Ricardo and the Gold Standard

This text combines historical investigation and analysis to present the Ricardian approach to the international monetary system and the Gold Standard. The authors assess these arguments in the light of modern experience.

Inhalt
Part 1 Ricardo's writings: gold, the exchnge rate and the quantity of money; the "Essay" and the "Proposals"; value and distribution; in Parliament. Part 2 Credit and currency: the English financial revolution; the banking system; currency circulation. Part 3 The value of money: the measure of the value of money; the invariable measure of value; absolute value and relative value of gold. Part 4 The quantity of money: alternative approaches; cost of production and equilibrium quantity of gold; the adjustment mechanisms of the quantity of money; price stability under the Gold Standard. Part 5 Trade and international finance: mercantile houses and merchant banks; the bill of exchange; subsidies; loans. Part 6 The gold market: international payments; the London gold market; the export and import of gold. Part 7 The Foreign Exchange market: the price of gold; the rate of exchange; the exchange rate between London and Hamburg. Part 8 The theory of the Gold Standard: the "Redundancy of Currency"; stable and unstable monetary regimes; stopping rule for gold movements; Ricardo's method. part 9 Ricardo and his time: gold as a commodity; the theory of unilateral transfer; market and money.