Bretton Woods: Dollar Standard vs Bancor (1944)
by Anonymous
At Bretton Woods, Keynes proposed a neutral international currency (the Bancor). The US, as the dominant economic power, pushed for the dollar as the world's reserve currency backed by gold.
Dollar as Reserve Currency
1944
year
US dollar backed by gold
reserve currency
Harry Dexter White (US)
key advocate
Adopted — dollar hegemony persists today
outcome
Bancor (International Currency)
1944
year
Neutral supranational currency
reserve currency
John Maynard Keynes (UK)
key advocate
Rejected — US had the leverage
outcome
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