IX - The Bretton Woods Agreements. Building an International Monetary Orderby Filippo Cesarano

During the 20^th century, an epochal change characterized the evolution of the international monetary system: the transition from the commodity standard to the fiat money standard. This gradual transition between the Great War and the suspension of the convertibility of the dollar in August 1971 is the interpretative key to the agreements signed at Bretton Woods in 1944. The Bretton Woods monetary order represents the last, ephemeral attempt to keep a link with the commodity standard. The basis of this transition process is the interaction between the strong imbalances of the economy and international finance in the period between the wars and the advancement of monetary theory, which had a crucial influence in the approach to a pure sign money.