Until the advent of floating exchange rates in the early-1970s, British macroeconomic policy after 1945 has generally been characterised by economic historians as operating within a fixed exchange rate regime.
Because the authorities were muddled about their aims and confused about how to achieve them, they stored up problems which became particularly acute during the 1970s. What lessons can we learn from these mistakes as monetary policy evolves post the GFC?
Dr. Michael J. Oliver is a Senior Lecturer in Finance at the Open University and a co-founder of Global Partnership Family Offices. He is a member of the advisory board of the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum.
Since 2008, he has been a finance and economic adviser to the Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel in Jersey. He has published extensively on issues of finance; macroeconomic policy; exchange rate regimes and monetary history.