French Exchange Rate Management in the mid-1920\'s lessons drawn from new evidence

This paper challenges the conventional view of the existence of a pure floating regime in France during the mid-1920’s. Our study of the archives of the Bank of France and the French Ministry of Finance, as well as a thourough examination of the exchange rates (FRF/USD) and (FRF/GBP) during the 1920\'s reveal that the French authorities did intervene on several occasions. How ever from these first direct actions, as well as some over abortive attempts, several lessons can be drawn about the effectiveness of interventions on a ‘modern’ echange rate market.Exchange rate Expectations Speculation Bank of France French Treasury Intervention Dirty floating Signalling effect, Credibility

The issues and the achievements of the economic policy of the Chaban Delmas government (June 1969-July 1972) (In French)

For three years under Pompidou’s presidency, Chaban Delmas had to restart the process of modernising and industrialising French economy whilst altogether trying to put a ceiling to the inflationary trends spurred by the “May 68” events and the large easiness in wages increases and in budgetary expenses which were intended to appease the social unrest. But this policy of balance had to be forged and completed by the Chaban team at the Prime Minister’s offices in face of the influence of the President Pompidou’s cabinet, much more in touch with economic affairs than under de Gaulle, and of the power of upcoming ministry of Finance Giscard d’Estaing. The achievements are scrutinised topic by topic.Expansion, industrialisation, budgetary policy, modernisation, economic policy, territorial reallocation of resources, circles of political influence, state executive power, Chaban-Delmas

Montesquieu as an economist (In French)

The purpose of this paper is to reappraise Montesquieu’s thinkings in economy. To Joseph Schumpeter his economic is insignificant - without originality force, or scholarship. According to John-Maynard Keynes, Montesquieu was the real French equivalent of Adam Smith, the greatest of French economists, head and shoulders above the physiocrats in penetration, clear-headedness and good sense. This controversy invites us to undertake an investigation of Montesquieu’s views in economy. This article explores thoughtfully his works and proposes an application of heuristic reading systematic and very progressive too. About all of the subjects (interest rate, money, luxury expenditures, state’s position in society, taxation, public debt, international trade) we try to place Montesquieu in the opposition between interventionism and laisser-faire. Through this analysis J-B. Say, J-M Keynes, J. Schumpeter opinions on Montesquieu become clear especially on interest rate issue. Finally, we conclude that Montesquieu is one of the few French economists to propose a monetary analysis of the interest rate, but his liberal doctrinal leads him to reject all the form of interventionism particularly in the monetary sphere. Definitely, Montesquieu’s just one link of the liberal chain in Europe.Interest rate, liberalism, international trade

The process of opening. An historical perspective (nineteenth and twentieth centuries) (In French)

Comparing the degree of openness of different national economies or the variations of openness during different periods is a difficult task. Using the historical data existing for France since the beginning of the 19th century, we try to show how an accurate and consistent picture of the gradual internationalisation of the French economy can be drawn from this set of indicators. The historical outlook we tried to establish for France may provide a new insight into the original features of the recent times, since the 1970s. The internationalisation process is not of course something new in itself. But, according to all available quantitative indicators, it is now more continuous and more intense than ever before. The coefficients measuring specifically the degree of openness of the manufacturing sector show the most significant progression, now surpassing by far the previous exceptionally high peaks reached during the 1920s – and this in both directions: for the growing share of imported manufactures in the French market goes together with the unchallenged pre-eminence of the manufacturing sector among French export trades. This new conjunction is relevant to explain the most negative characteristic of the present situation: for the first time, an acceleration in the process of opening is accompanied by a protracted weakening of the French (and European) economic growth.process of opening, globalization

French Public Finances Against Globalization. Resistance, Transformation, Reform (In French)

This contribution is highlighted the quite striking paradox between the dominant discourse over the last twenty years or so, calling on the State to reduce its role, and the stability or even inertia of the major macroeconomic aggregates (public spending to GDP, tax burden), the permanent budget deficits and the increase in public debt. Globalisation has not neutralised French budget policy and has not put the squeeze on the French fiscal system. The weak empirical foundation of the pro-market macroeconomic arguments (risk of seigniorage, crowding-out effects, Barro-Ricardo equivalence…) and the efficiency of the automatic stabilisers in particular, have been highlighted as contributing to explain this situation. Finally, several salient points have been shown concerning evolutions in the structure of government revenues, one consequence of which is the decreasingly redistributive character of the French tax system.Globalization, public debt, budgetary deficit, fiscal system

The indicators of international financial integration: A set of convergent measures (In French)

In this article, we propose to evaluate the robustness of the main indicators of international financial integration by indicating their principal results as well as their limits. Empirical studies, whatever the indicator of integration which is chosen, conclude that the recent period is characterized by a very deep integration of capital markets, without any historical equivalence.Integration, capital market, financial history

FTPL and war reparations : the French and German monetary experiences in the Interwar period (In French)

In this paper, we try to investigate the rationale for using the Fiscal Theory of the Price Level (FTPL) as a relevant theoretical framework for analysing French and German monetary experiences in the Interwar period. This approach involves considering the evolution of public debt as the main anchoring factor of the price level through the respect of the intertemporal budget constraint by the public sector. French and german stylized facts, especially during the 1919-1926 period seem at first glance to be in accordance with this relationship. A more precise analysis of the monetary policy implementation suggests, however, that only the weak form (instead of the strong one) of the FTPL could have prevailed. Indeed, the requirement of stable public debt dynamics went hand in hand with the domination of monetary policy by fiscal policy.inflation, public debt, FTPL