ABSTRACT
In this time of uncertainty over monetary regimes, it is natural to see what can be learned from historical experience. Correspondingly, over the last few decades the classical gold standard has been used as a case-study by those attempting to measure the impact of alternative monetary regimes for price stability, output cycles and economic growth.1 The papers presented in Chapters 3 and 5 look for rather different lessons-what are the causes of changes in monetary regimes and how are transitions between monetary regimes effected? While it is possible that the choice of regime may have implications for (for example) price and output stability, it does not necessarily follow that it was the search for such behavior that led to the regime change. Indeed, the two papers discussed here emphasize the role of historical contingency and political symbolism in the ascendancy of the gold standard.
