Bretton Woods system

E1144

fixed exchange rate regime international monetary system

The Bretton Woods system was a post–World War II international monetary order in which major currencies were pegged to the U.S. dollar, and the dollar was convertible to gold, creating a fixed exchange rate regime that lasted until the early 1970s.

Aliases (7)

Bretton Woods Conference ×3
Bretton Woods gold exchange standard ×1
Bretton Woods monetary system ×1
Bretton Woods negotiations ×1
Bretton Woods system of fixed exchange rates ×1
Nixon shock ×1
United States Gold Standard ×1

Statements (52)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	fixed exchange rate regime → international monetary system →
alsoKnownAs	Bretton Woods monetary system →
appliesToJurisdiction	International Monetary Fund member states → Japan → United Kingdom → United States → Western Europe →
basedOn	U.S. dollar → gold convertibility of the U.S. dollar →
concludedAt	Bretton Woods Conference →
countryOfEvent	United States →
creator	United States government →
dissolvedBecauseOf	U.S. balance of payments deficits → growing dollar overhang → suspension of dollar–gold convertibility in 1971 →
endTime	1971 → early 1970s →
exchangeRateAnchor	U.S. dollar → gold →
feature	IMF oversight of exchange rate adjustments → U.S. dollar convertible into gold at a fixed price → capital controls in many member countries → par value system for exchange rates →
followedBy	post–Bretton Woods floating exchange rate system →
goal	avoid competitive devaluations → facilitate balanced growth of international trade → promote international monetary stability →
goldPrice	35 U.S. dollars per troy ounce of gold →
hasEffect	created a fixed exchange rate regime → facilitated postwar reconstruction and trade expansion → limited exchange rate flexibility → pegged major currencies to the U.S. dollar → promoted exchange rate stability →
hasPart	International Bank for Reconstruction and Development → International Monetary Fund → World Bank →
inception	1944 →
influencedBy	Harry Dexter White → John Maynard Keynes →
legalForm	international agreement →
monetaryPolicyRegime	fixed but adjustable exchange rates →
namedAfter	Bretton Woods, New Hampshire →
participant	44 Allied nations → United Kingdom → United States →
pointInTime	July 1944 →
replaced	interwar competitive devaluation regime → interwar gold exchange standard practices →
significantEvent	Nixon shock →
startTime	1944 → post–World War II era →

Referenced by (13)

Subject (surface form when different)	Predicate
Gold Certificate ("United States Gold Standard") → Gold Reserve Act →	relatedTo
Bretton Woods system ("Bretton Woods monetary system") →	alsoKnownAs
Bretton Woods system ("Bretton Woods Conference") →	concludedAt
World Bank ("Bretton Woods Conference") →	foundedAt
US dollar →	historicalStandard
Nixon shock →	monetarySystemAffected
International Clearing Union ("Bretton Woods negotiations") →	negotiationContext
John Maynard Keynes ("Bretton Woods Conference") →	participatedIn
European Monetary System →	precededBy
Nixon shock ("Bretton Woods gold exchange standard") →	predecessorSystem
United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference ("Bretton Woods system of fixed exchange rates") →	result
Bretton Woods system ("Nixon shock") →	significantEvent