ABSTRACT
The Bretton Woods Agreement reflected the United States’ hegemony in the postwar period and the dollar was linked to the commodity that has historically represented international money - gold. Nevertheless, the other developed countries could not allow currency convertibility until 1958 and in 1960 the dollar crisis was already evident. From the “dollar shortage” to the dollar crisis, Bretton Woods was in fact only a mirage. The most significant aspect of the dollar crisis was certainly the development of the Euromoney market. At the present time, with the “gold standard”, on one hand, and projects for an artificial currency, on the other, the international monetary system is evolving toward an oligopolar system.
KEYWORDS:
Economic history; international financial system; Bretton Woods