Deck 19: International Monetary Systems: an Historical Overview

Question 1

A country seeking to maintain internal balance would be concerned

A) only with attaining low levels of unemployment.
B) primarily with ensuring that saving is weighted more towards domestic investment than the current account.
C) with large fluctuations in output or prices.
D) with maintaining an adequate stock of gold reserves.
E) with stabilizing employment levels globally.

Answer 1

with large fluctuations in output or prices.

Question 2

Which one of the following statements is TRUE?

A) Countries where investment is relatively productive should be net importers of current output.
B) Countries where investment is relatively unproductive should be net importers of current output.
C) Countries where investment is relatively productive should be net exporters of current output.
D) Countries where investment is relatively productive should not export or import current output.
E) Countries where investment is relatively unproductive should invest at home.

Answer 2

Countries where investment is relatively productive should be net importers of current output.

Question 3

By internal balance, most economists mean

A) full employment.
B) price stability.
C) full employment and price stability.
D) full employment and moderate increase in prices.
E) full employment and high disposable income.

Answer 3

full employment and price stability.

Question 4

Inflation can occur under conditions of full employment

A) only if the central bank continues to inject money into the economy and the agents' expectations of inflation are supported by the bank's activities.
B) only if the central bank continues to inject money into the economy.
C) only if the central bank continues to withdraw money from the economy.
D) only if the central bank continues to inject money into the economy and all agents expect that inflation will not occur.
E) only if the central bank fails to inject money into the economy.

Question 5

Countries where investment is relatively

A) productive should be net exporters of currently available output.
B) unproductive should be net importers of currently available output.
C) unproductive should be net exporters of currently available output.
D) unproductive should be net exporters of future available output.
E) unproductive should focus on their internal balance.

Question 6

The costs of inflation have been most apparent in the post-war period in countries like

A) Argentina.
B) Belgium.
C) the United States.
D) Canada.
E) Japan.

Question 7

A sudden decrease in the U.S. price level

A) makes creditors in dollars better off.
B) makes creditors in dollars worse off.
C) does not affect creditors in dollars.
D) makes creditors in DM better off.
E) makes those with dollar debts better off.

Question 8

Which one of the following statements is TRUE?

A) Countries with strong investment opportunities should invest little at home and channel their savings into more productive investment activity abroad.
B) Countries with weak investment opportunities should invest little at home and channel their savings into more productive investment activity abroad.
C) Countries with weak investment opportunities should invest more at home.
D) Countries with weak investment opportunities should invest little abroad.
E) Countries with weak investment opportunities should invest little abroad and channel their savings into more productive investment activity domestically.

Question 9

A current account deficit

A) will not pose a problem, especially if it is accompanied by an expansionary fiscal policy.
B) may pose no problem if the borrowed funds are channeled into productive domestic investment projects that pay for themselves with the revenue they generate in the future.
C) may still pose a problem, even if the borrowed funds are channeled into productive domestic investment projects.
D) There is no relation between current account surplus and between savings and investment.
E) will pose a problem because the country is borrowing funds from the rest of the world that it won't be able to pay back later.

Question 10

Governments prefer to avoid excessive current account surpluses because

A) the returns to domestic savings are more difficult to tax than those on assets abroad.
B) an addition to the home capital stock may increase domestic unemployment and therefore lead to higher national income.
C) foreign investment in one firm may have beneficial technological spillover effects on other foreign producers that the investing firm does not capture.
D) an addition to the home capital stock may reduce domestic unemployment and therefore lead to higher national income.
E) domestic savings increase with more investment abroad.

Question 11

A sudden decrease in the U.S. price level

A) makes those with dollar debts worse off.
B) makes those with dollar debts better off.
C) does not affect those with dollar debts.
D) makes those with DM worse off.
E) makes creditors worse off.

Question 12

Countries with

A) strong investment opportunities should invest little at home and channel their savings into more productive investment activity abroad.
B) strong investment opportunities should invest more at home and less abroad.
C) weak investment opportunities should invest more at home.
D) weak investment opportunities should invest little abroad.
E) countries with productive investment should invest exclusively at home.

