Carl-Ludwig Holtfrerich

Monetary Policy in Germany Since 1948: National Tradition, International Best Practice or Ideology?

The number of central banks in the world is approaching 180, a tenfold increase since the beginning of the twentieth century. What lies behind the spread of this economic institution? What underlying process has brought central banks to hold such a key role in economic life today? This book examines from a transatlantic perspective how the central bank has become the bank of banks. Thirteen distinguished economists and central bankers have been brought together to evaluate how central banks work, arrive at their policies, choose their instruments and gauge their success in managing economies, both in times of crisis and periods of growth.

Geography, exchange rates and trade structures: Germany's export performance since the 1950s

This paper surveys West Germanys export performance since the 1950s, focusing on geography, the exchange rate regime, and international specialisation. It emphasises the importance of Europe as a ‘natural trading bloc’, with Germany at its centre. It challenges the claim that Germanys export boom of the 1950s and 1960s can be mainly explained by relatively low domestic cost increases. It further challenges the claim that Germanys export position has been transformed from early maturity to relative decline.

Public Debt in Post-1850 German Economic Thought vis-à-vis the Pre-1850 British Classical School

Abstract The positions of British and German economists on public debt in the long nineteenth century differed substantially from each other. Whereas British classical economists regarded any public debt as ruinous for the country, German economists promoted debt accumulation for productivity-enhancing public investment and current outlays with benefits for future fiscal years. This article summarizes the positions of the most prominent British economists before 1850, David Hume, Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Thomas R. Malthus and John Stuart Mill, and deals more extensively with those of their German colleagues Carl Dietzel, Lorenz von Stein and Adolph Wagner after 1855.