{
  "title": "A Model of the Bimetallic System",
  "publication": "IMF Working Papers, December 1, 1995",
  "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/en/publications/wp/issues/2016/12/30/a-model-of-the-bimetallic-system-1978",
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  "summary": "This paper formalizes Irving Fisher’s century-old model of bimetallism and adds the important “disequilibrium” dynamics to deal with the long periods during which bimetallic countries were on effective monometallic standards.",
  "sections": [
    {
      "heading": "Summary",
      "content": "- This paper formalizes Irving Fisher’s century-old model of bimetallism and adds the important “disequilibrium” dynamics to deal with the long periods during which bimetallic countries were on effective monometallic standards.\n- It resolves a long standing puzzle in the bimetallic literature regarding the remarkable stability of the gold/silver price ratio in the nineteenth century by modeling the bimetallic mint ratio as a regulating barrier to the gold/silver price ratio.\n- It provides a clean-cut example of a target-zone model that—in contrast to other such models in the literature—exhibits the main predicted nonlinearities in the data.\n- This is a Paper on Policy Analysis and Assessment and the author(s) would welcome any comments on the present text.\n- Citations should refer to a Paper on Policy Analysis and Assessment of the International Monetary Fund, mentioning the author(s) and the date of issuance.\n- The views expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the Fund."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Main findings and contributions",
      "content": "- Formalization of Irving Fisher’s model of bimetallism with added “disequilibrium” dynamics to capture long monometallic-effective periods.\n- Explanation for the nineteenth-century stability of the gold/silver price ratio via the mint ratio acting as a regulating barrier.\n- Empirical relevance: provides a target-zone model that exhibits the main predicted nonlinearities in the data, unlike other models in the literature."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Methodology and analytical approach",
      "content": "- Uses a formal model of bimetallism incorporating disequilibrium dynamics.\n- Treats the bimetallic mint ratio as a regulating barrier to the market gold/silver price ratio.\n- Positions the model as an example of a target-zone framework with nonlinear dynamics visible in the data."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Policy implications and assessment",
      "content": "- The paper is presented as a Paper on Policy Analysis and Assessment, intended to inform debate and elicit comments from readers.\n- No prescriptive policy actions are specified in the summary text; emphasis is on resolving theoretical puzzles and providing an empirically-relevant modeling framework."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Subject matter and keywords",
      "content": "- Subject: Arbitrage, Commodities, Gold, Metals, Monetary base, Money, Silver\n- Keywords: Arbitrage, bullion market, bullion-market trader, FRANC-POUND interest rate differential, Gold, gold coin, interest rate, London ratio, market ratio, Metals, mint ratio, Monetary base, money supply, Silver, WP\n\n---\n\n\nSource: https://www.imf.org/en/publications/wp/issues/2016/12/30/a-model-of-the-bimetallic-system-1978"
    }
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    "Authors: S. E Oppers",
    "Published: December 1, 1995",
    "Series: IMF Working Papers",
    "DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781451856392.001",
    "This paper formalizes Irving Fisher’s century-old model of bimetallism and adds the important “disequilibrium” dynamics to deal with the long periods during which bimetallic countries were on effective monometallic standards.",
    "It resolves a long standing puzzle in the bimetallic literature regarding the remarkable stability of the gold/silver price ratio in the nineteenth century by modeling the bimetallic mint ratio as a regulating barrier to the gold/silver price ratio.",
    "It provides a clean-cut example of a target-zone model that—in contrast to other such models in the literature—exhibits the main predicted nonlinearities in the data.",
    "This is a Paper on Policy Analysis and Assessment and the author(s) would welcome any comments on the present text.",
    "Citations should refer to a Paper on Policy Analysis and Assessment of the International Monetary Fund, mentioning the author(s) and the date of issuance.",
    "The views expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the Fund.",
    "Formalization of Irving Fisher’s model of bimetallism with added “disequilibrium” dynamics to capture long monometallic-effective periods.",
    "Explanation for the nineteenth-century stability of the gold/silver price ratio via the mint ratio acting as a regulating barrier.",
    "Empirical relevance: provides a target-zone model that exhibits the main predicted nonlinearities in the data, unlike other models in the literature.",
    "Uses a formal model of bimetallism incorporating disequilibrium dynamics.",
    "Treats the bimetallic mint ratio as a regulating barrier to the market gold/silver price ratio.",
    "Positions the model as an example of a target-zone framework with nonlinear dynamics visible in the data.",
    "The paper is presented as a Paper on Policy Analysis and Assessment, intended to inform debate and elicit comments from readers.",
    "No prescriptive policy actions are specified in the summary text; emphasis is on resolving theoretical puzzles and providing an empirically-relevant modeling framework.",
    "Subject: Arbitrage, Commodities, Gold, Metals, Monetary base, Money, Silver",
    "Keywords: Arbitrage, bullion market, bullion-market trader, FRANC-POUND interest rate differential, Gold, gold coin, interest rate, London ratio, market ratio, Metals, mint ratio, Monetary base, money supply, Silver, WP"
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