Question 13

The costs of inflation have been most apparent in the post-war period in countries like

A) Brazil.
B) Belgium.
C) the United States.
D) Canada.
E) Japan.

Question 14

A sudden increase in the U.S. price level

A) makes those with dollar debts worse off.
B) makes those with dollar debts better off.
C) does not affect those with dollar debts.
D) makes those with foreign debts better off.
E) increases all dollar debts.

Question 15

Which one of the following statements is TRUE?

A) Inflation but not deflation can occur even under conditions of full employment.
B) Deflation but not inflation can occur even under conditions of full employment.
C) Inflation or deflation can occur even under conditions of full employment.
D) Inflation can occur even under conditions of full employment only in the long run.
E) Inflation does not coincide with periods of high unemployment levels.

Question 16

By external balance, most economists mean

A) avoiding excessive imbalances in international payments.
B) balance between exports and imports.
C) balance between the trade and service accounts.
D) what amounts to fixed exchange rates.
E) imbalance in internal transactions.

Question 17

A current account surplus

A) poses a problem if domestic savings are being invested more profitably abroad than they would be at home.
B) may pose no problem if domestic savings are being invested more profitably abroad than they would be at home.
C) may pose no problem if domestic savings are being invested less profitably abroad than they would be at home.
D) There is no relation between current account surplus and between savings and investment.
E) poses a problem if domestic savings are being invested less profitably abroad than they would be at home.

Question 18

A sudden increase in the U.S. price level

A) makes creditors in dollars better off.
B) makes creditors in dollars worse off.
C) does not affect creditors in dollars.
D) makes creditors in DM worse off.
E) makes lenders worse off.

Question 19

Countries where investment is

A) relatively unproductive should have current account deficits.
B) relatively productive should have current account surpluses.
C) relatively productive should have current account deficits.
D) relatively productive should have balanced current accounts.
E) relatively unproductive should have balanced current accounts.

Question 20

Countries where investment is relatively

A) productive should have current account deficits.
B) productive should have current account surpluses.
C) unproductive should have current account surpluses.
D) productive should balance current account surpluses.
E) productive should have low outputs.

Question 21

Under the price-specie-flow mechanism, what happens when, say, Great Britain's current account surplus is greater than its non-reserve financial account balance?

A) Great Britain's loans will finance all foreign net imports.
B) An automatic drop in Great Britain's domestic prices and rise in foreign prices.
C) Gold reserves will flow into Great Britain.
D) Gold reserves will flow out of Great Britain.
E) Great Britain will experience a deficit.

Question 22

Using an equation, explain why governments prefer to avoid excessive current account surpluses?

Question 23

What is the nature of the trilemma that is encountered when choosing monetary arrangements?

A) Only two of the three aspects of internal and external balance can be accommodated simultaneously.
B) Only three of the four aspects of internal and external balance can be accommodated simultaneously.
C) Only one of the three aspects of internal and external balance can be accommodated simultaneously.
D) Only two of the four aspects of internal and external balance can be accommodated simultaneously.
E) Only one of the four aspects of internal and external balance can be accommodated simultaneously.

Question 24

Which of the following is one component of the "trilemma" that is faced by policy makers in choosing monetary arrangements?

A) exchange rate stability
B) restrictions on international capital movements
C) tariffs and subsidies
D) restrictions on the migration of labor
E) global inflation

Question 25

Until the United States Civil War, The Unites States had a

A) gold-based monetary standard.
B) silver-based monetary standard.
C) bimetallic monetary standard consisting of silver and gold.
D) bimetallic monetary standard consisting of copper and silver.
E) bimetallic monetary standard consisting of copper and gold.

Question 26

L. Frank Baum's classic 1900 children's book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, is

A) an allegorical rendition of the U.S. political struggle over silver.
B) an allegorical rendition of the U.S. political struggle over copper.
C) an allegorical rendition of the U.S. political struggle over both silver and gold.
D) an allegorical rendition of the U.S. political struggle over indebted farmers.
E) an allegorical rendition of the U.S. political struggle over gold.

Question 27

The case of New Zealand, described in the text, draws what technical conclusion regarding the country's international debt position?

Question 28

Which of the following is one component of the "trilemma" that is faced by policy makers in choosing monetary arrangements?

