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Monetary Populism in Nineteenth-Century America: An Open Economy Interpretation

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  • Frieden, Jeffry A.

Abstract

The battle over gold is typically explained as driven by proinflation debtors. However, going off gold would also have caused a depreciation, raising tradable prices relative to nontradables prices and helping producers of exportable primary products. An analysis of Congressional votes on monetary legislation indicates that higher constituency debt levels were not associated with opposition to gold, whereas mining and agricultural production were. This suggests that gold politics was at least as much about the impact of the exchange rate on relative prices as it was about inflation of the overall price level.

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  • Frieden, Jeffry A., 1997. "Monetary Populism in Nineteenth-Century America: An Open Economy Interpretation," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 57(2), pages 367-395, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:jechis:v:57:y:1997:i:02:p:367-395_01
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    Cited by:

    1. Alexander Klein & Karl Gunnar Persson & Paul Sharp, 2023. "Populism and the first wave of globalization: Evidence from the 1892 US presidential election," Rivista di storia economica, Società editrice il Mulino, issue 2, pages 163-202.
    2. Oatley Thomas, 2010. "Real Exchange Rates and Trade Protectionism," Business and Politics, De Gruyter, vol. 12(2), pages 1-19, August.
    3. Scott L. Fulford & Felipe Schwartzman, 2013. "The credibility of exchange rate pegs and bank distress in historical perspective: lessons from the national banking era," Working Paper 13-18, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.
    4. Richard C.K. Burdekin & Kris James Mitchener & Marc D. Weidenmier, 2012. "Irving Fisher and Price-Level Targeting in Austria: Was Silver the Answer?," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 44(4), pages 733-750, June.
    5. S. Brock Blomberg & Jeffry Frieden & Ernesto Stein, 2005. "Sustaining fixed rates: The political economy of currency pegs in Latin America," Journal of Applied Economics, Universidad del CEMA, vol. 8, pages 203-225, November.
    6. Vallet, Guillaume, 2016. "The role of the swiss franc in Switzerland’s European stance," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 35-44.
    7. Hugh Rockoff, 1999. "How Long Did It Take the United States to Become an Optimal Currency Area?," Departmental Working Papers 199910, Rutgers University, Department of Economics.
    8. Barry Eichengreen & Michael R. Haines & Matthew S. Jaremski & David Leblang, 2017. "Populists at the Polls: Economic Factors in the 1896 Presidential Election," NBER Working Papers 23932, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Meissner, Christopher M., 2005. "A new world order: explaining the international diffusion of the gold standard, 1870-1913," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(2), pages 385-406, July.
    10. Jeffry A. Frieden & David A. Lake, 2005. "International Relations as a Social Science: Rigor and Relevance," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 600(1), pages 136-156, July.
    11. Kramer, Bert S. & Milionis, Petros, 2022. "Democratic constraints and adherence to the classical gold standard," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    12. Hamilton-Hart, Natasha, 2011. "Distribution, Domestic Politics and Monetary Cooperation in East Asia," ADBI Working Papers 332, Asian Development Bank Institute.
    13. J. Ernesto L=F3pez-C=F3rdova & = =20 Chris Meissner, 2001. "Exchange-Rate Regimes and International Trade: Evidence from the=20 Classical Gold Standard Era," Labor and Demography 0012003, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Maurice Obstfeld & Alan M. Taylor, 2003. "Globalization and Capital Markets," NBER Chapters, in: Globalization in Historical Perspective, pages 121-188, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Dasgupta, Aditya & Ziblatt, Daniel, 2021. "Capital Meets Democracy: The Impact of Franchise Extension on Sovereign Bond Markets," SocArXiv s2pqn, Center for Open Science.
    16. Nicholas Weller, 2009. "Trading policy: Constituents and party in U.S. trade policy," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 141(1), pages 87-101, October.
    17. Christopher M. Meissner, 2002. "A New World Order: Explaining the Emergence of the Classical Gold Standard," NBER Working Papers 9233, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Fernholz, Ricardo T. & Mitchener, Kris James & Weidenmier, Marc, 2017. "Pulling up the tarnished anchor: The end of silver as a global unit of account," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 209-228.

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