Bretton Woods

John Maynard Keynes in 1944 at the UN International Monetary Conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. The summit's agreement shaped with postwar economic effort. Photograph: Hulton Archive (Photo: www.static.guim.co.uk)

Bretton Woods

Post World War 2 international monetary system decided upon in Bretton Woods, USA,in July 1944.

Bretton Woods linked the currencies of the participating states to the US dollar, which was valued at the time as 35 dollars an ounce of gold.

Exchange Rates could be altered in this system by unilateral decision.

The monetary system collapsed in 1971 and the link with gold was broken.  

The Bretton Woods agreements also established the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, IMF.  

Links

For criticism of the WB and IMF:
http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org

For the World Bank:
http://www.worldbank.org

For the International Monetary Fund:
http://www.imf.org