Kurt Schuler

Bretton Woods Transcripts Kurt Schuler

Brief Description: The Bretton Woods Transcripts is the verbatim record of meetings of the conference that established the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The Bretton Woods conference, named after the New Hampshire town where the conference was held in July 1944, began a new era in international economic cooperation that continues today. Delegates from 44 countries attended the conference. They were a high-powered group: many would later become top officials of the IMF and World Bank, finance ministers, central bank governors, even presidents and prime ministers. Among them, the best known then and now was John Maynard Keynes, the most influential economist of the 20th century, who chaired the meetings that established the World Bank. The conference transcripts were never intended for publication, and give a rare word-for-word record of what participants at a major international gathering said behind closed doors. -- The Related material on the Publisher's website contain photographs of documents circulated at the 1944 conference, from daily news bulletins to the telephone directory at the Mount Washington Hotel. These documents were not published in the 1948 publication of the conference proceedings because they were considered to be of low interest.--Book Jacket. Marc Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.; The Bretton Woods Transcripts is the verbatim record of meetings of the conference that established the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The Bretton Woods conference, named after the New Hampshire town where the conference was held in July 1944, began a new era in international economic cooperation that continues today. Delegates from 44 countries attended the conference. They were a high-powered group: many would later become top officials of the IMF and World Bank, finance ministers, central bank governors, even presidents and prime ministers. Among them, the best known then and now was John Maynard Keynes, the most influential economist of the 20th century, who chaired the meetings that established the World Bank. The conference transcripts were never intended for publication, and give a rare word-for-word record of what participants at a major international gathering said behind closed doors. -- The Related material on the Publisher's website contain photographs of documents circulated at the 1944 conference, from daily news bulletins to the telephone directory at the Mount Washington Hotel. These documents were not published in the 1948 publication of the conference proceedings because they were considered to be of low interest.--Book Jacket. Publisher Marketing: The Bretton Woods Transcripts, edited by Center for Financial Stability Senior Fellow Kurt Schuler and Research Associate Andrew Rosenberg, offer a front row seat at the conference that shaped the international monetary system for nearly 70 years. The Bretton Woods transcripts were never intended for publication, and give an inside perspective of what participants at this major international gathering said behind closed doors. Schuler and Rosenberg spent more than a year carefully and skillfully editing never before published transcripts as well as creating summaries of meetings and participants that established the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and post World War II international financial system. The transcripts reveal an untold story from World War II, as well as the vision of luminaries such as John Maynard Keynes, future presidents, prime ministers, and other world leaders. Despite a war still waging in 1944, delegates from 44 nations worked tirelessly in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire to construct a financial system that would promote growth, minimize global imbalances, and foster stability. The Bretton Woods Conference began a new era in international economic cooperation that continues today. PRAISE FOR THE BRETTON WOODS TRANSCRIPTS"Even though there have been thousands and thousands of pages written about the Bretton Woods Conference, nothing beats the transcripts for a first-hand feel of what transpired."From the preface by Jacques de Larosiere, Managing Director of the IMF from 1978-1987, and Steve H. Hanke, Professor of Applied Economics, Johns Hopkins University Kurt Schuler, Andrew Rosenberg and the Center for Financial Stability deserve our thanks and congratulations for having unearthed and then nicely reproduced and edited the original Bretton Woods transcripts. This is truly a treasure trove for historians, showing exactly who said what to whom, when and why at that iconic Conference. Charles Goodhart, Financial Markets Group, London School of Economics; Former Chief Advisor, Bank of England The global economy is stuck with low growth rates and over indebtedness in many leading countries today. Thus, what better than to counter now with how the founding fathers of the IMF and the World Bank negotiated a broad consensus to create an institution with a clear technical, financial, and macro mandate? Eduardo Aninat, Former Deputy Managing Director, IMF; Former Finance Minister of Chile; Present, Director General, UNIAPAC Foundation Bretton Woods set the standard for all future international economic conferences. These transcripts are a precious contribution to historical study and more importantly an inspiration for those charged with shaping the future. Lawrence H. Summers, Former Secretary, US Treasury; Charles W. Eliot University Professor, Harvard University A fascinating new book, The Bretton Woods Transcripts, has just been published by the Center for Financial Stability. Kurt Schuler and his coeditor Andrew Rosenberg have done a remarkable job of making the book user friendly. Their commentary is fascinating in its own right. John B. Taylor, Former Under Secretary, US Treasury; Mary and Robert Raymond Professor of Economics, Stanford University Everyone thinks they know what happened at Bretton Woods, but what they know has been filtered by generations of historical accounts. By publishing the Bretton Woods transcripts, Kurt Schuler and Andrew Rosenberg provide the unfiltered version. International monetary history will never be the same. Barry Eichengreen, George C. Pardee and Helen N. Pardee Professor of Economics and Political Science, University of California, Berkeley