A) freedom of international capital movements
B) exchange rate instability
C) tariffs and subsidies
D) restrictions on the migration of labor
E) global inflation

Question 29

What are the components of the trilemma that is encountered when a country chooses its monetary policy and what is the meaning of the term?

Question 30

The case of New Zealand, described in the text, concludes that a country's current account deficits are NOT sustainable if a country's

A) prospects for long-term economic growth are above its global deficit growth.
B) ability to sustain current account deficits is questionable.
C) unproductive industrial sectors and its prospects for long-run growth.
D) labor productivity is below that of most other countries.
E) exchange rate has fallen relative to other currencies.

Question 31

Which of the following is one component of the "trilemma" that is faced by policy makers in choosing monetary arrangements?

A) monetary policy oriented towards domestic goals
B) exchange rate instability
C) tariffs and subsidies
D) restrictions on the migration of labor
E) global inflation

Question 32

The case of New Zealand, described in the text, is concerned with the country's

A) prospects for long term growth.
B) ability to sustain current account deficits.
C) unproductive industrial sector and its prospects for long-run growth.
D) labor productivity.
E) exchange rate volatility relative to other currencies.

Question 33

The case of New Zealand, described in the text, draws what technical conclusion regarding the country's international debt position?

Question 34

The "rules of the game" under the gold standard can best be described as which of the following:

A) selling domestic assets in a deficit and buying assets in a surplus.
B) slowing down the automatic adjustments processes inherent in the gold standard.
C) selling domestic assets in order to accumulate gold.
D) selling foreign assets in a deficit and buying foreign assets in a surplus.
E) selling domestic assets in a surplus.

Question 35

Why do governments prefer to avoid current account deficits that are too large?

Question 36

The case of New Zealand, described in the text, asks what question about the country's international debt position?

Question 37

Why do governments prefer to avoid excessive current account surpluses?
Or, why are growing domestic claims to foreign wealth ever a problem?

Question 38

The case of New Zealand, as described in the text, draws what simple conclusion regarding the country's international debt position?

Question 39

The costs of inflation have been most apparent in the post-war period in countries like

A) Serbia.
B) Belgium.
C) the United States.
D) Canada.
E) Japan.

Question 40

"The line distinguishing external from internal goals can be fuzzy." Discuss.

Question 41

What explains the nearly universal scope of the Great Depression?

Question 42

A country is said to be in balance of payments equilibrium, when the sum of its current and its

A) non-reserved capital accounts equals zero.
B) reserved capital accounts equals zero.
C) non-reserved capital accounts equals to the surplus in the capital account.
D) non-reserved capital accounts equals to the deficit in the capital account.
E) non-reserved capital accounts is higher than the total capital account balance.

Question 43

The price-specie-flow mechanism

A) is an automatic mechanism for assuring external balance under floating exchange rates.
B) is an automatic mechanism for assuring external balance under the gold standard.
C) is an automatic mechanism for assuring internal balance under floating exchange rates.
D) is an automatic mechanism for assuring internal balance under the gold standard.
E) is an automatic mechanism for assuring internal balance under mercantilism.

Question 44

The Great Depression that started in 1929 was

A) confined only to the United States.
B) confined only to the United States and Britain.
C) confined only to the United States and Europe.
D) a global phenomenon.
E) confined only to the Americas.

Question 45

A convertible currency is a currency that may be freely exchanged for

A) domestic assets.
B) only silver.
C) only copper.
D) national currency.
E) foreign currencies.

Question 46

Once the United States Civil War broke out, the United States moved to a

A) gold standard.
B) silver standard.
C) bimetallic monetary standard consisting of silver and gold.
D) bimetallic monetary standard consisting of copper and gold.
E) paper currency, called the "greenback."

Question 47

Countries with the

A) biggest deflations and output contractions are countries which were never on the gold standard until 1936.
B) biggest inflations and output contractions are countries which were on the gold standard until 1936.
C) lowest deflations and output contractions are countries which were on the gold standard until 1936.
D) biggest deflations and output increases are countries which were on the gold standard until 1936.
E) biggest deflations and output contractions are countries which stayed on the gold standard until 1936.

