Swiss monetary history since the early 19th century

Abstract

This book describes the remarkable path which led to the Swiss Franc becoming the strong international currency that it is today. Ernst Baltensperger and Peter Kugler use Swiss monetary history to provide valuable insights into a number of issues concerning the organization and development of monetary institutions and currency that shaped the structure of financial markets and affected the economic course of a country in important ways. They investigate a number of topics, including the functioning of a world without a central bank, the role of competition and monopoly in money and banking, the functioning of monetary unions, monetary policy of small open economies under fixed and flexible exchange rates, the stability of money demand and supply under different monetary regimes, and the monetary and macroeconomic effects of Swiss Banking and Finance. Swiss Monetary History since the Early 19th Century illustrates the value of monetary history for understanding financial markets and macroeconomics today. The first presentation of Swiss monetary history during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries to an international audience Describes the rise of Swiss Franc from relative unimportance to a strong international currency with safe haven status Provides a novel analysis of key features including low levels of Swiss interest rates, CHF exchange rate strength and the role of Swiss banks.