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Regimes of Fiscal and Monetary Policy in England during the French Wars (1793-1821)

Author

Listed:
  • Pamfili Antipa

    (Sciences Po and Banque de France)

  • Christophe Chamley

    (Boston University and Paris School of Economics)

Abstract

The French Wars (1793-1815) forced unprecedented coordination between fiscal and monetary authorities and a revolution in the role of the Bank of England. Using hand-collected data, this analysis of the fiscal and monetary policies at that time, and of their impacts on the price of the pound in the internal and the external markets, highlights how the steady overarching commitment to fiscal balance led to the extraordinary success of a flexible implementation of this principle in four sharply defined regimes between 1793 and 1821, “tax-smoothing as usual†(1793-1797), “Real Bills and war tax†(1797-1810), “whatever it takes†(1810-1810), “exit†(1815-1821).

Suggested Citation

  • Pamfili Antipa & Christophe Chamley, 2019. "Regimes of Fiscal and Monetary Policy in England during the French Wars (1793-1821)," Boston University - Department of Economics - The Institute for Economic Development Working Papers Series dp-327, Boston University - Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:bos:iedwpr:dp-327
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    File URL: http://people.bu.edu/chamley/papers/APCC-1912.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Carolyn Sissoko, 2022. "Becoming a central bank: The development of the Bank of England's private sector lending policies during the Restriction," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 75(2), pages 601-632, May.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    : Interactions between monetary and fiscal policies; central bank balance sheet; policy commitment; Fiscal Theory of the Price Level.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N13 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • H63 - Public Economics - - National Budget, Deficit, and Debt - - - Debt; Debt Management; Sovereign Debt
    • E58 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Central Banks and Their Policies
    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory

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