Fixed Ideas of Money

Focusing on the monetary history of seven small European states over the last century, the book examines their experiences from the post-World War I gold standard restoration to Sweden's Euro rejection in 2003. It highlights how policymakers were largely restricted by a fear of floating exchange rates until the European Monetary System crisis in the early 1990s. The analysis reveals that economic structures and foreign policy orientations were more influential in determining the timing of monetary regime changes than domestic institutions and policies.