Currency Politics: The Political Economy of Exchange Rate Policy

Description

The exchange rate is the most important price in any economy, since it affects all other prices. Exchange rates are set, either directly or indirectly, by government policy. Exchange rates are also central to the global economy, for they profoundly influence all international economic activity. Despite the critical role of exchange rate policy, the

Jeffry A. Frieden is professor of Government at Harvard University and the author of many books, including Debt, Development, and Democracy (Princeton).

"The book is readable for both economists and political scientists. I recommend Currency Politics to both sets of scholars. Economists will learn about the political aspects of exchange-regime choice and political scientists about the economic aspects."--Lawrence H. Officer, EH.Net "In Currency Politics, a quarter century of scholarly rumination has been distilled in one definitive treatment... His attention to detail is remarkable, and wherever the data permit, he backs his qualitative discussion with solid quantitative analysis... Readers unfamiliar with any of these episodes will find the treatment enlightening, even fascinating."--Benjamin J. Cohen, Journal of Economic Literature "A considered and compelling case for the relevance of political economy to explaining currency policy... Explains monetary economics with such clarity that it is unusually accessible... Think of it as occupying the middle ground between pop economics titles, like Freakonomics, and more formidable volumes, such as Thomas Piketty's Capital in the Twenty-First Century."--Jenny McArthur, LSE Review of Books "Frieden undertakes careful examination of currency politics... [M]eticulous well-informed... Recommended."--Choice