The problem of international monetary reform: major questions and prospective initial area of agreement

Abstract

The Group of Ten’s exclusion of either gold revaluation or flexible exchange rates as solutions to the international monetary problem suggests the continued use of reserve media other than gold in order to feed the world pool of international monetary reserves. These two media could theoretically take the form of either commodity reserves or credit reserves. However, current discussions are likely to focus on a better organization of the latter, which play an increasingly important role in the present monetary system. The present article discusses four issues that arise from this: the overall amounts and stability, the distribution among reserve holders, the distribution among reserve debtors, the institutional framework for implementation.

JEL: E42, F33