Exchange Rate Determination
The euro, a common currency for most of the nations of Western Europe, was introduced on
January 1, 1999. On that day the euro was worth about $1.17. By early 2002, the euro was
worth only about $0.85, denting Europe’s pride (although helping its exporters). By late
2007, the euro was worth more than $1.40; by the middle of 2010, it had slid back to $1.29.
A key difference between international economics and other areas of economics is that
countries usually have their own currencies—the euro being the exception that proves the
rule. And as the example of the euro/dollar exchange rate illustrates, the relative values of
currencies can change over time, sometimes drastically.
For historical reasons, the study of exchange rate determination is a relatively new part
of international economics. For much of modern economic history, exchange rates were
fixed by government action rather than determined in the marketplace. Before World War
I the values of the world’s major currencies were fixed in terms of gold; for a generationafter World War II, the values of most currencies were fixed in terms of the U.S. dollar.
The analysis of international monetary systems that fix exchange rates remains an important
subject. Chapter 18 is devoted to the working of fixed-rate systems, Chapter 19 to the
historical performance of alternative exchange-rate systems, and Chapter 20 to the
economics of currency areas such as the European monetary union. For the time being,
however, some of the world’s most important exchange rates fluctuate minute by minute
and the role of changing exchange rates remains at the center of the international economics
story. Chapters 14 through 17 focus on the modern theory of floating exchange rates.