Exchange Rate Chaos 25 Years of Finance and Consumer Democracy

"Exchange Rate Chaos" provides a much needed financial history of the US and UK in the postwar period. The author describes and compares developments in the financial markets and institutions of the two countries since the collapse of the Bretton Woods system in 1971. This book is one of the first to look at financial developments in this period and to put them in their social and political context. As such, it is a valuable guide for all those who are interested in the financial and economic history of the late twentieth century.

The Bretton Woods system ensured a quarter of a century of relative stability on the world's financial markets. The quarter of a century which has followed has brought financial chaos and excessive financial volatility. Exchange Rate Chaos: 25 Years of Financial and Consumer Democracy describes and compares US and British financial history during this period. It highlights: * similarites in financial developments between the two countries * consumer democracy: Have the wishes of consumers dominated exchange rate policy? * The decline of the small investor and the hegemony of financial institutions * How the floating exchange rates are manipulated to government advantage One of the few financial histories to deal with the postwar period, this book shows how financial developments have shaped contemporary society and politics.