IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hal/journl/hal-03831342.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Exchange Control in Italy and Bulgaria in the Interwar Period: History and Perspectives

Author

Listed:
  • Nikolay Nenovsky

    (CRIISEA - Centre de Recherche sur les Institutions, l'Industrie et les Systèmes Économiques d'Amiens - UR UPJV 3908 - UPJV - Université de Picardie Jules Verne)

  • Giovanni Pavanelli
  • Kalina Dimitrova

Abstract

This paper analyses exchange control in Italy and Bulgaria during the interwar period. Starting with the chronology of events, the study provides a detailed account of the institutional and economic framework in which these measures were enforced and interprets them by exploring various sources of information and data. Moreover, it suggests a theoretical interpretation of exchange control measures stressing that these policies were a serious interference in market mechanisms. A further point is that exchange control in both countries was an eloquent example of how serious the balance of payments constraint was at that time and how difficult it was to circumvent it. Subject to discussion, the paper derives some lessons for today's economies.

Suggested Citation

  • Nikolay Nenovsky & Giovanni Pavanelli & Kalina Dimitrova, 2017. "Exchange Control in Italy and Bulgaria in the Interwar Period: History and Perspectives," Post-Print hal-03831342, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03831342
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://u-picardie.hal.science/hal-03831342
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://u-picardie.hal.science/hal-03831342/document
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lazaretou, Sophia, 2005. "The drachma, foreign creditors, and the international monetary system: tales of a currency during the 19th and the early 20th centuries," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 42(2), pages 202-236, April.
    2. Zamagni, Vera, 1997. "The Economic History of Italy 1860-1990," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198292890.
    3. Kalina Dimitrova & Nikolay Nenovsky, 2006. "Exchange Rate and Inflation: France and Bulgaria in the Interwar Period," ICER Working Papers 34-2006, ICER - International Centre for Economic Research.
    4. Jon S. Cohen, 1972. "The 1927 Revaluation of the Lira: a Study in Political Economy," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 25(4), pages 642-654, November.
    5. Fratianni,Michele & Spinelli,Franco, 2005. "A Monetary History of Italy," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521023450, October.
    6. Eichengreen, Barry & Sachs, Jeffrey, 1985. "Exchange Rates and Economic Recovery in the 1930s," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 45(4), pages 925-946, December.
    7. Larry Neal, 1979. "The Economics and Finance of Bilateral Clearing Agreements: Germany, 1934-8," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 32(3), pages 391-404, August.
    8. Asher Hobson, 1933. "World Agriculture; An International Survey, by a Study Group of the Members of the Royal Institute of International Affairs. London: Oxford University Press, 1932. Pp. 314. $3.50," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 15(4), pages 743-744.
    9. Goodhart, Charles A. E., 1998. "The two concepts of money: implications for the analysis of optimal currency areas," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 14(3), pages 407-432, August.
    10. Friedman, Philip, 1976. "The welfare costs of bilateralism: German-Hungarian trade, 1933-1938," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 13(1), pages 113-125, January.
    11. Kalina Dimitrova & Martin Ivanov & Ralitsa Simeonova-Ganeva, 2009. "Effective exchange rates of the Bulgarian Lev 1879-1939," ICER Working Papers 04-2009, ICER - International Centre for Economic Research.
    12. Friedman, Philip, 1978. "An Econometric Model of National Income, Commercial Policy and the Level of International Trade: The Open Economies of Europe, 1924–1938," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 38(1), pages 148-180, March.
    13. D H Aldcroft, 2002. "Currency Stabilisation in the 1920s: Success or Failure?," Economic Issues Journal Articles, Economic Issues, vol. 7(2), pages 83-102, September.
    14. tattara, giuesppe, 1991. "Power and Trade: Italy and Germany in the Thirties," MPRA Paper 10802, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Bertrand BLANCHETON & Nikolay NENOVSKY, 2013. "Protectionism and Protectionists Theories in the Balkans in the Interwar Period," Cahiers du GREThA (2007-2019) 2013-02, Groupe de Recherche en Economie Théorique et Appliquée (GREThA).
    2. Nikolay Nenovsky & Pencho Penchev, 2013. "The Evolution of German Historical School in Bulgaria (1878-1944)," ICER Working Papers 08-2013, ICER - International Centre for Economic Research.
    3. Mitchener, Kris James & Wandschneider, Kirsten, 2013. "Capital Controls and Recovery from the Financial Crisis of the 1930s," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 132, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    4. Anthony Evans, 2010. "Austrian economics behind the iron curtain: The rebirth of an intellectual tradition," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 23(3), pages 243-268, September.
    5. Nikolay Nenovsky, 2010. "The Bulgarian Economic Thought since 1989: A Personal View," ICER Working Papers 21-2010, ICER - International Centre for Economic Research.
    6. Mitchener, Kris James & Wandschneider, Kirsten, 2015. "Capital controls and recovery from the financial crisis of the 1930s," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(2), pages 188-201.
