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Politics and Exchange Rates: Britain, France, Italy, and the Negotiation of the European Monetary System

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2008

James Walsh
James Walsh
Affiliation:
School of International Service, The American University
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Abstract

When the European Monetary System was negotiated in 1978, governments in France, Britain, and Italy took very different approaches to this new international institution for coordinating exchange rate policies. The French government actively supported the creation of the European Monetary System, the Italian government entered the system but on weaker terms than the French, and the British government refused to enter the system, preferring to allow the pound to float. To explain these different policy choices, I analyze the impact of domestic politics and institutions on exchange rate policy, paying particular attention to how the organization of bank-industry relations and government instability shape policymakers' policy preferences and their abilities to implement these preferences.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Public Policy , Volume 14 , Issue 3 , July 1994 , pp. 345 - 369
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1994

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