The evolution of monetary policy (goals and targets) in Western Europe

This chapter charts the evolution of monetary policy in the United Kingdom, France, and Germany since the late nineteenth century. It shows how the monetary authorities in the three largest European economies transitioned from the classical gold standard through the gold exchange standard and the Bretton Woods regime to European Monetary Union, while dealing with war, reconstruction, and inflation along the way. It outlines the changing goals of monetary policy and the targets, instruments, and devices deployed to achieve those goals. In doing so, it highlights the constraints within which policy makers operated under different monetary regimes