    7. Kalina Dimitrova & Martin Ivanov & Ralitsa Simeonova-Ganeva, 2009. "Effective exchange rates of the Bulgarian Lev 1879-1939," ICER Working Papers 04-2009, ICER - International Centre for Economic Research.
    8. Nikolay Nenovsky & Pencho Penchev, 2013. "Historic View on the Protectionism in Bulgaria and Romania. Protectionism Theories of Mihail Manoilesku (1891-1950) and Konstantin Bobchev (1894-1976)," Economic Studies journal, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences - Economic Research Institute, issue 2, pages 3-44.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. K. Dimitrova & Nikolay Nenovsky & G. Pavanelli, 2007. "Exchange rate control in Italy and Bulgaria in the interwar period. History and Perspectives," Post-Print halshs-00259693, HAL.
    2. Nikolay Nenovsky & Giovanni Pavanelli & Kalina Dimitrova, 2017. "Exchange Control in Italy and Bulgaria in the Interwar Period: History and Perspectives," Economic Alternatives, University of National and World Economy, Sofia, Bulgaria, issue 1, pages 5-33, March.
    3. Nikolay NENOVSKY, 2010. "Bulgarian Economists during The Great Depression," LEO Working Papers / DR LEO 286, Orleans Economics Laboratory / Laboratoire d'Economie d'Orleans (LEO), University of Orleans.
    4. Matthias Morys & Martin Ivanov, 2015. "The emergence of a European region: business cycles in South-East Europe from political independence to World War II," European Review of Economic History, European Historical Economics Society, vol. 19(4), pages 382-411.
    5. Matthias Morys, 2015. "Any lessons for today? Exchange-rate stabilisation in Greece and South-East Europe between economic and political objectives and fiscal reality, 1841-1939," Centre for Historical Economics and Related Research at York (CHERRY) Discussion Papers 15/01, CHERRY, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.
    6. Martin Ellison & Sang Seok Lee & Kevin Hjortshøj O'Rourke, 2024. "The Ends of 27 Big Depressions," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 114(1), pages 134-168, January.
    7. Mitchener, Kris James & Wandschneider, Kirsten, 2013. "Capital Controls and Recovery from the Financial Crisis of the 1930s," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 132, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    8. Mitchener, Kris James & Wandschneider, Kirsten, 2015. "Capital controls and recovery from the financial crisis of the 1930s," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(2), pages 188-201.
    9. Harold James & Kevin H. O'Rourke, 2011. "Italy and the first age of globalization, 1861-1940," Quaderni di storia economica (Economic History Working Papers) 16, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    10. Pavanelli, Giovanni, 2023. "The Economists And The Press In Italy From The End Of The Xix Century Till Fascism: The Case Of Luigi Einaudi," SocArXiv 7wn4t, Center for Open Science.
    11. Harold James & Kevin H. O'Rourke, 2011. "Italy and the first age of globalization, 1861-1940," Quaderni di storia economica (Economic History Working Papers) 16, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    12. Sabaté, Marcela & Fillat, Carmen & Escario, Regina, 2019. "Budget deficits and money creation: Exploring their relation before Bretton Woods," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 38-56.
    13. Michael Bordo & Barry Eichengreen, 1999. "Is our Current International Economic Environment Unusually Crisis Prone?," RBA Annual Conference Volume (Discontinued), in: David Gruen & Luke Gower (ed.),Capital Flows and the International Financial System, Reserve Bank of Australia.
    14. Martin Ellison & Sang Seok Lee & Kevin Hjortshøj O’Rourke, 2020. "The Ends of 30 Big Depressions," Economics Series Working Papers 896, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    15. Berbenni, Enrico, 2021. "External devaluation and trade balance in 1930s Italy," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 93-107.
    16. Albers, Thilo Nils Hendrik, 2018. "The prelude and global impact of the Great Depression: Evidence from a new macroeconomic dataset," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 150-163.
    17. Broadberry, Stephen & Klein, Alexander, 2011. "When and why did eastern European economies begin to fail? Lessons from a Czechoslovak/UK productivity comparison, 1921-1991," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 37-52, January.
    18. Vladan Hodulák & Oldřich Krpec, 2015. "Francouzsko-Německé monetární vztahy - pnutí v základech eurozóny [Franco-German Monetary Relations - Tensions Built Into the Eurozone Core]," Politická ekonomie, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2015(4), pages 413-435.
    19. Andreas Kakridis, 2021. "Nobody’s child: the Bank of Greece in the interwar years," Working Papers 290, Bank of Greece.
    20. Francesca Francioli & Alberto Quagli, 2021. "Management accounting change and the rise of Vespa (1884-1965)," MANAGEMENT CONTROL, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2021(suppl. 2), pages 313-338.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    exchange control; clearing trade; international monetary relations;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F31 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - Foreign Exchange
    • F33 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - International Monetary Arrangements and Institutions
    • B22 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought since 1925 - - - Macroeconomics

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03831342. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: CCSD (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.