ABSTRACT
Most economists will probably agree with McKinnon (Journal of Economic Literature, 1988):
Without a common monetary standard, the remarkable integration of Western European, North American, and the industrialized Asian economies in both commodity trade and financial flows is less efficient, and becoming untenable. Dissatisfaction with wildly fluctuating relative currency values, euphemistically called 'floating' or 'flexible' exchange rates, is a prime cause of the resurgence in protectionism.
