An Exchange Rate History of the United Kingdom

Alain Naef is a research economist at the Banque de France working on the international monetary system.

• Introduction; 1. Sterling's postwar role and lessons from the 1947 convertibility crisis; 2. The 1949 devaluation: readjusting the postwar parities; 3. The reopening of the London foreign exchange market: Sterling's window on the world. 4. The bank on the market; 5. The reopening of the London gold market in 1954: sealing the fate of sterling and the international system; 6. 1958 convertibility and its consequences. 7. The gold pool; 8. Cooperation and the fed swap network; 9. The 1964–7 currency crisis; 10. The 1967 devaluation and the fall of the gold pool; 11. The consequences of the devaluation: ongoing crisis and window dressing at the bank of England; 12. Britain, Nixon and the end of Bretton woods; 13. Was the IMF crisis 'natural' or 'manmade'; 14. Britain's last currency crisis; Conclusion; Data availability; Bibliography.

'Naef's financial history of the United Kingdom focuses on the management of the pound sterling exchange rate since World War II. He uses data on market operations from the Bank of England's archives to document the bank's efforts to defend and stabilize the rate during currency crises in 1949, 1967, and 1976.' Barry Eichengreen, Foreign Affairs