Skip to main content

Gold Standard

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics
  • 359 Accesses

Abstract

The world has had two experiences with gold standards: the classical gold standard and the interwar gold standard. The ‘rules of the game’, government policies to preserve the gold standard, were rarely followed. Rather, government responsible policy and credible commitment to the standard, private stabilizing arbitrage and speculation, and stable political and economic environment made the classical gold standard a success. The absence of these elements and the presence of the Great Depression combined to make the interwar gold standard a failure.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 6,499.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 8,499.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Bibliography

  • Bayoumi, T., B. Eichengreen, and M.P. Taylor, eds. 1996. Modern perspectives on the gold standard. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bordo, M.D., and F.E. Kydland. 1995. The gold standard as a rule: An essay in exploration. Explorations in Economic History 32: 423–464.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bordo, M.D., and H. Rockoff. 1996. The gold standard as a ‘good housekeeping seal of approval’. Journal of Economic History 56: 389–428.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bordo, M.D., and A.J. Schwartz, eds. 1984. A retrospective on the classical gold standard, 1821–1931. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • De Macedo, J.B., B. Eichengreen, and J. Reis, eds. 1996. Currency convertibility: The gold standard and beyond. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eichengreen, B. 1992. Golden fetters: The gold standard and the Great Depression, 1919–1939. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eichengreen, B., and M. Flandreau. 1997. The gold standard in theory and history. 2nd ed. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gallarotti, G.M. 1995. The anatomy of an international monetary regime: The classical gold standard, 1880–1914. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Officer, L.H. 1996. Between the dollar-sterling gold points. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Officer, L.H. 2001. Gold standard. In EH. Net encyclopedia, ed. R. Whaples. Online. Available at http://eh.net/encyclopedia/article/officer.gold.standard. Accessed 20 Oct 2006.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Copyright information

© 2018 Macmillan Publishers Ltd.

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Officer, L.H. (2018). Gold Standard. In: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95189-5_1102

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics