Currency Convertibility: The Gold Standard and Beyond

The spread of currency convertibility reflects the desire of policymakers to integrate their economies into the global trading system and to attract financial capital and direct investment from abroad. In Currency Convertibility, a team of leading international economists and economic historians examine parallel situations in the history of the international monetary system, focusing in particular on the gold standard. The concluding chapter uses a case study of Portugal to draw out implications for modern international monetary relations in Europe and the rest of the world.