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Money and credit - Ivanov VM

6. Subject of the monetary system

6.1. Ponyuyatie monetary system

The system (from the Greek Systema - whole, composed of parts;. Connect) - a set of elements that are in relationships and connections with each other, forming a certain integrity, unity.

The monetary system - a particular form of organization of monetary circulation of the country, historically and fixed by national legislation. It was formed in HUІ-HUІІ centuries. with the emergence and assertion of capitalist production, as well as a centralized state and national market. With the development of commodity-money relations and capitalist production, the monetary system has undergone significant changes.

Depending on the type of money (money as a commodity acting as universal equivalent, or money as a token of value) distinguish monetary systems of two types:

• metallic currency system, which is based on real money (silver, gold), perform all five functions, and freely circulating banknotes are exchanged for real money;

• system of paper and credit circulation, in which real money drives signs cost, and are in circulation paper (Treasury bills) or lending money.

Under a system of metallic money circulation are two types of monetary systems: bimetallism and monometallism - depending on how much metal is used as a universal equivalent, and form the basis of monetary circulation.

Bimetallism - monetary system in which the role of a universal equivalent is fixed for the two metals (silver and gold). It provides free coinage of the two metals and their unlimited treatment. The market sets two prices for one commodity. This system existed in HUІ-HUІІІ cent., And in some countries of Western Europe, and acted in the nineteenth century.

The presence of the two metals in the role of a universal equivalent came into conflict with the nature of money as a single product, which measures the value of all goods. This system did not ensure the stability of monetary circulation, because the change in the value of a monetary metal causes fluctuations in commodity prices.

The development of capitalism, which requires stability of the monetary system, a single universal equivalent, led transition to monometallism.

Monometallism - monetary system, in which only one metal (silver or gold) is the universal equivalent. In this system a coin operated from one noble metal and tokens of value, on the small change coins. Silver monometallism existed in Russia (1843-1852 gg.), India (1852-1893 gg.), The Netherlands (1847-1875 gg.) And China (up to 1935). In most developed countries in the late XIX century. bimetallism silver and gold were replaced monometallism monometallism. The Russian gold currency came into effect in 1897 are three varieties of gold monometallism - gold coin standard, gold bullion and gold exchange.

Gold coin standard, corresponding to the period of free competition and the development of production, trade and credit system, characterized by gold in circulation, the free coinage, unhindered by exchanging banknotes for gold, nezapreschen nym movement of gold between countries. monetary law acted automatically. This standard is required the presence of gold reserves in the emission centers. The First World War, took more military spending, has caused an increase in the deficit of the warring states and led to the abolition of the gold coin standard in most countries.

At the end of the First World War were introduced truncated form of gold monometallism: standard gold bullion (UK, France), in which the central bank had to sell for banknotes gold bullion and gold exchange (Germany, Austria, Norway, and others.), In which instead of gold for cover notes and exchange their notes could be countries or US gold bullion standard (ie. e. mottos). As a result of the global economic crisis (1929-1933 gg.), All forms of gold monometallism and established system of handling paper-credit money, not small change in the real money has been eliminated.

The system of paper-credit money included the predominant position of banknotes issued by the emission center of the country.

In 1944, the international monetary system of capitalism emerged in the global monetary system on the monetary and financial-howl of a UN conference in Bretton Woods (USA). The shape of the Bretton Woods monetary system is a kind of inter-state gold exchange standard. Its main targets are:

• Gold functioned as world money and a means of final settlement between the two countries and the universal embodiment of social wealth;

• US national currency - the dollar and the British pound had a narrow scope; US dollar convertible into gold at the US Treasury formally establish the relationship, if it is presented (since 1934) by central banks and government agencies of countries. The price of gold on the free market was based on official US pricing until 1968 and did not deviate from it;

• national currencies freely exchanged through the central banks for dollars and among themselves on firmly established the International Monetary Fund (IMF) relations. All convertible national currency units after the dollar could turn into gold, which provided the multilateral settlements between the countries.

Due to the weakening of the US position in the international market as a result of the reduction of gold reserves the country's international monetary system based on the widespread use of the dollar as a reference value of all monetary units, in 1971-1973 gg. suffered bankruptcy: the dollar ceased to be a single global reserve currency; the role of reserve currencies began to carry out the brand of Germany, the Japanese yen, as well as the SDR and the ECU; from August 1, 1971 was terminated the exchange of dollars for gold; formally abolished the dollar price of gold.

In place of the Bretton Woods monetary system has come Jamaican monetary system, executed the agreement states - members of the IMF in Kingston (. Of Jamaica) in 1976. Following ratification by countries of the agreement in April 1978 changes were made to the charter of the IMF. The new monetary system was characterized as follows:

• declared world money special drawing rights in the IMF - SDR, which became an international unit of account;

• US dollar maintained an important place in international payments and foreign exchange reserves of other countries, and continued to play an important role in calculating the notional value of the SDR;

• legally demonetization of gold has been completed: the loss of the gold monetary functions, cancel its official price. However, gold remains the state reserve and was used for the acquisition of the key currency of other countries.