''International Monetary Cooperation Since Bretton Woods'' is a

non-fiction Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with be ...

book detailing the

economic history Economic history is the academic learning of economies or economic events of the past. Research is conducted using a combination of historical methods, statistical methods and the application of economic theory to historical situations and ins ...

international monetary systems An international monetary system is a set of internationally agreed rules, conventions and supporting institutions that facilitate international trade, cross border investment and generally the reallocation of capital between states that have d ...

after 1945. Written by Harold James, Professor of Economic History at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

, the book details the history of the postwar monetary order amidst geopolitical tensions, economic challenges, and societal needs. In the book James argues, throughout the postwar years, the IMF was instrumental in providing relief and maintaining stability of the

Bretton Woods system The Bretton Woods system of monetary management established the rules for commercial and financial relations among the United States, Canada, Western European countries, Australia, and Japan after the 1944 Bretton Woods Agreement. The Bretto ...

. It also played an important role in monetary matters of surveillance and information-sharing. The IMF promoted a system that was not rules-based, but rather cooperation-based. It was, however, challenged by nationalist governments and asymmetric capital flows on part of the United States. The book was commissioned for the 50th anniversary of the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...

. The other books in the series include: * J. Keth Horsefield, ''The International Monetary Fund, 1945–1965: Twenty Years of International Monetary Cooperation'' (1969) *

Margaret Garritsen de Vries Margaret Garritsen de Vries (1922-2009) was an economist and historian known for her work for the International Monetary Fund. Education deVries received her B.A. from the University of Michigan and her Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute o ...

, ''The International Monetary Fund, 1966–1971: The System Under Stress'' (1976) *

''The International Monetary Fund, 1972–1978: Cooperation on Trial'' (1985) * James M. Boughton, ''Silent Revolution: The International Monetary Fund, 1979–1989'' (2011) * James M. Boughton, ''World Without Walls: The Global Economy and the IMF, 1990–1999'' (2012)

Reception

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

Richard N. Cooper Richard Newell Cooper (June 14, 1934 – December 23, 2020) was an American economist, policy adviser, and academic. Born in Seattle, Cooper graduated from Oberlin College in 1956 and received a master's degree in economics from the London Sch ...

described the book as unbiased and evenhanded in its analysis.

Anna J. Schwartz Anna Jacobson Schwartz (pronounced ; November 11, 1915 – June 21, 2012) was an American economist who worked at the National Bureau of Economic Research in New York City and a writer for ''The New York Times''. Paul Krugman has said that Schwar ...

, a renowned Chicago school economist, praises the book's insightful analysis, but critiques it for not providing an overall assessment of the IMF's broader role.

Reception

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See also