The evolution of the world's monetary systems is brief. Stages of the evolution of the world monetary system

The evolution of the world's currency systems is guided by reproductive indicators. It is determined by the main stages of the development not only of the world economy, but also of the national economy. At times, the principles of the world monetary system begin to contradict the structure of the world economy, do not correspond to the distribution of resources between the main centers. This leads to the emergence of the crisis of the AIM. Currency contradictions arise as a result of the discrepancy between the structural principles of the world mechanism and the changing conditions of production, trade and distribution of world forces. The evolution of the world's monetary systems, briefly described below, is determined by the needs of the national and world economies, the need to change the alignment of forces. Only flexibility and variability, the ability to adapt to the situation of financial instruments and provided a basis for the existence and development of modern society.

Basic elements: the evolution of the world monetary system

MVS overcame the thorny path of its formation before adopting a modern format. Over the course of its long history of development, the principles of the system have changed four times, which was accompanied by the decision of the relevant international conference. The name of the structure itself was also changed, which began to correspond to the name of the city in which the conference was held.

Let us consider the stages in the evolution of the world monetary system:

• The Paris system of 1867, known as the "gold standard". For each national currency, gold content was characteristic, based on which exchange was made for other currencies or gold. There was a floating exchange rate.
• The Genoese system of 1922, known as the "gold standard". In addition to the gold reserve, each currency of the world was backed by the currency of the leading economic country, mainly the British pound sterling.
• The Bretton Woods system of 1944, known as the "dollar standard." The prerequisite for the formation of the system was the active development of America in the post-war period. Gold was used in limited quantities.
• The Jamaican system of 1976 - 78 years, known as the "standard of special credit measures". SDR acted in the format of assets (specialized records on the accounts of the IMF). The introduction of SDR is explained by the desire of all countries of the world to secure stability in the aspect of international mutual settlements.

"Gold standard"

The evolution of world monetary systems began with the "gold standard", which operated from 1867 to the 20s of the 20th century. The formation of the financial structure was spontaneous. The main impetus for the Parisian MVS was the industrial revolution of the 19th century and the expansion of international trade in the gold coin standard. The main characteristics of the financial system were the following provisions:

• Fixed gold reinforcement of national currencies.
• The role of universal means of payment and world money was performed by gold.
• Bank notes issued by the Central Bank changed to gold without restrictions. At the heart of the exchange lay golden parities. The deviation of the exchange rate was allowed within the limits of monetary parities, which formed a fixed rate.
• In the international turnover, along with gold, the pound was recognized.
• The internal supply of money corresponded to the state's gold reserve, which automatically regulated the balance of payments of the states.
• The lack of balance of payments was overlaid with gold.
• Between states, the movement of gold was free.

This stage of development is not the most effective, not the top, which finally reached the evolution of the world monetary system. The Paris currency system suffered from non-observance of rules by participants of the world financial market. The flow of gold between states did not always take place. England held the position of the main financial state, regulated not only the bank interest, but also gold flows. The main reason for the successful development of the "gold standard" was not its effectiveness as a system, but a peaceful development of the world economy in the pre-war periods.

"Gold standard"

Stages of the evolution of the world monetary system include the domination of the "gold standard", which took place from 1922 to the 30s. After the First World War had exhausted itself and all foreign economic relations between the countries were restored, it became necessary to form a new AIM. At the conference in Genoa, the question arose that capitalist countries did not have enough gold to settle their relations in the segment of external trade settlements and other transactions. In addition to gold and the British pound , it was decided to introduce the US dollar into circulation. Two currencies took on the role of an international payment instrument and received the title of motto. The system was adopted by Germany and Australia, Denmark and Norway. By its principles, the system was almost entirely consistent with its predecessor, the Paris system. Gold parities were preserved, and the role of world money was still entrusted to gold. At the same time, the evolution of world currency systems led to the fact that certain national banknotes changed not for gold, but for other currencies, called mottos, which were then exchanged for gold bullion.

Formation of the first dependencies

World currency systems and their evolution, in particular the adoption of the "gold standard", led to the formation of the first dependencies of some countries on others. There were only two formats for exchanging the national currency for gold. It is direct, intended for pounds and dollars, which played the role of mottos, and indirect, for other currencies within the system. A combined floating exchange rate was applied in this AIM . Due to the use of foreign exchange interventions, the states of the world were obliged to support any deviation of the national currency. It is the distribution of the gold and foreign exchange reserves between the states that formed the basis for the formation of interrelations.

Gold standard was not long the main MVS. After the liquidation of the crisis of 1929 - 1922, the system was completely destroyed. Already in 1931, Britain completely renounced the gold standard and devalued the pound sterling. As a result of a number of European countries, including India, Egypt and Malaysia, the collapse of national currencies occurred due to the strong relationship with England in economic terms. In 1936 Japan and France refused the gold standard. In 1933, in America, in parallel with the refusal to exchange banknotes for gold, the export of the latter was forbidden abroad and the dollar was devalued by about 41%. This period, which the evolution of the world's currency systems will remember for a long time, has become a moment of transition to a currency conversion of gold that is not exchangeable for gold, in other words, of credit.

