money or, equivalently, the price of money in terms of goods. But what determines the price level? Why is the price level important? And how does it fit into the money view?

This week, we're discussing the Bretton Woods international monetary system that existed for the decades following World War II. The rules of the system ostensibly treated all currencies equally, but the US dollar inevitably emerged as the key currency around which the other currencies oriented themselves. For reading, we have a 2012 article by Harold James and a 1979 article by Marcello De Cecco.

The Multiple Contexts of Bretton Woods by Harold James

Origins of the post-war payments system by Marcello De Cecco