Back to results
Cover image for book Closing the Gold Window

Closing the Gold Window

Domestic Politics and the End of Bretton Woods
By:Joanne Gowa
Publisher:Cornell University Press
Print ISBN:9780801416224
eText ISBN:9781501745195
Edition:0
Copyright:1983
Format:Page Fidelity

eBook Features

Instant Access

Purchase and read your book immediately

Read Offline

Access your eTextbook anytime and anywhere

Study Tools

Built-in study tools like highlights and more

Read Aloud

Listen and follow along as Bookshelf reads to you

On August 15, 1971, President Nixon announced that the United States would no longer convert dollars into gold or other primary reserve assets, effectively ending the Bretton Woods regime that had governed post-World War II international monetary relations.

Complementing earlier works that emphasize international political and economic factors, Joanne Gowa's book examines the ways in which domestic influences contributed to this crucial action. In Closing the Gold Window, she argues that the mid-1971 decision was the consequence, in part, of the high priority Nixon administration officials assigned to maintaining U.S. freedom of action at home and abroad. She also maintains that the organization of the U.S. government for the conduct of international monetary policy played a role in the decision that ended the Bretton Woods regime.