"Dollar standard"

In 1944, 44 countries of the world gathered at the international conference in Bretton Wood. An agreement was reached on the formation of a structure of correlated exchange rates of a regulated type. The system lasted from 1944 to 1976. Its main characteristics were:

• The role of world money went to gold. In parallel, such currencies as the dollar and pound were used.
• International financial institutions have been formed: the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). The main task of the organizations was to regulate financial relations in the world among the member countries of the system. All IMF member states automatically acted as members of the World Bank.
• A system of corrected courses was introduced, which allowed either to keep the exchange rate at one level, or to adjust it by prior agreement with the IMF. It was planned to establish courses at a level that would allow states to effectively develop at the expense of the advantages of international trade and the flow of capital. If there was no possibility to implement this program, the courses were revised.
• Binding the dollar to gold. The evolution of the world monetary system (briefly considered in this article) led to the fact that all countries sought to have a dollar reserve. The right to exchange currency for precious metal was only America at a price of $ 35 per ounce. The rest of the states announced rates of their currencies in gold or dollars, supporting them by buying or selling those same dollars within the foreign exchange market.
• Formation of the international reserves fund. The reserve contribution of each state was determined by the volumes of international trade and corresponded to 1/4 of gold or dollars and 3/4 of the national currency. It is the share in the fund that directly influenced the permissible volume of the foreign currency loan from the IMF.

The situation in the world during the "Dollar standard"

The evolution of world monetary systems, which can be briefly examined with the example of time-honored standards, led to the fact that during the period of the "dollar standard" the direction of the development of the world economy began to be set by the states of the "Big Seven". They accounted for about 44.8% of the vote. America owned 18%, and Russia - 2.8%. This formed the feature that America and other G7 states could directly influence the adoption or rejection of any decisions. Since the appearance of this structure, a considerable amount of material resources has been allocated for the development of a significant number of countries.

Evolution of the world monetary system: the table of the structure of loans during the "dollar standard"

Despite the prospects of the system, it did not last long due to the fundamental differences between the national economy and the world economy. The beginning of the fall of the system gave a deficit in the payment system of America, which transferred dollars in the form of a reserve world currency. By 1986, the US external deficit was $ 1 billion. Despite the tolerance of the situation, the phenomenon had its consequences. In 1971, President Nixon refuses to bind the national currency to gold, as the society is expected to devalue the currency and begin to actively buy up gold, which, in accordance with accepted obligations, America is forced to sell. The dollar was released into free swimming, the era of the "dollar standard" completely exhausted itself.

"Standard of special lending measures"

The evolution of the world monetary system, briefly referred to in the article, did not stand still, and the standard of special lending measures came to replace the dollar standard. It was adopted in the period from 1976 to 1978 and is actively used today. The following are the main characteristics of the Jamaican currency system:

• Capital abandonment of the gold standard.
• Demonetization of gold is officially accepted. The role of the precious metal as a global means of payment is canceled.
• The ban on gold parities was introduced.
• Central banks retained the right to buy and sell gold as a regular commodity at a price set on the free market.
• Adoption of the SDR standard, which could be used as world money, and also used as a base for calculating the exchange rate, official assets. SDR is actively used for international-type settlements through account entries and as an IMF unit of account.
• The role of reserve currencies received the US dollar and the FRG brand, the pound sterling and the Swiss franc, the Japanese yen and the French franc.
• The exchange rate is floating, formed in the foreign exchange market at the expense of supply and demand.
• States have the right to independently establish a regime for the exchange rate of the national currency.
• The exchange rate fluctuations are not controlled.
• Formation of closed blocks of currency format, which are considered to be IMF participants, became legal. A striking example of this category of education is the European Monetary System (EUR).

The World Currency System: Its Evolution of the Nonlinear Type

World monetary systems in the order of their origin led to the formation of the European monetary system, which acts as a set of economic relations that are linked to the functioning of national currencies within the framework of European economic integration. EBU is an important component of the entire AIM. The structure includes three main components:

• ECU standard, adopted in 1979, which defined a new form of the ECU reserve, which acts in the format of a tandem of 12 European currencies.
• Free floating rate with a range of deviations in the range of 15%, both upward and downward. The mechanism of exchange rates and interventions has been formed.

Artificially created countable units such as SDRs and ECUs can not be used as a real currency, arising as a result of integration of a number of states. Since 1999, 11 states out of 15 have agreed to the introduction of a single monetary unit - the euro. Already in 2002, countries that had agreed to accept a new currency, fully integrated into the European zone and completely abandoned their currency.

What criteria should the participants in the "euro area" meet?

The evolution of the world monetary system, in the chronological order considered above, has not only a linear structure. The branch was the EBU, to which any of the countries of the world can join, which will meet a number of criteria:

• The growth of inflation in the country should not exceed the value of the identical indicator in the territory of the three countries with a minimal increase in the cost of goods and services by more than 1.5%.
• The budget deficit in the country should be less than 3% of GDP.
• The public debt should be within 60% of GDP.
• The exchange rate of the national currency within 2 years should not cross the corridor established by the EBU standards (+/- 15%).

The monetary system, characteristic of industrialized countries, controls not only monetary and settlement operations, but also internal cash flows. This is the most practical solution in the modern world. At the same time, the evolution of world monetary systems and modern currency problems are closely interrelated, since they originate from one source.

Relationship between IFS and national financial systems

The evolution of world monetary systems, briefly considered in this article, began with a spontaneously functioning structure based on the gold reserve, and was gradually modernized into a purposeful and regulated structure based on paper and credit material resources. The development of the MIF goes a step in step, with a range of 10 years, with the dominant stages in the formation of national monetary structures. In the domestic economy, monetary structures gradually transformed from a gold coin standard into a gold coin deposit, then into a gold deposit, and finally came to a paper and credit system, where the main role belongs precisely to credit facilities.

Let us sum up what the world monetary systems were like. The table presented above will allow us to trace the main stages of evolution.