国际贷币系统-外文文献翻译译文.docVIP

The International Monetary System Presented by Edouard Balladur at the Institute for International Economics Washington，25 May 1999 Ever since the collapse of the Bretton Woods architecture，the world monetary system has been torn between two conflicting forces．The more powerful of the two is the concept of flexible exchange rates，which established itself in the ideological climate of economic liberalism that gave it legitimacy．The other，somewhat weaker force-originates in the belief that total exchange—rate flexibility is harmful to economic growth and free trade．It has prompted the many empirical, attempts to stabilize the system and most important—-it has led to the creation of the ellro． The yet unsettled debate between these rival concepts has acquired a fresh intensity．The quickening pace of globalization gives even greater urgency to the underlying question：Can a globalized economy function in the long run without a global currency ?Implicit in this query is a crucial choice between two alternatives：Will the dynamics of globalization lead to the establishment of a world monetary system，or will monetary fragmentation eventually trigger a reversal of globalization ? This debate seems academic during quiet spells—-but flares up at the slightest tremor．In truth，monetary calm is an illusion：somewhere，there is always all imbalance that needs clearing．The crisis in the emerging and transition economies provides a sobering reminder：to my mind，it illustrates the harmful consequences ofthe present shortage of international monetary cooperation． It is up to our nations—-foremost among them the United States and the European nations—to remedy that deficiency．I am among those who are convinced that the advent of the euro creates ideal conditions for a revival of global monetary cooperation．It is a historic opportunity that a revamped G-7 should seize in order to establish financial stability．Without the latter，the gains of globalization may be jeopardized by ri