ABSTRACT
This chapter overlooks the significance of inter-American relations for the birth of the Bretton Woods system. It shows how the US Good Neighbor Policy towards Latin America in the late 1930s and early 1940s helped shaped US planning for Bretton Woods in important ways well before the Anglo-American negotiations of 1943-4 had begun. The chapter highlights how Raul Prebisch was one of the Latin American figures involved in the creation of the new Bretton Woods system. The Good Neighbor Policy initially emphasized American non-intervention in the region, but by the late 1930s it was increasingly focusing on the more active goal of supporting Latin American economic development. Particularly important was White's lead role in negotiating the charter of the new Inter-American Bank (IAB) in late 1939 and early 1940. The design of the IAB had been highly innovative in three respects, each of which foreshadowed features of White's initial plans for Bretton Woods in early 1942.
