From Great Depression to Great Recession: The Elusive Quest for International Policy Cooperation

Books, March 30, 2017

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The global financial crisis and the ensuing Great Recession raised concerns about adjustment fatigue, deflation, currency wars, and secular stagnation that presented a sense of déjà vu: similar concerns had arisen at the time of the Great Depression and at the end of World War II.
These concerns prompted calls for greater international policy cooperation—both to achieve a sustainable recovery from the crisis and to prevent future crises.
The volume compiles papers from a 2015 symposium of eminent scholars convened by the IMF to discuss how history can inform current debates about the functioning and challenges of the international monetary system.
An introductory chapter gives a broad overview of the performance of the international monetary system over the past century, highlighting the key events and challenges that shaped it.
Subsequent sections:
- look at historical antecedents of today’s challenges,
- describe how the modern international monetary system has been—and continues to be—shaped through international financial diplomacy,
- provide a present-day perspective,
- examine the analytics of international policy coordination.

Historical parallels between the Great Depression, the post–World War II era, and the Great Recession.
The role of international policy cooperation in:
- achieving a sustainable recovery,
- preventing future crises.
How history can inform contemporary debates about the international monetary system’s functioning and challenges.
The shaping of the modern international monetary system through international financial diplomacy.
Analytical approaches to international policy coordination.

Subject areas:
- Banking, Currencies, Exchange rate arrangements, Exchange rates, Financial crises, Financial markets, Foreign exchange, International monetary system, Money, Securities markets
Keywords:
- Africa, BOOK, Caribbean, country, Currencies, current account, current account transaction, East Asia, Europe, exchange rate, Exchange rate arrangements, Exchange rates, financial crisis, Global, gold standard, IMF liquidity provision facilities, International monetary system, Nash policy setting, Policy coordination, Securities markets