It is ironic that most of the recent agitation for a return to some form of gold standard has come from the United States, whose official policies played a leading role in the destruction of that standard. After describing the conduct of governments necessary for the successful operation of a gold standard, this article tells the story of the failure of the post-World War I attempt by the British to restore the pre-1914 monetary system—an attempt doomed to failure by the refusal of the United States and France to play by the rules of the gold standard game.
Economic Perspectives,
Vol. 5,
4th,
No. 6,
1981
The Demise of the Gold Standard