Question 48

The dollar of the United States became the postwar world's key currency because of all EXCEPT

A) the early convertibility of the U.S. dollar in 1945.
B) the special position of the dollar under the Bretton Woods system.
C) the strength of the American economy relative to the devastated economies of Europe and Japan.
D) central banks naturally found it advantageous to hold their international reserves in the form of interest-bearing dollar assets.
E) the ease of transporting U.S. dollars compared with other currencies.

Question 49

How did the international monetary system influence macroeconomic policy-making and performance during the interwar period (1918-1939)?

Question 50

Under the gold standard era of 1870-1914

A) Tokyo was the center of the international monetary system.
B) Paris was the center of the international monetary system.
C) Berlin was the center of the international monetary system.
D) New York was the center of the international monetary system.
E) London was the center of the international monetary system.

Question 51

Under the gold standard era of 1870-1914

A) central banks tried to have sharp fluctuations in the balance of payments.
B) central banks tried to avoid sharp fluctuations in the current account of the balance of payments.
C) central banks tried to avoid sharp fluctuations in the trade account of the balance of payments.
D) central banks tried to avoid sharp fluctuations in the capital account of the balance of payments.
E) central banks tried to avoid sharp fluctuations in the balance of payments.

Question 52

It is claimed that L. Frank Baum's classic 1900 children's book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, is an allegorical rendition of the U.S. political struggle over gold.

Question 53

How did the international monetary system influence macroeconomic policy-making and performance during the gold standard era (1870-1914)?

Question 54

Describe the effects of the Smoot-Hawley tariff imposed by the United States in 1930.

Question 55

In L. Frank Baum's classic 1900 children's book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the name "oz" is a reference to

A) an ounce (oz.) of gold.
B) an ounce (oz.) of silver.
C) an ounce (oz.) of copper.
D) an ounce (oz.) of gold or silver.
E) an ounce (oz.) of wheat.

Question 56

The gold standard period was

A) up until the first world war.
B) between the first and second world wars.
C) following the second world war until 1970.
D) between 1954 and 1970.
E) between 1814 and 1865.

Question 57

Which one of the following statements is the MOST accurate?
By the year 1932, the United States

A) and Canada alone held more than 70 percent of the world's monetary gold.
B) and Germany alone held more than 70 percent of the world's monetary gold.
C) and Britain alone held more than 70 percent of the world's monetary gold.
D) Britain, and France alone held more than 70 percent of the world's monetary gold.
E) and France alone held more than 70 percent of the world's monetary gold.

Question 58

A policy of "beggar-thy-neighbor" is a policy that

A) often benefits the home country in the long run.
B) often benefits the foreign country in the long run.
C) often benefits the foreign country in the short run.
D) does not often benefit any country in the long run.
E) benefits the home country's neighbors in the long run.

Question 59

Which of the two features of the IMF Articles of Agreement helped promote flexibility in external adjustment?

A) IMF members helped countries maintain full employment.
B) IMF allowed countries to attain internal balance.
C) New countries would enter the agreement if they fixed their exchange rate.
D) IMF members contributed their currency to form a pool of resources that IMF could lend to countries in need and parities in the exchange rate against the dollar could be adjusted with agreement of IMF.
E) IMF members argued against the use of floating exchange rates.

Question 60

Under the Gold standard, a country is said to be in balance of payments equilibrium when the current account balance is

A) financed entirely by international lending without reserve movements.
B) financed by international lending and with reserve movements.
C) equal to zero.
D) financed entirely by international lending and past gold reserves.
E) financed entirely by gold reserves.

Question 61

Countries with large current account surpluses might be viewed by the market as candidates for

A) devaluation.
B) revaluation.
C) bankruptcy.
D) depreciation.
E) investment.

Question 62

An expenditure-changing policy

A) alters the direction of the economy's total demand for goods and services.
B) alters the level of the economy's total demand for goods and services.
C) has no effect on aggregate demand.
D) is the same thing as an expenditure-switching policy.
E) affects aggregate supply but not aggregate demand.

