This paper examines the operation of the gold standard and the performance of the Bank of England during the crisis of 1847. The key feature of that crisis has been its origin: it originated from a massive real shock rather than from monetary disorder. A harvest failure gave rise to commercial...

This paper examines the operation of the gold standard and the performance of the Bank of England during the crisis of 1847. The key feature of that crisis has been its origin: it originated from a massive real shock rather than from monetary disorder. A harvest failure gave rise to commercial...

The view that capital flows are typically exogenous destabilizing factors suggests the need for heavy regulation of financial flows. Another view, that capital flows are largely rational, endogenous responses to underlying conditions, suggests that policies, rather than market responses, are...