Bretton Woods: a retrospective essay

Abstract

Forty years ago, the Articles of Agreement of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund were negotiated at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. The Bank and the Fund were parts of an overall American program designed, by redressing the mistakes of the twenties and thirties, to stimulate international trade and investment so as to raise living standards throughout the world. It was a program based on the dreams of economists and brought to fruition in the One World atmosphere of the administration of Franklin Roosevelt. While their mode of operating has changed, the Fund and the Bank have maintained their international approach and are now able for this reason to intervene in the economies of member countries so as to improve the economy of the world.