Question 63

The current account surplus is

A) an increasing function of disposable income and an increasing function of the real exchange rate.
B) a decreasing function of disposable income and a decreasing function of the real exchange rate.
C) a decreasing function of disposable income and an increasing function of the real exchange rate.
D) only a decreasing function of disposable income.
E) only an increasing function of the real exchange rate.

Question 64

When the exchange rate, E, and the foreign price level, P*, is fixed, domestic inflation depends primarily on

A) amount of aggregate demand.
B) home price level set by IMF.
C) current account balance.
D) government tax policy.
E) foreign interest rates.

Question 65

Explain how a country with a current account surplus is a ripe candidate for currency revaluation.

Question 66

Discuss the impact of the restoration of convertibility in 1958.

Question 67

Under fixed exchange rates

A) monetary policy is not an effective policy.
B) fiscal policy is not an effective policy.
C) monetary policy and fiscal policy are not effective.
D) both monetary and fiscal policies are effective.
E) monetary policy has an unpredictable effect on the domestic money supply.

Question 68

An attempt by a central bank to alter the money supply by buying or selling domestic assets

A) will leave both domestic money supply and foreign reserves unchanged.
B) will cause an offsetting change in aggregate demand.
C) will lead to a rise in domestic employment and output.
D) will lead to a decrease in domestic employment and output.
E) will cause an offsetting change in foreign reserves and leave the domestic money supply unchanged.

Question 69

Under fixed exchange rates, domestic asset transactions by the central bank

A) can be used to alter the level of foreign reserves but not to affect the state of employment and output.
B) cannot be used to alter the level of foreign reserves but only to affect the state of employment and output.
C) can be used to alter the level of foreign reserves and to affect the state of employment and output.
D) can be used to alter the domestic money supply and the level of foreign reserves.
E) can raise output to full-employment level.

Question 70

A person holding dollar deposits during the devaluation of the dollar would

A) enjoy a monetary gain.
B) see the foreign currency value of dollar assets increase by the amount of the exchange rate change.
C) shift their wealth into domestic investments.
D) suffer a monetary loss and see the foreign currency value of dollar assets decrease by the amount of the exchange rate change.
E) see no change in their investments.

Question 71

How did the international monetary system influence macroeconomic policy-making and performance during the post-World War II years during which exchange rates were fixed under the Bretton Woods agreement (1946-1973)?

Question 72

A devaluation of the home currency

A) makes foreign goods and services cheaper relative to those sold at home.
B) makes domestic goods and services more expensive relative to those sold abroad.
C) decreases demand and output.
D) increases demand for domestic goods and services.
E) increases output and makes domestic goods and services cheaper relative to those sold abroad.

Question 73

Fiscal expansion

A) stimulates aggregate demand and causes output to decline.
B) decreases aggregate demand and causes output to decline.
C) stimulates aggregate demand and causes output to rise.
D) decreases aggregate demand and causes output to rise.
E) decreases government expenditures.

Question 74

How did the international monetary system created at Bretton Woods in 1944 allow its members to reconcile their external commitments with their internal goals of full employment and price stability?

Question 75

What is a convertible currency?

Question 76

The IMF agreement forced the U.S. to exchange gold for dollars at what price?

A) $25/ ounce
B) $35/ ounce
C) $45/ ounce
D) $55/ ounce
E) $20/ ounce

Question 77

Explain how a country with a current account deficit is a ripe candidate for currency devaluation.

Question 78

The XX schedule shows how much

A) fiscal expansion is needed to hold the current account surplus at X as the currency is devalued by a given amount.
B) monetary expansion is needed to hold the current account surplus at X as the currency is devalued by a given amount.
C) fiscal expansion is needed to hold the current account surplus at X as the currency is evaluated by a given amount.
D) fiscal and monetary expansions are needed to hold the current account surplus at X as the currency is devalued by a given amount.
E) foreign funding is needed to hold the current account surplus at X as the currency is devalued by a given amount.

Question 79

The alteration of exchange rates to move the economy to internal and external balance may lead to all EXCEPT

A) a balance of payments crisis.
B) changes in the terms of trade.
C) changes in the level of imports or exports.
D) changes in interest rates.
E) a guaranteed unilateral improvement in economic wealth.

Question 80

Explain why the United States dollar became the postwar world's key currency.