The gold standard and the rise of modern monetary policy

This thesis traces the genealogy of modern monetary policy. Its emergence represents an intriguing case because it occurred in 19 th century England, a period often associated with unrestrained capitalism and unprecedented capital internationalization. This raises a significant paradox since it is generally assumed that the expansion of markets works to undermine the agency of states. Moving away from this view, I explore in this thesis the ways in which this agency developed in reaction to the internationalization of capital, and gained in scope and complexity with the growth of markets.;After this broad theoretical discussion, section 2 and 3 adopt a historical perspective to grasp what was the social significance of these changes in monetary policy and why they happened in England. I trace these developments of monetary policy through the various social struggles that occurred around the state. Section 2 looks at the contradiction of the medieval monetary framework and the social conflicts around the attempt to redefine it. As I point out, it was partly these struggles which gave rise to modern banking. Section 3 looks at the rise of the gold standard and the emergence of modern monetary policy, which I define as a policy aimed at playing on the supply of money as a means to govern the economy. As I point out, these policies constituted a response from the state aimed at reasserting its authority in the face of economic changes that undermined crucial aspects of English society.;In the first section, the thesis revisits the debate on the question of agency in order to problematize the relation between state power and capitalism. I develop here an institutional theory of agency and point out that it was the rise of modern banking which represented the key institutional leverage for the state to rethink its own agency, and conceptualize modern forms of monetary policy.